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Brazil - The Eighteenth-Century Gold Rush
The Eighteenth-Century Gold Rush
As a result of the mineral discoveries, settlers flocked to the
gold region, and growing numbers of slaves were transferred from
the sugar areas and brought in from Africa. Gold mining was mainly
alluvial panning, a labor-intensive activity. The extraction of
gold increased rapidly until the 1750s when gold exports peaked.
After the gold deposits became depleted and exports declined sharply
in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the Brazilian economy
entered another long period of stagnation.
The gold surge did not establish a basis for economic expansion
after the depletion of the mines. The economic regression was especially
bad because of the restrictions Portugal had imposed on the establishment
of manufacturing in the colony. However, the gold rush had an important
impact in shaping Brazil's territory. First, the various exploratory
expeditions led to the incorporation of large areas originally belonging
to Spain. In addition, the demand for food and animals for transportation
and meat had major repercussions outside the mining region. The
mines were located in inhospitable, mountainous terrain, and
the movement of goods to and from the mines depended heavily on
mules. Agricultural activities were expanded elsewhere in order
to feed the miners. Thus, the gold rush brought about the occupation
of, and interaction among, different geographical areas. Moreover,
the colony's economic and administrative center of gravity moved
to the Southeast Region. Gold was shipped through ports in or near
Rio
de Janeiro, prompting the transfer of the colonial administration
from the Bahian town of Salvador
to Rio de Janeiro.
The difficult period resulting from the depletion of the mines
lasted well into the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The
mainstays of the economy were in decline, and the colony fell into
a state of depression and decadence. In the late eighteenth century,
Brazil experienced a brief surge in cotton exports to Britain, as
the War of Independence in America disrupted American trade temporarily;
however, Brazilian cotton lost its place in the world market by
the early nineteenth century.
Data as of April 1997
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