History of São Paulo
The history of São Paulo state and São Paulo city were much the same from the arrival of the Europeans until the coffee boom transformed the region's economic and political landscape. According to John Hemming there were approximately 196,000 indigenous inhabitants living in what is now São Paulo state. Today their numbers have been vastly diminished and of the few who survived, some live in villages within São Paulo itself and can be seen selling handicrafts in the centre.
The first official settlement in the state was at São Vicente on the coast, near today's port of Santos. It was founded in 1532 by Martim Afonso de Sousa, who had been sent by King João III to drive the French from Brazilian waters, explore the coast and lay claim to all the lands apportioned to Portugal under the Treaty of Tordesillas.
In 1554, two Jesuit priests from São Vicente founded São Paulo as a
colégio
(a combined mission and school) on the site of the present Pátio de Colégio in the Centro Histórico. The Jesuits chose to settle inland because they wanted to distance themselves from the civil authority, which was based in Bahia and along the coast. Moreover, the plateau provided better access to the indigenous population who they hoped to convert to Catholicism. Pioneers seeking to found farms followed in the Jesuits' wake and as the need for workers on these farms grew, expeditions were sent into the interior of the country to capture and enslave the indigenous people. These marauders were known as
bandeirantes
after the flag wielder who ostensibly walked at their head to claim territory. Their ignominious expeditions were responsible for the opening up of the country's interior and supplying the indigenous slave trade. A statue by one of Brazil's foremost modernist sculptors, Victor Brecheret, sits on the edge of Ibirapuera in homage to the
bandeirantes
. In a sense, the
bandeirantes
' success in discovering gold led to the demise of São Paulo in the 18th century. The inhabitants rushed to the gold fields in the
sertão
, leaving São Paulo to fall to ruin and fall under the influence of Rio de Janeiro.
The relative backwardness of the region lasted until the late 19th century when the coffee trade spread west from Rio de Janeiro. Landowners became immensely rich. São Paulo changed from a small town into a financial and residential centre. Exports and imports flowed through Santos and the industrial powerhouse of the country was born. As the city boomed, industries and agriculture fanned outwards to the far reaches of the state.
The relative backwardness of the region lasted until the late 19th century when the coffee trade spread west from Rio de Janeiro. Landowners became immensely rich. São Paulo changed from a small town into a financial and residential centre. Exports and imports flowed through Santos and the industrial powerhouse of the country was born. As the city boomed, industries and agriculture fanned outwards to the far reaches of the state.
Between 1885 and the end of the century the boom in coffee and the arrival of large numbers of Europeans transformed the state beyond recognition. By the end of the 1930s more than a million Italians, 500,000 Portuguese, nearly 400,000 Spaniards and 200,000 Japanese had arrived in São Paulo state. It is the world's largest Japanese community outside Japan and their main contribution to the economy of São Paulo has been in horticulture, raising poultry and cotton farming, especially around cities such as Marília. Significant numbers of Syrian-Lebanese arrived too, adding an extra dimension to the cultural diversity of the city.
Much of the immigrant labour that flooded in during the early years of the 20th century was destined for the coffee
fazendas
and farms. Others went to work in the industries that were opening up in the city. By 1941 there were 14,000 factories and today the city covers more than 1500 sq km - three times the size of Paris.
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