During the first two centuries ofcolonization of Brazil, economic activity was mainly related to the agro-pastoral model, above all to the system of plantation, developed in the Northeast, that is, to the cultivation of large monoculture plantations, such as the sugar cane. The reason for this came from the fact that, unlike the Spaniards, who more easily found other sources of wealth, such as precious metals, in their American colonies; in Brazil, obtaining profits with precise stones and metals only occurred in the 18th century, via prospecting, in the interior of the territory.
The conditions for the development of miningat theBrazil were given by the process of clearing the interior of the colony operated by the so-calledEntrances and flags, which consisted of armed expeditions that left the Captaincy of São Paulo towards the sertão, with the objective of capturing Indians, destroying quilombos and finding precious metals. In the year 1696, one of these expeditions managed to find gold deposits in the mountainous regions of Minas Gerais, where the occupation of the
OKof goldBlack.In this and other regions of Minas (and later in Goiás and Mato Grosso), gold was initially found in the form of alluvium - a sedimented type of metal dissolved in deposits of gravel, clay and sand. Soon after, the exploration of rocks located on the slopes of the mountains began, using the technique known as had grouped. Large prospecting systems were built, from slope excavations to drainage and ventilation channels.
The exploration of gold in Minas triggered a large migratory wave of Portuguese and people from other regions of the colony in the 17th century. About 30,000 to 50,000 adventurers came to the mines looking for enrichment. Population density has greatly increased in this region and would increase even more with the presence of slaves who, men in charge of manual labor, became the basis of the mining society, as noted by historian Boris Faust:
“At the base of society were the slaves. The hardest work was in mining, especially when riverbed gold became scarce and had to be fetched from underground galleries. Diseases such as dysentery, malaria, lung infections and deaths from accidents were common. There are estimates that the useful life of a mining slave was between seven and twelve years. Subsequent imports met the needs of the economy of Minas Gerais, including in the sense of replacing unused labor.” [1]
In addition to the formation of a new social composition, there was also a new inspection system, developed by the Portuguese Crown especially for the mining activity. This system began with the land distribution policy, which were divided into dates or lots for exploration. Each tenant of a lot had the right to explore the deposits of its domain, provided that it respected the Regiment of Superintendents, Major Guards and Deputy Officers for the Gold Mines, which was drafted in 1702. This regiment created the Intendanceof theMines, a type of special government directly linked to Lisbon.
The first resolution of the Intendência das Minas was to stipulate the percentage of the tax on the wealth obtained in each deposit. The first form of tribute was the fifth, that is, 20% of what was produced in prospecting should be sent to the Portuguese Crown. However, this system proved to be very vulnerable and susceptible to fraud, a fact that forced the crown to stipulate another system, that of feint, which consisted of the remittance of 30 arrobas of gold per year to the Crown. There was also the creation of HousesinFoundry, whose objective was to transform all the extracted gold into bars, in the colony itself, after having removed the fifth part, which was sent to the Crown. Only after this process did miners have the right to negotiate their remaining part.
Later on, the Portuguese crown still associated a systemincapitation, which also stipulated percentages on the miner's possessions, such as his slaves. In addition, the Portuguese government created the system of spills, a kind of retroactive collection of the fifths in arrears and an extra tax on those that were collected. These measures ended up resulting in some colonial conflicts, such as the Vila Rica Revolt in 1720, and thewar of emboabas.
In the 1730s, there was, still in Minas, the creation of the Districtdiamond, which started to be directed by the Diamond Intendance. The aim was to establish control over the administration of diamond extraction, as had already been done with gold.
GRADES:
[1]: FAUSTO, Boris. history of Brazil. São Paulo: Publisher of the University of São Paulo, 2013. P. 89.
* Image credits: commons
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/mineracao-no-brasil-colonial.htm