Brazil history part VII The gold cycle

Brazil history part VII (1690–1800)

Minas Gerais–Brazil

The second half of the 17th century saw Portugal freed from Spanish rule, the north-east of Brazil liberated from a 24 year occupation by Dutch forces, and the weakening of Brazil’s sugar economy. The next cycle of Brazilian history began with the discovery of gold. While the gold rush that followed drained thousands of people away from the coastal plantations, it also attracted fresh immigration from Portugal. Other for the mining centres and the emergence of new cities in what is now the State of Minas Gerais. Altogether nearly 1 000 tons of gold and 3 million carats of diamonds were taken from the region between 1700 and l800.He started in fine spirits: buoyant, strong, vigorous. When I saw him again in Rio de Janeiro, a year or so later, on his return, he was an emaciated fever-wreck, placing one foot before the other only with much exertion and indeed barely able to hold himself erect.