(''Faith, Action, Progress'') , image_skyline = File:Pará de Minas.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Aerial View of Pará de Minas , image_flag = Flag of Pará de Minas.png , image_seal = Pmbrasao.gif , image_map = MinasGerais Municip ParadeMinas.svg , mapsize = , map_caption = Location in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

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Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

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Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

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State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, leader_name = Elias Diniz , established_title = Incorporated (

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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, footnotes = Pará de Minas is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of

History

17th—18th centuries

The founding of Para de Minas is closely associated with the locomotion of pathfinders and adventurers of the

Brazilian Gold Rush The Brazilian Gold Rush was a gold rush that started in the 1690s, in the then Portuguese colony of Brazil in the Portuguese Empire. The gold rush opened up the major gold-producing area of Ouro Preto (Portuguese for ''black gold''), then known as ...

seeking gold and precious stones in its surrounding areas in the 1690s. Many 18th century

Brazilian Gold Gold mining in Brazil has taken place continually in the Amazon, beginning in the 1690s, and has profoundly transformed the economy of Brazil and other surrounding countries. In the late 17th century, amid the search for indigenous people to use ...

seekers, from the present-day

São Paulo state SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

region, established settlements near

Pitangui Pitangui is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. Notable people * Ivone Guimarães See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais (M ...

, a nearby town in the

Paraopeba River The Paraopeba River is a river in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In the Tupi language "Para" means "great river or sea," and "peba" means "flat," together meaning "flat river". The source of the river is situated south of the municipality of ...

, São João River, and Pará River area of

. The opening of gold mines in the Pitangui area brought many people and wealth to the area during the 18th century.

19th century

Among the many adventurers was a Portuguese named Manuel Batista who established his residence on land that came to be Pará de Minas. Batista, also known as Pato Fofo (or chubby duck), built a chapel dedicated to the Our Lady of Pity next to his farm. The place became known as Patafufo's Settlement and the chapel was elevated to the status of a parish in April 1846, under the control of Pitangui. In 1848 the settlement was raised to the status of town. The town status was revoked in 1850, since the locals did not meet all the conditions laid out in the law of its emancipation. On June 8, 1858, the settlement was once again elevated to town status and it received the denomination of Vila do Pará. The formal emancipation ceremony took place on 20 September 1859, which became the town's founding date. On July 15, 1872, the town was reincorporated into the Municipality of Pitangui. The town regained its political autonomy in December 1874, when the Municipality of Pará was created.

Districts

Pará de Minas is divided in six districts: Pará de Minas (Main District), Córrego do Barro, Carioca, Ascensão, Torneiros, and Tavares de Minas.

References

Municipalities in Minas Gerais Gold mining in Brazil {{MinasGerais-geo-stub