São João del Rei

São João del-Rei grew in the basin of the Rio das Mortes, among the mountains of Minas Gerais. Gold-bearing gravels attracted settlers from São Paulo, and a mining camp developed into a town whose churches and streets reflect the wealth and ambitions of the colonial gold districts. Its place on the roads through southern Minas made it a centre of trade as well as mining.

The early settlement stood amid the conflicts of the War of the Emboabas, when rivals fought over the new goldfields. In 1713 it became a town named for King João V and subsequently expanded as a centre of the Rio das Mortes district. Churches and religious brotherhoods played a prominent part in its public life. The town was also drawn into the disturbances of 1720, when opposition to royal taxes and foundries spread across the mining region. Its commercial connections helped sustain it as the great gold rush passed.