Maps of Early Occupancy of Minas Gerais

Abstract

This paper shows the beginning of the evolution of the occupation of the territory of Minas Gerais through some
historical maps, from the period roughly between 1680 and 1780. This occupation followed two different directions:
fi rstly from North to South, along the São Francisco River, essentially agrarian, and the other, in the opposite sense,
starting from São Paulo, initially for the capture of Indians, and later for gold mining. During the 16th and beginning of
the 17th centuries, the countryside was shown based on knowledge of several excursions - bandeiras, which explored
the hinterland of Brazil, starting from the coast. On Italian Coronelli´s map of Southern America, published in 1681,
the province of Santa Cruz or Brasile appears divided into 12 capitancies, and is occupied, for the most part, by the
São Francisco River Basin, which has, among its tributaries, the Velhas River (Gaibuig), running from Sabarabussu
mountain range. The discovery of gold in the state of Minas Gerais, starting in the 1690´s, claimed for more detailed
maps, for administrative purposes. Among these, the work of Father Jacobo Cocleo stands out, covering today´s Eastern Brazil, with emphasis on the São Francisco River. Many of the legendary mountain ranges, targeted as mining
prospects, the recently discovered mines and the main routes leading to them are lined out. On both banks of the São
Francisco River downstream, from the mouth of the Velhas River, many farms are shown, register of the process of
agrarian occupation. In the beginning of the 18th century, with the gold rush, military engineers also became involved
in cartographic survey. The map of the Minas de Ouro e São Paulo e costa do mar que lhe pertence shows not only
the sub-territory of São Paulo and Minas do Ouro, but all the coastline and interior of Brazil, between Southern Bahia
and Santa Catarina, registering the fi rst settlements of Minas Gerais. Until then, cartographers had based essentially
on routes of backwooders and pioneers, sometimes adding their own observations. The “Mathematician Fathers”
Diogo Soares and Domingos Capassi proceeded with a deep renovation of cartography in Brazil, basing their maps
on astronomical observations of latitudes and longitudes, thus paving the ground for scientifi c cartography. The main
job of these cartographers in Minas Gerais consists of a set of four maps, which cover the territory of Minas Gerais,
from its Zona da Mata, in the South, to the Minas Novas region and the Jequitinhonha River, in the North, between
16º 30’S and 21º 30’S. Virtually all settlements and villages in the region were cartographed, registering the highest
concentration around Vila Rica. The decline of gold and diamond production revitalized the importance of map-making in Minas Gerais. Among them, the maps of José Joaquim da Rocha and the cartography of the diamond district
stand out. It is possible to note in those old maps the transformation of unknown space into a political entity, and its
occupation conditioned to the occurrence of gold and diamonds.