São Paulo
São Paulo isn't the capital of Brazil but is for sure the most important city. Know all about the beatifull city of Sao Paulo, a unforgettable place.
About History of São Paulo
São Vicente, in the coast of São Paulo, was the first city founded in Brazil, on January 1532; the main reason for Martin Afonso de Sousa to found the village was to guarantee the possession of the area, constantly visited by foreigners.
On 1554, jesuits on a mission to convert the indians walked up the Serra do Mar and founded a college, which would become the city of São Paulo. The jesuits were followed by another group which also had intereste on indians: the bandeirantes, who chased indians to be enslaved in the cane plantations (later on, the bandeirantes, in search of gold, would explore the unknown lands of what today is western Brazil.
About the City
The toponomy of the state shows how important was the influence of jesuits and bandeirantes in the History of São Paulo; no other state has so many cities and rivers named after saints (thanks to jesuits) or after indian names (thanks to bandeirantes)
With the opening of the Brazilian ports, in 1808, the number of immigrants entering the country started to grow. The government began to stimulate the arrival of Europeans to occupy plots of land and become small farmers.