The state's terrain is quite rugged and some ofBrazil's highest peaks are located in its territory. It is also home to the source of some of Brazil's main rivers, such as theSão Francisco,Grande,Paranaíba,Doce andJequitinhonha rivers, which places it in a strategic position with regard to the country's water resources. It has atropical climate, which varies fromcolder and humid in the south tosemi-arid in its northern portion. All of these combined factors provide it with a rich fauna and flora distributed in the biomes that cover the state, especially theCerrado and the threatenedAtlantic Forest.
Minas Gerais' territory was inhabited byindigenous peoples when thePortuguese arrived in Brazil. It experienced a large migration wave following the discovery of gold in the late 17th century. Themining of gold brought wealth and development to the thencaptaincy, providing its economic and cultural development; however, gold soon became scarce, causing the emigration of a large part of the population untila new cycle (that of coffee) once again brought Minas Gerais national prominence and whose end led to the relatively late industrialization process. Minas Gerais currently has the third largest GDP among Brazilian states, with a large part of it still being the product of mining activities. The state also has a notable infrastructure, with a large number of hydroelectric plants and the largest road network in the country.
Two interpretations are given for the origin of the name Minas Gerais.[4]
The first interpretation is that the name simply means "General Mines", referring to a number of mines which were located in several spots spread around a larger region.
The second interpretation derives the name fromthe former name of the colonial province, "Minas dos Matos Gerais" ("Mines of the General Woods"), referring to two distinct regions encompassed by the state: the region of the mines (Minas), and the "general" region ("Matos Gerais" or "Campos Gerais", roughly meaning "General Fields"). The latter corresponded to the areas ofsertão which were farther and hard to access (with an economy based on farming and agriculture) from the mining spots, whose economic space was urban in origin.[5]
Part of the history of the current state of Minas Gerais was determined by the exploration of the great mineral wealth found in its territory. Its name, in fact, comes from the large quantity and variety of mines present, which began to be explored since the 17th century and to this day drive an important fraction of the state's economy.[6]
Lund copying rock paintings in a cave in Lagoa Santa,c. 1840
In the mid-19th century, Danish paleontologistPeter Wilhelm Lund discovered, in theLagoa Santa region, human remains belonging to a population that lived there thousands of years ago, nicknamed the "Lagoa Santa People".[7] The region of Minas Gerais was inhabited byindigenous peoples as long as 11,400 to 12,000 years ago, based on the estimated age of theLuzia woman, the name of the oldest human fossil found in the Americas. Luzia was found in 1974 in excavations in Lapa Vermelha, a cave between the municipalities of Lagoa Santa andPedro Leopoldo, in theMetropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte.[8][9][10]
Based on the analysis of Luzia and her people's cranial morphology, it was theorized that they hadAustraloid features, having belonged to a population that arrived in the Americas before the ancestors ofAmerindians.[11] However, with the analysis of the genetic material of the human remains of the Lagoa Santa People, it was found that this prehistoric population had completely Amerindian DNA, therefore ruling out any relationship with Australasian populations and the theory that thepeopling of the Americas was due to a wave of individuals with Australoid traits and another ofMongoloid individuals.[12][13] The indigenous peoples of Minas Gerais, as well as throughout Brazil and South America, are descendants of the groups who migrated there through North America.[14]
In the region of the municipalities ofJanuária,Montalvânia,Itacarambi andJuvenília, in northern Minas Gerais, archaeological excavations have led to estimates that the initial settlement occurred at Luzia's time. Starting in this period, cultural characteristics emerged, such as the use of stone or bone, the creation of cemeteries and small grain silos, as well as cave paintings. Later, about four thousand years ago, it is speculated that vegetable cultivation occurred, in particular corn, and that two thousand years ago, ceramic products were already being manufactured.[15]
More than a hundred indigenous groups inhabited the current territory of Minas Gerais at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese.[16] In the valleys of theDoce,Jequitinhonha andMucuri rivers, people generally known as "botocudos" lived, such as theMaxakalis, Maconis, Naquenuques, Aranãs, Krenaks andPataxós. Northern Minas Gerais was dominated by theKiriris andXakriabás. Center, western and southern Minas Gerais were inhabited by the Cataguás, who were the most numerous indigenous group in Minas Gerais' territory in colonial times, so much so that the region was known as "Campos Gerais dos Cataguases" in the time of thebandeirantes. The regions ofTriângulo Mineiro andAlto Paranaíba were inhabited by theKayapos and Araxás, while theZona da Mata was populated by thePuri. The region of Minas Gerais close to the border with São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás was occupied by theBororós.[17]
However, during the first centuries of the colonization of Brazil, the indigenous people of this region were captured by the bandeirantes to be enslaved and the groups that revolted were exterminated,[18] which caused a great reduction in the indigenous population, leaving currently only five groups: the Xakriabás, Krenaks, Maxakalis, Pataxós and Pankararus, the latter coming fromPernambuco's hinterlands.[19][20]
The first European expedition into Minas Gerais' territory was led by Spaniards Francisco Bruza Espinosa and Juan de Azpilcueta Navarro between 1553 and 1555, which left the coast ofBahia and traveled through northern Minas Gerais. In the following decades, other expeditions known as "entries", coming from the Brazil'snortheastern coast, traveled through this same region, such as that of Sebastião Fernandes Tourinho in 1573.[21][22] From the end of the 16th century,bandeirantes traveled the territory of Minas Gerais in search of gold and precious stones. Many of their expeditions were supported by the Portuguese Crown, among which those ofFernão Dias and his son-in-lawBorba Gato, who left thevillage of São Paulo in 1674, stand out.[23] In the 17th century, the colonization of northern Minas Gerais began, with the settlement of cattle herders, due to the expansion of livestock farming in the northeasternSertão, and ofbandeirantes, in search of precious stones and indigenous people to enslave.[24]
Between 1692 and 1693, thebandeirante Antônio Rodrigues Arzão discovered the first gold deposits in the territory of Minas Gerais. In the following years,bandeirantes from the towns of São Paulo andTaubaté traveled through theDas Velhas region looking for gold. In 1696, Salvador Fernandes Furtado discovered gold on the banks of theCarmo river and built his camp there, which gave rise to the town of Nossa Senhora do Carmo (nowMariana). Two years later, Antônio Dias de Oliveira discovered gold at the foot of the Itacolomi Peak and founded his settlement there, the embryo of Vila Rica (currentlyOuro Preto). In 1702, João de Siqueira Afonso discovered precious stones in theRio das Mortes valley.[22][23] Initially, gold was extracted from riverbeds, which forced miners to move as the deposits ran out. After some time, exploration also began to be carried out on mountain slopes, which forced the permanent settlement of miners, leading to the emergence of the first settlements.[25][26]
The news of the discovery of gold soon spread, initiating agold rush, and in the following decades hundreds of thousands of people eager for wealth, mainly Portuguese (which includedNew Christians), but also colonial Brazilians from São Paulo, Bahia, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro, settled in Minas Gerais. The arrival of large numbers of people in a short time led to epidemics and food shortages.[23] In 1697, the Portuguese used enslaved African labor to start building theEstrada Real, the "royal road," that would connect the ports of cities ofRio de Janeiro andParaty to the mineral-rich regions of Vila Rica, Serro, and, at the northernmost point, Diamantina.[citation needed]
São Paulo settlers considered themselves owners of the gold taken from the mines, claiming the right due to having discovered and conquered it, and did not want others to take possession of the mines. As a result, in 1707, they came into conflict with the Portuguese and other Brazilian settlers (nicknamed "emboabas", a Tupi term that means "one who offends"), causing theWar of the Emboabas, which ended in 1709. The São Paulo settlers were defeated and many of them had to abandon the gold deposits in Minas Gerais, having to look for the metal in what is now theCentral-West region of Brazil, finding it years later in Goiás andMato Grosso.[23][27]
Prior to 1720, Minas Gerais was part of thecaptaincy of São Vicente. The imposition of the authority of the Portuguese Crown contributed to the end of the conflict, with the creation of the Captaincy of São Paulo and Minas do Ouro in 1709.[28] In 1711, the first villages were created in Minas Gerais, namelySabará, Vila Rica and Vila de Nossa Senhora do Carmo.[29] In 1720, theVila Rica Revolt took place against taxes on gold and, as a result, that same year the Captaincy of Minas Gerais was created after the dismemberment of São Paulo e Minas do Ouro.[23] The first capital of Minas Gerais, and seat of the local see, was the city of Mariana; it was later moved to Vila Rica. In the late 18th century, Vila Rica was the largest city in Brazil and one of the most populous in the Americas.
The Portuguese Crown then began to strictly control the mining of gold, instating a 20% tax of everything that was produced, which became known as "the fifth". The captaincy's population continued to grow, but until then there were only small subsistence agricultural crops, which required the import of products from other regions of the colony. New access ways to the region began to be created and the flow of people and goods increased intensely, thus creating the first large consumer market in Brazil. Villages appeared along these access points, therefore playing a key role in the population of the captaincy. Among these routes, theCaminho Novo stands out, which connected the mining regions to Rio de Janeiro. The intense mix of people associated with wealth from gold and urban life led to the formation of a new, culturally diverse society, with several musicians, artists, sculptors and artisans. Among the cultural movements, the work ofAleijadinho andMaster Ataíde stands out, among others, which allowed the flourishing of alocal Baroque.[25] Aleijadinho's sculptural and architectural work, as exhibited in theTwelve Prophets andThe Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Ouro Preto, are prime examples of this period.
In addition to art and architecture, there was an explosion of musical activity in Minas Gerais in the 18th century. Printed copies of European music, as well as accomplished musicians, made the journey to the area, and soon a local school of composition and performance was born and achieved considerable sophistication. Several composers worked in Minas Gerais in the 18th century, mainly in Vila Rica, Sabará, Mariana, and other cities. Some of the names which have survived includeJosé Joaquim Emerico Lobo de Mesquita,Marcos Coelho Neto,Francisco Gomes da Rocha and Ignácio Parreiras Neves; they cultivated a style related to theclassical European style, but marked by more a more chordal,homophonic sound, and they usually wrote for mixed groups of voices and instruments.[citation needed]
In the 1720s, in the Jequitinhonha valley region, the discovery of diamonds occurred, although its discoverers did not recognize the value of this precious stone for decades. However, the Portuguese Crown, upon recognizing the region's mineral production, soon established a way of charging taxes in a similar way to the gold tax. The main diamond exploration center was close to where Arraial do Tijuco (todayDiamantina) emerged.[30]
At the height of gold mining, enslaved labor was essential for large landowners. In this way, the trade in slavesbrought from the African continent to work in the mines intensified. Many slaves tried and managed to escape, which led to the emergence ofquilombos throughout Minas Gerais. It is estimated that during the 18th century more than 120 of these communities emerged throughout the captaincy. These settlements were not so far from mining centers, which made it easier for more slaves to escape. There was also a trade in subsistence products between slaves and traders, who took advantage of the lower price offered by the former.[31] In 1753,Rosa Egipcíaca, was enslaved and forced to work as a prostitute in a mine in the region, until she became ill and began to have religious visions. These visions led to her arrest and imprisonment and ultimately interrogation by the Inquisition. She recorded them in the first book to be written by a black woman in Brazil —Sagrada Teologia do Amor Divino das Almas Peregrinas.[32]
Baruch, 18th centuryBaroque sculpture, by Aleijadinho
During the 18th century, mining exploration was strongly controlled by thePortuguese Crown, which imposed heavy taxes on everything extracted (one fifth of all gold would go to the Crown). Several rebellions were attempted by the colonists, always facing strong reaction by the imperial crown. One of the most important was theVila Rica revolt that ended with the execution of Filipe dos Santos, the revolt's leader, but also with the separation of Minas Gerais from the captaincy São Paulo e Minas de Ouro. The most notable one, however, was theMinas Gerais conspiracy, started in 1789 by a group of middle-class colonists, mostly intellectuals and young officers. They were inspired by theAmerican and FrenchEnlightenment ideals. The conspiracy failed and the rebels were arrested and exiled. The most famous of them,Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (known as Tiradentes), was hanged by order of QueenMaria I of Portugal, becoming a local hero and a national martyr of Brazil. The Minas Gerais flag—a red triangle on a white background, along with the Latin motto "Libertas quæ sera tamen", "freedom albeit late"—is based on the design for the national flag proposed by the "Inconfidentes", as the rebels became known.
In the economic history of Brazil, Minas Gerais plays a pivotal role in shifting the economic axis from the Brazilian northeast (based on sugarcane, that starts declining in the 18th century) to the southeast of the country, which still remains the major economic center. The large amounts of gold found in the region attracted the attention of Portugal back to Brazil, progressively turning Rio de Janeiro into an important port city, from where these would be shipped to Portugal and where the Portuguese crown would eventually move its administration in 1808 after Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Portugal (seeTransfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil).
People of Minas Gerais in the 1820s
Due to the economic importance of the state and the particular traits of the local population—famed for its reserved and balanced character—Minas Gerais has also played an important role on national politics. During the 19th century, politicians such asJosé Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva were instrumental in the establishment of the Brazilian Empire under the rule ofPedro I and later his son,Pedro II. After the installation of theFirst Brazilian Republic, during the early 20th century, Minas Gerais shared the control of the national political scene withSão Paulo in what became known as the "coffee with milk politics" (coffee being the major product of São Paulo, and milk representing Minas Gerais' dairy industry, despite the latter also being an important coffee producer).
Minas Gerais was also home to two of the most influential Brazilian politicians of the second half of the 20th century.Juscelino Kubitschek was president from 1956 to 1961, and he was responsible for the construction ofBrasília as the new capital of Brazil.Tancredo Neves had an extensive political career that culminated with his election in 1984 to be the first civil president after the 1964 military coup. However, he died after a series of health complications just as he was about to assume the position. Also,Itamar Franco, former president of Brazil, lived there, though he was not born in Minas Gerais.
Minas Gerais features some of the longest rivers in Brazil, most notably theSão Francisco, theParaná and to a lesser extent, theDoce river. The state also holds many hydroelectric power plants, includingFurnas. Some of the highest peaks in Brazil are in the mountain ranges in the southern part of the state, such as theMantiqueira Mountains and Serra do Cervo, that mark the border between Minas and its neighbors São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The most notable one is theBandeira peak, the third highest mountain in Brazil at 2,890 m, standing on the border with Espírito Santo state. The state also has huge reserves of iron and sizeable reserves of gold and gemstones, includingemerald,topaz andaquamarine mines. Emeralds found in this location are comparable to the best Colombia-origin emeralds, and are most often a bluish-green color.[33]
Each region of the state has a distinct character, geographically and to a certain extent culturally.
Town of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos c. 1821–1825
The central and eastern area of the state is hilly and rocky, with little vegetation on the mountains. Around Lagoa Santa and Sete Lagoas a typicalKarst topography with caves and lakes is found. Some of the mountains are almost entirely iron ore, which led to extensive mining. About 200 kilometres (120 mi) to the east of Belo Horizonte is the second Metropolitan Region of the state,Vale do Aço (Steel Valley), which has iron and steel processing companies along the course of the Doce river and its tributaries. Vale do Aço's largest cities areIpatinga,Coronel Fabriciano andTimóteo. The city ofGovernador Valadares is in the limit of this region with the North, while the city ofCaratinga makes the transition for the coffee region Zona da Mata in the south.
The south of Minas Gerais is hilly and green, with coffee and milk production. This region is notably colder than the rest of the state, and some locations are subject to temperatures just below the freezing point during the winter. The region is also famed for its mineral-water resorts, including the cities of Poços de Caldas, Lambari, São Lourenço and Caxambu. Many industries are located atVarginha andPouso Alegre.
The southeast of the state, calledZona da Mata, was the richest region until the mid 20th century, nowadays the biggest city,Juiz de Fora, remains an important industrial, cultural and educational center, being also the fourth largest in Minas Gerais. The day-to-day living in the Zona da Mata however, is better represented by a group of smaller cities likeManhuaçu,Além Paraíba,Viçosa,Leopoldina,Cataguases,Muriaé,Ubá,Astolfo Dutra and several others. Those cities put together form a strong economic presence based mostly on agriculture, textiles and minerals. The city of the principal coffee region in Minas Gerais isSão João do Manhuaçu situated in Zona da Mata.
The west of Minas Gerais, also known as "Triângulo Mineiro" (which means "the Minas Triangle", due to the geographic shape of this region), is composed of a particular type of savanna, known as thecerrado. This region was initially occupied by large free-wheeling beef ranches, which are still important for the economy of the region. Over the 1990s, extensive soy and corn farms occupied much of the farming land available. The cerrado is also one of the principal coffee-growing areas of Brazil. The main cities of this region areUberlândia,Uberaba,Patos de Minas andAraguari.
The north of Minas Gerais is part of the aridsertão of thenortheast region, and is thus subject to frequent droughts. Recent irrigation projects use the water from theSão Francisco River for agriculture; the river crosses the northern region carrying water from its basin in the central area of the state, which is subject to a regular rainfall pattern. The diamond mines of this region, mainly in Diamantina, attracted miners but are now exhausted, and the remaining population lives in poor conditions, especially in the valley of theJequitinhonha River. The region is, however, known for its high qualitycachaça production.Salinas in particular exports large amounts of this alcoholic beverage. The main cities of this region areMontes Claros,Teófilo Otoni,Pirapora andJanaúba.
The 13 intermediate geographic regions of Minas Gerais, divided by a red line. Inside them, the immediate geographic regions, divided by a black line.
According to themodern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), which succeeded the division in mesoregions and microregions (1988), the state is now divided in 13 intermediategeographic regions, each one divided in immediate geographic regions (70 total in the whole state):
Starting in the early 1700s along the banks of the Jequitinhonha River, and for the next 150 years, Minas Gerais was the world's major supplier of gem diamonds. According to Svisero et al, "They are usually recovered as loose crystals along rivers in unconsolidatedalluvial orglacial sediments, or they are embedded inconglomerates ormetamorphosedsedimentary rocks. They are also found in small amounts in a few knownkimberlite bodies."[34]
The discovery of theMaxakalisaurus topai (Dinoprata) fossils was a significant paleontological find. The fossil is a genus oftitanosaurid dinosaur found 45 kilometers (28 mi) from the city ofPrata, in the state of Minas Gerais in 1998. It was closely related toSaltasaurus, asauropod considered unusual because it had evolved apparently defensive traits, including bony plates on its skin and vertical plates along its spine; such osteoderms have also been found for Maxakalisaurus. The genus name is derived from the tribe of theMaxakali.
Full-scale titanosaur replica at the Dinosaur Museum inPeirópolis, Uberaba.
TheMaxakalisaurus fossils belonged to an animal about 13 meters (43.3 ft) long, with an estimated weight of 9 tons, although, according to paleontologistAlexander Kellner, it could reach a length of approximately 20 meters (65 ft). It had a long neck and tail, ridged teeth (unusual among sauropods) and lived about 80 million years ago. Because sauropods seem to have lacked significant competition in South America, they evolved there with greater diversity and more unusual traits than elsewhere in the world. A replica has been displayed at theNational Museum of Brazil, since August 28, 2006.[35]
In the 1940s, fossil records from theLate Cretaceous period began to be unearthed in the territory ofUberaba, many of them exceptionally well-preserved. Subsequently, extensive research efforts were initiated by theNational Department of Mineral Production (DNPM), which appointed paleontologistLlewellyn Ivor Price to work in the region. Due to the large quantity of fossils uncovered, the Paleontological Research Center Llewellyn Ivor Price was established in 1991, alongside the Dinosaurs Museum inPeirópolis, which is currently dedicated to the study of local paleontology in collaboration with research institutions worldwide.[36]
In March 2024, Uberaba was officially designated as aUNESCOGlobal Geopark, marking it as the first of its kind in Minas Gerais. The territory is situated within theSerra da Galga Formation, where more than 10,000 fossils of various prehistoric creatures have been unearthed. Among these discoveries, theUberabatitan ribeiroi found in 2004 ranks among the largest ever discovered in Latin America.[37]
According to the2022 census, there were 20,539,989 people residing in the state. The population density was 35.02 inhabitants per square kilometre (90.7/sq mi).Urbanization: 85% (2006);Population growth: 1.4% (1991–2000); Houses: 5,741,000 (2006).[38]
The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 9,605,151Brown (Multiracial) people (46.8%), 8,437,697White people (41.1%), 2,432,877Black people (11.8%), 31,885Amerindian people (0.2%), 31,681Asian people (0.2%).[39]
The ethnic composition of the population varies from town to town. For example, in Córrego do Bom Jesus, a small town located in the extreme south of Minas Gerais,White people make up 98.7% of the population.[41] The South of Minas Gerais is both the most European and the most densely populated part of the state. On the other hand, inSetubinha, located in the northeast part of the state, 71.8% aremixed-race and 14.7%Black.[41] It is historically explainable: southern Minas Gerais, in the border withSão Paulo, received larger numbers ofPortuguese farmers in colonial times. In the late 19th century,Italian immigrants also arrived. The north region, close toBahia, was a place to the arrival of manyAfrican slaves since the 18th century. The central part of the state, where the capital Belo Horizonte is, has a more balanced ratio between White, Black and mixed people.
Downtown of Uberlândia, largest city in the state after Belo HorizonteIndians visiting a farm plantation in Minas Gerais, 1824
The population of Minas Gerais is the result of an intense mixture of peoples, particularly between Black Africans and Portuguese.[42] In colonial Minas Gerais, the population was divided in five different categories:Whites, mostly Portuguese;Africans, who often did not have a surname and were usually known for their region of origin (for exampleFrancisca Benguela would refer toBenguela);Crioulos (Black people born in Brazil, usually to both African parents); Mulattoes (people of mixed Black and White ancestry, usually born to a Black mother and a Portuguese father) andCabras (people of mixed ancestry, usually with high degree of Amerindian admixture). Black people and "Mulattoes" predominated in the population after the beginning of the colonization.[42] By the 19th century, however, whites were already the largest single group in the Minas Gerais population.[43] Taking the population as a whole (all groups included), European genes account for the majority of the Minas Gerais genetic heritage, which has been explained on the basis of the extremely high mortality rates of the enslaved African population and lower reproductive rate of African slaves (the vast majority of them were males, among other reasons for their lower reproductive success).[43] The Amerindian population was hit hard by the diseases brought by the European colonists and they did not have much of an impact either, especially in Minas Gerais, where European presence and colonization was massive.[43]
During the colonial period, the disproportion between the number of men and women was quite sharp. The census of 1738 in Serro do Frio, which included Diamantina, revealed that of the 9,681 inhabitants, 83.5% were men and 16.5% women. Among the slaves, women were only 3.1%.[42] The number of free "women of color" (Black and "Mulatto") was very high. The same census revealed that 63% of the former slaves were women and only 37% men. Since interracial relationships between "women of color" and White men were widespread, the female slaves were more likely to be freed than the male slaves.[42]
The monogamous family structure that the Catholic Church tried to deploy in colonial Brazil was the exception in Minas Gerais. At that time cohabitation and temporary relationships predominated in Minas Gerais, as well as in Brazil as a whole.[42] Monogamy and weddings in churches would only take root in Brazil in the 19th century, fitting the moral standards imposed by the Church. The role of women in colonial Minas Gerais was much more dynamic than it would be allowed by the standards of the time. Many women used to live on their own, were heads of family and worked, particularly the "women of color" and former slaves.[42] The society of Minas Gerais provided a great social mobility to former slaves, mainly for women. InTejuco, the percentage of White males who were head of family (37.7%) was very similar to the percentage of Black women who were head of family (38.5%). Many former slaves were able to accumulate goods and many of them became slave owners as well. Some Black people and mainly Mulattos were able to integrate themselves in the highest social stratum of the society of Minas Gerais, once restricted to Whites. This happened through a process of "whitening" their descendence and through the assimilation of the culture of the White elite, like being members of Catholic brotherhoods.[42]
Cohabitation was the most common crime in Minas Gerais. TheCatholic Church was strict in the punishment of this crime, in order to prevent the widespreadmiscegenation between White, mostly Portuguese males with Black or Mulatto women.[42]
According to a 2013 autosomal DNA study, the ancestral composition of the state of Minas Gerais can be described as: 59.20% European, 28.90% African and 11.90% Native American[44]
During the time of the gold rush, thousands of Portuguese immigrated to Brazil (mainly from the Minho), and many of them to Minas Gerais, the place where the gold rush activities took place.[45] Most of them came from Entre Douro e Minho, in Northern Portugal.[46] The reference book for a large number of these families is "Velhos Troncos Mineiros" (Old Mineiro Branches) by Raimundo Trindade. The Native American population of Minas Gerais was estimated to be at 97,000 in 1500, by the time the Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500 (John Hemming in "Red Gold: The Conquest of the Brazilian Indians").
The ancestry of the Africans brought to Minas Gerais was both West African and Bantu, with a predominance of the former initially and a predominance of the latter later.[47]
According to the2010 Brazilian census, most of the population consider themselves to be Catholic, which puts the state in ninth place when considering the percentage of the population belonging to this religion (70.4%).[49][50] Although the number of Catholics has been gradually decreasing in recent years, Roman Catholicism is still strongly rooted in Minas Gerais' culture, especially in rural areas and inland cities where celebrations and festivities organized by community parishes are common, but religious pluralism has also grown in recent years.[51][52]
Almost four million inhabitants are evangelical. According to the number of followers, theAssembleias de Deus (more than seven hundred thousand followers), theBaptist Church (more than five hundred thousand followers) and theFoursquare Church (almost three hundred and fifty thousand adherents) stand out.[53] Around 420 thousand people in the state are followers ofSpiritism, whose important promoter in Brazil was the Minas Gerais-born mediumChico Xavier.[54][55] There are also several other religious minorities in the state, includingUmbanda andCandomblé, which together have less than twenty thousand followers and whose rituals are sometimes confused with folk traditions.[56] Almost a million people, in turn, consider themselves irreligious, of which around seventy thousand are atheists and just over seven thousand are agnostics.[57]
Minas Gerais is the second-largest consumer market in Brazil, behind the state of São Paulo. It shares 10.4% of the Brazilian consumer market. Companies of this Brazilian state have access to 49% of the Brazilian consumer market, with estimated consumption potential of 223 billion US dollars.[58] Theservice sector is the largest component of GDP at 47.1%, followed by theindustrial sector at 44.1%. agriculture represents 8.8% of GDP (2004). Main exports: mineral products 44.4%, metals 15.8%, vegetable products 13%, precious metals 5.5%, foodstuffs 4.9%, transportation 3.5% (2012).[59]
Its share of the Brazilian economy in 2005 was 9%. Minas Gerais had an industrial GDP of R $128.4 billion in 2017, equivalent to 10.7% of the national industry. It employs 1,069,469 workers in the industry. The main industrial sectors are: construction (17.9%), extraction of metallic minerals (15.2%), food (13.4%), industrial services of public utility, such as electricity and water (10.8%) and metallurgy (10.5%). These 5 sectors concentrate 67.8% of the state's industry.[60]
Minas Gerais is a major producer ofmilk,coffee and other agricultural commodities, as well as minerals. The state has marked economic divisions. The southern part of the state (close to the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro state borders) has several mid-sized cities with solid industrial bases such as Juiz de Fora, Varginha, Pouso Alegre, and Poços de Caldas, as well as Ipatinga in the east of the state, which is also a modern and major industrial city andItabira, considered mother city of mining companyVale, that has stocks quoted inBovespa andNYSE. The northeastern region is marked by poverty, but Governador Valadares[61] and Teófilo Otoni attract foreign traders for the semi-precious gems such as topaz andsapphire. In Teófilo Otoni, some companies are also attracted because ofBrazilian Export Processing Zone, a free trade area.[62]
The western part, the "Triângulo Mineiro", is less densely populated than the rest of the state, and it is now a focus ofbiotechnology investment, particularly on the cities of Uberlândia, Uberaba, Patos de Minas andAraguari, which includes leading research on cattle, soy and corn culture.
In agriculture, the state stands out in the production of coffee, sugar cane and soy, and also has large productions of orange, beans, sorghum, carrot, potato, banana, tangerine and strawberry, in addition to producing papaya, persimmon and cassava.
In 2020, Minas Gerais was the largest producer ofCoffea arabica in the country, with 74% of the national total (1.9 million tons, or 31.2 million 60-kg bags). In 2017, Minas represented 54.3% of the total national production of coffee (first place).[63][64]
The state was the third largest producer of sugar cane in Brazil in 2020, representing 11.1% of the total produced in the country, with 74.3 million tons.[63][65][66]
The cultivation of soy, on the other hand, is increasing, however, it is not among the largest national producers of this grain. In the 2018–2019 harvest, Minas Gerais harvested 5 million tons (seventh place in the country).[67] The state was the second largest producer of oranges in 2018, with a total of 948 thousand tons.[68]
Minas Gerais is the second largest producer of beans in Brazil, with 17.2% of national production in 2020. In addition, it is one of the largest national producers of sorghum: around 30% of Brazilian production. It also ranks third in domestic production of cotton.[69]
The state was the third largest producer of banana in 2018, with 766 thousand tons. Brazil was already the 2nd largest producer of the fruit in the world, currently in 3rd place, losing only to India and Ecuador.[70][71]
In 2018, São Paulo and Minas Gerais were the largest producers of tangerine in Brazil. Minas was the 5th largest producer of papaya. About persimmon, Minas ranks third with 8%.[72][73][74]
In 2019, in Brazil, there was a total production area of around 4 thousand hectares of strawberry. The largest producer is Minas Gerais, with approximately 1,500 hectares, cultivated in most municipalities in the extreme south of the state, in the Serra da Mantiqueira region, with Pouso Alegre and Estiva being the largest producers.[75]
Regarding carrots, Brazil ranked fifth in the world ranking in 2016, with an annual production of around 760 thousand tons. In relation to the exports of this product, Brazil occupies the seventh world position. Minas Gerais is the largest producer in Brazil. Among the production centers in Minas Gerais are the municipalities of São Gotardo, Santa Juliana, and Carandaí. As for potatoes, the main national producer is the state of Minas Gerais, with 32% of the total produced in the country. In 2017, Minas Gerais harvested around 1.3 million tons of the product.[76][77][78][79] In the production of cassava, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Minas was the 12th largest producer in the country, with almost 500 thousand tons.[80]
Regarding the bovine herd, Minas has the second largest in the country. In 2015, it had a total of 23.8 million head of cattle.[81]
Minas is the main producer of milk in Brazil, with the highest number of milked cows, responsible for 26.6% of production and 20.0% of total milking animals. The municipality of Patos de Minas was the second largest producer in 2017, with 191.3 million liters of milk. In 2015, the state produced 9.1 billion liters of milk.[82]
In terms of pork meat, in 2017, Minas had the 4th largest herd in the country, with 5.2 million heads, 12.7% of the national total.[83]
The state is the third largest producer of eggs in the country, with 9.3% of the Brazilian total in 2019 (which was 3.83 billion dozen).[84]
The central region of the state (where the capital is located) has big reserves of iron (and to a lesser extent, gold) still being actively mined. In mineral production, in 2017, Minas Gerais was the country's largest producer of iron (277 million tons worth R$37.2 billion), gold (29.3 tons worth R$3.6 billion), zinc (400 thousand tons worth R$351 million) and niobium (in the form of hydrochloride) (131 thousand tons worth R$254 million). In addition, Minas Gerais was the second largest producer of bauxite (1.47 million tons at a value of R$105 million), the third of manganese (296 thousand tons worth R$32 million) and fifth of tin (206 tons worth R$4.7 million). There are also deposits ofverdete slate, aglauconite-bearing mineral. Minas Gerais had 47.19% of the value of the production of minerals marketed in Brazil (first place), with R$41.7 billion.[85][86][87][88]
The state has the largest production of various precious and semi-precious stones in the country. Inaquamarine, Minas Gerais produces the most valuable stones in the world. In diamond, Brazil was the largest diamond producer in the world from 1730 to 1870, mining occurred for the first time in the Serra da Canastra, region of Diamantina, even lowering the price of stone in everyone due to overproduction. Minas Gerais continues to mine diamonds, in addition to having larger or smaller scale productions ofagate, emerald,garnet,jasper and sapphire. Topaz andtourmaline stand out. Intopaz, Brazil has the most valuable variety in the world, imperial topaz, only produced in Ouro Preto. Furthermore, the country is the world's leading producer of topaz. It's also among the world's largest tourmaline producers.[89][90][91]
Oil refinery in BetimUsiminas headquarters in Belo Horizonte.
There are also large companies installed the automotive industry, as manufacturersFiat inBetim,Iveco in Sete Lagoas,Mercedes-Benz and suppliers of auto-parts, asStola andUsiparts. In Brazil, theautomotive sector represents about 22% of the industrial GDP. Minas Gerais is the third largest vehicle producer in the country, with a 10.7% participation in 2019.[94][95][96][97]
In theelectronics industry, the billing of industries in Brazil reached R$153 billion in 2019, around 3% of national GDP. The number of employees in the sector was 234.5 thousand people. Exports were $5.6 billion, and the country's imports were $32 billion. Brazil has two large electroelectronic production centers, located in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas, in the State of São Paulo, and in the Free Zone of Manaus, in the State of Amazonas. The country also has other smaller centers, one of them in the municipality ofSanta Rita do Sapucaí, in Minas Gerais. In Santa Rita do Sapucaí, 8 thousand jobs are linked to the sector, with more than 120 companies. Most of them produce equipment for the telecommunications industry, such as decoders, including those used in the transmission of the digital television system. The companyMultilaser has a plant in the city ofExtrema.[98][99]
In 2019 Brazil was the second-largest exporter of processed foods in the world, with a value of US$34.1 billion in exports. The income of the Brazilian food and beverage industry in 2019 was R$699.9 billion, which represented 9.7% of the country's gross domestic product. In 2015, the food and beverage industry in Brazil comprised 34,800 companies (not including bakeries), the vast majority of which were small. These companies employed more than 1.6 million workers, making the food and beverage industry the largest employer in the manufacturing industry. There are around 570 large companies in Brazil, which concentrate a good part of the total industry income. Minas Gerais created food companies of national importance, such as Itambé and Pif Paf Alimento.[100][101][102]
In thefootwear industry, in 2019 Brazil produced 972 million pairs. Exports were around 10%, reaching almost 125 million pairs. Brazil ranks fourth among world producers, behind China, India and Vietnam, and 11th among the largest exporters. Minas Gerais has a polo specialized in cheap shoes and sneakers inNova Serrana. The city has around 830 industries, which in 2017 produced around 110 million pairs.[103][104]
In thetextile industry, Brazil, despite being among the 5 largest producers in the world in 2013, and being representative in the consumption of textiles and clothing, has little insertion in world trade. In 2015, Brazilian imports ranked 25th (US$5.5 billion). And in exports, it was only 40th in the world ranking. Brazil's share of world textile and clothing trade is only 0.3%, due to the difficulty of competing in price with producers from India and mainly from China. The gross value of production, which includes the consumption of intermediate goods and services, of the Brazilian textile industry corresponded to almost R $40 billion in 2015, 1.6% of the gross value of industrial production in Brazil. Minas Gerais has 8.51% (third largest production in the country).[105]
Tourism is also an important activity for the state: historical cities like Ouro Preto, Mariana, Sabará, Congonhas, Diamantina, Tiradentes, and São João del-Rei, are major attractions for visitors interested in their colonial architecture. Other cities, likeAraxá, Poços de Caldas, Lambari, Caxambu, Lavras, and others, attract visitors interested in their mineral watersprings.Eco-tourism is a rising economic activity in the state, especially in localities situated on the several highlands that exist in Minas Gerais.
One of the most important tourist circuits in Minas Gerais is the Estrada Real, which passes through the old roads used to transport gold from the mines, connecting the central region of the state with the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Parati. The different itineraries of this circuit present historical, cultural and natural attractions for its visitors. Another noteworthy aspect of tourism in Minas Gerais includes visits to historic cities, which preserve colonial museum buildings, in addition to including museums and cultural spaces that reveal the past of these places. Of these cities,Ouro Preto stands out, where the Museum of Inconfidência is located.[106]
The relief of the state, with an abundance of peaks and mountains (especially the great peaks), in addition to the large number of grottos and caves, natural and artificial rivers and lakes, and the richness of the state's fauna and flora, attract practitioners of ecotourism and adventure tourism. Another relevant segment isrural tourism, since Minas is one of the states with the most developments for this purpose. In the central region of the state, in addition to the historic cities and the capital, there are national parks such as Serra do Cipó, as well as the Inhotim Museum, which has one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country. In the south of the state, there is the Circuito das Águas, known for its mineral spas.[107]São Lourenço andPoços de Caldas are cities famous for their spas, hot springs and thermal baths.[108][109]
It also highlights business tourism, which is booming, since in recent years important events of international projection have been held in the state. In particular, the city of Belo Horizonte stands out in this segment, attracting more and more fairs, congresses and meetings, which can be attributed to the city's infrastructure and important hotel network. Other cities in the interior (such as Juiz de Fora, Uberaba and Uberlândia) also offer options for holding large business events.[110]
BR-050, border of São Paulo with the Triângulo Mineiro.
As of November 2020, the state of Minas Gerais had, in addition to municipal highways, 39,738 km of state and federal highways, of which 29,255 were paved and 2,505 km wereduplicate highways. The state has duplicate highways that leave the capitalBelo Horizonte and connect it with São Paulo (BR-381) and Rio de Janeiro (BR-040), and in its western part (BR-050,BR-153 andBR-365 in the area known as theTriângulo Mineiro, between the states of São Paulo and Goiás, nearUberaba andUberlândia). Some parts ofBR-262 are also duplicated. The state, however, presents, in general, a duplication deficit, with sections of a single lane with movement above the saturation limit. Recently, in 2022, a project was created to grantBR-381 to private initiative, with the intention of doubling 215 km betweenBelo Horizonte,Ipatinga andNovo Oriente de Minas.[111][112][113][114]
Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state that harbors the highest mileage of highways. The state highway network is 269,545 kilometers, of which only 11,396 on federal roads and 21,472 on state highways and state coincide, corresponding to all other municipal roads. Because of its central position, the state is crossed by the most important national highways, likeBR-116 (Rio-Bahia),BR-040 (Rio-Brasília) and others. Many of the most important Brazilian routes cross the state and, for this reason, it counts the greater proportion of car accidents per capita.
Rail transport has been around since the 19th century, when the Central Railway of Brazil was built in 1860. In 1874, the Leopoldina Railway was inaugurated. In 1880, the Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas was founded, and in the following decades, several other railways were opened in the territory of Minas Gerais. Starting in the 1960s, railways began to be replaced by roads due to the growing demand for the car fleet, which resulted in the closure of some railways and branches. In the 1990s, the entire national railway system was privatized, disabling the remaining passenger services on some local lines. However, there are still active railways that cross Minas Gerais, today used only for freight, such as the old Central do Brasil Railway, Leopoldina Railway, Western Minas Railway, and Steel Railway, operated by dealers. Atlantic Vitória a Minas Railway (EFVM) is responsible for transporting the production of Vale and other state companies to the port of Tubarão in Vitória, Espírito Santo, and also operates the only daily passenger train in Brazil that runs long distances, between Vitória and Belo Horizonte, which connects other cities that also have stations.[115][116][117]
Tancredo Neves International Airport is located in the municipalities of Lagoa Santa andConfins, 38 km (23 mi) from Belo Horizonte, and was opened in January 1984. It was planned from the start for future expansion in steps to meet growing demand. Theairport has one of the lowest rates of shutdown for badweather in the country. However, the Confins airport was not using much of its capacity until 2005, when it was decided that a large part of the Pampulha Airportflights (which is smaller and located inside Belo Horizonte's urban area) would move to Confins.[118]
Palácio Tiradentes, seat of the government of Minas Gerais.
A newadministrative center (Cidade Administrativa de Minas Gerais) was completed in March 2010, for the state of Minas Gerais. Designed by architectOscar Niemeyer, the center consists of four large buildings on an 800,000 square meter site. Two buildings accommodate 17 of the state ministries, the third building consists of an auditorium, with capacity for 540 guests. The fourth building is the "Palacio do Governo", which is the world's largestsuspended structure, built inreinforced concrete. The building has a 150m span, and its roof is supported by four columns.
The "education" factor of Minas Gerais' HDI reached the mark of 0.762 in 2021 — the seventh highest in the country — while the illiteracy rate of people aged 15 and over was 4.8% in 2022, the eleventh best national percentage, but the worst in the Brazilian Southeast.[3][119] Based on the 2011 Basic Education Development Index (IDEB) report, Minas Gerais obtained the highest rate among students in the 5th year of elementary school among Brazilian states — 5.9 —, the third highest value in the 9th year — 4.6, second only to Santa Catarina and São Paulo — and the fourth highest among 3rd year high school students — 3.9, second to Santa Catarina, Paraná and São Paulo.[120] In the 2013 general classification of theNational Secondary Education Examination (ENEM), five schools from Minas Gerais were among the ten best in the national ranking, which also included the only school located in a city outside the capital.[121][122]
Partial view of therectory building of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG)
With 11,831 primary education establishments, 7,431 pre-school units and 2,979 secondary schools, the state's education network is one of the most extensive in Brazil.[123] According to 2010 census data, 5,681,163 people attended daycare, preschool, literacy classes, primary, secondary, and higher education. This includes 179,819 in daycare, 3,500,499 in primary and secondary education, and 715,484 in higher education. 12,080,382 people did not attend school, with 1,835,785 having never attended.[124]
As in the rest of Brazil,football is the most popular sport among locals.Pelé, widely considered the best footballer of all time, was born in the Minas city ofTrês Corações.[132] Belo Horizonte is home to two of the most successful teams in the country, and the city also has one of the biggest football stadiums in the world, theMineirão, opened in 1965. Reopened after renovations in 2013, Mineirão was chosen as one of the venues for the2014 FIFA World Cup, and also the soccer tournament of the2016 Summer Olympics.[133] Another stadium in Belo Horizonte,Independência Stadium, was one of the venues of the1950 FIFA World Cup,[134] where it hosted a legendaryupset of the United States team over England.[135]
Thebiggest teams of Belo Horizonte and Minas as a whole areAtlético Mineiro, founded in 1908 and nicknamed "Galo" (rooster) after its mascot, andCruzeiro, founded in 1921 as "Palestra Itália" by the members of the localItalian community. Atlético is the record winner of its state championship, theCampeonato Mineiro with 41 titles, theCampeonato Brasileiro Série A title in the1971 season, twoCopa CONMEBOL titles in 1992 and 1997 (the predecessor of the currentCopa Sudamericana), oneCopa Libertadores title in 2013 and aCopa do Brasil title in 2014. Cruzeiro have won 36 state championships, won fourCampeonato Brasileiro Série A titles, the1966 Taça Brasil (beatingPelé'sSantos in the final, a treble in 2003 (after winning the2003 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A title, the2003 Copa do Brasil, and the 2003 Campeonato Mineiro title), and most recently won both the 2013 and 2014 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A andBrazilian Cup of 2017 and 2018. Cruzeiro has been one of Brazil's most successful clubs since the 1960s, being elected the most successful Brazilian team of the 20th century byIFFHS. Its titles include 6 editions of theBrazilian Cup, 4 Brazilian Championships and 2Copa Libertadores in 1976 and 1997, and was the first club of former two-timeWorld Cup andBallon d'Or winnerRonaldo. Atlético Mineiro also have notable players such as former goalkeeperCláudio Taffarel, who helpedBrazil to the1994 FIFA World Cup title. Both clubs however, have been relegated from the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in previous seasons, notably Cruzeiro in 2019 and Atlético Mineiro in 2005.
Belo Horizonte is also home toAmérica Mineiro, founded in 1912 current owner of Independência and considered the third force of the state. While the team's struggles combined with the popularization of Atlético and Cruzeiro reduced América's supporters, the team has won both thesecond andthird levels of the Brazilian Championship, theSul-Minas Cup in 2000, and 16 state championships, including a recorddynasty of ten tournaments between 1916 and 1925.[136] BothVilla Nova ofNova Lima andBetim Esporte Clube (when it was known as Ipatinga Futebol Clube) have won the state championship and been in Série A of the Brazilian league.
Minas Gerais may be calledDeep Brazil by analogy withFrance profonde. It has a distinctly more native flavour than cosmopolitanSão Paulo, a more traditional slant than flashyRio de Janeiro, and is more Portuguese than the South and São Paulo with their great influx of Italians and otherCentral Europeans, the North with its Native Americans, or the Northeast with its heavy Afro-Brazilian influence.
Those born and raised in Minas Gerais, also called Mineiros, bear an unmistakable accent that sets them apart from fellow Brazilians, although people born in different regions of the state bear slightly different accents, some resembling those of neighboring states, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. They are considered reserved, prudent but, at the same time, amicable, welcoming and family-focused. It is one of the most religious states, with a large proportion of staunchRoman Catholics and a burgeoningEvangelical and neo-Pentecostal population. TheSpiritist doctrine is also professed by a significant portion of the population, partly due to the influence ofChico Xavier, the main spiritual icon of Brazil, who lived in Minas Gerais all his life.
The most spoken dialect (48,6%) in the state ismineiro.[150] It is the dialect spoken in the capital, Belo Horizonte, and the historical cities (Ouro Preto, Mariana, Sabará, Diamantina, Tiradentes, São João del-Rei etc.). The vernacular, dialectical speech of Minas Gerais is playfully and informally referred to—particularly with regard to its most idiosyncratic features—asmineirês.
Other dialects arecaipira, spoken near the states of São Paulo and Goiás by 33,0%, and baiano, spoken in the Northern region – near Bahia – by 18,4%.
Pão de Queijo is a traditional snack from Minas GeraisCachaça, typical drink from Minas Gerais, which has hundreds of artesanal brands
Minas Gerais is known nationally for its cuisine. The cultural basis of its cuisine is the small farmhouse, and many of the dishes are prepared using locally produced vegetables and meats, especially chicken and pork. Traditional cooking is done using coal- or wood-fired ovens and cast iron pans, making for a particularly tasty flavor; some restaurant chains have adopted these techniques and made this type of food popular in other parts of the country.[151]
Many of the cakes and appetizers of the local cuisine use corn or cassava (known there asmandioca) flour instead of wheat, as the latter did not adapt well to the local weather. The best-known dish from Minas Gerais is "pão de queijo", a small baked roll (known internationally as "Brazilian cheese rolls") made with cheese and cassava flour that can be served hot as an appetizer or for breakfast.[151]
The state is also recognized for itsdoce de leite, since Minas Gerais is the largest producer of milk in the country. Minas Gerais is also Brazil's most traditional producer of cheese.Minas cheese is renowned nationwide as the distinct Brazilian cheese.Cachaça is also a local produce of high importance, with the state owning hundreds of artisanal factories (in Minas and in the neighboring state of São Paulo, there is the world's largest production of sugar cane, the basis of cachaça production).[152] Typical of the state are Tropeirobeans withtorresmo, Tutu de Feijão (Bean's Tutu), chicken withokra stew, galinhada, a rice dish cooked with chicken corn and peas, handmade cheeses,goiabada,paçoca,pamonha,arroz com leite and others. Outside of Minas Gerais it is common to find restaurants specializing in food from the state.[151][152]
The state cuisine is showcased in various festivals year round and in many locations throughout the state, but the biggest festival is the month-longComida de Buteco in Belo Horizonte, where 41 bars and restaurants are selected to create a dish using ingredients traditional to local cuisine. People from all over the country and abroad rate the food, the temperature of the beer, the ambiance and service. In 2007, over 400,000 people participated in the festival according toVox Populi statistics.
The flag of the state of Minas Gerais is the oldest one adopted in Brazil that was devised by Brazilians. It was remembered by the Republican Party, which opposed the BrazilianImperial Government, and adopted unofficially as the flag of the state. It has been the official state flag since 1963.[153]
The flag's Latin inscription, "Libertas quæ sera tamen", means "Freedom albeit late", and was the motto of the Minas Gerais Conspiracy, which fought for Minas' independence from Portugal in the 18th century. The phrase was taken fromVirgil'sEclogues 1.30. The triangle is said to represent theHoly Trinity.[153] The colors were chosen for their revolutionary meaning: white represents the desire to form a peaceful nation, discarding all colonial institutions, and red the flame of liberty or the blood of the revolutionary martyrs such as Tiradentes.
^Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira (INEP) (14 August 2012)."IDEB – Resultados e Metas". Retrieved28 December 2013.
^Robert L. Fish; Pelé (1977). My Life and The Beautiful Game: The Autobiography of Pelé, Chapter 2. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York.ISBN0-385-12185-7
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