colony · South America
Captaincy of Goiás
Origins
In 1722 the bandeirante Bartolomeu Bueno da Silva, son of the explorer known as Anhanguera, led an expedition from São Paulo into the central plateau and found gold along the Vermelho river in 1725. Mining camps grew up, and in 1744 the crown separated the region from the Captaincy of São Paulo, with Vila Boa, now Goiás Velho, as its capital.
Rule and society
The captaincy's economy was based on alluvial gold mined by enslaved Africans and taxed by the crown. Settlements were scattered and linked to the coast by long mule trails. Conflicts with indigenous peoples such as the Kayapó and Xavante were frequent, and the government founded aldeias to settle them. By the late 18th century gold had run out, and cattle ranching became the mainstay.
Decline and legacy
Goiás became a province of Brazil in 1821. In the 20th century its territory hosted the new national capital, Brasília, and the planned city of Goiânia replaced Goiás Velho as state capital. The old town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Captaincy of Goiás was part of Colonial Brazil1744 CE – 1821 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Captaincy of Goiás. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-of-goias
- MLA
- “Captaincy of Goiás.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-of-goias. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Captaincy of Goiás.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-of-goias.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Captaincy of Goiás’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-of-goias (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻