Captaincy of Mato Grosso

Origins

Paulista bandeirantes led by Pascoal Moreira Cabral found gold near Cuiabá in 1718, and miners reached it by long canoe convoys called monções from São Paulo. To secure the western frontier with Spanish lands, the crown separated Mato Grosso from the Captaincy of São Paulo in 1748. Its first governor, Antônio Rolim de Moura, founded the capital Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade on the Guaporé river in 1752.

Rule and society

Mato Grosso was a remote military frontier facing the Jesuit missions of Moxos and Chiquitos in Spanish Charcas. Its governors began the massive Real Forte Príncipe da Beira on the Guaporé in 1776. Gold mining relied on enslaved Africans, and Vila Bela had a largely black population. The Treaty of Madrid of 1750 recognised Portuguese possession of much of the region.

Decline and legacy

As gold declined, the population fell. Mato Grosso became a province in 1821, and in 1835 its capital moved to Cuiabá. Its territory was later divided into the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia.