The history of the state of Paraná, in Brazil, began before the discovery of Brazil, at a time when the first inhabitants of what is now the territory of the state were the three indigenous peoples, namely: Tupi-Guaranís, Kaingangs, and Xoklengs. The first cities founded in the state were Paranaguá, Curitiba, Castro, Ponta Grossa, Palmeira, Lapa, Guarapuava, and Palmas.
Overview In the pre-colonial period, in the 16th century, the region was forgotten by Portugal and was explored by other countries that sought hardwood. The most important expeditions were by the Spanish, who brought members of the Society of Jesus, founding settlement centers in western Paraná. Between 1521 and 1525, the region of the rivers Paraná, Paranapanema, Tibagi, and Iguazu was navigated by Aleixo Garcia, leading a bandeira that crossed Paraná and reached the Andes. In January 1542, the Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, following the Peabiru Trail, reached the Iguazu Falls, being the first European to describe them (in his work Comentários).
Besides Cabeza de Vaca, the German explorers Hans Staden, in 1549, and Ulrich Schmidl, in 1552, also passed through the current territory of Paraná. In 1554, Ontiveros, one league from the Salto das Sete Quedas, was founded by Domingo Martínez de Irala, Governor of Paraguay. Later, three leagues from Ontiveros, the Ciudad Real del Guayrá was founded at the mouth of the Piquiri River. In 1576, the Spanish founded Vila Rica do Espírito Santo on the left bank of the Paraná River. With three cities and several "reductions" or "pueblos", the region was at that time known as Provincia Real del Guaíra.
In the early years of the 17th century, after gold was discovered in the lands of Paraná, the Portuguese-Brazilians began the occupation of the region, through bandeiras that left São Vicente. In 1629, most of the establishments of the Jesuit priests were destroyed by the bandeirantes from São Paulo and, in 1632, Antônio Raposo Tavares surrounded and destroyed Vila Rica, the last Spanish stronghold.
The settlers established themselves on the coast as well as on the plateau of Paraná, Paranaguá being the most popular destination, and one of the southernmost points in Portuguese America. In 1693, Curitiba was elevated to the category of town and became the center that would command the territorial expansion of Paraná. Exploiting the gold proved to be difficult, as no advanced methods were known and because labor was scarce. In Paraná gold was discovered before Minas Gerais, but with the discovery of the ore in the latter, gold exploration in Paraná was mostly abandoned.
In 1820, the western territory of Paraná was handed over to the Portuguese crown and became politically annexed to the Province of São Paulo, receiving the name Comarca de Curitiba. The people began to dedicate themselves to farming and cattle breeding. Curitiba prospered because it was necessary to feed and transport the miners from Minas Gerais. And with the opening of the Viamão-Sorocaba road, which made the connection between Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo through the Curitiba region, a new phase in Paraná's history began: The tropeirismo, which had extended throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Cattle ranches spread, and the main human figure began to be the cattle rancher.
The districts of Paranaguá and Curitiba, then part of the Captaincy of São Paulo, were founded on November 19, 1811. Despite Brazil's independence, the region was continuously subordinated to the Province of São Paulo. On February 6, 1842, Curitiba was elevated to the category of city by a provincial law. On August 29, 1853, at last, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil signed Imperial Law No. 704, which created the Province of Paraná. Among the reasons for this are: Punishment for the Paulistans' participation in the Liberal Revolt of 1842, a settlement for the support Paraná offered to the Ragamuffin War, and the lucrative cultivation of yerba mate. Curitiba was made the capital, and Zacarias de Góis was named as the first president of the province.
Due to the small provincial population, an official European immigration program was initiated (mainly for the Polish, Germans, and Italians), which contributed to the expansion of colonization and the appearance of new economic activities. After the Republic was proclaimed (1889), the settlement of Paraná intensified, especially in the region of the fertile terra roxa soil in the north of the state. There, coffee farms and cities began to form on the slopes of the three rivers Paranapanema, Cinzas, and Jataí.
Early times
Until the mid-17th century, the southern coast of the São Vicente captaincy, which is now part of the state of Paraná, received sporadic visits from Europeans in search of hardwood. During the period of the Spanish rule, the Vicentenes were encouraged to make contact with the hydrographic basin of the Río de la Plata. The southern coast of Brazil was explored intermittently, motivating the search for indigenous people and minerals. In search of the former, the Paulistans went westward, while to the east, in the region where the cities of Paranaguá and Curitiba are now located, the latter was the main economic activity.
The legends in which the colonizers believed there were large deposits of gold and silver caused countless adventurers to be attracted to the region of Paranaguá. The Portuguese nobleman and military man Salvador Correia de Sá, who in 1613 would take over the superintendence of the mines of southern Brazil spent some time there, however, no ounce of gold was found. The viscount of Barbacena sent the Spaniard Rodrigo de Castelo Branco - who had profound knowledge about the deposits of Peru - to the mines of southern Brazil. In 1680, a letter was written to the Portuguese monarch reporting the disappointment with the mines.
In the last years of the 17th century, the dream of gold was left behind, and the work of extracting the alluvial gold was continued. The colonizers put the indigenous people to work in farming, wood extraction, and other services. The use of slaves from Africa began in the following century, and according to the 1798 census, the number of African slaves was relatively greater than that of Indians.
Paranaguá was elevated to the category of village by a royal charter dated July 29, 1648, and with it, the so-called fields of Curitiba formed only one community. Curitiba was elevated to the rank of village in 1693 and gradually became the most important urban center in Paraná. For this reason, the great cattle road was built, a transportation route established from Rio Grande do Sul to Sorocaba.
Castro was the first Paraná municipality, founded in 1778.
Troop cycle
The discovery of the gold mines of Minas Gerais had as one of its consequences the demand for horses and cattle, supplied with mules from the southern missions region. They were transported via the Viamão-Sorocaba road, which opened in 1731. According to Brasil Pinheiro Machado, the construction of this road was "a relevant event in Paraná's history". It disconnected Curitiba from the coastal cycle, socially distancing it from Paranaguá and incorporating it into the historical system of the frontier wars, giving it the opportunity for a march southward, northward, and westward, so that Curitiba came to signify the character of the entire region that would be the future province.
This was the beginning of the troop cycle in Paraná's history, which lasted until the 1870s, when the railroad transport era began. Many inhabitants dedicated themselves to the profitable business of buying mules in the south and reselling them in the Sorocaba fairs. It was essentially with the spread of breeding and wintering farms that the territory was occupied. Based on the ownership of pastures and the work of black and Indian slaves, the families that held regional power were established. Thanks to the troops that were established around rivers, municipalities such as Lapa, Ponta Grossa, and Castro emerged.
Expansion of pastoral activity
In the early 19th century, with the upsurge of the war in the south, it became necessary as part of the Portuguese strategy to occupy the lands that belonged to Portugal according to the Treaty of Madrid, but had remained abandoned since the destruction of the Jesuit missions by the bandeirantes.
With the objectives of occupying the territory, subjugating the Indians, and opening the way to the missions, in June 1810 a military operation reached the fields of Guarapuava, which soon after were donated in sesmarias.Sesmaria was a plot of land distributed to a beneficiary, on behalf of the Portuguese crown, for the purpose of cultivating virgin lands. The captured Indians were distributed "among the most well-to-do residents" and three decades later the region was occupied. It then became a matter of conquering the fields of Palmas from the Indians, which was done in 1839 by two rival private societies, which resorted to arbitration to avoid armed clashes. This was completed in the mid-nineteenth century, and thanks to pastoral activity, the fields of the countryside were also occupied.
Province of Paraná
By a royal decree of February 19, 1811, the parish of Paranaguá and Curitiba was created, belonging to the Captaincy of São Paulo. On July 6 of the same year, the city council of Paranaguá addressed the prince regent to request the emancipation of the parish and the creation of a new captaincy. Ten years later, the movement called the Separatist Conjuration, led by Floriano Bento Viana, openly formulated its separatist claim, but without success.
Despite the political activity expressed in successive diligences and petitions aimed at political-administrative emancipation, and even after independence, the then-called "Parnanguaras" continued to be subjected to local troop commanders, since the provincial government was far away and lacked interest in those lands. The political and strategic importance of the region grew with the years and was evidenced by events that had repercussions at the national level, such as the Ragamuffin War and the liberal rebellions of 1842.
On May 29, 1843, the bill that elevated the comarca of Curitiba to the category of province caused debates in which the deputies from Minas Gerais and São Paulo stood out. According to the latter's deputies, the real reason for the creation of the new province, by the dismemberment of the São Paulo province, was to punish the latter for its participation in the liberal rebellions of 1842. At the same time, the Paraná economy, along with the cattle trade, swelled with the exportation of native yerba mate to the markets of the Plata and Chile. Promises of emancipation were made, while the fight in parliament continued. Finally, on August 28, 1853, the project for the province of Paraná was approved, which would have the city of Curitiba as provisional capital.
On December 19 of the same year, Zacarias de Góis e Vasconcelos, the first president of the province, arrived in the capital. He immediately took measures to boost the local economy and obtain resources for the administrative actions that were necessary. He tried to direct part of the labor and capital that were employed in the preparation and trade of yerba mate to other activities, especially farming. The most profitable business of the province continued to be, however, the sale of mules to São Paulo. This activity reached its highest point in the 1860s and only declined at the end of the century.