Sao Goncalo Do Para History, Brazil

São Gonçalo do Pará is the municipality and city of Mina Geras (which is a state of Brazil). São Gonçalo do Pará isn’t a huge city and its total population is mere 8000 inhabitants that are spread on an area of around 260 km². São Gonçalo do Pará is situated around 130 kilometers from the capital of Menas Geras namely Belo Horizonte. This is the only reason why São Gonçalo do Pará has some importance amongst various cities of Brazil.

Felipe de Freitas Mourão was an ordinary person who used to work in gold mines under the colonization of Pitangui. He started movements against the Pitangui rulers who were related to tax collection on gold which these inhabitants used to posses. The rulers of Pitangui had ordered their army to catch Felipe de Freitas Mourão and hence he fled the city with his wife.

People of this village explored the surrounding areas and found fertile land. They named the land ‘Brook of Moral’. These inhabitants started to construct various farms in and around the area. They finally moved in the area by 18 December 1723.

They built a chapel with the image of the saint São Gonçalo of the Amarante painted. This saint was cherished a lot by the Portuguese. Later this same area got the name of São Gonçalo do Pará. Felipe de Freitas Mourão had stopped near the River Pará, hence the area was given the name of Stopping of Pará somewhere in September 1735.

Later in 1751, a brand new church replaced the old church and in 1755 the land was finally named as São Gonçalo do Pará. Somewhere in 1870, São Gonçalo do Pará was made a district.