Browse the History content available in Guia de Paraty.
8 records in History
Paraty took shape through a series of events: Indigenous presence predated Portuguese settlement, the colonial village moved in the seventeenth century, and a 1667 royal charter recognized it as an autonomous town.
Indigenous routes adapted during colonization connected the port of Paraty to the Paraíba Valley and the mining region. This section became known as Caminho Velho and is part of the network now called the Estrada Real.
Paraty’s colonial and imperial economy depended on the labor of enslaved people. The Campinho Quilombo preserves a living history of resistance, land, and cultural continuity.
The opening of Caminho Novo in 1707 created a more direct connection between Guanabara Bay and the mining region. Paraty lost part of the gold traffic, but its economy continued to change.
In the nineteenth century, coffee from the Paraíba Valley revived Paraty’s port and commerce. The cycle brought renewed prosperity, followed by a gradual loss of importance.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, new railroads, shifts in coffee production, and the end of slavery transformed Paraty’s economy. The result was a long period of reduced economic activity and out-migration.
Heritage protection in Paraty developed in stages from the 1950s through the 1970s, while new roads reduced its isolation and expanded tourism.
In 2019, Paraty and Ilha Grande became Brazil’s first mixed property on the World Heritage List, bringing together cultural values, biodiversity, and traditional communities.
