Diamantina (Portuguese pronunciation: [dʒiamɐ̃ˈtʃinɐ]) is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. Its estimated population in 2020 was 47,825 in a total area of 3,870 km.
Arraial do Tijuco (as Diamantina was first called) was built during the colonial era in the early 18th century. As its name suggests, Diamantina was a center of diamond mining in the 18th and 19th centuries. A well-preserved example of Brazilian Baroque architecture, Diamantina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Other historical cities in Minas Gerais include Ouro Preto, São João del-Rei, Mariana, Tiradentes, Congonhas, and Sabará.
Statistical micro-region
Diamantina is a statistical micro-region that includes these municipalities: Diamantina, Datas, Felício dos Santos, Gouveia, Presidente Kubitschek, São Gonçalo do Rio Preto, Senador Modestino Gonçalves, and Couto de Magalhães de Minas. This region covers an area of 7,348 km. In 2006, the population was 80,063 inhabitants. In 2000, the population density was 11.2 inhabitants per km.
History
Before Portuguese settlers arrived in the 16th century, the area that is now the state of Minas Gerais was home to indigenous peoples who spoke languages in the Macro-Jê family. These people lived in the region long before any European explorers recorded their presence.
Diamantina was first established as Arraial do Tejuco in 1713, with the building of a chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. The town grew quickly after diamonds were discovered in 1729. By the end of the 18th century, it was the third-largest city in the Captaincy General of Minas, following the capital, Vila Rica (now Ouro Preto), and had a population similar to São João del-Rei.
During the 18th century, Diamantina expanded because of the large amount of diamonds mined there. The Portuguese crown controlled the diamond mining, and in 1697, they built the Estrada Real, a major road connecting the coast to the interior, passing through Ouro Preto and reaching Diamantina. The town was originally called Arraial do Tejuco (or Tijuco), named from the Tupi language, meaning "rotten water." It was also known as Tejuco and Ybyty'ro'y, which in Tupi means "cold mountain." The city became famous for sheltering Chica da Silva, a freed slave who was married to João Fernandes de Oliveira, one of the wealthiest men in colonial Brazil.
In the 18th century, Diamantina was the largest diamond mining area in the western world. For nine years after diamonds were discovered in 1729 by the governor, D. Lourenço de Almeida, the Portuguese crown did not know about the find. When they learned of it, they took full control of the diamond regions in Minas Gerais. In 1734, the Intendency of Diamonds was created to strictly manage the mining. The Portuguese monopoly over diamonds lasted until 1845.
Diamantina became an independent municipality from Serro in 1831 and was renamed Diamantina due to the large number of diamonds found in the area. The delay in independence was because the colonial government needed more control over the region, as its population had grown larger than that of Vila do Príncipe do Serro Frio, the regional capital. In the late 19th century, life in Diamantina was described in Alice Brant’s book Minha Vida de Menina, which later became an important work in Brazilian literature after being rediscovered by Elizabeth Bishop.
In 1938, Diamantina celebrated its 100th anniversary as a city and was given the title of "National Historic Heritage" by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage. Later, when Juscelino Kubitschek became governor of the state and later president of Brazil, improvements were made in Diamantina, including the founding of the Federal School of Dentistry, the Hotel Tijuco, the Júlia Kubitschek State School, and the Diamantina Sports Square.
In 1999, Diamantina was recognized as a "heritage of humanity" by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Geography
Diamantina is 292 kilometers north of the state capital, Belo Horizonte, in a mountainous region. The city center is at an elevation of 1,114 meters. The Jequitinhonha River, one of Brazil's most important rivers, flows to the east of the city center. Diamantina is connected to Belo Horizonte by federal highway BR-259 through the town of Curvelo. Diamantina Airport provides regular flights to Belo Horizonte.
The municipality includes the 16,999-hectare (42,010-acre) Biribiri State Park, established in 1998. This park contains the historic village of Biribiri.
Municipalities that border Diamantina are: Olhos d'Água and Bocaiúva (north); Carbonita, Senador Modestino Gonçalves, São Gonçalo do Rio Preto, and Couto de Magalhaes de Minas (east); Santo Antônio do Itambé, Datas, Serro, and Monjolos (south); and Augusto de Lima, Buenópolis, and Engenheiro Navarro (west).
Economic activities
The main economic activities are tourism, services, small industry, and agriculture. In 2005, the GDP was R$ 184 million (US$ 75.58 million). Of this total, 140 million came from services, 23 million from industry, and 8 million from agriculture. In 2006, there were 1,248 rural producers working on 73,000 hectares of land. Only 24 of these businesses had tractors. There were 14,000 head of cattle.
Health and education
Diamantina is in the top group of municipalities in the state based on social indicators.
- Human Development Index (HDI) for Diamantina: 0.748 in 2000
- State ranking: 298 out of 853 municipalities in 2000
- National ranking: 1933 out of 5,138 municipalities in 2000
- Literacy rate: 86%
- Life expectancy: 68 years (average of males and females)
- Infant mortality rate: 32.8
In 2000, the highest HDI score in Minas Gerais was 0.841 in Poços de Caldas, while the lowest was 0.568 in Setubinha. Nationally, the highest HDI score was 0.919 in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, and the lowest was 0.568 in Setubinha. In more recent data (covering 5,507 municipalities), Manari in Pernambuco had the lowest HDI score in the country at 0,467, placing it in last place.
In 2005, there were 2 hospitals and 31 health clinics. Education was provided by 30 primary schools and 9 middle schools. Three higher education institutions existed: Faculdade de Ciências Jurídicas de Diamantina (FCJ), a law school; Faculdade de Filosofia e Letras de Diamantina (FAFIDIA), a humanities school; and Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM), a federal public university.
Notable people
- Chica da Silva, an enslaved African-Brazilian folk hero, became first lady in the region after marrying a Portuguese-Brazilian ruler; she was born around 1730. Stories about her life were turned into songs and popular TV shows that were translated into other languages.
- Alice Dayrell Caldeira Brant, who used the name Helena Morley, wrote a diary titled Minha vida de menina (translated into English as The Diary of Helena Morley), which is a well-known book in Brazilian literature; she was born in 1880 and died in 1970.
- Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira was responsible for creating the new capital, Brasília, and served as President of Brazil from 1956 to 1961; he was born in 1902.
- José Vieira Couto de Magalhães was a Brazilian general and folklorist; he was born in 1837.
- Olímpio Mourão Filho was a Brazilian general and President of the Superior Military Court; he was born in 1900.
- Servant of God Benigna Victima de Jesus, a Catholic nun, lived from 1907 to 1981.
Twin towns – sister cities
Diamantina is twinned with:
- Daytona Beach, United States
Diamantina also cooperates with Třeboň in the Czech Republic.