Montes Claros
Montes Claros is a Brazilian municipality located in the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais. Situated north of the state capital, Belo Horizonte, it lies approximately away. The municipality spans an area of, with within its urban area. As of the 2022 census, its population was, making it the fifth most populous municipality in Minas Gerais.
Montes Claros achieved emancipation in the 19th century and has long relied on industry and commerce as key economic drivers, establishing itself as a regional industrial hub. The municipality is currently divided into ten districts and further subdivided into approximately 200 neighborhoods and villages. It boasts a variety of natural, historical, and cultural attractions, including the Milton Prates Municipal Park, Guimarães Rosa Park, and Sapucaia Park, which are significant green spaces, as well as notable structures such as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Aparecida and the Small Church of the Little Hills, alongside numerous archaeological sites.
History
Origins
Until the 1660s, the lands now comprising Montes Claros were inhabited solely by the indigenous Anais and Tapuia peoples. Around 1554, the Espinosa Expedition, consisting of 12 bandeirantes, explored the region in search of precious stones, venturing into the northern backlands of the Captaincy of São Paulo and Minas de Ouro. However, these explorers did not establish permanent settlements.In 1674, Fernão Dias Pais, known as the "Emerald Hunter", led a bandeira to explore the region for precious stones. Antônio Gonçalves Figueira, a member of Fernão Dias’ expedition, accompanied it to the banks of the Paraopeba River, where, alongside Matias Cardoso de Almeida, he parted ways with the leader, who later returned to São Paulo two years later. There, Antônio and Matias established farms, which grew into settlements, displaced indigenous populations, and continued exploiting the region’s resources.
By a royal charter dated April 12, 1707, Antônio Gonçalves Figueira received a sesmaria grant of one league in width by three in length, forming the Montes Claros Farm located at the headwaters of the Verde Grande River on its left bank. To access markets for cattle, Gonçalves Figueira built roads to Tranqueiras in Bahia and the São Francisco River. A native of São Paulo, Gonçalves Figueira later returned to his home region, entrusting the Montes Claros Farm to his brother Manuel Afonso de Siqueira, who owned neighboring farms.
Later, Gonçalves Figueira’s descendants sold portions of the Montes Claros Farm. Ensign José Lopes de Carvalho, whose nephew married Manuel Afonso de Siqueira’s granddaughter, acquired part of the farm and built a chapel, now the Nossa Senhora da Conceição and São José de Montes Claros Matrix Church. Around this chapel, the Arraial das Formigas developed, the second settlement on the Montes Claros Farm, which years later became the city bearing the same name.
Administrative evolution
One hundred twenty-four years after Antônio Gonçalves Figueira obtained the sesmaria, the village had developed sufficiently to gain independence, separating from the municipality of Serro Frio. Through the efforts of local political leaders, the municipality was established by the Law of October 13, 1831, named Montes Claros de Formigas. Its independent municipal life began in 1832 with the election and inauguration of the first Municipal Chamber.By 1857, the then-village of Montes Claros de Formigas had just over 2,000 inhabitants, with infrastructure typical of most municipalities in the province. Under Law 802 of July 3 of that year, the village was elevated to city status, adopting the name Montes Claros. Despite starting its independent municipal life in 1832 with the Municipal Chamber’s inauguration and the election of its Executive Agent, the city traditionally celebrates its anniversary on July 3 rather than October 16, the date of its emancipation from Serro. This history was clarified in the article “The Invention of July 3” published in the journal Unimontes Científica.
Under provincial law no. 1398 of November 27, 1867, and state law no. 2 of September 14, 1891, the district of Brejos das Almas was created, becoming the municipality’s first district. Over time, Montes Claros’ territory underwent several territorial losses and administrative reorganizations, eventually comprising its current districts in the 1980s: Aparecida do Mundo Novo, Ermidinha, Miralta, Nova Esperança, Panorâmica, Santa Rosa de Lima, São João da Vereda, São Pedro de Garça, and Vila Nova de Minas.
After the foundation
Following political emancipation, population growth necessitated investments in municipal urban infrastructure. In 1871, the Charity Hospital, later known as the Santa Casa de Caridade, was established. On February 2, 1880, the Montes Claros Normal School was founded. On February 24, 1884, the first issue of the weekly newspaper “Correio do Norte” was published. On September 14, 1886, the Santa Cruz Chapel, commonly known as the Morrinho Chapel, was inaugurated. On October 27, 1892, the city’s first telegraph line was established.The industry in Montes Claros began with the Cedro textile factory in 1882, which was destroyed by a major fire on July 25, 1889. It provided primary education for its workers. In commerce, the Municipal Market, inaugurated on September 3, 1899, stood out. Located in what is now Dr. Carlos Versiani Square, it was an imposing structure with a tall tower housing a clock donated by Carlota Versiani, which chimed hourly. Throughout the 20th century, notable developments included the arrival of electricity on January 20, 1917, the first automobile on November 10, 1920, the establishment of potable water services on December 18, 1938, and the installation of intercity telephone services on June 30, 1956.
Economic and demographic growth
Montes Claros experienced significant industrialization starting in the 1970s. Industrial activities, supported by fiscal and financial incentives from federal, state, and municipal governments through the Superintendency for the Development of the Northeast, attracted substantial migration, leading to unplanned urban growth. This rapid urbanization, coupled with inadequate planning, resulted in intra-urban spatial disparities, with several areas marked by poverty. In the 1980s, significant urban changes occurred, including the occupation of vacant urban areas in the southern region, avenue renovations to improve traffic flow, verticalization in the central area, shifts in the spatial distribution of activities, and peripheral expansion.Over time, efforts to reduce poverty levels were implemented. In 1970, 74.79% of the population lived in poverty, which decreased to 33.17% by 2001. The rural landscape has increasingly been replaced by urban zones to accommodate the demands of urban expansion driven by growing productive activities and rising housing needs due to population concentration. The boundary between rural and urban areas is becoming less distinct, with the rural population declining annually.
Geography
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, Montes Claros covers an area of, with constituting the urban area. It is located at 16°44'06" south latitude and 43°51'43" west longitude, approximately north of the state capital. Its neighboring municipalities are São João da Ponte to the north; Capitão Enéas to the northeast; Francisco Sá to the east; Juramento and Glaucilândia to the southeast; Bocaiuva and Engenheiro Navarro to the south; Claro dos Poções to the southwest; São João da Lagoa and Coração de Jesus to the west; and Mirabela and Patis to the northwest.Under the regional division effective since 2017, established by the IBGE, the municipality belongs to the Intermediate and Immediate Geographic Regions of Montes Claros. Previously, under the division into mesoregions and microregions, it was part of the Montes Claros microregion within the North of Minas mesoregion.
The city center has an average elevation of. The highest point in the municipality is Morro Vermelho, reaching. The terrain is predominantly undulating, characterized by rolling hills and mountains. The lowest elevation,, is at the mouth of the Ribeirão do Ouro. Approximately 60% of the municipal terrain is undulating, 30% is flat, and 10% is mountainous.
Montes Claros lies within the São Francisco River Basin, and is traversed by the Vieira River, Cedro River, Verde Grande River, Pacuí River, São Lamberto River, and Riachão River. The municipality also features several lagoons: Tiriricas, Lagoão, Periperi, São João, Brejão, Garça, Vereda dos Caetanos, Mombuca, São Jorge, Freitas, Matos, and Barreiro. The soil predominantly consists of ancient Precambrian formations, with occurrences of siltstone, slate, limestone, phyllite, calcite, galena, iron ore, potassium nitrate, rock crystal, and alluvial gold.
Geology
A geological fault surrounds the city, identified as the cause of seismic activity. Extending approximately from the Vila Atlântica neighborhood to the Serra do Mel, it lies at a depth of. Due to this fault, the ground experiences near-continuous tremors, according to reports from professors at the Department of Geophysics at the University of São Paulo and the Seismological Observatory at the University of Brasília.The most intense earthquake recorded reached approximately 4.2 on the Richter scale, occurring on May 19, 2012, affecting 60 homes, six of which were declared uninhabitable and two interdicted by the city’s Civil Defense, leaving families displaced. Tremors exceeding 5 on the Richter scale are considered unlikely and unpredictable but possible. However, as tremors last only seconds, they pose no significant risk of severe damage. Seismographs recorded 174 earthquakes in Montes Claros from July to December 2012.