Sao Paulo Travel Guide: Sao Paulo History

The historical roots of São Paulo lie in the state of Bahia where Jesuit priests settled in the mid-1500s in an attempt to found schools to convert natives. However with most of their early attempts here unsuccessful, they tried to spread the reach of their mission outside of the region.

Father José de Anchieta and his companion Father Nóbrega were among those who set out to find more suitable regions towards the south. They soon found the very spot: on a plateau between 2 rivers, the Tamanduatei and the Anhangabaú, just 35 miles from the Atlantic coast. Here, in 1554, they established the Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga, a mission comprised of church and school with the purpose of converting the indigenous Tupi-Guarani group to Catholicism. This was the beginnings of what is now simply known as São Paulo (Saint Paul).

Interest in precious metals, stones, and potential Indian laborers in the region soon led to the increasing importance of São Paulo as a center of transport and communication in the area, with several important routes being forged from here into the interior of the continent. The town began to grow in size with increasing numbers of churches and schools being founded.

São Paulo received a further economic boost in the form of coffee. The land surrounding the city was ideal for growing the crop and with the introduction of African slaves, and later a railway, it soon flourished to become a major coffee producer for the world market.

Not long later, the city saw its first surge of mass European immigration when slavery was abolished in 1888. After this point a fresh wave of laborers were encouraged to work in the plantations and factories now ubiquitous within the city.

São Paulo was cemented as the financial heart of Brazil in the years following World War II when it became a hub for car manufacturing. Investments from Volkswagen, Ford, and General Motors – all of whom erected large auto manufacturing plants here – ensured the city’s place as Latin America’s car capital.

The modern financial district hosts the BOVESPA stock exchange which is the controlling financial center for industries throughout the country such as mining and agriculture. The huge market in São Paulo also attracts several multinational corporations and has led to a boom in the tertiary sector. These factors have led to the rapid modernization of the city with huge skyscrapers, cultural institutions, and entertainment centers burgeoning around the financial district and Paulista Avenue. São Paulo has also expanded geographically outwards with more people being attracted by wealth in the city.