,A principal town of Minas Gerais,means black was first discoverd there in 1698 and till 1770 was 50%

---

Brazil. Ouro Preto, A principal town of Minas Gerais, which means black gold. Gold was first discoverd there in 1698 and till 1770 it accounted for almost 50% of the gold in the world. It was the focal point of the gold rush in the 18th century. Such fabulous wealth as this allowed the king, King Dom Joao V (1689-1750) to run unchecked throughout his reign. But it was the British who, after the signing of an agreement for O Porto Wine eventually absorbed all the gold. First known as Vila Rica (Rich village) it was later called Ouro Preto (dark gold). With the exhaustion of the gold mines the city's influence declined iin the 19thC. It no longer remaied the capital city of Minas Gerais (a title handed over to Belo Horizonte) and slowly declined. Today it is a perfect image of the past. Its long steep streets and many churches atop its hilltops make it a beautiful replica of the past. It gains fame for being the hometown of Aleijadinho, the little cripple, the most famous artist & sculptor of Brazil

---

Size: 4195px × 4167px
Location: Ouro Preto, Brazil
Photo credit: © Tom Hanley / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ., 1698, 1770, 18th, 50%, accounted, allowed, allowef, atop, black, brazil., , century., churches, declined., discoverd, dom, fabulous, focal, gerais, gold, gold., hilltops, image, joao, king, king., long, means, minas, ouro, perfect, point, preto, principal, rush, slowly, steep, streets, today, town, wealth, world.