São Paulo

HISTORY

On January 25, 1554, Jesuit missionaries José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbrega established a mission at São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, which grew to become the Brazilian city of São Paulo.

Founding of São Paulo, 1913 painting by Antonio Parreiras

The name of the city honors Saint Paul of Tarsus.

The first people moved to the region in 1560, when São Paulo became a village. For the next two centuries, São Paulo developed as a poor and isolated village that survived largely through the cultivation of subsistence crops by the labor of natives.

Cortiços, large houses divided into very small rooms for rent, originated in São Paulo during the late 1700s, and were developed by Italian immigrants. They continue to exist in contemporary times in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

On September 7, 1822, Prince Pedro declared the independence of Brazil from Portugal on the shores of the Ipiranga creek in São Paulo. After waging a successful war against his father's kingdom, he was acclaimed the following month as Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil.

The Monument to Independence in São Paulo's Independence Park, is located at the place where then-Prince Pedro proclaimed the independence of Brazil.

Monument to Independence in Sao Paulo by Zé Carlos Barretta 

In 1827, a law school was founded at the Convent of São Francisc. After the construction of São Paulo's Law School, São Paulo became the capital of its province.

The expansion of coffee production was a major factor in the growth of São Paulo, as it became the region's chief export crop and yielded good revenue. Many European immigrants, especially Italians, moved to the city to work at the big coffee plantations.

FUN SÃO PAULO FACTS

The municipality of São Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil and the Americas, as well as in the Southern Hemisphere. It's 2016 population was 12,038,175.

More than 21 million people live in the city's metropolitan area, which is called Greater São Paulo and is the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world.

São Paulo has the largest economy by GDP in Latin America and Southern Hemisphere. The city is home to the São Paulo Stock Exchange, the second largest stock exchange in the world in market value.

São Paulo is colloquially known as Sampa or Terra da Garoa (Land of Drizzle), because of its unreliable weather.

The city is known for the size of its helicopter fleet. São Paulo has the largest number of helicopters in the world, with 420 helicopters in 2012 and around 2,000 flights per day within the central area.

Helicopter arriving in the São Paulo City Hall. By Henrique Boney

Football is São Paulo's most popular sport. The city's major teams are Palmeiras, Corinthians, and São Paulo.

São Paulo also hosts the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix, in Autódromo José Carlos Pace.