The city of Tiradentes originated from the little village Ponta do Morro settled in the beginning of the 18th century. Since the last years of the 17th century, Tomé Portes del-Rei had explored the right to cross Rio das Mortes at a spot known as Porto Real da Passagem. In 1702 João de Siqueira Ponte arrives there and together with Tomé Portes finds gold in the surrounding streams. The place known as Ponta do Morro soon turns into a village due to the growing number of miners who came attracted to gold. It was not long after its name changed to Arraial da Ponta do Morro de Santo Antônio because Saint Anthony was the saint of their devotion and in his honor they built a chapel. Thanks to the abundance of gold which was found, the settlement grows fast and becomes a village in 1718 when its name changes again to São José del-Rei. In the first decades of the 18th century, most of its houses and religious edifications were built such as Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário in 1708 and Matriz de Santo Antônio in 1710. The city spread around churches and chapels on top of the hills and the houses followed a pattern that remains until today. The fall of mining which was imminent all over Minas Gerais since 1750 only reflected in the growth of Vila de São José in the beginning of the 19th century when the mines were finally exhausted. In spite of the metal shortage, the Portuguese Crown institutes derrama demanding compulsory payment of taxes that are overdue in form of gold. The amount totaled eight thousand kilos in 1788. This oppressing attitude from the Portuguese Crown helped to arouse a revolutionary spirit among the upper classes, so military men and intellectuals got together and created a movement which was later known as Inconfidência Mineira. In 1789, with Joaquim Silvério dos Reis denouncement, the village of São José del-Rei is involved in the conspiracy and among the revolutionaries is the priest Carlos Correa de Toledo e Mello, vicar of Santo Antônio's parish, considered one of the greatest spreaders of the movement. On the 19th century, the dwellers of Vila de São José turn to agriculture and cattle raising and begin to sell pork, oxen and sheep to other villages in Minas Gerais and also in Rio de Janeiro. In 1831 the participation of women’s labor in the local economy is very important especially in the fields of spinning and weaving. In 1864 the town had 70 spinning wheels, 108 spinners and weavers, 44 sewing women and a production of 30000 rolls of cloth. The activity, however has never reached industrial proportions. In 1860, São José del-Rei becomes a municipality, but as economic alternatives were limited, the town changes very little. It is until today one of the most authentic colonial profiles of Minas Gerais and Brazil due to its patrimonial and landscape integrity. In 1889 the town is named Tiradentes after the revolutionary hero of the Inconfidência Mineira, Joaquim José da Silva Xavier. From that time on there was a certain revitalization in commerce with the implementation of the railroad branch of Estrada de Ferro Oeste-Minas and later on the road system. Nowadays tourism is one of the most important sources of income in town which is kept thanks to its colonial architectural complex, almost unchanged. The town has become a historically preserved site by the Instituto de Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional - IPHAN. Not only the architectural complex has been preserved but also its landscape with the imposing mountains of Serra de São José and its beautiful falls and vegetation remaining from Mata Atlântica.
