The People

Contents

Amazon Indians

Caboclos

Goldminers &
Prospectors

City Dwellers

Sertanistas

The Incas

Rubber Barons

The Brazilians

The Amazon Goldminers

Gold was the what brought many early European explorers to Brazil in the first place. It was first spurred by the huge discoveries of gold and new mine found in the conquest of Peru. Many more Europeans arrived after hearing stories of El Dorado – a rich city of gold that was said to exist somewhere in the middle of the huge Amazon rainforests. The search for El Dorado lasted centuries, but it was never found.

The early explorers never found much gold in Amaz⌠nia, although rich deposits were found in the territory of Minas Gerais (near Rio de Janeiro) and in Peru. Significant discoveries of gold in Amaz⌠nia didn't occur until this century.

The most famous goldmine in Amaz⌠nia is Serra Pelada. In the early 1980s it created the greatest and most spectacular goldrush of modern times. The goldrush began with the accidental discovery of a gold nugget on a hillside at a remote farm in 1976. Soon after, the area was inundated by prospectors who arrived from all over Brazil, eager for the easy riches that they all dreamed of. But life working on a goldmine was long and difficult – the miners worked themselves like slaves hoping to strike it rich.

At its peak in 1984 there were 400,000 goldminers busily scraping out a living on the mine. The mine had thousands of small claims – most only a few metres square. The mine was essentially a giant pit, where workers sifted through the for their own little tiny of dirt – the uneven diggings of the small rectangular plots made the pit resemble a bowl full of dirty sugarcubes. Long lines of mud-covered workers scrambled up ladders at the sides of the pit, carrying bags of dirt to be sifted and processed. The scene looked like something out of a Cecil B. DeMille movie. It rivalled the pyramids in scale and spectacle. Work on the mines was captured in a dramatic series of photos by Salvador Salgado, and on Jacques Cousteau's Amazon expedition.

Life on the mine was rough and uncontrolled. There was no law, and the miners lived in tent cities without electricity or running water. The dirt combined with frequent rains meant that the miners were covered in mud most of the time – and there were only a few trickles of fresh water for the miners to wash themselves at the end of the day. The scene must have been similar to the great California and Australian goldrushes on last century, or even New Zealand's goldrush in Otago.

The miners were tough – and some cases they were extremely ruthless, attacking the local Indians with guns to driving them off their land so that it could be mined for gold. One of the goldmining methods was mercury extraction, which dumps large amounts of toxic mercury into the environment – poisoning waterways, wildlife, and ultimately people (especially the Indians).

Eager to impose order on this lawlessness, the Brazilian sent in the army. They arrived in helicopters, led by a Colonel who jumped out of the helicopter yelling "The gun that shouts loudest is mine!" The occupation brought about law and order, and relief for the Indians who were suffering attacks from the goldminers.

During the 1980s, the company which owns a nearby development, Projeto Grande Carajßs claimed the mineral rights to the area. They had set up a huge iron mining operation, and believed that the gold was within the area they had mineral rights for. The company tried to take control of Serra Pelada, but the enraged prospectors fought hard – they march on the government in Brasφlia and even threatened to raid the mining company's nearby facility. The government reached a compromise in 1984, by paying $US60 million compensation to the company, and then recognising the prospectors' claims.

There are still miners working at Serra Pelada – but the last few years have not gone well. The miners don't have the resources necessary to work the mine properly. The huge pit that they dug has now filled with water and has to be drained so that work can continue. In the meantime, work is very slow and dangerous. In 1995, there were only 3,000 workers left at the mine – barely earning a living, with many trying desperately to save enough money so that they can leave.

Close to the Venezuelan border is another mine, Sierra Parima – ironically thought by early explorers to be the site of El Dorado. This mine was discovered in 1987, bringing 40,000 people miners into the territory and into direct conflict with the Yanomami Indians – one of the last remaining undisturbed tribes. The miners brought malaria, tuberculosis and venereal disease. Their poor treatment of the local women, and the clash of cultures, has resulted in serious social problems for the Yanomami, and there have even been reports of massacres of the Yanomami by greedy miners. The Brazilian government has tried its best to eject miners from the Yanomami lands, but the area is big, remote, and difficult to police. Scientists believe that the Yanomami's contact with the miners is already significant enough to have changed the tribe's society forever.

There are several other goldmines in Amaz⌠nia, including several close to the city of SantarΘm.