Historical paths from the perspective of Rugendas: the connection between Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais

This article offers a historical-geographic narrative about an ancient Caminho Real do Ouro (Royal Road of Gold) - the Caminho do Proenca. The main source for the construction of this narrative are the iconographic records of the German painter, Johann Moritz Rugendas. In the early 1820s, on his journey from Rio de Janeiro to Minas Gerais as an artist for the Langsdorff Expedition, Rugendas documented landscapes, nature, and territory along this path. Initially opened as gold drain route from the hinterlands of Minas Gerais through the port of Rio de Janeiro, the Caminho do Proenca established itself as one of the main routes of circulation, settlement, and supply of this portion of the territory during the 18th century and in the first decades of the 19th century. Rugendas' iconography, together with other documentary sources, provides a rich historical record of the natural, economic, and urban aspects of this path between the coast of Rio de Janeiro and the sertoes of Minas Gerais.

Automated summary

This article offers a historical-geographic narrative about an ancient Caminho do Proenca, drawing on the iconographic records of the German painter Rugendas. The Caminho do Proenca served as a crucial route for circulation, settlement, and supply in the territory during the 18th century and early 19th century.