From Ouro Preto to Diamantina: remaking Spix and Martius’ journey in 1818

Abstract

Commemorating the bicentenary of the Journey in Brazil (1817-1820) of the German naturalists Spix e Martius, a group of researchers of the Martius-Staden-Institute (São Paulo) remade in March 2017 a segment of that expedition: from Ouro Preto to Diamantina. The main purpose was to study the continuities and the changes that occurred during the last 200 years. These were the visited places: 1) Ouro Preto, formerly Vila Rica, capital of the Province of Minas Gerais; 2) in the district of Mariana, the small towns of Bento Rodrigues e Paracatu, which were destroyed by the environmental disaster occurred in 2015; 3) the National Park and Sanctuary of Serra da Caraça, founded in 1774; 4) the cities of Sabará and Serro, formerly Vila do Príncipe, and the Itambé Mountain (2052 m), in the Serra do Espinhaço, the borderline between the bioms of the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado; e 5) the city of Diamantina, formerly Arraial de Tijuco, and its surroundings, including a diamond field.