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The expectative of finding gold made the area, nowadays property of
Corumbá, to be explored by portugueses, who started to arrive there in 1524. Only two centuries later the city was officially founded,
in 1778. However it wasn’t just but a military camp site called Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Albuquerque.
When the passage of Brazil’s and Paraguay’s boats was liberated at
Paraguai River, in the middle of the 19th century, the settlement acquired importance for being a point of goods transit. Altogether
with progress, though, came the problems. For not having basic sanitation and sanitation control at the harbor, several diseases
appeared, becoming epidemic with the periodic floods of Paraguai River.
During Paraguay’s War, between 1864 and 1869, the city was invaded and
destroyed by Solano Lopez. The city only started to be reconstructed in 1870, when it was retaken by tenente-coronel Antônio Maria
Coelho. In the same epoch, immigrants from Europe and other South American countries arrived to the city. The end of the war and the
establishment of foreigners stimulated the development of Corumbá, which had the 3rd biggest harbor of Latin America until 1930.
In the beginning of 20th century though, the arrival of Noroeste do
Brasil railroad transfered the commerce axis to Campo Grande. The great traders moved to other cities and Corumbá begun to priorize
the rural activities, like agriculture, cattle raising and mineral exploration.
The city started industrial activity during the 40’s, with the
exploration of calcareous reserves - excellent to the cement industry - and other minerals. By the end of the 70’s, tourism started
to be explored and the historic constructions were restored. Hotels and restaurants were constructed to supply the necessities of
the flux of people who started to come across the city.
The origin of the name of Corumbá came from the indian expression
“curupah”, which means "distant place ". Today, the city has the nickname of "Cidade Branca" (White City),
because of the light-colored soil. |
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