Lençóis |
The discover of diamond deposits in Bahia’s country side, in the middle of the
19th century, attracted adventurers who shared the same dream: to enrich. When arriving, they set improvised camps noticed from far
away. From that came the name "Cidade de Lençóis", which were officially founded by prospectors, in 1845.
With the richness that came from the diamond mining, the city’s society ascended,
passing to accompany the fashion and news from Europe. France even installed a consulate in the city, making it easy to buy diamonds.
The development of Lençóis provided the surging of other villages, like Andaraí,
Mucugê, Igatu, Palmeiras and Seabra, among other settlements around “Chapada Diamantina”.
From 1871, the gems became harder and harder to find. The scarceness brought a
serious economic crisis to Lençóis, which was the world biggest diamond producer, positions actually occupied by Angola. The diamond mining
gave place to the agriculture and extraction of carbonate, which has the same chemical composition of diamonds, but in smaller concentration.
Today, the main economic activity of Lençóis is the tourism. |
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