Editing Belo Horizonte (section)

=== Portuguese colonization ===
The metropolis was once a small village, founded by {{ill|João Leite da Silva Ortiz|pt|João Leite da Silva Ortiz}}, a [[bandeirante]] explorer from [[São Paulo (city)|São Paulo]]. The explorer settled in the region in 1701, leading a gold rush expedition. He then established a farm called "Curral d'el Rey," archaic Portuguese for the "King's Corral".

The farm's wealth and success encouraged people from surrounding places to move into the region, and Curral del Rey became a village surrounded by farms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://curraldelrei.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/history-of-belo-horizonte/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303170018/http://curraldelrei.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/history-of-belo-horizonte/|url-status=dead|title=History of Belo Horizonte|date=May 9, 2013|archivedate=March 3, 2014}}</ref>

Another important factor contributing to the growth of the village was people immigrating from the [[São Francisco River]] region, who had to pass through Curral d'el Rey to reach southern parts of Brazil.

Travelers usually visited a small wooden chapel, where they prayed for a safe trip, so the chapel was named Capela da Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem, which means "Chapel of Our Lady of the Good Journey." After the construction of Belo Horizonte, the old baroque chapel was replaced by a [[neo-Gothic]] church that became the city's cathedral.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.traveltill.com/destination/Brazil/Belo-Horizonte/history.php |title=Belo Horizonte History, History of Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte City Information |date=September 4, 2015 |website= |access-date=March 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904085205/http://www.traveltill.com/destination/Brazil/Belo-Horizonte/history.php |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>