History
Origins
Centuries ago, before colonization by the white man, they lived in the eastern region of Mato Grosso do Sul, where the city of Três Lagoas is currently located, the indigenous tribe of the Ofaié. Being a group of the Macro-Jê family, the Ofaié descend from the indigenous civilizations of the Chaco in Bolivia. They were hunters, gatherers and fishermen, moving between the lands located between the Paraná and the Serra de Maracaju to the Sucuriú River.[7][8].
Starting in the 19th century, the Três Lagoas region and its inhabitants, the Ofaié, suffered visits from the São Paulo bandeirantes, on excursions to reconnoiter the territory. In 1829, an expedition sent by João da Silva Machado crossed the Paraná River and came into contact with the Indians, who were peaceful.[9].
Januário García Leal, José García Leal, João Pedro García Leal, Joaquim García Leal and their other brothers, accompanied by their respective families, employees and slaves, settled in the region fleeing political persecution. The García Leals and their relatives created the settlement of Sete Fogos, currently Paranaíba, north of the Três Lagoas area. Other ranchers arrived with them, who settled on the banks of the Paranaíba River.[10].
Although such conquerors kept a certain distance from the Amerindians, when the entire region between the Sucuriú and Paranaíba rivers had been depopulated by indigenous people, the Ofaié continued to maintain a safe distance that separated them from the colonizers. In the 1840s, Joaquim Francisco Lopes carried out another expedition through the southern confines of Mato Grosso, meeting the Ofaiés at the headwaters of the Negro rivers "Río Negro (Mato Grosso do Sul), Taboco") and Aquidauana, tributaries of the Paraguay River.[11].
Starting in the middle of the century, the Paulista bandeirantes, who soon became farmers and ranchers, began to cross the Paraná to settle in barren places in the center and east of the current state of Mato Grosso do Sul, persecuting and enslaving the native Amerindians. The Ofaié, who were nomads, fled the region, taking refuge in the south and west of the region.
The region that would become the current municipality of Três Lagoas, meanwhile, would remain wild, since the interest of the São Paulo colonizers was to expand the borders to the west, with the purpose of securing large areas of land. The Três Lagoas region would remain under the influence of the colonizers from Paranaíba, who would end up settling in the south.
With the distribution of properties and the delimitation of possessions on the banks of the rivers, the arrival of miners to the areas began, creating large estates.
In 1867, during the Paraguayan War, the Viscount of Taunay was traveling from Aquidauana to Rio de Janeiro "Rio de Janeiro (city)") to bring news of a retreat to the court. On his journey he crossed the Três Lagoas region and wrote in his work “Reminiscences”, "On June 30, 1867 we were on the vast ranch of Mr. José Pereira, a good miner who welcomed us optimally and was the first inhabitant we met between the exit of Camapuã and the entrance of Santana do Paranaíba, a little more inhabited (...) already close to the town of Santana do Paranaíba".[12][13].
By pointing out that José Pereira was the first inhabitant to be in the Paranaíba area, even though this was very close to that city, Taunay's annotations make it clear that in 1867, the colonization of the area was practically reduced to the surroundings of the city, that is, quite far from the current municipality of Três Lagoas, which is further south. This does not mean, however, that the Treslagoense region was not being explored. On the contrary, José García Leal, considered "the main sertão man", owned "innumerable possessions" in the Sucuriú and Verde rivers, this being the reason for the Ofaiés' flight, to avoid confrontations. Those possessions, however, remained uninhabited. Extensive livestock farming was carried out in the fields of Cerrado. In this way, the owner and his employees only had to come every two months to watch over the livestock.[14] In the north of Paranaíba, in the lands currently occupied by the state of Goiás, the same type of livestock farming was also practiced.
With the end of the Paraguayan war, ranchers and colonizers returned to the center and west of Mato Grosso do Sul, gathering the remains of herds and distributing them among the new settlers.
In the 1880s, its first three inhabitants arrived in the territories currently occupied by the municipality. Antonio Trajano dos Santos, settled between the Arroyo Palmito and the Sucuriú River, calling it Fazenda das Alagoas (farm of the lagoons), due to the three large lagoons that exist.[15].
Creation
At the beginning of the century, the property of Antônio Trajano dos Santos, called Fazenda das Alagoas, was renamed Coletoria, because he found a tax collection point to tax livestock farming.
In 1909, an engineering camp was founded on the banks of Lagoa Maior, in the Fazenda das Alagoas, in the place where the city is located today, since the railway line in northwest Brazil was being built. The Ofaiés had abandoned the place about two decades ago.[11].
North of the Sucuriú River, Jovino José Fernandes became the owner of a large sugar cane plantation and a distillery, which made him one of the richest men in the area.
In 1910, the idea of building several houses in order to develop a new town was promoted from the engineers' camp. A square was created, where a church "Church (building)") was built in homage to Saint Anthony of Padua, who was proclaimed the local patron saint. Oscar Guimarães was in charge of creating the urban plan while Justino Rangel, an employee of the construction company Machado de Melo & Cia., would be in charge of directing the construction works.
The district was created by law no. 656 of June 12, 1914, dependent on Sant'Anna do Paranaíba. The Villa de Três Lagoas was created by state law No. 706, of June 15, 1915, still being part of the Panaraíba region, but politically emancipated. In August of the same year, Três Lagoas became a municipality. On August 8, elections for the city council are held, with Colonel Antônio de Sousa Queirós being elected the first mayor of the city. The separation of the Paranaíba region took place on December 27, 1916, through Decree-Law No. 768.[16].
On October 10, 1920, Elmano Soares launched, together with Bernardo de Oliveira Bizca, the first issue of Gazeta do Comércio, the first weekly newspaper in the then state of Mato Grosso. Due to his controversial and politicized way of writing, Elmano Soares suffered persecution for the content of his articles, sometimes having to give up continuing to write and even having to leave Três Lagoas to save his life. The newspaper, however, ended up becoming one of the most read in the region.[17].
The town of Três Lagoas received the status of city through resolution no. 820, of October 19, 1920, during the government of Francisco de Aquino Corrêa. However, the celebration of the political emancipation of Três Lagoas is celebrated on June 15. At the beginning of the 1920s, the governor of the state of Mato Grosso donated three thousand six hundred hectares of land to the municipality.
civil wars
In The Prestes Column, by Neil Macaulay, it is said that “1,500 rebel soldiers” were marching through the Brazilian interior after a failed “revolutionary military movement.” Such rebel troops, with Isidoro Dias Lopes as commander, had attacked São Paulo on July 5, 1924 and occupied the city for twenty-three days, demanding the resignation of the then president Artur Bernardes. The date had been chosen as a commemoration of the second anniversary of the Revolt of the 18 of the Copacabana fort. The revolutionary troops would be expelled by the army and would be roaming the state of São Paulo.
Also according to Neil Macaulay, *"In Bauru, Izidoro [Dias Lopes] learned that there was a large federal troop in (...). The rebels attacked the concentration of government loyalists [in the city] (...). The attack would be led by Juárez Távora. In Porto Epitácio, his battalion reinforced by 570 men (...) embarked on two steamers heading to the outskirts of Três Lagoas. At dawn The next day (...), Juárez's soldiers prepared to attack [the city] (...). The rebels could hear the noise of the locomotives on the Northwest Railway (...) The encounter at Três Lagoas left a third of the battalion dead, wounded, prisoners or missing.
During those fights, soldier José Carvalho de Lima reportedly died, whose tomb is currently an object of devotion. According to Lúcio Queirós Moreria, in his book Do Sonho à Realidade, "it is said that a soldier, seriously wounded (...), crawled in search of help, dying where the tomb is today. The soldier's name would be José Carvalho de Lima. Another version says that several combatants were buried there. The tomb is located at the confluence of Quinzinho de Campos and Jamil Jorge streets. Salomão.”[19].
Site of the great victory of those loyal to the government in 1924, the geographical isolation of the Treslago region, however, favored revolutionary sentiments. Already in the 1920s, the lack of national feeling of the city's inhabitants with respect to the state of Mato Grosso was noticeable. They identified much more with the state of São Paulo, because it was closer in geographical terms.
During the revolution of 1932, there would be armed struggle again in Três Lagoas. This time, however, the city would not welcome the government troops, but would consider them enemies. Such government troops, fighting against the rebel army of Três Lagoas, arrived mainly from the north, settling in the Ribeirão Beltrão region. From there they would march to the Sucuriú River, to surround the city.[20].
Military Dictatorship
In the 60s, construction of the town's electric dam began. In 1974 its construction was completed, becoming the largest dam in Brazil. Currently, this dam is the third largest in the country, being considered one of the most efficient, in relation to the flooded area and the energy produced.
Its strategic position and its proximity to such an important source of electrical energy for the country led to the municipality being considered a "National Security Area" during the military dictatorship by Decree-Law No. 1105, of May 20, 1970. The mayors became appointed by the state governor, with the approval of the President of the Republic. There was no position of deputy mayor, and in the event that the position of mayor was vacant, it would be occupied by the president of the municipal chamber, until a new mayor was appointed. In 1985, the mayors were again democratically elected.
During the military dictatorship, municipal governments underwent several changes in course because their policy was directed from the presidency of the State.