Case file · Folklore / legend
Chico Rei of Ouro Preto
Legend tells of an African king, enslaved and brought to Vila Rica (Ouro Preto), who bought his freedom with hidden gold dust and then freed his people, becoming 'Chico Rei'. The story was first written down by Diogo de Vasconcelos in 1904.
1904 CE · -20.38, -43.50 · status: legend
The account
Tourists visit the 'Chico Rei mine' in Ouro Preto. Women were said to smuggle gold out in their hair and wash it at the church font of Santa Efigênia.
The sceptical view
Historians have found no colonial document confirming that Chico Rei existed.