Foz do Iguacu History Facts and Timeline

(Foz do Iguacu, Paraná, Brazil)

One of South America's true gems, Foz do Iguacu has a history in terms of human settlement that only dates back to just over 100 years ago.

The falls on which the modern-day city is built around were originally discovered by Cabeza de Vaca, a Spanish explorer, in the year of 1549. He gave them the name of 'Quedas de Santa Maria', although they were later to be renamed, becoming known as 'Quedas del Iguazu'.

Disputed Territory

Foz do Iguacu lies on the borders of Argentina, Brazil and also the country of Paraguay, and until 1860, the falls were disputed territory between both the Brazilians and the Paraguayans. However, after Brazil's victorious emergence following the Paraguayan War, Brazilian ownership of the falls was widely accepted and acknowledged by all involved in the war.

History of Regional Growth

The Foz do Iguacu area remained practically uninhabited and quite undeveloped, with only a small and rather insignificant military settlement being based here, right up to the latter part of the 19th century. At this stage, a regional postal service saw the local community slowly begin to grow in both size and status.

In 1910, the colony officially gained the title of 'vila' (meaning town) and was called Vila Iguazu. A spell of rapid growth and prosperity followed, and then a mere four years later it was officially recognised as a city, being known as Foz do Iguassu.

In 1916, the region was visited by renowned Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, who was so taken with its charm and sheer beauty that he recommended the government should not overlook the potential within the burgeoning Foz do Iguacu region. He requested that the land be appropriated to form an expansive national park, preserving the lush tropical jungle surrounding the city. The land was subsequently taken over by the state the following year, and the Parque Nacional do Iguacu eventually came into being in the middle of the 1930s.

Economic Boom

The name of the city changed once more in the mid-1940s, albeit only very slightly, after an agreement between the literary academies of Brazil and Lisbon. This saw it renamed as Foz do Iguacu. The reason for this change was due to the implementation of language reforms, which attempted to achieve a more standardised spelling convention. A truly significant period in the history of Foz do Iguacu then came in the 1960s and lasted for no less than three decades, when the city enjoyed great trading success and affluence.

The Ponte da Amizade (Friendship Bridge) between Foz do Iguacu and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay was built in the early 1960s, and this 'arch bridge' stretches for just over 550 metres / 1,805 feet in total. When the bridge was finally completed and opened in 1965, it was the cause for great celebration in both cities, and soon after, the local economy welcomed the newfound ease of exporting goods into Paraguay. However, it was not long until smugglers began to make use of this bridge also.

Work to create the Itaipu Dam began in the 1970s and after a great deal of discussion and negotiation between both Brazil and Paraguay, it was eventually completed and opened in the year of 1984. The dam immediately began to greatly contribute to the energy requirements of Brazil. The optimism created by the opening of the dam was to be relatively short-lived, however, when the global recession hit the city in the early part of the 1990s. As a direct result of this downturn, the city witnessed noticeably fewer tourists and, at the same time, fewer consumers purchased the imported goods from Ciudad del Este, one of the principal sources of the city's economy, alongside tourism.

The Last Decade

The city's economy began to pick up again just a few years into the new millennium. In 2005, a proposal was put forward to change the city's name back to Foz do Iguassu. However, although this idea was initially accepted, after much deliberation, it was later declined and the city's name remained.

There had been a great deal of support for adjusting the name, as many wanted the spelling to revert back to its original form, when the city was formally founded in 1914, therefore recognising the history of Foz do Iguacu.