Iguape is a municipality located into the Ribeira Valley in the southern portion of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 30,989 (2020 estimate) in an area of , making it the largest municipality area in São Paulo state. The city was officially founded on December 3, 1538, and its historic constructions are classified as national heritage by the IPHAN since 2009. Its name has tupi origins and its translation means "in the river cove", 'y (water/river), kûá (cove) and pe (in). History The extinct unclassified Jaguanan language was formerly spoken by indigenous peoples in Iguape. Because of its location, close to the limits established by the Tordesillas Treaty, the Iguape region was the stage for constant disputes among Portuguese, Spanish, and French pirates who landed there in order to refill their vessels or to trade in their goods. The foundation of Iguape is sometimes attributed to Rui Garcia de Mosquera, a Spanish navigator and colonizer who established a good relationship with the Tupiniquin Indians. In another unproved account, in 1498 a Spanish group landed in the region giving the name Iguape to a tiny village, in reference to a local Indian name for a common regional plant. Some years later, a French pirate vessel attacked Iguape and set fire to the village, destroying all official documentation. The veracity of those events is unknown, but there is no doubt that the first years of Iguape's history were strongly influenced by the presence of the Spanish. Searching for gold With the discovery of gold at the end of the 16th century, Iguape was increasingly visited by adventurers searching for gold along the rivers. In 1635, there already existed the so-called "Casa da Oficina Real", the first money producing institution in Brazil (today Iguape's local museum). The discovery of gold at Serra da Paranapiacaba, in the interior of Vale do Ribeira, intensified the navigation of the Ribeira de Iguape River resulting in the formation of new villages such as Registro, Eldorado Paulista, Iporanga, Jacupiranga and Sete Barras. Around 1780, the gold cycle had come to an end and many families left the region. Rice farming Nevertheless, since the beginning of the 18th century the fertile grounds of the Ribeira valley were converted into large rice plantations. The rice, of an excellent quality, was intensively commercialized in Iguape and from there exported to Europe. From 1820 to 1900, Iguape experienced a