São Paulo was founded by the Jesuits in 1554, on a plateau 2,493 feet (760 metres) above sea level, but only 45 miles (72 km) from the coast, as a mission center for early settlers and the Indians who inhabited the area. For a long time it remained a small town. Around 1850 it began to grow and became richer thanks to the highly productive coffee plantations in the state. Later on, the income from coffee exports and the increasing population provided capital and manpower for the foundation of an industrial base. Today there are over 20,000 industrial plants of all types and sizes concentrated in the city and the surrounding municipalities employing 600,000 workers. São Paulo is also the major financial centre in Brazil with nearly 2,000 banking agencies.
