Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
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Newsjunkie.net is a resource guide for journalists. We show who's behind the news, and provide tools to help navigate the modern business of information.
Use of Data
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The Arquivo Público Mineiro (APM) is the oldest cultural institution in the state of Minas Gerais and one of the oldest state archives in Brazil. It was established by Law No. 126 of 11 July 1895, during the administration of state president Chrispim Jacques Bias Fortes, initially in Ouro Preto — then the state capital. Its founding mandate included receiving, classifying, and conserving all documents relating to public law, legislation, administration, history, geography, and the scientific, literary, and artistic activity of Minas Gerais. The archive was also originally conceived with museum and library functions, and its enabling legislation called for a periodic journal, which was first published in 1896 as the Revista do Arquivo Público Mineiro.
In 1901, following the transfer of the state capital to the newly built city of Belo Horizonte, the APM was reorganised and moved. It occupied provisional premises before settling permanently in 1938 in its current home on Avenida João Pinheiro — a substantial two-storey house built in 1897 by the Capital Construction Commission for the Secretary of Finance. The building has eclecticist architectural features and was registered as a state heritage monument in 1975. It underwent restoration campaigns between 1995 and 1998 and again from 2006 to 2008.
The APM's collection encompasses manuscripts, printed documents, maps, plans, photographs, engravings, films, books, pamphlets, and periodicals spanning three centuries of Minas Gerais history, from the colonial period (eighteenth century) through the present. Documents of private origin of public and social interest are also held. The archive maintains a specialised library on the history of Minas Gerais and archival science, including rare works published between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries.
Notable holdings include documents from the colonial Inconfidência Mineira conspiracy of 1789, the devassas (judicial inquiries) against independence rebel Tiradentes, and a range of legal, administrative, and cultural records from all periods. In 2007 the archive launched its online access system, SIAAPM (Sistema Integrado de Acesso do Arquivo Público Mineiro), providing web-based access to finding aids, catalogue records, and thousands of digitised documents.
The APM is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. In-person research requires prior scheduling, available online. Virtual access to the digitised collection is available free of charge through SIAAPM. Contact for research queries may be sent to the reference email.