It was discovered on January 6, 1502, but has been under continual settlement since 1556. Its population was estimated on 1 July 2009 to be 168,664 inhabitants.
The municipality fell into decline after 1872 with the advent of railways. It came back into prominence in the 1920s when a railway extension connected it to the states of Minas Gerais and Goias, as a terminus for the transportation of agriculture production from these same two states. The railway extension, in meter gauge, still exists and is currently operated by the Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica company.
In the mid-twentieth century, the municipality was an essential part of the implementation of Companhia Siderurgica Nacional - CSN, Volta Redonda, and the endpoint for coking coal supplied from Santa Catarina. Today the same company also uses the port, in part, for its steel exports
