in the late 17th century the bandeirantes found gold in the area that nowadays is minas gerais. a gold rush took place in brazil and thousands of portuguese colonists arrived during this period. the confrontation between the bandeirantes and the portuguese for obtaining possession of the mines led to the emboabas' war. the portuguese won the war. the amerindian culture declined, giving space to a stronger portuguese cultural domination. in order to control the wealth, the portuguese crown moved the capital of brazil from salvador, bahia to rio de janeiro. thousands of african slaves were brought to work in the gold mines. they were landed in rio de janeiro and sent to other regions. by the late 18th century, rio de janeiro was an "african city": most of its inhabitants were slaves. no other place in the world had as many slaves since the end of the roman empire. in 1808 the portuguese royal family, fleeing from napoleon, took charge in rio de janeiro. some 15,000 portuguese nobles moved to brazil. the region changed a lot, becoming more european.