History of Santarem

Santarém was founded by Father João Felipe Bettendorff in 22 June 1661 with the name "Aldeia do Tapajós" (Tapajós village). After founding the city Father Bettendorff built the Chapel of Our Lady of Conception. The site where the first mass was celebrated in the city is now marked by a monument.

Eventually, Pedro Teixeira resumed his exploration and the Jesuits were left with the task of founding a village for missionary purposes on the site where Father Antônio Vieira had been in 1659. Upon the development of this village, many others were founded nearby including the Village of Borari which is known today as the Village of Alter do Chão.

After the progress made by the missionaries, Francisco da Mota Falcão started the erection of a fortress in 1693, which was then finished by his son, Manoel Mota Siqueira in 1697. The building had a square shape and featured bastions on each corner. The Fortress of Tapajós was the nucleus of the village which gave birth to the city of Santarém. Many attempts to renovate the fortress were made, the last being in 1867 and 6 cannons were sent to the fortress by the government. The renovation however, was never finished and the cannons were left in the street. Today not much is left of the fortress. A High School was built on the site in the year of 1900 and early in the decade of 2000, a touristic attraction called "Praça Mirante do Tapajós" was built behind the school. Two of the cannons from the fortress are currently in the city's airport where they can be seen from the passenger terminal, two other are in the Centenário Square and two in the SUDAM Campus of the Federal University of Western Pará (UFOPA).

Santarém received the title of City in 24 October 1948.