in the nineteenth century, the existing gold transportation network was taken over by the newest big-selling brazilian export, coffee - with the main coffee-producing region being the brazilian southeast, paraty found itself once again in an advantageous position, this time as an embarkation point for coffee bound for europe and as an arrival point for slaves, spices and foreign luxury items for plantation owners.

it was during this period that the construction of the town center area, as it is seen today, was completed - a railroad connecting rio to são paulo was constructed in 1870, bypassing paraty and effectively knocked it out of the loop, as it were.

the abolition of slavery in 1888 further decimated paraty's competitive edge, as much of the profit margin was derived from free labor, and there followed a mass exodus to other areas that had work available.