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In 1502, on January 1st, the portuguese found the Guanabara Bay.
At first sight, the sailors thought that it was the mouth of a great river and called the lan that were washed by the water as Rio de
Janeiro, the month that they arrived there. After the first visits to the region, the land was practically abandoned because the portuguese
preferred to concentrate their efforts in the areas of the coast of the country where there was "Pau-Brasil".
The city was founded many years later, on march 1st, 1565, by the
portuguese militar Estácio de Sá. He had the intention of kicking out the french who had been there for 10 years and to colonize the new
land. When they arrived in Rio de Janeiro in the middle of the 16th Century, the french tried, little by little, to conquer the
confidence of the indians and, in this way, exchanged spices for animals. Even with so many hardships, Estácio de Sá defeated the french and
founded the city of Rio de Janeiro but ended up dying one month later.
When the french were kicked out in 1567 and the Tamoio indians dominated the
area, the city had a very small number of houses. In order for the people to have more protection, the governor Mem de Sá transfered the
city to the Morro de São Januário which started to be called Morro do Castelo because of a fort which had been built in the place. The
change was done in order to avoid the attacks of the pirates.
The development of the city occured during the 18th Century in
spite of the troubled period of invasions and constant fight against the french. The evolution and wealth of the city attracted the
portuguese, since Rio de Janeiro had become the principal commercial center of the regions of the gold and diamond mines.
One of the facts the enriched the city was the arrival of the Royal Family in
the beginning of the 19th Century. The portuguese Court opened the ports, integrated Brazil to the world market and raised the
city to the condition of Capital of the Reign, uniting Portugal, Brazil and Algarve. Dom João began to govern the country and and,
with his capacity of leadership, expanded Brazil, declaring Independence from Portugal in 1822. Rio de Janeiro transformed itself into a
branch of the United Kingdom, with Dom Pedro I as emperor.
The growth of Rio de Janeiro accelerated in the 19th Century with
the end of the monarch in 1889. The city started to invest in transportation, several rivers were channele and the Court of Commerce in the
Court of the City. Besides this, other improvements were promoted like the creation of the Fire Department, the arrival of eletric lights
and the telephone that contributed for the modernization of the city.
In 1763, the city became the capital of Brazil, a position that it held for
almost two hundred years. Rio de Janeiro lost its post of political headquarters of the Court with the construction of the city of Brasília
which became the headquarters of the government in 1960. By determination of the military regime, the states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro
formed one state in 1975, with the capital being Rio de Janeiro.
Today, Rio de Janeiro is the most visited city of the country, by foreigners
as well as brazilian tourists, that admire, not only the natural beauty but the historical importance of the city as well. |
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