History Of Rio De Janeiro

Early history

Rio de Janeiro has a very exciting and extensive history which dates back to the 16th century. It is a history full of pirates, invasions and military coups. Discovered by accident in 1502 by a Portuguese captain, the Portuguese took very little interest in this newly found land until the French invaded and tried to create a colony. The Portuguese finally managed to defeat the French invaders in 1567.
 
The city was officially founded in 1565 and was originally named Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro after the Portuguese King, Sebastian I. The city constantly had to defend itself against attacks from the French and as a consequence, it was developed as a military base. Fortresses were built on the mountains, which can still be seen today.

The production of sugar cane was the first industry in the city, with Africans and natives doing all of the labour. But this wasn’t enough, as Northern Brazil produced a higher quality of cane and forced Rio out of business.

Rios progress

Rio only started to thrive in the 18th century, when the port was used to transport precious stones such as diamonds. The French once again began attacks as they discovered Rio’s new found wealth. They failed in their first attempt, but were paid a ransom for the city when they attacked again later. As fate would have it, the French army lost this ransom during a heavy storm at sea.

In 1808, Rio became the first European capital city that was not in Europe. The Portuguese monarchy had fled to Rio after Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal. Throughout the 19th century, the city of Rio started to stabilise and develop.

There was a military coup in 1889, which led to Rio becoming the capital of the republic. Rio remained as the capital of Brazil until 1960, when Brasilia became the new capital. With this move, Rio had its name changed to the State of Guanabara. It remained as this state until 1975, when a presidential decree ordered that it become the city of Rio de Janeiro once again.

Present-day Rio

Today, Rio is known as a party city, which is mainly due to the annual carnival. The origin of the carnival dates back to the 1830s, when the affluent middle classes began holding masquerade balls every year. This spread throughout the city, eventually developing into the carnival that everyone knows and loves today.