Arawak and Carib natives populated Brazil before European settlement. It was visited around 1500 by Spanish and Portuguese explorers, and claimed by Portugal in 1502.
The Portuguese first sailed into the mouth of the bay on January 1st, 1502, and mistook it for the mouth of a very large river. This is why it is called Rio de Janeiro - River of January.
The site of Rio de Janeiro was first permanently settled in 1567, when the Portuguese drove the French from the area. The city grew over the next several hundred years, first toward the harbor and then to the bay and plains. Sugarcane became the first major crop and economic resource. Later, gold and diamonds were discovered and contributed to Rio’s economic and population growth. By the mid 1600s, it came to have a population of 43000 people as a mining town. The city grew into a regional capital, in 1763, and then the national capital in 1822, and then went back to being the regional capitol again once Brasilia became the national capital in 1960.
Brazil became a republic in 1822, at which time Rio had over 100,000 people. Brazil and Rio grew and thrived, with exports of coffee, sugar, cotton and rubber. The city modernized, with railroads, gas lighting, telephone and steamboat service by the 1870s.
Rio first grew through movement of people within Brazil, but there was also immigration from Europe. The Brazilian government started restricting that immigration in the 1930s, and by 1960 the population was only 7% foreign. Almost half the city population by then was foreign migrant. The city grew in the 1950s by 40%, but population growth slowed when the capital moved in 1960 to Brasilia. Rio’s population has grown since then, but more slowly than before.
Today, Rio is a center for business that is home to companies with activities throughout South America. There is also a large industrial sector that produces iron, steel, chemicals, and textiles. That is their main export now, instead of gold and diamonds.
The city has had a long history of continuous development behind it, and from what history has taught us, its not done yet.
The Portuguese first sailed into the mouth of the bay on January 1st, 1502, and mistook it for the mouth of a very large river. This is why it is called Rio de Janeiro - River of January.
The site of Rio de Janeiro was first permanently settled in 1567, when the Portuguese drove the French from the area. The city grew over the next several hundred years, first toward the harbor and then to the bay and plains. Sugarcane became the first major crop and economic resource. Later, gold and diamonds were discovered and contributed to Rio’s economic and population growth. By the mid 1600s, it came to have a population of 43000 people as a mining town. The city grew into a regional capital, in 1763, and then the national capital in 1822, and then went back to being the regional capitol again once Brasilia became the national capital in 1960.
Brazil became a republic in 1822, at which time Rio had over 100,000 people. Brazil and Rio grew and thrived, with exports of coffee, sugar, cotton and rubber. The city modernized, with railroads, gas lighting, telephone and steamboat service by the 1870s.
Rio first grew through movement of people within Brazil, but there was also immigration from Europe. The Brazilian government started restricting that immigration in the 1930s, and by 1960 the population was only 7% foreign. Almost half the city population by then was foreign migrant. The city grew in the 1950s by 40%, but population growth slowed when the capital moved in 1960 to Brasilia. Rio’s population has grown since then, but more slowly than before.
Today, Rio is a center for business that is home to companies with activities throughout South America. There is also a large industrial sector that produces iron, steel, chemicals, and textiles. That is their main export now, instead of gold and diamonds.
The city has had a long history of continuous development behind it, and from what history has taught us, its not done yet.
For an interactive timeline of Rio de Janeiro's history, click here.
Not my timeline. All credit goes to the 2016 Olympics Organizing Committee.
Not my timeline. All credit goes to the 2016 Olympics Organizing Committee.