Rio de Janeiro

HISTORY

According to tradition, the spot now called Rio de Janeiro was first visited in January 1502 by Portuguese explorers, who believed the bay they encountered (now called Guanabara Bay) was the mouth of a river.

They named the area Rio de Janeiro, which translates as "River of January," based on their mistaken belief that the bay they sailed into was the mouth of a river.

The city of Rio de Janeiro was founded by the Portuguese in 1565 as São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, in honor of Sebastian, the saint who was the namesake and patron of the then Portuguese monarch.

Founding of Rio de Janeiro in 1565. By Halley Pacheco de Oliveira ,

During the 1567 Battle of Rio de Janeiro, Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drove the French out of Rio de Janeiro.

When French privateers captured gold-rich Rio de Janeiro in 1711, the Portuguese were forced to negotiate for its return. The ransom was 612,000 gold cruzados and 100 chests of sugar.

Rio was capital of Brazil from 1763 until 1960, when that role was transferred to Brasilia.

From 1808 to 1822, Rio served as the center for the exiled royal court of Portugal, then fleeing Napoleon's invasion. When Prince Regent Dom João VI arrived with the rest of the royal family in 1808 it was the first time a European monarch had set foot in the Americas.

The Embarkation of John VI and the Royal Family (1810)

Dom João transformed the city, establishing a medical school, national museum, national library (with the largest collection in Latin America) and botanical gardens.

In December 1815, Dom João made Rio the official capital of the Portuguese empire, a role it served until Brazil declared independence from Portugal in September 1822.

There was a large influx of African slaves to Rio de Janeiro during the first half of the 19th century: in 1819, there were 145,000 slaves in the captaincy. By 1840, the number of slaves had reached 220,000. During this period the Port of Rio de Janeiro was the largest port of slaves in America.

The stars on Brazil’s flag depict the night sky as seen from Rio on November 15, 1889, which was the date Brazil declared itself a republic.

On July 16, 1950, 173,850 paid spectators packed into the Maracanã stadium for the final of the 1950 World Cup. An estimated ten percent of Rio's population watched as Uruguay beat Brazil. The game holds the world record for the highest attendance at any soccer match, ever.

In 2014, Rio de Janeiro legalized street art on many types of city property, turning the already colorful city into an outdoor art gallery.

The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to 21, 2016. The opening ceremony was held on August 5 at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 Summer Olympics was a controversial event. There were concerns about the safety of the athletes, the cost of the games, and the environmental impact of the games. However, the games were ultimately a success, and they helped to promote Brazil to the world.

CHRIST THE REDEEMER

Construction on Rio's beloved statue of Jesus, which is perched atop Corcovado, began in 1922. The statue officially opened on October 12, 1931.

The imposing statue of Cristo Redentor ("Christ the Redeemer") sits majestically atop the mountain known as Corcovado ("Portuguese for ‘hunchback"), giving its 2,329-foot height an additional 125 feet. Weighing in at 635 long tons, the soapstone-and-concrete statue's welcoming arms stretch almost 97 feet across.

Aerial view of the statue. By Gustavo Facci from Argentina - Flickr.

Christ the Redeemer cost $250,000 — the equivalent of approximately $3.4 million in 2016 — to build. The statue was funded by Brazilian Catholics.

It is the eighth largest statue of Christ in the world. A giant statue of Jesus Christ on Buntu Burake hill in South Sulawesi, Indonesia (approximately 130 feet tall) is the tallest.

In January 2014, the Rio statue of Jesus lost the tip of its thumb when it was hit by lightning. Its right middle finger was damaged in a storm the previous month.

The Christ the Redeemer is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the world and can be seen in many Hollywood movies and music videos.

FUN RIO FACTS

The city’s nickname is ‘Cidade Maravilhosa’ Which, if you’re Portuguese is up to scratch, you will know means “Marvellous City”.

The people of Rio are known as “Cariocas”. Carioca means “white man’s house."

Rio residents rely on an app called "fogo cruzado" (Cross fire) to keep track of all gun battles happening in the city any given day in order to avoid them.

Rio de Janeiro celebrates an official Graffiti Day on March 27th—the date Brazilian graffiti pioneer Vallauri Alex died in 1987.

Over two million people gather annually on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on the night of December 31st, making of it the world's largest New Year's Eve party.

The annual Rio carnival is the world’s biggest and attracts around two million tourists.

Banda de Ipanema, one of the largest carnival blocks of the city. By Allbrazilian 

There are about 200 samba schools in Rio.

Sources Daily Express, Smithsonian magazine