:''This article is about the Brazilian state, Rio de Janeiro. For the city with the same name, see
Rio de Janeiro''
'Rio de Janeiro' (
pron. [1]) is one of the
26 states of
Brazil.
It is located in the Brazilian geopolitical region of the
Southeast (assigned by
IBGE) and its boundaries, all of them with other Brazilian states in the Southeast region (Rio de Janeiro is the only state in the Southeast to share borders exclusively with other states in the same macroregion), are with
Minas Gerais (
N and
NW),
EspÃrito Santo (
NE) and
São Paulo (
SW), and plus its shore line, in the
Atlantic Ocean, to its
East and
South.
Rio de Janeiro has an area of 43,653km² and its capital is the city of
Rio de Janeiro, which was the capital of the Portuguese colony as of
1763 (the first capital being
Salvador da Bahia), capital of the United Kingdom of Brazil, Portugal and Algarves as of 1806 and the capital of independent Brazil from
1822 to
1960.
The state's most populous cities are
Rio de Janeiro,
Nova Iguaçu,
Niterói,
Duque de Caxias,
São Gonçalo,
São João de Meriti,
Campos dos Goytacazes,
Petrópolis and
Volta Redonda.
Its principal
rivers are the
Guandu River, the
PiraÃ, the
ParaÃba do Sul, the
Macaé and the
Muriaé. It's climate is considered to be
tropical.
Rio de Janeiro is made up of two distinct
morphological areas: a
Plain, known as ''baixada'', and a
Plateau, which are disposed parallelly from the shoreline to the country side (towards Minas Gerais).
In the
Brazilian flag, the state is represented by the
Beta star in the Southern Cross (β = ''Mimosa'').
State flag
Coat of arms of the state of Rio de Janeiro
In the foreground of the state flag, an
eagle, symbol of Brazil's royal family, appears. In the background, the rock formation ''Dedo de Deus'' ("
The Finger of God"), which is visible from the city of Rio de Janeiro in a clear day.
The outer part of the coat of arms represents the state's agricultural richness,
sugarcane (left) and
coffee (right).
Geography
The state is part of the
Mata Atlântica biome, and its topography comprises both
mountains and plains, located between the
Mantiqueira Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Its coast is carved by the bays of
Guanabara,
Sepetiba, and
Ilha Grande.
There are prominent
slopes near the ocean, featuring also diverse environments, such as
restinga vegetation,
bays,
lagoons and
tropical forests.
Rio de Janeiro is the smallest state in the Southeast macroregion and one of the smallest in Brazil. It has, however, the third longest coastline in the country (second only to
Bahia's and
Maranhão's), extending 635
kilometers.
Ethnic groups
The state's population traces its origins to 2 peoples mainly: the
Portuguese and the
Africans. Until the mid-
19th century, most of the population was made up of
black people, but that century saw a vertiginous increase in the European migration from Portugal, causing the number of European whites virtually to even up with the African population. Their numbers are completed by a portion of
indigenous peoples, who also make up the state's population.
The first non-Portuguese immigrants to arrive at the state were the
Swiss. In 1818, they founded the township of
Nova Friburgo (or New
Fribourg) in the mountainous part of the state (Westernmost area, bordering with the state of
Minas Gerais). Some time later,
Germans started arriving in the
Petrópolis region. They established themselves also in Nova Friburgo, in 1823, a year before the great German settlement in the southern state of
Rio Grande do Sul, contradicting the more popular version which attributes to Rio Grande do Sul the status of starting point for the German immigration.
Italians and
Spaniards would arrive slightly later, settling mainly in the State's capital.
''Source: PNAD.''
[1]
History
Hereditary captainships
Rio de Janeiro was originated from parts of the captainships of de Tomé and São Vicente. Between
1555 and
1567, the territory was busy with the Frenchmen, who intended to install a colony,
France Antarctique. Aiming at to prevent the occupation of the Frenchmen, in March
1565, the city of
Rio de Janeiro was established by
Estácio de Sá.
In the 17th century, cattle and sugar cane stimulated the city's progress which was definitively assured when the port started to export the extracted gold of
Minas Gerais in 18 century. In
1763, Rio de Janeiro became the headquarters of the Colonial Brazil and the capital of the colony. With the change of the royal family for Brazil, in
1808, the region very was benefited with urban reforms to shelter the Portuguese. Inside of the promoted changes they are distinguished: the transference of agencies of public administration and justice, the creation of new churches, hospitals, foundation of the first bank of the country - the
Banco do Brasil - and the Imprensa Régia, with the Gazette do Rio of Janeiro. In following years had also appeared the Jardim Botânico, Academia Real Militar.
Thus, a process of cultural introduction, influenced not only by the arrival of the Royal Family, but also by the presence of European artists who had been hired to register the society and Brazilian nature. In this same time, was born the Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e OfÃcios (The Royal School of Sciences, Arts, and Works).
The Neutral City
In
1834, the city of Rio de Janeiro was transformed into neutral city, remaining as capital of the country, while the captainships passed to being provinces, with its headquarters in Niterói, a neighbor city. In
1889, the city was changed into capital of the Republic, the neutral city in federal district and the province in State. With the change of the capital for Brasilia, in
1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro became the State of
Guanabara.
The new State of Rio de Janeiro
In
1975, the states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro were merged under the name of Rio de Janeiro, with the city of Rio de Janeiro as state capital. The symbols of the former State of Rio de Janeiro were preserved, while the symbols of Guanabara were attributed to the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Cities
★
List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil
See also
★
List of Governors of Rio de Janeiro
Notes
1. The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese variant spoken in Rio de Janeiro. Other possible pronunciations in Brazil are: (Rio Grande do Sul), (São Paulo) and (Northeast). The European Portuguese pronunciation is: //.
External links
★ /
Official homepage
★
State Judiciary
★
State Assembly
★ /
State University
★
Northern State University
★
State Attornery Office
★
State Civil Defence
★
State Military Police
★
State Civil Police
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