The Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro was established in the northern portion of the Captaincy of São Vicente, encompassing territory from Macaé (now part of Rio de Janeiro) to Caraguatatuba (now part of São Paulo). This region had been abandoned by its donatário Martim Afonso de Sousa, who, uninterested in its settlement, directed his attention and resources to the area along the current São Paulo coast.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro
- Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro in the context of Rio de Janeiro
Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro in the context of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, and also known as Rio, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil after São Paulo and the sixth-most-populous city in the Americas.
Founded in 1565, the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, a domain of the Portuguese Empire. In 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil. In 1808, when the Portuguese Royal Court moved to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro became the seat of the court of Queen Maria I of Portugal. Under the leadership of her son, prince regent John of Braganza, Maria raised Brazil to the dignity of a kingdom, within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves. Rio remained as the capital of the pluricontinental monarchy until 1822, when the Brazilian War of Independence began. This is one of the few instances in history that the capital of a colonizing country officially shifted to a city in one of its colonies. Rio de Janeiro subsequently served as the capital of the Empire of Brazil, until 1889, and then the capital of republican Brazil until 1960 when the capital was transferred to Brasília.
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