The institution dates back to the installation of the Arsenal of Rio de Janeiro, at the foot of the hill of St. Benedict. Created on 29 December 1763, by the
governor-general of Brazil António Álvares da Cunha, 1st Count da Cunha, with the purpose of repairing ships of the
Portuguese Navy. At the time, the capital of the
colony was being transferred from
Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, among other reasons, for a better protection of the
gold that came from
Minas Gerais by the
Royal Road. With the
arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family in 1808, the Arsenal started to be designated as
Arsenal Real da Marinha or simply as
Arsenal da Corte. In 1820, its dependencies began to expand to the Ilha das Cobras. After the
independence of Brazil, faced with the need to organize and operate a Navy, the activities of the Arsenal became a priority. At this stage, it started to be called as
Arsenal Imperial da Marinha, better known as
Arsenal de Marinha da Corte. The nineteenth century watched the transition from sailing to steam navigation. During the so-called
Mauá era, vessels were built in the
shipyard in
Ponta d'Areia, in
Niterói. Later, with the outbreak of the
Paraguayan War, vessels for the
Imperial Brazilian Navy were built in shipyards in
England and in the AMRJ. At the end of the conflict, Brazil had the most powerful navy in the
South Atlantic. In 1938 two Arsenals coexisted: the
Arsenal de Marinha das Ilha das Cobras (AMIC) and the
Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro (AMRJ). After 1948, only the Arsenal located in Ilha das Cobras survived, assuming the designation of
Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro. == Projects ==