, the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro
Hereditary captainships European presence in Rio de Janeiro dates back to 1502. Rio de Janeiro originated from parts of the captainships of de Tomé and São Vicente. Between 1555 and 1567, the territory was occupied by the French, who intended to install a colony,
France Antarctique. Aiming 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 raising and sugar cane cultivation stimulated the city's progress, which was definitively assured when the port started to export gold extracted from
Minas Gerais in the 18th century. In 1763, Rio de Janeiro became the capital of Colonial Brazil. With the flight of the Portuguese royal family from Portugal to Brazil in 1808, the region soon benefited from urban reforms to house the Portuguese. Chief among the promoted changes were the transformation of agencies of public administration and justice, the creation of new churches and hospitals, the foundation of the first bank of the country (the
Bank of Brazil) and the Royal Press, with the Gazette do Rio of Janeiro. The following years witnessed the creation of the
Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden) and the . There followed a process of cultural enhancement influenced not only by the arrival of the royal family, but also by the presence of European graphic artists who were hired to record the society and Brazilian natural features. During this same time, was founded as well.
The neutral city In 1834, the city of Rio de Janeiro was transformed into a
"neutral city", remaining as capital of the state, while the captainships became provinces, with headquarters in
Niterói, a neighbouring city. In 1889, the city became the capital of the Republic, the neutral city became the federal district and the province a state. In 1894,
Petrópolis became the capital of Rio de Janeiro, until 1902 when Niterói recovered its capital status. With the relocation of the federal capital to Brasília in 1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro became
Guanabara State. Niterói remained the state capital for Rio de Janeiro state, while Rio de Janeiro served the same status for Guanabara.
The new state of Rio de Janeiro In 1975, a further change took place, with the merger of the states of Rio de Janeiro and the state of Guanabara, restoring the then city-state to the status of a municipality, governed by mayors. In the 1970s, with the transfer of the capital to Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro began to be one of the worst states in the country in terms of economic dynamism. There was no political discussion about the course of the city after it ceased to be the country's capital. "Rio de Janeiro was a job hanger for politicians from all over Brazil. Everyone referred a friend, a relative to take a position in the federal district," explains Marieta de Moraes Ferreira, history professor at
UFRJ. Left-wing governors and mayors such as
Leonel Brizola,
Saturnino Braga,
Marcello Allencar,
César Maia,
Anthony Garotinho, and
Benedita da Silva, among others, helped drive away many industries that still existed in the state. Combined with the incitement to favelas, where Brizola said for example that "the
favela is not a problem, the favela is a solution", the capital has deteriorated in a few decades, dragging down the State. The state still maintains itself as the largest oil producer in Brazil (80% of the total), where royalties and special participations brought the state 4.2 billion reais in 2014, when the barrel of oil reached $93.48. But oil revenues, used by the government to repay financing debts, including the payroll of idle workers, fell to 1.6 billion reais. The international price of a barrel fell to USD 50.48 in 2016 and reached a low of USD 28. Petrobras became the target of the largest anti-corruption operation in Brazil, with the participation of governors such as
Sérgio Cabral Filho and
Pezão, linked to leftist
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, pushing back investments that were to be at the forefront of the pre-salt exploration. Even when state municipalities received millions of reais in royalties, public spending was used for marginal improvements, for beautification, such as porcelain floors, whale-shaped monuments, without generating revenue or benefit. jobs for the population. Political leaders are blamed for the lack of a unified project for Rio de Janeiro's economy. ==Geography==