Rio de Janeiro (state)
This article is about the Brazilian state, Rio de Janeiro. For the city with the same name, see Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro (
pron. IPA: //
[The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is: //.]) is one of the 26
states of
Brazil (plus the
Federal District). It has an area of 43,653km² and is situated on the southeastern coast. Its capital is the city of
Rio de Janeiro, which was the colony's capital as of
1763 (the first capital being
Salvador da Bahia), and the nation's capital from
1822 to
1960. In the year
2000, the state population was 14,381,282.
Governor: Rosângela Matheus (since
January 1,
2003).
Lieutenant Governor: Luiz Paulo Conde (former
mayor of
Rio de Janeiro).
Here the flag can be seen with, in the foreground, the
eagle, symbol of Brazil's royal family, and in the background, the rock formation
Dedo de Deus ("
The Finger of God"), which is visible from the city of Rio de Janeiro on a clear day. The outer part of the coat of arms represents its agricultural richness, sugarcane (left) and coffee (right).
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The city of Rio de Janeiro is one of the most importants to Brazil's History |
This Brazilian state is in the east of the southeastern subdivision of
Brazil, which also contains the states of
São Paulo,
Minas Gerais and
EspÃrito Santo. It has as its limits: The
Atlantic Ocean (E), the state of EspÃrito Santo (N), the state of
Minas Gerais (N) and (W), and the state of
São Paulo (S).
*
White - 54.7% (Mostly
Portuguese,
Italian and
German)
*
Mixed Race - 33.5% (Mostly
Mulatto and
Mestizo)
*
Black - 10.6% (Mostly
Bantu and
Yoruba ancestry)
*
Amerindian - 0.3%
*
Asian - 0.2%
*Undescribed - 0.7%
Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of the federation, after
São Paulo. Major industries include Oil extration and refinery, chemical factories, naval construction and the state is home to some of the most successful Brazilian companies, such as Petrobrás (the government's oil company) and Banco do Brasil (the country's largest bank). The income per capita is higher than the country's itself and the size of the economy (US$ 190 billion) is comparable to that of Chile, Ireland, Portugal and Denmark (which, curiously, are about the size of the state).
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 the sugar cane they had stimulated the progress, definitively assured when the port started to export the extracted gold of
Minas Gerais, in 18 century. In
1763, Rio de Janeiro was 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.
Other cities include:
List of Governors of Rio de Janeiro*
Official homepage (Portuguese/English)
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State Judiciary (Portuguese)
*
State Assembly (Portuguese)
*
State University (Portuguese and English)
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Northern State University (Portuguese)
*
State Attornery Office (Portuguese)
*
State Civil Defence (Portuguese)
*
State Military Police *
State Civil Police
