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Bible Encyclopedias
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or RIO DE JANEIRO (in full, SÃo Sebastiao Do Rio DE Janeiro, colloquially shortened to Rio), a city and port of Brazil, capital of the republic, and seat of an archbishopric, on the western side of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, or Guanabara, in lat. 2 5°54' 2 3" S., long. 43°8'34"W. (the position of the Observatory). The city is situated in the S.E. angle of the Federal District ( Districto Federal ) formerly known as the Neutral Municipality (Municipio Neutro ), an independent district or commune with an area of 538 sq. m., which was detached from the province of Rio de Janeiro in 1834. The city stands in great part on an alluvial plain formed by the filling in of the western shore of the bay, which extends inland from the shore-line in a north-westerly direction between a detached group of mountains on the S. known as the Serra da Carioca, and the imposing wooded heights of the Serra do Mar on the N. The spurs of the Carioca range project into this plain, in some places, closely up to the margin of the bay, forming picturesque valleys within the limits of the city. Some of the residential quarters follow these valleys up into the mountains and extend up their slopes and over the lower spurs, which, with the hills covered with buildings rising in the midst of the city, give a picturesque appearance. At the entrance to the bay is the Sugar Loaf (Pilo de Assucar ), a conical rock rising 1212 ft. above the waterlevel and forming the terminal point of a short range between the city and the Atlantic coast. The culminating point of that part of the Carioca range which projects into and partly divides the city is the Corcovado (Hunchback), a sharp rocky peak 2329 ft. high overlooking the Botafogo suburb and approachable only on the wooded N.W. side. These spurs are covered with luxuriant vegetation, excepting their perpendicular faces and the slopes occupied by the suburbs. Considerably beyond the limits of the city on its S.W. side, but within the municipality, is the huge isolated flat-topped rock known as the Gavea, 2575 ft. high, which received its name from its resemblance to the square sail used on certain Portuguese craft. The sky-line of this range of mountains, as seen by the approaching traveller some miles outside the entrance to the bay, forms the rough outline of a huge reclining figure called " the sleeping giant," the facial profile of which is also known as " Lord Hood's nose." The entrance to the bay, between the Sugar Loaf on the W. and the Pico on the E., with fortress of Santa Cruz on one side and the fort of Sao Joao on the other, is about a mile wide and free from obstructions. Almost midway in the channel are the little island and fort of Lage, so near the level of the sea that the spray is sometimes carried completely over it. On the W. is the semicircular bay of Botafogo, round which are grouped the residences of one of the richest suburbs; on the E., the almost land-locked bay of Jurujuba (see Nictheroy). The bay extends northward nearly 162 nautical miles, with a maximum breadth of II m. and a minimum, between the arsenal of war (Ponta do Calabouro) and the opposite Ponta da Gravata, of about 3 500 yds. The shore-line is irregular, and has been modified by the construction of sea-walls and the filling in of shallow bays. Close to the shore are the islands of Villegaignon (occupied by a fort), Cobras (occupied by fortifications, naval storehouses, hospital and dry docks), Santa Barbara and Enxadas, the site of the Brazilian naval school. A small island just above the lower anchorage, which is occupied by port officials, was once known as Rat island, and is now called Ilha Fiscal. There is one lake within the urban limits, the Lagoa de Rodrigo de Freitas, near the Botanical Garden, separated from the sea by a narrow sand beach, which is being gradually filled in. Several small streams from the hills are conspicuous only in times of heavy rains.
The oldest part of the city, which includes the commercial section, lies between Castle and Santo Antonio hills on the S. and Sao Bento, Conceicao and Livramento hills on the N., and extends inland to the Praca da Republica, though the defensive works in colonial times followed a line much nearer the bay. This section during the past century has extended southward along the bay shore in a string of suburbs known as the Cattete and Botafogo, with that of Larangeiras behind the Cattete in a pretty valley of the same name, and thence on or near the Atlantic coast as Largo dos Leoes, Copacabana and Gavea, the last including the Botanical Garden. The greatest development has been northward and westward, where are to be found the suburbs of Cidade Nova, Sao Christovao, Engenho Novo, Praia Formoso, Pedregulho, Villa Isabel, Tijuca, and a number of smaller places extending far out on the line of the Central railway. The extreme length of the city along lines of communication is little less than 20 m.
Streets
Some of the most modern streets on the plain have been laid out with Spanish-American regularity, but much the greater part seems to have sprung into existence without any plan. Most of the streets of the old city are parallel and cross at right angles, but they are narrow and enclose blocks of unequal size. Each suburb is laid out independently, with straight streets where the ground permits, and crooked ones where the shore-line or mountain contour compels. Since the beginning of the 20th century large sums have been borrowed and expended on new avenues, the widening and straightening of old streets, and the improvement of the water-front between the Passeio Publico and the southern extremity of the Praia de Botafogo by the construction of a grand boulevard, partly on reclaimed land. One of these improvements consists of a central avenue cut across the old city from a point on the water-front near the Passeio Publico northward to the Sande water-front. The shore-line boulevard, called the Avenida Beira-Mar, is about 43 m. long, the wider parts ,being filled in with gardens. It was undertaken in 1903, during the administration of President Rodrigues Alves, as part of a vast scheme to improve the sanitary and traffic conditions of the city, including the construction of a new shore-line and filling in the shallow parts of the shore, which had long been considered one of the prime causes of the unhealthy state of the city. Another improvement was the completion and embellishment of the Mangue canal, originally designed as an entrance to a central market for the boats plying on the bay, but now destined for drainage purposes and as a public pleasure ground. This canal, as completed, is nearly 2 m. long, enclosed with stone walls, crossed by a number of iron bridges and bordered by lines of royal palms. The most famous street of the old city is the Rua do Ouvidor, running westward from the market-place to the Largo de Sao Francisco de Paula, and lined with retail shops, cafés and newspaper offices. It has long been a favourite promenade, and fills an important part in the social and political life of the city. The principal business street is the Rua Primeiro de Marco, formerly called Rua Direita, which extends from the Praca 15 de Novembro northward to Sao Bento Hill. All these old streets, excepting the last, are narrow and paved with squared granite blocks, and have their vehicle traffic regulated to go in one direction only. The side walks are very narrow, and the gas lamps are attached to the walls of the buildings. The streets and suburbs are served by five groups of tramway lines - Jardim Botanico, Santa Thereza, Sao Christovao, Villa Isabel, and Carris Urbanos - all using electric traction but the last. The streets are lighted with electricity and gas, the Ouvidor and some other narrow streets having a great number of gas-pipe arches across them for decorative illumination on festal
occasions.
Parks
The public parks and gardens are numerous and include the Botanical Garden with its famous avenue of royal palms (Oreodoxa regia); the Passeio Publico (dating from 1783), a small garden on the water-front facing the harbour entrance; the Jardim d'Acclamacao, forming part of the Praca da Republica (once known as the Campo de Sant' Anna) with its artistic walks and masses of shrubbery; the Praca Tiradentes (the old Largo do Rocio, afterwards rechristened Praca da Constituicao) with its magnificent equestrian statue of Dom Pedro I. executed by the French sculptor Luiz Rochet; the Praca 15 de Novembro on the water-front facing the old city palace; and a number of smaller squares with and without gardens.
Water Supply and Sewerage Drainage
The water supply is derived from three sources: the small streams flowing down the mountain sides which serve small localities; the old Carioca aqueduct, dating from colonial times, which collects a considerable supply from the small streams of the Serra da Carioca and brings it into the city through a covered conduit which once crossed the gap between Santa Thereza and Santo Antonio hills on two ranges of stone arches (now used as a viaduct by the Santa Thereza Tramway Company); and the modern Rio do Ouro waterworks, which brings in an abundant supply from the Serra do Tinqua, N.W. of the city - the length of the iron mains being 33 m. between the principal collecting reservoir and the main distributing reservoir at Pedregulho, near the Ponta do Caju. There are three other distributing reservoirs in different parts of the city, and the supply, which has been augmented since the works were inaugurated in 1885, is good and ample. An extensive system of sewers was constructed by the City Improvements Co., an English corporation, which initiated the work in 1853; and a separate system of rain-water drains. The Leicester system is used because the greater part of the sewers are below sea-level, and it is necessary to use powerful pumps.
Climate
The climate of Rio de Janeiro is hot, humid and debilitating, the temperature ranging from 50 to 99.5° F. in the shade, with an average for the year of 74 °, and the rainfall being about 44 in. The greater part of the city is only 2 or 3 ft. above sea-level, is surrounded by mountains, and has large areas of water, swamp and wet soil in its vicinity. But the unhealthiness of Rio de Janeiro in past years may be charged to insanitary conditions and not to the climate. Yellow fever, whose first recorded appearance was in December 1849, was for many years almost a regular yearly visitant, and the mortality from it has been terrible. Smallpox also is practically endemic, owing in great part to negligent sanitary supervision. Since 1900 there have been several mild outbreaks of bubonic plague. These dangerous diseases are slowly disappearing as sanitary conditions are improved. The death-rate from tuberculosis, however, is high, and apparently shows no abatement. This is undoubtedly due to constitutional weakness arising from bad nutrition and the habit of sleeping in closed or badly ventilated apartments. Malarial fevers are also common, and diseases of the digestive organs, in great part easily preventible, figure among the principal causes of death. According to official returns for the five years 1900-1905, the average number of deaths was 15,926, or 20.4 per 'coo. Among the deaths 2789 were from tuberculosis, 1200 from smallpox, 77 8 from malarial diseases, 331 from la grippe, and 106 from beri-beri. There were no unusual epidemics during those years, and the rate given may be considered normal.
Buildings
There remain many public edifices and dwellings of the colonial period, severely plain in appearance, with heavy stone walls and tile roofs. The old city palace facing upon Praca 15 de Novembro, once the residence of the fugitive Portuguese sovereign Dom Joao VI., is a good example. The 19th century brought no important modifications until near its close, when French and Italian styles began to appear, both in exterior decoration and in architectural design. The new Praca do Commercia (Merchants' Exchange) and Post Office on Rua 1 ° de Marco, and the national printing office near the Largo da Carioca, are notable examples. Since then exterior ornamentation and architectural eccentricities have run riot, and the city is now a mixture of the plain one-storey and two-storey buildings of the Portuguese type, and fanciful modern creations, embellished with stucco and overtopping the others by many storeys. Although a metropolitan see, Rio has no cathedral, the old imperial chapel facing the Praca 15 de Novembro being used for that purpose. The foundations were once laid for a great cathedral on the Largo de Sao Francisco de Paula, but the building stone was taken for a neighbouring theatre, and the foundations were afterwards used for the Polytechnic School. The most noteworthy church is the Candelaria church, in the commercial district, whose twin towers and graceful dome form one of the most conspicuous landmarks of the city. It was begun in 1775, but was not finished until near the end of the 19th century. Its fine proportions, however, are concealed by commercial buildings and by the narrow streets. Among many other churches, usually plain and bare of interior decoration, are the popular Sao Francisco de Paula church, on the square of that name; the Carmo church in Rua 1 ° de Marco; the Cruz dos Militares church in the same street; the Rosario church in the street of that name, belonging to a fraternity of negroes and once occupied by the episcopal chapter; and the prettily situated octagonal Gloria church on a hill of that name overlooking the lower bay. Another church of the same name faces on the Largo do Machado and shows the peculiar combination of a Greek temple surmounted by a modern spire. The British residents have an unpretentious chapel in Rua Evaristo da Veiga, the Methodists a more modern structure on the Largo do Cattete and the Presbyterians a chapel near Praga Tiradentes. There is religious toleration in Brazil, but down to the organization of the republic no non-Catholic church or chapel was permitted to have a spire or other outward symbol of a place of worship.
Among public buildings of an official character the following are noteworthy. The old city palace facing on Praga 15 de Novembro dates from 1743 and was the residence of the royal governors and Dom Joao VI., but is now used by the national telegraph offices. The Sao Christovao palace, in the suburb of that name, was the residence of the Emperor Dom Pedro II. It is a rambling structure now occupied by the National Museum. The Cattete palace, on the street of that name, originally a private residence, is now the official residence of the President, richly decorated within and partly surrounded by a handsome park. The Itamaraty palace near the Praga da Republica, a typical private residence of the better class, was purchased for and occupied by the first presidents and is now occupied by the ministry of foreign affairs. The palace of justice, on Rua Primeiro de Margo, is one of the finest edifices in the city; and the ministry of industry and public works, on the south side of the Praga 15 de Novembro may be noticed. The ministry of war has its offices in the immense military quartet (barracks) on the north side of the Praga da Republica, and the ministry of marine in the naval arsenal at the foot of Sao Bento Hill. The ministry of finance is in the Treasury building on Rua do Sacramento - an immense structure of no special architectural merit. The Senate occupies a plain unattractive building on the west side of the Praga da Republica, and the Chamber of Deputies an ugly colonial building in Rua da Misericordia, originally used as a city hall and jail. A new legislative palace is designed to occupy the block on the west side of the Praga Tiradentes. There are a number of theatres, but the city had no large theatre of architectural merit previous to the construction of the Municipal Theatre at the intersection of the Avenida Central with Rua 13 de Maio, with an elegant marble facade in the French Renaissance style. Bull-fights have never been popular in Rio de Janeiro, but horse-racing is a favourite sport, and the Jockey Club maintains a racecourse in the Sao Francisco Xavier suburb. Other notable buildings are the ornate Monroe palace at the intersection of the Central and Beira-Mar avenues, the Praca do Commercio (Commercial Exchange) on Rua 1 ° de Margo, the Caixa da Amortizagao on the Avenida Central, the custom-house with its extensive warehouses, the terminal station of the Central railway at the N.W. angle of the Praga da Republica, and the library building of the Gabinete Portuguez da Leitura with its exquisite " Manuelino " façade of Lisbon marble.
Educalion
Although much money is given to hospitals and asylums, Rio de Janeiro has no great educational institutions either public or private. The Medical School may be considered the only distinctively professional school in the city. The Polytechnic School, occupying an interesting old building on the Largo de Sao Francisco de Paula, is chiefly devoted to civil engineering. The Gymnasio Nacional, formerly the Collegio D. Pedro II., is a boys' college of a high school grade, located on Rua Floriano Peixoto, with an 'internato or boarding-school in Rua de S. Francisco Xavier. The college dates from 1735, when it was founded as an asylum for orphan boys destined for the Church. In 1837 it became a state institution and took the name of the Emperor Dom Pedro II. One of the most noteworthy schools of the city is the Lycen de Artes e Officios, located on Rua 13 de Maio, opposite the operahouse; it dates from 1858 and has been the means of giving instruction to a multitude of clerks, artisans and others, through its night classes. Another important school, partly of this class, is the Instituto Benjamin Constant, located in a fine new edifice on the Praia da Saudade, Botafogo. The public schools of Rio de Janeiro are defective both in organization and administration; the non-attendance of children from the higher classes, and the antagonism of the Church to schools under purely secular administration, must be held responsible for the backwardness of these schools. The episcopal seminary on Castle Hill, called the " Seminario Episcopal de Sao Jose," founded in 1739 and devoted exclusively to the education of priests, is the best classical school in the city. There are a number of charitable institutions devoted to the education of orphans, the blind and the deaf and dumb, which are admirably equipped and administered. Among other educational institutions are a conservatory of music, school of fine arts, normal school, a national library with upwards of 260,000 volumes and a large number of manuscripts, maps, medals and coins, the national observatory on Castle Hill, the national museum now domiciled in the Sao Christovao palace in the midst of a pretty park, a zoological garden in the suburb of Villa Isabel, and the famous Botanical Garden founded by Dom Joao VI. in 1808 and now a horticultural experiment station.
Hospitals, &c. - Rio de Janeiro is well provided with hospitals, asylums and benevolent institutions. Chief of these is the Misericordia Hospital, popularly known as the " Santa Casa," belonging to a religious brotherhood dating from 1591. In addition to a large income from rentals, the Santa Casa receives the product of certain port taxes in return for opening its wards to the crews of all vessels in port. Other public hospitals are a lepers' hospital in Sao Christovao, the military and naval hospitals, the Sao Sebastiao hospital and the isolation and contagious diseases hospitals in Jurujuba. There are also a number of private hospitals maintained by church brotherhoods and charitable associations; among them are the Portuguese hospital in Rua de Santo Amaro and the Strangers' Hospital (American and British) in Botafogo. Most prominent among the asylums is the Hospicio Nacional for the insane, on the Praia da Saudade, Botafogo, which was erected 1842-52, and is one of the most completely equipped institutions of its class in the world. There are two public cemeteries: Sao Francisco de Xavier, in Sao Christovao, and Sao Joao Baptista, in Botafogo, the former having an unconsecrated section for Protestants. Besides these there are five private cemeteries, the one belonging to the British colony being on a hill overlooking the Gamboa shoreline.
Harbour, Communications and Commerce
The port and harbour of Rio de Janeiro are the largest and most important in the republic. The entrance is open. to vessels of the largest draught, and there is sufficient deep-water anchorage inside for the navies of the world. The lower anchorage, where the officers of health visit vessels, is below Ilha Fiscal, and the upper, or commercial anchorage, is in the broad part of the bay above Ilha das Cobras, the national coasting vessels occupying the shallower waters near the Saude and Gamboa districts. The custom-house occupies a considerable part of the shore-line in front of the old city, and has a protected basin for the discharge of lighters. The new port works, under construction since 1903, consist of a new water-front for the Saude, Gamboa and Sacco de Alferes districts, in which the shipping interests are centred, and a continuation of the sea-wall across the shallow Sao Christovao bay to the Ponta do Caju, the large reclaimed area to be filled in by the removal of some small hills. The commercial quays are built in deep water and permit the mooring alongside of the largest vessels. The total length of the commercial quays is about 3800 yds. Railway and tramway connexions are provided and both electric and hydraulic power are available. Special surtaxes are levied on imports to meet the interest and redemption charges on the loans raised for the execution of these important works. Another improvement is the extension of the sea-wall southward from the ferry-slips (Praga 15 de Novembro) to the Ponta do Calabougo (war arsenal), providing protected basins for the arsenal and enclosing small reclaimed areas. With the completion of these improvements the water-front of the city will consist entirely of deep-water walls from Botafogo to the Ponta do Caju, with the exception of a short section between the Ponta do Calabougo and the Avenida Central. The port is in regular communication with the principal ports of Europe and America. The coastwise service is good, though rates are high. Railway communication with the interior is maintained by the Central do Brazil (formerly the Dom Pedro II.), Leopoldina and Melhoramentos lines, besides which there is a short passenger line up to the Corcovado about 21 m. long, an electric line to Tijuca, and a narrow-gauge line running out to the Rio do Ouro waterworks. There is daily communication with Petropolis by a branch line of the Leopoldina system, and also by a steamer to the head of the bay and thence by rail up the serra. Ferryboats cross the bay to Nictheroy at intervals of 20 minutes, and smaller craft provide communication with the islands of Gobernador and Paqueta.
Rio de Janeiro is the seaport for a large area of the richest, most productive and most thickly settled parts of Brazil, including the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes and a small part of eastern Salo Paulo. Its exports include coffee, sugar, hides, cabinet woods, tobacco and cigars, tapioca, gold, diamonds, manganese and sundry small products. Rio is also a distributing centre in the coasting trade, and many imported products, such as jerked beef (came secca ), hay, flour, wines, &c., appear among the coastwise exports, as well as domestic manufactures. The total exports for 1905 were officially valued at 62,572,033 milreis gold, or a little over one-sixth the exportation of the whole country. Formerly Rio led all other ports in the export of coffee, but the enormous increase in production in the state of Sao Paulo has given Santos the lead. The exports of coffee from Rio in 1908 amounted to $ 3,062,268 bags of 60 kilogrammes each, officially valued at about 27,846,000. The coffee-producing area tributary to this port is slowly decreasing, owing to the exhaustion of the soil and the greater productiveness of Sao Paulo. The imports include wheat, flour, Indian corn, jerked beef ( carne secca ), lard, bacon, wines and liquors, butter, cheese, conserves of all kinds, coal, cotton, woollen, linen and silk textiles, boots and shoes, earthenand glasswares, railway material, machinery, furniture, building material, including pine lumber, drugs and chemicals, and hardware. The imports for 1905 aggregated 103,874,724 milreis gold, or about two-fifths the importation of the whole republic. The shipping arrivals in 1908 were as follows: from foreign ports, 1195 steamers of 3,479,357 tons and 75 sailing vessels of 84,474 tons; from national ports, 243 foreign steamers of 582,633 tons, 773 national steamers of 475,587 tons and 294 national sailing vessels of 20,250 tons - in all 2580 vessels of 4,642,301 tons.
Manufactures
The industrial activities of Rio Janeiro have been largely increased since the organization of the republic through increased import duties on foreign products. There were a number of protected industries before this, but they made slight impression on imports. Rio de Janeiro has manufactures of flour from imported wheat, cotton, woollen and silk textiles, boots and shoes, readymade clothing, furniture, vehicles, cigars and cigarettes, chocolate, fruit conserves, refined sugar, biscuits, macaroni, ice, beer, artificial liquors, mineral waters, soap, stearine candles, perfumery, feather flowers, printing type, &c. There are numerous machine o nd repair shops, the most important of which are the shops of the Central railway. One of the most important industrial enterprises in the city is the electric plant belonging to the Rio de Janeiro Light and Power Company, which supplies electric currents for public and private lighting, and power for the tramways and many industries. The hydro-electric works are situated about 50 m. N.W. of the city in a valley of the Serra do Mar, where a large reservoir has been created by building a dam across the Rio das Lages.
Government
Rio de Janeiro is governed b ' a prefect, who represents the national government, and a municipal council which represents the people. The prefect is appointed by the President of the republic for a term of four years, and the appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. There are seven directorias, or boards, under the prefect, each one assigned to a special field of work, chief among which are education, health and public assistance, public works and transportation, and finance. The municipal council is elected by direct suffrage for a term of two years, and is composed of 15 members. The funded debt of the city on the 30th of June 1907 was X7,000,677, a part of which is guaranteed by the national government. There is some confusion in administration and accounts, however, and it is sometimes difficult to determine the exact situation. The Federal District is represented in Congress by 2 senators and 10 deputies, and is credited with the rights and privileges of citizenship. On the other hand, the city is a garrison town and a district under the direct administration of the national executive, who appoints its chief executive, controls its police force, and exercises part control over its streets, squares and water front. In the work of improving the city, the national government assumed the expense of the commercial quays, the filling of the Sao Christovao bay, the opening of the Mangue canal and its embellishment, the opening of the Avenida Central, the extension of the sewage system and the addition of new sources to the water supply, while the city was responsible for the Avenida Beira-Mar, the opening of a new avenue from the Largo da Lapa westward to Rua Frei Caneca, the removal of the Morro do Senado, the widening of some streets crossing the Avenida Central and the opening and straightening of other streets.
History
The discovery of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro is attributed by many Portuguese writers to Andre Gonsalves, who entered its waters on the 1st of January 1502, and believed that it was the mouth of a great river, hence the name Rio de Janeiro (River of January). Another Portuguese navigator, Martim Affonso de Souza, visited it in 1531, but passed on to Sao Vicente, near Santos, where he established a colony. The first settlement in the bay was made by an expedition of French Huguenots under the command of Nicholas Durand Villegaignon, who established his colony on the small island that bears his name. In 1560 their fort was captured and destroyed by' a Portuguese expedition from Bahia under Mem de Sa, and in 1567 another expedition under the same commander again destroyed the French settlements, which had spread to the mainland. The victory was won on the 10th of January, the feast-day of St Sebastian the Martyr, who became the patron saint of the new settlement and gave it his name - Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro. The French had named their colony La France Antarctique, and their island fort had been called Fort Coligny. In 1710 a French expedition of five vessels and about loon men under Duclerc attempted to regain possession, but was defeated; its commander was captured and later assassinated. This led to a second French expedition, under Duguay Trouin, who entered the bay on the 12th of September 1711, and captured the town on the 2 2nd. Trouin released Duclerc's imprisoned followers, exacted a heavy ransom and then withdrew. The discovery of gold in Minas Geraes at the end of the 17th century greatly increased the importance of the town. It had been made the capital of the southern captaincies in 1680, and in 1762 it became the capital of all Brazil. In 1808 the fugitive Portuguese court, under the regent Dom Joao VI., took refuge in Rio de Janeiro, and gave a new impulse to its growth. It was thrown open to foreign commerce, foreign mercantile houses were permitted to settle there, printing was introduced, industrial restrictions were removed, and a college of medicine, a military academy and a public library were founded. Dom Joao VI. returned to Portugal in 1821, and on the 7th of September 1822 Brazil was declared independent and Dom Pedro I. became its first emperor. There was no resistance to this declaration in Rio de Janeiro. There were some political disorders during the reign of Dom Pedro I., who was finally harassed into an abdication in favour of his son, Dom Pedro II., on the 7th of April 1831. The regency that followed was one of many changes, and led in July 1840 to a declaration of the young prince's majority at the age of fifteen. A long and peaceful reign followed, disturbed only by the struggles of rival political factions. In 1839 a steamship service along the coast was opened, but direct communication with Europe was delayed until 1850, and with the United States until 1865. These services added largely to the pro:perity of the port. The first section of the Dom Pedro II. railway was opened in 1858, and the second or mountain section in 1864, which brought the city into closer relations with the interior. In 1874 submarine communication with Europe was opened, which was soon afterwards extended southward to the Platine republics. The first coffee tree planted in Brazil was in a convent garden of Rio de Janeiro. On the 15th of November 1889 a military revolt in the city under the leadership of General Deodoro da Fonseca led to the declaration of a republic and the expulsion of the imperial family, which was accomplished without resistance or loss of life. Disorders followed, a naval revolt in 1891 causing the resignation of President Deodoro da Fonseca, and another in 1893-94 causing a blockade of the port for about six months and the loss of many lives and much property from desultory bombardments. There have been since that time some trifling outbreaks on the part of agitators allied with the extreme republican element, but at no time was the security of the government in danger.
BIBL10GRAPHY
Nearly all books relating to Brazil devote some attention to its capital city. The history of its settlement and colonial development will be found in Robert Southey, History of Brazil (3 vols., London, 1810-19). For descriptions of the city, the customs and manners of its people and some of the larger political events during the first three-quarters of the 19th century, see R. Walsh, Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (2 vols., London, 1830); Thomas Ewbank, Life in Brazil (New York, 1856); M. D. Moreira de Azevedo, 0 Rio de Janeiro (2 vols., Rio de Janeiro, 1877) and J. C. Fletcher and D. P. Kidder, Brazil and the Brazilians (9th ed., Boston, 1879), especially chapters iv. to xiv. For later descriptions, see A. J. Lamoureux, Hand-Book of Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1887); Frank Vincent, Around and About South America (New York, 1890), chapters xxv. to xxix.; Marguerite Dickins, Along Shore with a Man-of-War (Boston, 1893); Arthur Dias, Il Brasile Attuale (Nivelle, Belgium, 1907; also in French and Portuguese), np. 367-449.
These files are public domain.
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Rio de Janeiro, Brazil'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/r/rio-de-janeiro-brazil.html. 1910.
