The Aqueduct in Rio de Janeiro

Title

The Aqueduct in Rio de Janeiro

Description

View of an aqueduct and the city of Rio de Janeiro.

dated 1812

Artist

Cook

Historical Description

From 1815 to 1821, Rio de Janeiro was the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and, after Brazil's independence in 1822, the country's capital until 1960. It then ceded this function to Brasília, but remains the country's most important commercial and financial centre after São Paulo. In accordance with the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Portuguese laid claim to the territory of present-day Brazil, which was discovered at the end of the 15th century. France did not recognise the treaty and founded the Ilha do Serigipe off the coast of present-day Rio de Janeiro in 1555. At that time, Tupi Indians from the Tamoios and Tupinambás tribes lived in this region, with whom the French allied themselves. Ten years later, in 1565, the French were expelled by the Portuguese, who then founded the city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro in 1565 at what is now Morro do Castelo. In 1680, Rio de Janeiro became the capital of the southern regions of Brazil. At this time, the settlement was one of the most important Portuguese bases in Brazilian territory. From 1700 onwards, Rio de Janeiro developed into the most important port city in Brazil, mainly due to gold discoveries in the neighbouring region of Minas Gerais. Rio de Janeiro became even more important in 1808 when the Portuguese court fled there in connection with the French invasions to escape Napoleon's forces marching towards Lisbon. A large number of artists, scientists and aristocrats moved to Brazil with the court, and the economic and cultural life of the city changed enormously. At the beginning of the 19th century, Rio became a transhipment centre for the African slave trade in South America. The Portuguese royal court returned to Portugal in 1822 after the liberal revolution broke out in Portugal in 1820. After the departure of the Portuguese court, Brazil declared itself an independent empire under Prince Dom Pedro de Alcântara. Rio de Janeiro retained its status as the capital, where the prince now resided as Emperor Pedro I. In 1831, his son Dom Pedro II was crowned, who initiated, among other things, the construction of a railway, the first section of which was opened in Rio de Janeiro in 1858. Even when Brazil became a republic following a military coup in 1889, Rio de Janeiro remained the capital. During the Belle Époque brasileira, a splendid urban development unfolded here, financed by rubber and coffee oligarchs. In the first half of the 20th century, Rio de Janeiro experienced a social boom, as the city became a focal point for film stars and international high society. A final cultural outgrowth of this era was the emergence of Brazilian jazz bossa nova from 1957, which became world famous through songs such as Garota de Ipanema/The Girl from Ipanema by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes.