Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro

The Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro was one of the early Portuguese settlements in Brazil. It began as part of a larger area called the Captaincy of São Vicente. This land stretched from a place called Macaé, which is now in Rio de Janeiro, to Caraguatatuba, now in São Paulo.

A man named Martim Afonso de Sousa was given control of this area, but he wasn’t very interested in building it up. Instead, he focused more on the areas closer to what we now call São Paulo. Because of this, the northern part, which would become the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, was left mostly empty and unexplored for a time. This early history helped shape how Brazil grew and changed over the years.

History

16th century

The area around Guanabara Bay was tried to be settled by the French from 1555 to 1567, called France Antarctique. Portugal responded by founding São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro in 1565 and setting up the Royal Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro in 1567, with Estácio de Sá as its first leader. He passed away that same year. By 1570, the leader Antônio Salema gathered troops and local allies to defeat groups controlling the coast, ending this struggle by 1575.

17th century

In 1619, land from the Captaincy of São Tomé was added to Rio de Janeiro. In 1674, a new area called the Captaincy of Paraíba do Sul was created from Rio de Janeiro’s northern lands. In 1679, after Portugal became independent from Spain, Governor Manuel Lobo started a settlement on the eastern side of the River Plate, naming it Colonia del Santíssimo Sacramento. He led a group of 400 soldiers from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo with four ships and 18 cannons.

18th century

In 1720, towns like Angra dos Reis and Paraty were moved to the Captaincy of São Paulo but returned to Rio de Janeiro in 1727. In 1738, the Captaincy of Santa Catarina was formed from São Paulo’s lands, which were under Rio de Janeiro’s control.

By 1748, Rio de Janeiro was put in charge of lands up to Rio Grande do Sul. In 1750, with an agreement called the Treaty of Madrid, more lands were added to Rio de Janeiro, while giving Colonia del Sacramento to Spain. That same year, lands from the former Captaincy of Paraíba do Sul were also included, making Rio de Janeiro very large. In 1753, the Captaincy of Itanhaém joined Rio de Janeiro, and part of Paraíba do Sul went to the Captaincy of Espírito Santo, which stayed with Rio de Janeiro until 1832.

In 1760, the Captaincy of Rio Grande de São Pedro was created and placed under Rio de Janeiro. After a conflict in 1761, Rio de Janeiro lost some land but got back Colonia del Sacramento. In 1763, the capital of the State of Brazil was moved from Salvador to São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro to better manage goods from the Captaincy of Minas Gerais. Two years later, São Paulo became independent again.

In 1777, Spain took over the Captaincy of Santa Catarina but gave it back the next year after an agreement, keeping parts of Rio Grande do Sul and Colonia del Sacramento. Late that year, another agreement returned those lands to the Captaincy of Rio Grande de São Pedro.

19th century

In 1804, the Captaincy of Rio Grande de São Pedro, still under Rio de Janeiro, added lands near the Uruguay River. It became independent from Rio de Janeiro in 1808, taking control of the Captaincy of Santa Catarina and changing its name to Captaincy of São Pedro do Rio Grande do Sul.

On February 28, 1821, the Portuguese Empire changed the captaincies of the Kingdom of Brazil into provinces. The Province of Rio de Janeiro was created and was first directly managed by the crown.

During its time as a captaincy, many towns were established besides São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, including Angra dos Santos Reis da Ilha Grande (1608), Santa Helena (later Nossa Senhora da Assunção de Cabo Frio, 1615), Nossa Senhora dos Remédios de Paraty (1667), São Salvador dos Campos (1677), Santo Antônio de Sá (1679), Nossa Senhora da Piedade de Magé (1696), São João do Paraíba (1676), Vila Nova de São José del Rei, São João Marcos (1733), Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Paraíba Nova (1756) and Itaguaí (1818).