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Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
THE CITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO
Rio de Janeiro, which means River of January in Portuguese, is the second largest city of Brazil and South America, and the second largest metropolitan area in South America. The largest city of the country is São Paulo. The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 during the Portuguese colonial era, and from 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation.
A Portuguese captain discovered the area of Rio by accident in 1502. Initially, the Portuguese were not really interested in this new territory until the French started to invade the settlement in order to create a new French colony. After the defeat of the French invaders in 1567 the Portuguese founded the city in 1565. Its original name was Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro after the Portuguese King, Sebastian I.
Sao Paulo
THE CITY OF SAO PAULO
With a population of almost 11 million people, Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, and is the world's 7th largest metropolitan area with almost 20 million inhabitants. It is the most important financial hub of Brazil and the country's most cosmopolitan city, with atop-rate nightlife and restaurants and impressive cultural and arts scenes.
Sâo Paulo presents a beehive of activity that offers a jovial nightlife and an intense cultural experience. It is one of the richest cities in the southern hemisphere, though there is a blatant inequality between the classes.
Manaus
THE CITY OF MANAUS
Manaus is a city in Brazil and the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is one the country’s largest cities and the financial centre of north Brazil. Manaus is situated on the Rio Negro. A good 10 kilometers upstream from the point this river meets the Solimoes to form the Amazon River.
Manaus was founded in 1669 under the name of the “Fort of São Jose do Rio Negro”. The settlement was elevated to the rank of town in 1832 with the new name of "Manaus", which means "mother of the gods" .The exploitation of rubber made Manaus the richest city in South America during the late 1800s and helped it earn its nickname, the "Paris of the Tropics". The rubber industry attracted a lot of wealthy European families who settled in Manaus and and added a flair of sophisticated European artistry to the city.
Salvador de Bahia
THE CITY OF SALVADOR DE BAHIA
Salvador, capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, was the first major port and the capital of colonial Brazil for almost two centuries. The Portuguese Tomé de Souza landed in 1549 on Praia Porto da Barra. He had orders from the Portuguese King to found Brazil's first capital. He founded the city on a cliff top facing the sea. After its foundation Salvador remained the most important city of Brazil for the next three centuries. African slaves were first brought to Salvador in 1538. Their numbers increased to constitute half of the city's population. The city of Salvador de Bahia remained Brazil's seat of colonial government until 1763 when Rio de Janeiro became the country’s new capital. By the early 19th century, Salvador had 45,000 inhabitants and was the commercial centre of a vast territory.