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Rio De Janeiro: Marvelous City
built 281 days ago
Rio de Janeiro is among the biggest cities in South America, but the city is more widely renowned for the various cultural celebrations that are held there every year. The most popular of these is the Carnival, held two weeks before the traditional Christian fasting of Lent.
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Rio opened the first of two underground metro lines in 1979 and plans to continue expanding the system to alleviate traffic congestion. Two lines connect some parts of the city. An extensive bus system accounts for about 70 percent of all passenger trips. There are many taxis and thousands of private automobiles. Rail connects Rio to its suburbs and satellite cities. Motorboats, ferries, and hydrofoils serve communities across Guanabara Bay.
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Rio de Janeiro, commonly called as Rio, is a south eastern Brazilian state, and the city in the state adorns the same name. It is not only one of the famous states in Brazil, but ... a hot favorite for international tourists.
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Rio de Janeiro is a city of great contrasts highlighted by its natural setting. It is a city where historic buildings, churches and monuments sit side-by- side in harmony with ultra-modern, award winning architecture.
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Rio was founded in 1565 by the Portuguese as a fortification against French privateers who trafficked wood and goods from Brazil. Piracy played a major role in the city's history, and there are still colonial fortresses to be visited (check below). The Portuguese fought the French for nearly 10 years, both sides having rival native tribes as allies. For the next two centuries it was an unimportant outpost for Portuguese Empire, until gold, diamonds, and ore were found in Minas Gerais in 1720. Then, as the nearest port, Rio became the exit way for the mineral outcomes and replaced Salvador as the main city in the colony in 1763. When Napoleon invaded Portugal, the Royal Family moved to Brazil and made Rio capital of the Kingdom (so it was the only city in the Americas to be capital of a European country).
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Rio was maintained as Brazilian capital after the military overthrew the monarchy and imposed a republic in 1889. However, plans for moving the nation's seat city to the territorial center were considered, until president Juscelino Kubitschek was elected in 1955 and took office in 1956 with a promise to build a new capital. Though many thought it was campaign rhetoric, Kubitschek managed to have Bras�lia built, at great cost, by 1960. On April 21st that year, the capital of Brazil was officially moved from Rio to Bras�lia.
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