Mesbla S.A. was a chain of Brazilian department stores that began operations in 1912 as a subsidiary of a French firm, and had its bankruptcy declared in 1999.
87-614: In the building number 83 of the Assembleia street, in the city center of Rio de Janeiro , was installed in 1912 a subsidiary of the firm Mestre & Blatgé , based in Paris and specialized in the trading of machinery and equipment. The Brazilian subsidiary had little importance within the French organization throughout the world. Four years after its installation, its administration was handed over to French Louis La Saigne, previously deputy manager of
174-410: A Contemporary architecture , it has a conical shape, with 96 meters of internal diameter and capacity to receive up to 20 thousand faithful. The splendor of the building, with straight and sober lines, is due to the changing stained glass windows carved on the walls up to the dome. Its design and execution was coordinated by Monsignor Ivo Antônio Calliari (1918–2005). Saint Sebastian is recognized as
261-486: A skin color and phenotype continuum from pálido ( branco ) or fair-skinned, through branco moreno or swarthy Caucasian, mestiço claro or lighter skinned multiracial, pardo (mixed race) to negro or black . Pardo , for example, in popular usage includes those who are caboclos ( mestizos ), mulatos ( mulattoes ), cafuzos ( zambos ), juçaras (archaic term for tri-racials ) and westernized Amerindians (which are called caboclos as well), being more of
348-547: A tropical savanna climate ( Aw ) that closely borders a tropical monsoon climate ( Am ) according to the Köppen climate classification , and is often characterized by long periods of heavy rain between December and March. The city experiences hot, humid summers, and warm, sunny winters. In inland areas of the city, temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) are common during the summer, though rarely for long periods, while maximum temperatures above 27 °C (81 °F) can occur on
435-735: A Southern Hemisphere city. The Maracanã Stadium held the finals of the 1950 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup , and the XV Pan American Games . The city will host the G20 summit in 2024 , and the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2027 . [REDACTED] Portuguese Empire 1565–1815 [REDACTED] United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves 1815–1822 [REDACTED] Empire of Brazil 1822–1889 [REDACTED] Republic of Brazil 1889–present The region of Rio
522-509: A barrier to the humid wind that comes from the Atlantic. The city has had rare frosts in the past. Some areas within Rio de Janeiro state occasionally have falls of snow grains and ice pellets (popularly called granizo ) and hail . Drought is very rare, albeit bound to happen occasionally given the city's strongly seasonal tropical climate. The Brazilian drought of 2014–2015, most severe in
609-522: A colonial capital until 1808, when the Portuguese royal family and most of the associated Lisbon nobles, fleeing from Napoleon 's invasion of Portugal, moved to Rio de Janeiro. The kingdom's capital was transferred to the city, which, thus, became the only European capital outside of Europe . As there was no physical space or urban structure to accommodate hundreds of noblemen who arrived suddenly, many inhabitants were simply evicted from their homes. In
696-407: A conical shape, with an internal diameter of 96 meters and a capacity to hold up to 20,000 worshippers. The splendor of the building, with its straight and sober lines, is due to the changing stained glass windows carved into the walls up to the dome . Its design and execution were coordinated by Monsignor Ivo Antônio Calliari (1918–2005). Saint Sebastian is recognized as the patron saint of
783-635: A football when she joined him. And shortly after her arrival, in September 1894, the first football match in Brazil took place in the field beside the textile factory. It was a five-a-side match between British workers, and took place six months before the first game organized by Charles Miller in São Paulo. However, the Bangu Football Club was not formally created until 1904. At the time Brazil's Old Republic
870-465: A monthly basis. Along the coast, the breeze, blowing onshore and offshore, moderates the temperature. Because of its geographic situation, the city is often reached by cold fronts advancing from Antarctica , especially during autumn and winter, causing frequent weather changes. In summer there can be strong rains, which have, on some occasions, provoked catastrophic floods and landslides. The mountainous areas register greater rainfall since they constitute
957-439: A population of the order of 1.29 million inhabitants being released without treatment in streams or rivers. With regard to industrial pollution, highly toxic wastes, with high concentrations of heavy metals – mainly zinc and cadmium – have been dumped over the years by factories in the industrial districts of Santa Cruz , Itaguaí and Nova Iguaçu , constructed under the supervision of State policies. The Marapendi lagoon and
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#17328587502631044-541: A renowned architect from São Paulo a dollhouse, worth 300 000 dollars, which was installed on his farm in Indaiatuba . In an attempt to save the Mesbla and Mappin, Mansur put companies ahead of the executive João Paulo Amaral. But João Paulo soon realized that he was on one of those missions regarded as impossible. The lack of money was more serious than previously thought; the delays in the payment of suppliers, chronic. Then began
1131-560: A result, temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F), that may happen about year-round but are much more common during the summer, often mean the actual "feels-like" temperature is over 50 °C (122 °F), when there is little wind and the relative humidity percentage is high. According to data from the Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), since 1931, the absolute minimum temperature recorded in Rio de Janeiro
1218-539: A rich and influential Catholic tradition. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro is the second largest archdiocese in Brazil after São Paulo . The Rio de Janeiro Cathedral was inaugurated in 1979, in the central region of the city. Its installations have a collection of great historical and religious value: the Archdiocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Archdiocesan Archive. In
1305-419: A school in the poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro, the "pardos" there were found to be on average about 80% European, and the "whites" (who thought of themselves as "very mixed") were found to carry very little Amerindian and/or African admixtures. The results of the tests of genomic ancestry are quite different from the self made estimates of European ancestry. In general, the test results showed that European ancestry
1392-559: A series of bankruptcy filings, and eviction threats in every mall where the shops displayed their brands. Mansur tried to use his influence with the politicians and even the pressure of the Mesbla and Mappin employees, through marches, to get money from the Brazilian Development Bank , a public bank. At the same time, he sought some foreign group interested in acquiring the stores. His credibility, however, began to be questioned when he began to spread false information to complete
1479-459: A skin color rather than a racial group in particular. Different ethnic groups contributed to the formation of the population of Rio de Janeiro. Before European colonization, there were at least seven different indigenous peoples speaking 20 languages in the region. A part of them joined the Portuguese and the other the French. Those who joined the French were then exterminated by the Portuguese, while
1566-500: A territory of 1,721 km . The Cathedral of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro , or Metropolitan Cathedral , was inaugurated in 1979 in the central region of the city. Its facilities house a collection of great historical and religious value: the Archdiocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Archdiocesan Archive. The Banco da Providência and the Archdiocesan Caritas are also based there. In a contemporary architectural style, it has
1653-406: A threat to the established Portuguese colony and in 1560 the order was made to get rid of them. A years-long military aggression was then initiated by the new Governor General of Brazil Mem De Sa, and later continued by his nephew Estacio De Sa. On 20 January 1567, a final defeat was imposed on the French forces and they were decisively expelled from Brazil for good. The city of Rio de Janeiro proper
1740-632: Is 349.4 mm, recorded on February 26, 1971, at the former station in the Engenho de Dentro neighborhood. According to the 2010 IBGE Census , there were 5,940,224 people residing in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Since 1960, when it was surpassed by São Paulo , the city of Rio de Janeiro has been the second-most populous city in Brazil. The 2022 census revealed the following numbers: White Brazilian (45.4% or 2,821,619); Mixed (38.7% or 2,403,895); Black (15.6% or 968,428); Asian (10,514 or 0.2%); Indigenous (6,531 or 0.1%). The population of Rio de Janeiro
1827-506: Is about 6,000,000. The population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at 11–13.5 million. Residents of the city are known as cariocas . The official song of Rio is " Cidade Maravilhosa ", by composer André Filho . The city has parks and ecological reserves such as the Tijuca National Park, the world's first urban forest and UNESCO Environmental Heritage and Biosphere Reserve; Pedra Branca State Park , which houses
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#17328587502631914-430: Is far more important than the students thought it would be. The "pardos" for example thought of themselves as 1 ⁄ 3 European, 1 ⁄ 3 African and 1 ⁄ 3 Amerindian before the tests, and yet their ancestry on average reached 80% European. Other studies showed similar results Religion in Rio de Janeiro is diverse, with Catholic Christianity being the majority religion. According to data from
2001-657: Is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival , samba , bossa nova , and balneario beaches such as Barra da Tijuca , Copacabana , Ipanema , and Leblon . In addition to the beaches, landmarks include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World ; Sugarloaf Mountain with its cable car ;
2088-405: Is still seen in many parts of the city (and many other parts of the state of Rio de Janeiro), including architecture and language . Most Brazilians with some cultural contact with Rio know how to easily differentiate between the local dialect, fluminense , and other Brazilian dialects. People of Portuguese ancestry predominate in most of the state. The Brazilian census of 1920 showed that 39.7% of
2175-515: The Sambódromo (Sambadrome), a permanent grandstand-lined parade avenue which is used during Carnival; and Maracanã Stadium , one of the world's largest football stadiums . Rio de Janeiro was the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics , making the city the first South American and Portuguese-speaking city to ever host the events, and the third time the Olympics were held in
2262-795: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 2010 the population of Rio de Janeiro had 3,229,192 Roman Catholics (51.1%), 1,477,021 Protestants (23.4%), 372.851 Spiritists (5.9%), 37,974 Jehovah's Witnesses (0.6%), 75,075 Buddhists (0.2%), 52,213 Umbanda (0.8%), 21,800 Jews (0.3%), 25,743 Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (0.4%), 16,776 new eastern religious (0.2%), 28,843 Candomblé (0.4%), 3,853 Mormons (<0.1%), 5,751 Eastern Orthodox Christians (<0.1%), 7,394 spiritualists (0.1%), 964 Muslims (<0.1%), 5,662 esoteric (<0.1%) and 802 Hindus (<0.1%). 858,704 had no religion (13.5%), and 113,530 followed other forms of Christianity (1.8%). Rio de Janeiro has had
2349-736: The Portuguese , the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro , a domain of the Portuguese Empire . In 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil , a state of the Portuguese Empire . In 1808, when the Portuguese Royal Court moved to Brazil , Rio de Janeiro became the seat of the court of Queen Maria I of Portugal . She subsequently, under the leadership of her son
2436-478: The Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon have suffered with the leniency of the authorities and the growth in the number of apartment buildings close by. The illegal discharge of sewage and the consequent deaths of algae diminished the oxygenation of the waters, causing fish mortality. There are, on the other hand, signs of decontamination in the lagoon made through a public-private partnership established in 2008 to ensure that
2523-798: The Southeast Region and the worst in decades, affected the entire metropolitan region's water supply (a diversion from the Paraíba do Sul River to the Guandu River is a major source for the state's most populous mesoregion). There were plans to divert the Paraíba do Sul to the Sistema Cantareira (Cantareira system) during the water crisis of 2014 in order to help the critically drought-stricken Greater São Paulo area. However, availability of sufficient rainfall to supply tap water to both metropolitan areas in
2610-794: The Tijuca National Park (Parque Nacional da Tijuca), the largest city-surrounded urban forest and the second largest urban forest in the world, has been a National Park. The largest urban forest in the world is the Floresta da Pedra Branca (White Rock Forest), which is located in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Due to the high concentration of industries in the metropolitan region, the city has faced serious problems of environmental pollution. The Guanabara Bay has lost mangrove areas and suffers from residues from domestic and industrial sewage, oils and heavy metals. Although its waters renew when they reach
2697-449: The Tropic of Capricorn where the shoreline is oriented east and west; the city thus faces largely south. It was founded at the entrance to an inlet, Guanabara Bay (Baía de Guanabara), which is marked by a point of land called Sugar Loaf (Pão de Açúcar) – a "calling card" of the city. The population of the city of Rio de Janeiro, occupying an area of 1,182.3 km (456.5 sq mi),
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2784-631: The World Youth Day in 2013 , the second World Youth Day in South America and first in Brazil. In the sports field, Rio de Janeiro was the host of the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final . On 2 October 2009, the International Olympic Committee announced that Rio de Janeiro would host the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2016 Paralympic Games , beating competitors Chicago , Tokyo , and Madrid . The city became
2871-632: The battleship Minas Geraes and threatened to fire on the city. Another military revolt occurred in 1922, the Copacabana Fort revolt , a march against the Old Republic's coronelism and café com leite politics . This revolt marked the beginning of Tenentism , a movement that resulted in the Brazilian Revolution of 1930 that started the Vargas Era . Until the early years of the 20th century,
2958-558: The prince regent John VI of Portugal , raised Brazil to the dignity of a kingdom, within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves . Rio remained as the capital of the pluricontinental monarchy until 1822, when the Brazilian War of Independence began. This is one of the few instances in history that the capital of a colonizing country officially shifted to a city in one of its colonies. Rio de Janeiro subsequently served as
3045-462: The Empire. It was the main stage of the abolitionist and republican movements in the last half of the 19th century. At that time the number of slaves was drastically reduced and the city was developed, with modern drains, animal trams, train stations crossing the city, gas and electric lighting, telephone and telegraph wiring, water and river plumbing. Rio continued as the capital of Brazil after 1889, when
3132-519: The Portuguese who lived in Brazil lived in Rio de Janeiro. Including all of the Rio de Janeiro, the proportion raised to 46.3% of the Portuguese who lived in Brazil. The numerical presence of the Portuguese was extremely high, accounting for 72% of the foreigners who lived in the capital. Portuguese born people accounted for 20.4% of the population of Rio, and those with a Portuguese father or a Portuguese mother accounted for 30.8%. In other words, native born Portuguese and their children accounted for 51.2% of
3219-582: The articles were exposed next to machines and equipment, traditional goods of the company. The same disorganized mixture was seen in catalogs. Also the company purchases from suppliers had failures. For example, as soon as the Brazil resumed diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union , in the government of João Goulart , Mesbla imported from that country a large quantity of cameras and low-quality video cameras. As imports did not have continuity, Mesbla found itself in difficulties to provide technical assistance for
3306-530: The best executives in the market, offering good salaries. In addition to department stores, it had its own premises for sale of furniture, cars, boats, and a financial institution. It also worked in international trade through a subsidiary company, which had a branch in New York City . Among the several million-dollar deals made by Mesbla International Trade, one was highlighted even in The New York Times :
3393-621: The board, believing that the country was heading to an hyperinflation , began to stock excess goods and basically relied on funds generated by its financial institute. The advent of the Plano Real , with the end of high inflation , showed the weaknesses of Mesbla, and the company began to face constant losses, which it tried to solve with closing stores and dismissal of employees. Compounding, it had to face competition from foreign department stores and hypermarkets, with ease of raising capital abroad at lower interest rates. Foreign companies conquered
3480-471: The branch in Buenos Aires . In 1924, La Saigne transformed the Rio establishment in an autonomous firm, with the name Sociedade Anônima Brasileira Estabelecimentos Mestre et Blatgé , which in 1939 changed its name to Mesbla S.A. The new name was a combination of the first syllables of the original name, which was suggested by the secretary of Louis La Saigne, Isaura, through an internal competition. The concern
3567-435: The capital of Brazil was officially moved to Brasília. The territory of the former Federal District became its own state, Guanabara, after the bay that borders it to the east, encompassing just the city of Rio de Janeiro. After the 1964 coup d'état that installed a military dictatorship , the city-state was the only state left in Brazil to oppose the military. Then, in 1975, a presidential decree known as "The Fusion" removed
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3654-493: The capital of the independent monarchy, the Empire of Brazil , until 1889, and then the capital of a republican Brazil until 1960 when the capital was transferred to Brasília . Rio de Janeiro has the second largest municipal GDP in the country, and 30th-largest in the world in 2008. This is estimated at R$ 343 billion. In the city are the headquarters of Brazilian oil, mining, and telecommunications companies, including two of
3741-477: The captaincy. In 1840, the number of slaves reached 220,000 people. Between 1811 and 1831, 500,000 to a million slaves arrived in Rio de Janeiro through Valongo Wharf , which is now a World Heritage Site . The Port of Rio de Janeiro was the largest port of slaves in America. When Prince Pedro proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822, he decided to keep Rio de Janeiro as the capital of his new empire while
3828-560: The city to the north and south was facilitated by the consolidation and electrification of Rio's streetcar transit system after 1905. Botafogos natural environment, combined with the fame of the Copacabana Palace Hotel, the luxury hotel of the Americas in the 1930s, helped Rio to gain the reputation it still holds today as a beach party town. This reputation has been somewhat tarnished in recent years by favela violence resulting from
3915-409: The city was largely limited to the neighborhood now known as the historic city center (see below), on the mouth of Guanabara Bay. The city's center of gravity began to shift south and west to the so-called Zona Sul (South Zone) in the early part of the 20th century, when the first tunnel was built under the mountains between Botafogo and the neighborhood that is now known as Copacabana . Expansion of
4002-788: The city's patron saint , which is why it received the canonical name of "Saint Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro." Many Protestant creeds coexist in the city, Presbyterian , Congregational , Lutheran and Anglican Churches. In addition to evangelical churches such as the Baptist , Methodist , Seventh-day Adventist and Pentecostal churches, such as the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God , Assembly of God , Christian Congregation in Brazil and The Foursquare Church . Afro-Brazilian religions such as Umbanda and Candomblé find support in various social segments, although professed by less than 2% of
4089-550: The city's federative status and merged it with the State of Rio de Janeiro , with the city of Rio de Janeiro replacing Niterói as the state's capital, and establishing the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region . In 1992, Rio hosted the Earth Summit , a United Nations conference to fight environmental degradation . Twenty years later, in 2012, the city hosted another conference on sustainable development , named United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development . The city hosted
4176-417: The clientele with better purchasing power, always attentive to news, with a greater variety of goods and installment credit facilities, in particular with the creation of own credit cards. When Mesbla tried to match with the competitors, creating unique brands of clothes and its own credit card, it was too late. In the year 1994 it had closed several stores and reduced its staff to 4 500 employees, unable to stem
4263-598: The coast, and type of vegetation or land use. During the winter, cold fronts and dawn/morning sea breezes bring mild temperatures; cold fronts, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (in the form of winds from the Amazon Forest ), the strongest sea-borne winds (often from an extratropical cyclone ) and summer evapotranspiration bring showers or storms. Thus the monsoon-like climate has dry and mild winters and springs, and very wet and warm summers and autumns. As
4350-465: The country's major corporations, Petrobras and Vale , and Latin America's largest telemedia conglomerate, Grupo Globo . The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second-largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17 percent of national scientific output according to 2005 data. Despite the high perception of crime, the city actually has a lower incidence of crime than most state capitals in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro
4437-485: The deal. At the same time, the administration of his bank began to be investigated and fraudulent practices have been qualified, which resulted in its liquidation. Because of these practices, Mansur was arrested and had his assets blocked. A new arrest warrant was made by his ex-wife, for who he did not pay child support. With so many problems, Mansur lost interest in the fate of Mesbla and Mappin. He flew to London and never returned to Brazil. The bankruptcy of both companies
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#17328587502634524-635: The entire population and forced entry into houses to kill mosquitoes and rats. The people of the city rebelled against Cruz's policy, in what would be known as the Vaccine Revolt . In 1910, Rio saw the Revolt of the Lash , where Afro-Brazilian crew members in the Brazilian Navy mutinied against the heavy use of corporal punishment , which was similar to the punishment slaves received. The mutineers took control of
4611-415: The expansion and the decline of the company until the 1980s. In the 1950s, the company had stores located in major cities in the country and in some countryside towns. In the 1980s Mesbla had 180 outlets and employed 28 000 people. Their large stores, with areas with rarely less than 3 000 square meters, were landmarks in the cities where Mesbla was present. For nearly three decades reigned virtually alone in
4698-462: The fastest possible the reopening of Mesbla, however, the initiative did not yield results. Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese: [ˈʁi.u d(ʒi) ʒɐˈne(j)ɾu] ), or simply Rio , is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro . It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo ) and the sixth-most-populous city in the Americas. Founded in 1565 by
4785-595: The first favelas . Inspired by the city of Paris , Passos built the Municipal Theatre , the National Museum of Fine Arts and the National Library in the city's center; brought electric power to Rio and created larger avenues to adapt the city to automobiles . Passos also named Oswaldo Cruz as Director General of Public Health. Cruz's plans to clean the city of diseases included compulsory vaccination of
4872-545: The first South American city to host the event and the second Latin American city (after Mexico City in 1968 ) to host the Games. Since the early 2010s, Rio de Janeiro has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its arts, urban culture and designed landscapes set around a natural environment. Rio de Janeiro is near the west end of a strip (from Cabo Frio to just east of Ilha Grande ) of Brazil's Atlantic coast close to
4959-710: The first decade, several educational establishments were created, such as the Military Academy, the Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts and the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts , as well as the National Library of Brazil – with the largest collection in Latin America – and The Botanical Garden . The first printed newspaper in Brazil, the Gazeta do Rio de Janeiro , came into circulation during this period. When Brazil
5046-415: The following year, on August 12, 1962, Mesbla celebrated its Golden Jubilee already as a genuinely Brazilian company, with more than 8 000 employees operating in 13 branches, retail stores and sales agencies established in strategic parts of the country. After the death of Silvano Santos Cardoso on February 29, 1968, Henrique became president, and after Henrique's death, his son André also took office. Both led
5133-716: The future is merely speculative. Roughly in the same suburbs ( Nova Iguaçu and surrounding areas, including parts of Campo Grande and Bangu) that correspond to the location of the March 2012, February–March 2013 and January 2015 pseudo-hail ( granizo ) falls, there was a tornado -like phenomenon in January 2011, for the first time in the region's recorded history, causing structural damage and long-lasting blackouts , but no fatalities. The World Meteorological Organization has advised that Brazil, especially its southeastern region, must be prepared for increasingly severe weather occurrences in
5220-529: The goods sold. The red light came in 1981, when the Mesbla went from the first to the third place between the largest retail companies in Brazil and started to face a stronger competition. A marketing consulting firm was hired, and Mesbla stores have undergone a complete overhaul, with changes in the decoration of shops, arrangement of windows, salespeople uniforms and customer communication. It also started to take better care of advertising, presenting catalogs in color and well maintained ads for television. Attracted
5307-683: The highest point of Rio de Janeiro, the peak of Pedra Branca; the Quinta da Boa Vista complex; the Botanical Garden ; Rio's Zoo; Parque Lage ; and the Passeio Público , the first public park in the Americas . In addition the Flamengo Park is the largest landfill in the city, extending from the center to the south zone, and containing museums and monuments, in addition to much vegetation. Since 1961,
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#17328587502635394-411: The inhabitants of Rio, or a total of 267,664 people in 1890. As a result of the influx of immigrants to Brazil from the late 19th to the early 20th century, also found in Rio de Janeiro and its metropolitan area are communities of Levantine Arabs who are mostly Christian or Irreligious , Spaniards , Italians , Germans , Japanese , According to an autosomal DNA study from 2009, conducted on
5481-472: The invitation of King Manuel I in the same expedition. In 1555, one of the islands of Guanabara Bay, now called Villegagnon Island , was occupied by 500 French colonists under the French admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon . Consequently, Villegagnon built Fort Coligny on the island when attempting to establish the France Antarctique colony. Eventually this French settlement became too much of
5568-497: The lagoon waters will eventually be suitable for bathing. The decontamination actions involve the transfer of sludge to large craters present in the lagoon itself, and the creation of a new direct and underground connection with the sea, which will contribute to increase the daily water exchange between the two environments. However, during the Olympics the lagoon hosted the rowing competitions and there were numerous concerns about potential infection resulting from human sewage. Rio has
5655-623: The late 17th century, still during the Sugar Era, the Bandeirantes discovered gold and diamonds in the neighboring captaincy of Minas Gerais , thus Rio de Janeiro became a much more practical port for exporting wealth (gold, precious stones, besides the sugar) than Salvador, Bahia , much farther northeast. On 27 January 1763, the colonial administration in Portuguese America was moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. The city remained primarily
5742-454: The losses. In 1997, with debts of more than one billion reais , it filed for bankruptcy . In the same year, the shareholder control of Mesbla was acquired by the businessman Ricardo Mansur , who scooped 51% of the shares by 600 million reais, to be paid in ten years, and taking the tax debt of 350 million reais of the bankrupt. Nine months before he had bought the Mappin stores, traditional São Paulo state retail company. He intended to merge
5829-452: The monarchy was replaced by a republic. On 6 February 1889 the Bangu Textile Factory was founded, with the name of Industrial Progress Company of Brazil (Companhia Progresso Industrial do Brasil). The factory was officially opened on 8 March 1893, in a complex with varying architectural styles like Italianate , Neo-Gothic and a tower in Mansard Roof style. After the opening in 1893, workers from Great Britain arrived in Bangu to work in
5916-471: The narcotics trade and militias . Plans for moving the nation's capital city from Rio de Janeiro to the center of Brazil had been occasionally discussed, and when Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president in 1955, it was partially on the strength of promises to build a new capital. Though many thought that it was just campaign rhetoric, Kubitschek managed to have Brasília and a new Federal District built, at great cost, by 1960. On 21 April of that year,
6003-465: The near future, since events such as the catastrophic January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are not an isolated phenomenon. In early May 2013, winds registering above 90 km/h (56 mph) caused blackouts in 15 neighborhoods of the city and three surrounding municipalities, and killed one person. Rio saw similarly high winds (about 100 km/h (62 mph)) in January 2015. Temperature also varies according to elevation, distance from
6090-412: The offices of ministers and politicians in Brasilia, they circulated the spheres of Rio de Janeiro high society of the time. De Botton was chosen twice as the Foreign Retailer of the Year by the American organization National Retail Federation . Despite these strategy changes, some problems persisted. Mesbla had forty directors, making the decisions slow. At the end of the Sarney administration in 1989,
6177-443: The other part was assimilated. Rio de Janeiro is home to the largest Portuguese population outside of Lisbon in Portugal. After independence from Portugal, Rio de Janeiro became a destination for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Portugal, mainly in the early 20th century. The immigrants were mostly poor peasants who subsequently found prosperity in Rio as city workers and small traders. The Portuguese cultural influence
6264-596: The place was enriched with sugar cane agriculture in the Campos region and, especially, with the new coffee cultivation in the Paraíba Valley . In order to separate the province from the capital of the Empire, the city was converted in Neutral Municipality in 1834, passing the province of Rio de Janeiro to have Niterói as capital. As a political center of the country, Rio concentrated the political-partisan life of
6351-595: The population, many Cariocas simultaneously observe those practices with Roman Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro , the Metropolitan See of its respective Ecclesiastical Province , belongs to the Regional Episcopal Council Leste I of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) (headquartered in Rio until 1977). Founded in 1676, it covers
6438-490: The purchase of name usage rights with Mansur and intended to open a site aimed at women in March 2010, with official launch in May of the same year. "The brand still has a positive appeal among consumers", evaluated a company director. According to columnist Mônica Bergamo , in the edition of Folha de S.Paulo of June 3, 2009, the former owner of Mesbla, Ricardo Mansur, would have gone to New York City to accelerate contacts to advance
6525-431: The retail market, being the only company in the genre with nationwide coverage. Employees took pride in stating that Mesbla just did not sell coffins, which are for the dead; for the living they had all the goods, from buttons to cars, boats and airplanes. However, the expansion of Mesbla was made with market strategies that soon proved to be outdated. When it decided to increase the sale of clothing and bed and table linen,
6612-515: The sea, the bay is the final receiver of all the tributaries generated along its banks and in the basins of the many rivers and streams that flow into it. The levels of particulate matter in the air are twice as high as that recommended by the World Health Organization , in part because of the large numbers of vehicles in circulation. The waters of Sepetiba Bay are slowly following the path traced by Guanabara Bay, with sewage generated by
6699-598: The selling of 60 000 trucks to China , a deal that worthed 900 million dollars. In 1986 it was chosen by the magazine Exame , specialized in economics and business, as the best company in Brazil. André de Botton was consecrated as the retail king. His name was part of the quartet that formed the corporate nobility of the 1970s and 1980s, supplemented by Octavio Lacombe, from the Paranapanema Group, Olavo Monteiro de Carvalho, from Monteiro Aranha and Augusto Trajano, from Caemi. In addition to offices of large corporations and
6786-601: The textile factory. The old farms became worker villages with red-bricks houses, and a neo-gothic church was created, which still exists as the Saint Sebastian and Saint Cecilia Parish Church. Street cinemas and cultural buildings also appeared. In May 1894, Thomas Donohoe , a British worker from Busby , Scotland, arrived in Bangu. Donohoe was amazed to discover that there was absolutely no knowledge of football among Brazilians. So he wrote to his wife, Elizabeth, asking her to bring
6873-450: The two companies, making them profitable and resell them with profit. Controversial businessman, Mansur, owner of dairy companies and a bank, was known both for his aggressive style as for his taste for ostentation. He maintains a mansion in London , where sponsors a polo team, to which he provides thoroughbred horses of his own creation. To fulfill the wishes of a daughter, he commissioned from
6960-514: Was 53.2% female and 46.8% male . The black community was formed by residents whose ancestors had been brought as slaves, mostly from Angola and Mozambique , as well by people of Angolan, Mozambican and West African descent who moved to Rio from other parts of Brazil. Nearly half of the city's population is by phenotype mixed or black. White in Brazil is defined more by having a European-looking phenotype rather than ancestry, and two full siblings can be of different "racial" categories in
7047-527: Was 6.4 °C on August 18, 1933, at the meteorological station in the Bangu neighborhood (deactivated in March 2004). This same station, located in the city's hottest neighborhood, recorded a maximum temperature of 43.1 °C on January 14, 1984, which held the record for the highest temperature in the city until December 26, 2012, when 43.2 °C was recorded at the Santa Cruz station. The record for rainfall within 24 hours
7134-552: Was elevated to Kingdom in 1815, it became the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves until the return of the Portuguese Royal Family to Lisbon in 1821, but remained as capital of the Kingdom of Brazil . From the colonial period until the first independent era, Rio de Janeiro was a city of slaves. There was a large influx of African slaves to Rio de Janeiro: in 1819, there were 145,000 slaves in
7221-505: Was enacted in July 1999, and the last Mesbla store to close its doors was the branch of Niterói on August 24, 1999. At the same time, Lojas Brasileiras and G. Aronson ended their activities, two retail companies of national capital. Since then, the Brazilian retail market had to compete with foreign companies. In 2009, it was advertised the comeback of Mesbla: an e-commerce company negotiated
7308-408: Was established, the city lacked urban planning and sanitation , which helped spread several diseases, such as yellow fever , dysentery , variola , tuberculosis and even black death . Pereira Passos , who was named mayor in 1902, imposed reforms to modernize the city, demolishing the cortiços where most of the poor population lived. These people then moved to live in the city's hills, creating
7395-514: Was founded on 1 March 1565 by the Portuguese, led by Estácio de Sá , including Antônio de Mariz [ pt ] . It was named São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro , in honor of St. Sebastian, the saint who was the namesake and patron of the Portuguese then-monarch Sebastião . Rio de Janeiro was the name of Guanabara Bay. Until early in the 18th century, the city was threatened or invaded by several mostly French pirates and buccaneers, such as Jean-François Duclerc and René Duguay-Trouin . In
7482-555: Was inhabited by the Tupi , Puri , Botocudo and Maxakalí peoples. Europeans first encountered Guanabara Bay on 1 January 1502 (hence Rio de Janeiro, "January River"), during a Portuguese expedition under explorer Gaspar de Lemos , captain of a ship in Pedro Álvares Cabral 's fleet, or under Gonçalo Coelho . Allegedly the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci participated as an observer at
7569-506: Was that at the beginning of World War II France has expressed solidarity to Adolf Hitler , which could lead to reprisals in Brazil with reference to the name. La Saigne had four daughters, and the oldest married Henrique de Botton. After a day of hard work, Louis La Saigne, the founder of Mesbla, died at his residence on the night of January 18, 1961. With his death were elected president and vice president two of his older employees, respectively, Silvano Santos Cardoso and Henrique de Botton. In
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