Morro da Providência ("Providence Hill") is a

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

located between the two

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

districts of Santo Cristo and Gamboa. It has an altitude of 115 metres and is located in the port area of the city (currently the subject of a major revitalization known as the
Porto Maravilha).
' It is widely considered to be the first favela community in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

"The granite hump of Providencia gazes down like a stern guardian on the old port of Rio de Janeiro. It offers probably the finest viewpoint over any city I know."

History

In 1897, victorious veterans of the Canudos War who were promised land in the old capital upon their return found that such promises were not kept. In frustration and desperation, the soldiers invaded the hill scrub land close to the (then) Ministry of War. The hill was initially named ''Morro da Favela'' after the favela plant, a skin-irritating bush belonging to the spurge family, which is indigenous to the region where the soldiers fought against the Canudos settlers in the eastern province of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

.Pedro A. Pinto, '' Os Sertões de

Euclides da Cunha Euclides da Cunha (, January 20, 1866 – August 15, 1909) was a Brazilian journalist, sociologist and engineer. His most important work is '' Os Sertões'' (''Rebellion in the Backlands''), a non-fictional account of the military expeditions ...

: Vocabulário e Notas Lexiológicas'', Rio: Francisco Al In the early 20th century, freed

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

joined the soldiers and were joined by new European migrants as well, because it was the only affordable place to live in near their work in the city's centre and port.

References

Geography of Rio de Janeiro (city) Favelas {{RiodeJaneiro-geo-stub