São João da Barra () is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
located in the
Brazilian state
The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which ...
of
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 ...
. Its population was 36,423 (2020) and its area is 459 km².
It is home to the
Superporto do Açu.
History
Until the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil in the 16th century, the entire region of the mouth of the
Paraíba do Sul River
Paraíba ( Tupi: ''pa'ra a'íba''; ) is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba ...
was occupied by the Goitacá Indians. The village was originally settled in 1630 by fishermen from Atafona who decided to relocate following the accidental death of the wife of the village leader. It was originally called ''São João Batista do Paraíba do Sul''. The construction of the Chapel of São João Batista dates from that time, which would give rise to the Vila de São João Batista da Barra. In the 18th century, the village became an important crossing point for sugar from Campos dos Goytacazes towards Salvador. On 17 June 1850, the village was elevated to city status by decree of the Brazilian emperor
Dom Pedro II
Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, the seventh child of Em ...
. After a period of decay for most of the 20th century, the city prospered again with the discovery of oil in the Campos Basin at the end of that century.
''São João da Barra''
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References
Port cities in Brazil
Populated coastal places in Rio de Janeiro (state)
Municipalities in Rio de Janeiro (state)
Populated places established in 1630
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