at a glance

the first dock was built shortly after the arrival of the portuguese, and it was around it and the morro do castelo (castle hill), that the city started to grow - a few years later, the churches built by the jesuits became new centers for urban expansion, but at the time development was slow.

it was the arrival of the portuguese royal family in the early 19th century that really propelled the expansion of the region - hills were demolished, including the morro do castelo, and mangroves and swamps covered so to open space for the city to grow. by the end of the century the central region had a widely varied population going from the poorest to the wealthiest tiers of society.