The area where the city stands was 'discovered' on the
1st of January 1502 during a Portuguese expedition led by Gaspar de Lemos, who
believed he had reached the mouth of a great river, and named the city 'River of
January' accordingly.
In 1565
the Portuguese general Estácio de Sá officially founded the city in an attempt
to expel the French who had been fighting to take control of the area for 10
years: he named the city 'São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro,' and until the
eighteenth century the city was called just 'São Sebastião.' São Sebastião the
First was Portugal's king at the time of the city's creation, march 1st 1565,
and he was carrying the same name of the saint that was later made saint patron
of the city: São Sebastião.