For three centuries Brazil had been jealously closed to the outside world; now her ports were thrown open to the commerce of all nations, and her people for the first time felt the inspiration and impulse of free commercial intercourse; The foreign first foreigners to settle in Rio de Janeiro ‘were the English, who came immediately after the opening of Brazilian ports to foreign commerce. The French did not come until 1814, but their number soon outstripped that of every other nationality, all the small trades and industries falling into their hands. The city grew rapidly, spreading out toward S. Christovao, which was then a swampy plain, and along the Gulf of Cattete toward Botafogo, which was a sandy waste. The old city had been confined between Castle and S. Antonio hills on the south, S. Bento on the north, and the Campo de Sant’Anna on the west, the latter place then being a great, stagnant marsh. The buildings were also greatly improved in appearance through the direct influence of the king.

In regard to the population of the city at that time, no reliable statistics are to be found. According to Spix and Martius, who visited Brazil in 1817, the total population at the time of D. Joao VI’s arrival—including whites, blacks and natives—was 50,000, which in 1817 had increased to 110,000. They estimated the number of Portuguese arrivals during that period at 24,000. According to Walsh, who visited Brazil in 1828, an imperfect census of the city in 1811 showed a population of 46,944, of which 22,780 were whites. In 1824, according to the same author, another imperfect census showed a population of about 130,000. In 1828, he found the total number of inhabited houses in the city to be 15,623, which, on an average of six persons to each house, showed a population of about 94,000. Taking into consideration the peculiar conditions of life and the large numbers of slaves owned in the city, which occasioned a higher average per house than elsewhere, he concluded that the actual population in 1828 was fully 150,000.

By a royal decree of December 16th, 1815, Brazil was elevated to the dignity of a kingdom, conjointly with those of Portugal and Algarve, a measure which did much to increase the importance of the country and to arouse the aspirations of its people.

—from “A Historical Sketch of the City” in Exploring and Travelling Three Thousand Miles Through Brazil, by James William Wells, 1886

The Bay of Rio by Fannie E. Coe

The entrance to Rio Janeiro harbor is very narrow. It is between two rocky bluffs, the western one being known as Sugar Loaf on account of its conical shape. The waters of the bay are always as calm as an inland lake. With the exception of the narrow entrance, mountains surround the harbor.