page_title: History of Rio de Janeiro
hierarchical_section_title: History of Rio de Janeiro
caption_attribution_description: English: View of Rio de Janeiro from the church of the monastery of São Bento (Saint Benedictus). Français&#160;: Vue de Rio de Janeiro prise devant l'eglise de Saint Benedicte. Português: Vista do Rio de Janeiro defronte a igreja do mosteiro de São Bento.
context_page_description: Several years after the Portuguese first explored Brazil, French traders in search of pau-brasil reached the rich area extending from the Cape Frio coast to the beaches and islands of Guanabara Bay, the economic and, above all, strategic importance of which was already well-known.f
context_section_description: Several years after the Portuguese first explored Brazil, French traders in search of pau-brasil (a type of brazilwood) reached the rich area extending from the Cape Frio coast to the beaches and islands of Guanabara Bay, the economic and, above all, strategic importance of which was already well-known.f
caption: View of Rio de Janeiro from the church of the monastery of São Bento c. 1820
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