Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/357

 RIO DE JANEIRO RIO GRANDE DEL NORTE 341 the value for the fiscal year 1872-'3 was $36,- 511,450; more than one half are from Great Britain, about one fourth from France, the re- mainder chiefly from the Plata, Germany, and Portugal. Flour, kerosene oil, lumber, lard, rosin, and turpentine are almost the only arti- cles received from the United States, the value of which in 1873 was $2,415,000. The cus- toms receipts of 'the port for the two finanr cial years 1870-'72 were $27,648,429. The import tax ranges from 40 to 60 per cent. The arrivals from foreign ports during the year 1873 were 4,431 vessels, of 2,639,362 tons; the departures 3,358, of 2,807,299 tons. The arrivals from Brazilian ports were 6,421 vessels, of 1,051,928 tons; departures, 7,203, of 1,345,648 tons. The total movement of shipping for 1873 was 7,844,237 tons. The trade of the port increases slowly, owing to ex- orbitant charges and unnecessary delay, which greatly diminish legitimate profits. Although the bay of Rio de Janeiro was undoubtedly visited soon after the discovery of Brazil, and as early as 1502, it remained without name until Juan Diaz de Solis entered it on Jan. 1, 1516 ; thinking it the entrance to a river, he named it Rio de Janeiro (river of January). The first settlement was in 1531, but it was abandoned at the end of four months. The province having been conferred by John III. of Portugal as a gift on Martina Affonso de Souza, a small fort was built and a settlement formed near the entrance by him in 1552. This was neglected and appears to have been abandoned, for some French Huguenots under the command of Admiral Villegagnon formed the first permanent settlement in 1555, and erected a fort on the islet which now bears the name of their leader. The French were well re- ceived by the Indians, the Tamoyes, who were at enmity with the Portuguese ; they carried on a lucrative trade with them, and named the colony Henriville, and the adjacent coun- try Antarctic France. John III. ordered their expulsion, which was accomplished in 1565 by the governor of Bahia, who in 1567 founded another Portuguese colony near the present site of the Misericordia hospital, naming it Sao Sebastiao. The history of the first century of the colony is replete with wars of extermina- tion against the Indians, civil dissension among the colonists, and cruelty, oppression, and as- sassination. In 1710 the French made an un- successful attempt to take possession of the bay ; their commander was taken prisoner and assassinated. The attempt was renewed in 1711 with success, but the commander, Duguay- Trouin, accepted a ransom and abandoned the bay. In spite of mismanagement and diffi- culty, the colony as well as 'the whole prov- ince prospered; and in 1763 Rio de Janeiro was made the capital of the viceroyalty. In the beginning of 1808 the royal family of Por- tugal came to Brazil on account of the occu- pation of the mother country by the French ; their presence gave an impetus to the growth of the city, which has ever since remained the first in commercial importance in Brazil. After the return of King John VI. to Portu- gal (1821) the Brazilians declared their inde- pendence and established an empire, with Dom Pedro I., the son of the king of Portugal, as emperor (1822). Thenceforward the history of the city is that of the empire. The capital of the province was transferred to Nictheroy and the municipality of Rio de Janeiro cre- ated in 1834. RIO DE LA PLATA. See PLATA, Rio DE LA. RIO GRANDE, a S. W. county of Colorado, formed since the census of 1870, intersected by the Rio Grande ; area, 1,200 sq. m. The surface is mountainous, the San Juan being the principal range. There are valuable gold mines. Capital, Del Norte. RIO GRANDE, or Gnapey, a river of Bolivia, which rises in the S. declivity of the moun- tains near Cochabamba, and flows in a S. E. direction through the plains of the province to Ion. 62 W. Here it bends abruptly N., and after a semicircular sweep round the eastern base of the Sucre mountain chain, holds a N. W. course to its junction with the Mamor6, S. of Trinidad, about lat. 15 S. Exclusive of its numerous sinuosities, it has a total length of about 700 m., the lower half being easily navigable by small steamers. Almost its en- tire course is through a densely wooded coun- try. Among its affluents, most of which are from the west, is the Flores, a stream of con- siderable magnitude. RIO GRANDE DEL NORTE, or Rio Bravo del Norte, commonly called simply the Rio Grande, a river of North America, rising in the S. W. part of Colorado, between the La Plata and San Juan mountain ranges. It flows E. for about 150 m., then bends abruptly S., entering New Mexico between the Sierra Madre and the main chain of the Rocky mountains, and flows through that territory to the Mexican border ; thence it pursues a general S. E. course, separa- ting Texas from Mexico, to the gulf of Mexico. Its entire length is estimated at 1,800 m. The upper part of its course is obstructed by rocky ledges and cataracts, and the lower part by sand banks and numerous wooded islands ; but small steamers have ascended to Kingsbury's rapide, about 450 m. from the sea. The Rio Grande is subject to periodical floods, which commence in April, are at their greatest height in the beginning of May, and fall toward the end of June. For the greater part of the year it is fordable almost everywhere above the influence of the tide. The only important tributary is the Rio Pecos, which rises on the E. slope of the Rocky mountains, in N. E. New Mexico, flows S. through the E. part of the territory to the Texas border, and thence S. E. to the Rio Grande, which it enters about 500 m. above the gulf. Its entire length is estimated at 700 m. At certain seasons its bed becomes dry. Both the Rio Grande and the Pecos flow for the most part through an arid