Baixada Fluminense
Encyclopedia
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, between the city of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
to the south and the Serra dos Órgãos
Serra dos Órgãos
Serra dos Órgãos is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was turned into a national park in 1939. It is located about a one-hour drive from the city of Rio de Janeiro....
hills to the north, and bordering on Guanabara Bay
Guanabara Bay
Guanabara Bay is an oceanic bay located in southeastern Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lies the city of Rio de Janeiro, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and São Gonçalo. Four other municipalities surround the bay's shores...
. Its government is separate from that of the city of Rio de Janeiro, but depending on the writer it is often considered to be part of the city’s greater metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
. The region’s population is about three million, making it the second most populous region in the state, following only the city of Rio de Janeiro itself.
The Baixada Fluminense includes the municipalities of Duque de Caxias
Duque de Caxias
Duque de Caxias is a city in southeast Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, bordered by Rio de Janeiro to the south. Its population was 842,890 and its area is 465 km². Its current Mayor is José Camilo Zito...
, Nova Iguaçu
Nova Iguaçu
Nova Iguaçu is a city in southeast Brazil in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro state. It was the state's second largest city until Mesquita was split off, and now is the fourth largest after São Gonçalo and Duque de Caxias. It lies northwest of the city of Rio de Janeiro, on the...
, São João de Meriti
São João de Meriti
São João de Meriti is a brazilian city in Rio de Janeiro state. Its historical name is São João do Rio Meriti. Its population was 468.309 inhabitants in 2008...
, Nilópolis
Nilópolis
Nilópolis is a city and a municipality in Brazil, located in the Rio de Janeiro state's southwestern region, bordering São João de Meriti, Mesquita and Rio de Janeiro. It is the smallest municipality in Rio de Janeiro state, with a total area of 19.39 km². The population of 157,483 inhabitants...
, Belford Roxo
Belford Roxo
Belford Roxo is a city in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a part of the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro and was created in 1990. Its population was 480,555 in 2007 and its area is 79 km². Belford Roxo is one of the richest and wealthiest cities in the state, due to its high GDP...
, Queimados
Queimados
Queimados is a city and a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 136,509 and its area is 77 km²....
and Mesquita
Mesquita
Mesquita is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 182,546 and its area is 35 km²....
, all north of the city of Rio De Janeiro. The municipalities of Magé
Magé
Magé is a city and a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.Magepe-Mirim was established in 1566 by Portuguese colonists...
and Guapimirim (to the east), and Japeri
Japeri
Japeri is a city, and a município , in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeast region of Brazil. This city was founded on June 30, 1991. Is very known to be located next to the last station of the largest branch of the railroad of Brazil , whose image has been stamps in Brazil...
, Paracambi
Paracambi
Paracambi is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 43,011 and its area is 179 km²....
, Seropédica
Seropédica
Seropédica is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 75,032 and its area is 284 km².- Education :The municipality holds the city for Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro ....
and Itaguaí
Itaguaí
Itaguaí is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 93,662 and its area is 272 km². The city was founded in 1688....
(to the west and the northwest) are also sometimes included in this region.
History
Until the 19th century, the region was known as the Baixada da Guanabara. It experienced some development during the 18th century, when it was an important corridor for transporting goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
mined in the neighboring state of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, and in the following century was one of the first regions to develop coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s. However, during the reign of Emperor Pedro II
Pedro II of Brazil
Dom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...
the region suffered serious economic decline due to the creation of railroads, which led to a sharp decline in the traffic on the region’s rivers and roads.
In the early 20th century the area experienced a great influx of persons arriving from other parts of the country in search of a better quality of life near Rio de Janeiro, which at the time was the capital of Brazil. Large drainage projects were undertaken in order to improve sanitary conditions. In the second half of the 20th century, the region acquired a reputation for poverty, violent crime, and inadequate social services, which continues to this day.