Imagine a time long ago. Rio de Janeiro was on the cusp of change. We are standing before what once was Morro do Castelo. It is a place with a past both glorious and heartbreaking.
Morro do Castelo held immense significance. It was Rio’s second and definitive birthplace. Urban occupation radiated outward from this very point. The hill served as a strategic defense against foreign invasions. It was home to the São Tiago de Misericórdia Fort.
Initially, it was called Morro do Descanso. This translates to Restful Hill. This name arose from the sheer difficulty of conquering and colonizing it.
But its golden era met a tragic end. The early 20th century brought a desire to modernize Rio. Leaders wanted to cleanse Brazil’s capital. They wished to make it more European. The demolition of Morro do Castelo became part of this vision. It shaped Rio’s urbanization in the 20th century.
In 1922, Brazil celebrated the centenary of its independence. The decision was made to completely destroy the Morro do Castelo. This decision aimed to make room for a World Expo. The expo would demonstrate Brazil’s progress to the world.
The destruction produced new outcasts. Evictees sought housing in tenements, peripheries, and hillside squats. The favela emerged as one solution for the working class.
Benjamim Costallat critiqued the destruction. He lamented the lack of thought from the nation’s political leaders. He expressed discomfort with cleansing Rio’s central region. Black, poor, and favela residents lived there.
Other hills shared Morro do Castelo’s fate. Morro do Senado became Praça da Cruz Vermelha or Red Cross Square.
Rio de Janeiro, or São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, was known for its hills and swamps. Over centuries, the landscape transformed. Hillsides became frontiers of discrimination. They reflected racial, economic, and social hierarchy.
The city’s original name was São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro. It has an indelible topography of hills and swamps. The landscape shaped the arrival of new inhabitants.
The city was founded in 1565 on Morro Cara de Cão. This is at the mouth of Guanabara Bay near Morro da Urca. In 1567, the city’s seat moved to Morro do Castelo. It was a strategic point for Portuguese rule. The hill faced Villegagnon Island. A French colony threatened Portuguese dominion.
From 1808 to 1821, Rio was the only European capital outside continental Europe. Whether colony, empire, or republic, Morro do Castelo remained strategic. It was the heart of the city since the 16th century.
The demolition aimed to erase the colonial image. Leaders wanted to transform Rio into a “Paris of the Tropics.” This fostered the demolition of hills and buildings.
The Alves-Pereira Passos era saw the construction of Avenida Central. Today it is Avenida Rio Branco. The National Library, Municipal Theater, and National Museum of Fine Arts were also constructed. Passos’ government became known for “knocking it down.”
Occupations, informal settlements, and favelas were seen as urban problems. Their inhabitants inherited the stigma of being a dangerous class. The favela became a target of repression and cleansing.
Newspapers propagated racist and eugenic ideas. Brazil needed racial refinement. This would be achieved through European immigration. The goal was to purify the Brazilian race.
Cleansing perspectives ran through authorities’ discourse. This was used to remove tenements in Rio’s center. Public health figures advocated removing hills. They wanted to widen roads and apply codes of civil conduct.
In 1921, over 5,000 people lived on Morro do Castelo. Writer Lima Barreto discussed the right to housing.
Augusto Malta documented Rio’s urbanization. He captured the contradictions of modernizing a city by observing its past. He documented the expelled.
Mayor Carlos Sampaio compared Morro do Castelo to a decaying tooth. The city lost historical assets like the São Sebastião Church.
Today, Morro do Castelo remains as a namesake. The area between Avenida Rio Branco and Santa Casa de Misericórdia Hospital is still known as Castelo.