The area was first documented by Europeans on January 6, 1502, and has been under continual settlement since 1556. Its population was estimated, on 2021 by IBGE, to be 210,171 inhabitants.[3]
History
The port municipality fell into decline after 1872, having been bypassed by the advent of railways. It came back into prominence in the 1920s, when a railway extension connected it to the states of Minas Gerais and Goias, as a terminus for the transportation of agriculture production from these same two states. The railway extension, in metre gauge, still exists and is currently operated by the Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica company.
In the mid-twentieth century, the municipality was an essential part of the implementation of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional – CSN, Volta Redonda, and the endpoint for coking coal supplied from Santa Catarina. Today, the same company also uses the port for some of its steel exports.
Its current importance is due, in part, to having a ferry terminal facility in the Bay of Ilha Grande and its harbour, used by TEBIG Petrobras, which transports large quantities of crude oil, and thus positions the port of Angra dos Reis as one of the busiest in the country.
Today, because of its beaches and nearby points of interest, the place has become a focal point for tourism. Within the municipality are over three hundred islands, many of them owned by celebrities, with the largest island being Ilha Grande (Big Island). The Brazilian plastic surgeon and philanthropist Ivo Pitanguy was a noted resident.
Most of the region consists of hilly terrain, which helped generate the landslides that occurred at the beginning of 2010, when numerous homes and hotels were severely damaged or destroyed, mainly on Ilha Grande.
Economy
The most important economic activities are commerce, fishing, industry, services, and tourism. The port has an oil terminal as well as shipbuilding (Keppel Fels, former Verolme) facilities. Brazil's nuclear power stations, Angra I and Angra II are located nearby. They employ 3,000 people, and generate another 10,000 indirect jobs in Rio de Janeiro State. Tourism is highly developed, with beaches, islands and clean waters for swimming or scuba diving. The nuclear power stations also warm the area's waters with their thermal discharges, a form of thermal pollution.
There is a small amount of cattle raising, with approximately 4,200 head. The main agricultural products cultivated are: