<P> Salvador was established in 1549 by the first Governor - General of Portuguese South America shortly after colonisation began . The city became the seat of the first Catholic bishopric of Brazil in 1552, and is still the center of Brazilian Catholicism . In the 17th century Rio de Janeiro became a far more practical export port than Salvador, and the colonial administration was moved in 1763 . In 1808 the Portuguese royal family and most of the aristocracy in the Portuguese capital Lisbon fled Portugal ahead of Napoleon's invasion . The Portuguese capital was temporarily transferred from Europe to Rio de Janeiro . The city remained the capital after the independence of Brazil in 1822 and after the abolition of the monarchy in 1889 . </P> <P> In the 1950s plans were considered for moving the federal capital from the east coast to the interior; the interior was sparsely populated and it was hoped that moving the capital to the region would help populate the area . The new capital, Brasília, was inaugurated as the federal capital on 21 April 1960 after being purpose built at great cost of 2 trillion U.S. dollars . </P> <Ul> <Li> São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos (1534--1763) <Ul> <Li> Salvador (1572--1578 / 1581)--capital city of the State of Maranhão </Li> <Li> Salvador (1621--1640)--capital city of the State of Maranhão under the Iberian Union </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro (1572--1578 / 1581)--capital city of the State of Brazil </Li> <Li> Rio de Janeiro (1763--1815)--capital city of the Viceroyalty of Brazil </Li> <Li> Rio de Janeiro (1815--1822)--capital city of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves </Li> <Li> Rio de Janeiro (1822--1889)--capital city of the Empire of Brazil </Li> <Li> Rio de Janeiro (1889--1960)--capital city of the Republic of the United States of Brazil </Li> <Li> Brasília (1960--present)--capital city of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, and since 1967 the Federative Republic of Brazil </Li> </Ul> <Li> São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos (1534--1763) <Ul> <Li> Salvador (1572--1578 / 1581)--capital city of the State of Maranhão </Li> <Li> Salvador (1621--1640)--capital city of the State of Maranhão under the Iberian Union </Li> </Ul> </Li>

What was the capital of brazil before brasilia