São Gonçalo (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w ɡõˈsalu]) is a municipality in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the Southeast region.

The coast of Rio de Janeiro, as well as São Gonçalo, was the scene, in the 16th century, of the revolt known as the Confederation of Tamoios, which united the Tupinambás, Tupiniquins, Aimorés and Temiminós tribes and the French explorers against the Portuguese.

In 1567, with the arrival of reinforcements for the Portuguese captain-general Estácio de Sá, who had founded the village of São Sebastião in Rio de Janeiro two years earlier, the final stage of expulsion of the French and their Tamoio allies began, with the final decimation of the Tupinambás in the region taking place.

The Tupinambás withdrew from the region of the current city of Rio de Janeiro, first towards Guanabara Bay and, later, towards Cabo Frio.

On April 6, 1579, the nobleman Gonçalo Gonçalves received from the governor of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, the land located on the banks of the Imboaçu River, with the duty of building a chapel and a village within a period of three years.

The set of historical landmarks remaining from the 17th century includes the Nossa Senhora da Boa Esperança Farm in Ipiiba and the property of captain Miguel Frias de Vasconcelos, in Engenho Pequeno, the Chapel of São João in Porto do Gradim and Fazenda da Luz in Itaóca.

In 1660–1661, the farmers of São Gonçalo and Niterói rebelled against the collection of taxes related to the production of cachaça and marched in arms to the city of Rio de Janeiro, where they deposed the governor.

Until the 20th century, São Gonçalo had around twelve ports that exported products from the state of Rio de Janeiro to the court.

Its industrial park was the most important in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which earned it the nickname "Manchester Fluminense".

During Joaquim Lavoura's government, the municipality had a major push towards urbanization, paving the main roads, connecting Niterói to Alcântara, passing through the important Parada 40 neighborhood.

[5] It contains part of the Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic of conservation units, created in 2006.

It is the largest teachers' college in the state of Rio de Janeiro, offering advanced training of senior staff.

The campus offers undergraduate courses in Biological Sciences, History, Geography, Portuguese, Literature, English, Mathematics and Pedagogy.