Kigali vs Manaus

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Kigali (Kinyarwanda: [ci.ɡɑ́.ɾi]) is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It's near the country's geographical centre in a region of rolling hills, with a succession of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. The town has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transportation hub because it became the capital following independence from Belgian rule in 1962. In a place controlled by the Kingdom of Rwanda from the 17th century and then by the German Empire, the city was founded in 1908 when Richard Kandt, the colonial resident, chose the site for his headquarters, citing its central location, views and safety. Foreign merchants started to trade in the city during the German era, and Kandt opened some government-run schools for Tutsi Rwandan students. Belgium took control of Rwanda and Burundi during World War I, forming the mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. Kigali remained the seat of colonial administration for Rwanda but Ruanda-Urundi's capital was at Usumbura (currently Bujumbura) in Burundi and Kigali remained a small city with a population of just 6,000 at the time of independence. Kigali grew slowly during the next decades. It wasn't initially directly affected by the Rwandan Civil War between government forces and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which started in 1990.

However, in April 1994 Rwanda's president was killed when his aircraft was shot down near Kigali. Social tensions erupted from the genocide that followed, with Hutu extremists loyal to the interim government killing an estimated 500,000--1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu nationwide. The RPF resumed fighting, finishing a cease-fire of over a year. They slowly took control of most of the country and captured Kigali on 4 July 1994. Post-genocide Kigali has experienced rapid population growth, with much of the town rebuilt. The city of Kigali is one of the five provinces of Rwanda, with boundaries set in 2006. It's divided into three districts--Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge--which historically had management of significant areas of local governance. Reforms in January 2020 moved a lot of the districts' power into the city-wide council. The town also hosts the main residence and offices of the President of Rwanda and many government ministries. The largest contributor to Kigali's gross domestic product is the service industry, but a significant proportion of the population works in agriculture such as small subsistence farming. Attracting international visitors is a priority for city authorities, including leisure tourism, conventions and exhibitions.

Source: Wikipedia

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Manaus (; Portuguese: [mɐˈnaws, mɐˈnawʃ, maˈnaws]) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2019 population of 2,182,763 distributed over a land area of about 11,401 km2 (4,402 sq mi). Located at the east center of the state, the city is the center of the Manaus metropolitan area and the largest metropolitan area in the North Region of Brazil by urban landmass. It is situated near the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. The city was founded in 1669 as the Fort of São José do Rio Negro. It was elevated to a town in 1832 with the name of "Manaus", an altered spelling of the indigenous Manaós peoples, and legally transformed into a city on October 24, 1848, with the name of Cidade da Barra do Rio Negro, Portuguese for "The City of the Margins of the Black River". On September 4, 1856 it returned to its original name.Manaus is located in the center of the world's largest rainforest, and home to the National Institute of Amazonian Research, being the most important center for scientific studies in the Amazon region and for international sustainability issues. It was known at the beginning of the century, as "Heart of the Amazon" and "City of the Forest".

Currently its main economic engine is the Industrial Park of Manaus, a Free Economic Zone. The city has a free port and an international airport. Its manufactures include electronics, chemical products, and soap; there are distilling and ship construction industries. Manaus also exports Brazil nuts, rubber, jute and rosewood oil. It has a cathedral, opera house, zoological and botanical gardens, an ecopark and regional and native peoples museums.The Solimões and Negro rivers meet just east of Manaus and join to form the Amazon River (using the Brazilian definition of the river; elsewhere, Solimões is considered the upper part of the Amazon). Rubber made it the richest city in South America during the late 1800s. Rubber also helped Manaus earn its nickname, the "Paris of the Tropics". Many wealthy European families settled in Manaus and brought their love for sophisticated European art, architecture, and culture with them. Manaus was one of the twelve Brazilian host cities of the 2014 World Cup, as well as one of the five subsections of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Source: Wikipedia