The Baron of Mauá was born on December 28th, 1813, though he was not Baron then of course. He was named Irineu Evangelista de Sousa and was born into a poor Brazilian family. After his father died his mother remarried, and in order to avoid problems between Irineu and his stepfather, his uncle sent him to Rio de Janeiro at the age of nine.
At the age of fifteen his then employer, Scotsman Richard Caruthers, gave him a position of responsibility and when he was 23 years old was made a partner in the business. During a business trip to England during the height of the industrial revolution he saw things that inspired him to start up his own business. He was a true entrepreneur, a man ahead of his time, and also a man of vision.






