Bahia
 |
Map of the All Saints bay in 1882 |
Bahia is one of the 26
states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the
Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after
São Paulo,
Minas Gerais and
Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size. It is also the most important state, in terms of economics and culture, in Brazil's
Northeast Region. Bahia's capital is the city of
Salvador, or more properly, São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, and is located at the junction of the
Atlantic Ocean and the
Bay of All Saints.
Pronunciation IPA: //
[The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. In European Portuguese the pronunciation is: //.] (the H is not pronounced, and the stress is on the second syllable). The name is an archaic spelling of the Portuguese word meaning "bay" and comes from "a baía de Todos os Santos" (All Saints' Bay), first seen by European sailors on November 1st 1501, All Saints' Day.
The
Portuguese Pedro Álvares Cabral landed at what is now
Porto Seguro, on the southern coast of Bahia in
1500, and claimed the territory for Portugal. In
1549, Portugal established the city of
Salvador, on a hill facing the Bay of All Saints. The city and surrounding captaincy served as the administrative and religious capital of Portugal's colonies in
the Americas until
1763. The Dutch held control of Bahia from May
1624 through April
1625.
Charles Darwin visited Bahia in
1832 on his famous Voyage of The Beagle.
The state was also the last area of Brazil to join the independent confederation; Some members in the elite remained loyal to the Portuguese crown after the rest of the country was granted independence. After several battles, mostly in Pirajá, the province was finally able to expel the Portuguese on July 2nd 1823, known as Bahia Independence Day, a great popular celebration. In the state there is an ongoing discussion about the exact moment of Brazilian indepedence, because for almost all "baianos," it really happened in Bahia with the battles, and not on September 7, when the Emperor, Pedro I, declared independence.
Bahia was a center of
sugar cultivation from the 16th to the 18th centuries, and contains a number of historical towns, such as
Cachoeira, dating from this era. Integral to the sugar economy was the importation of a vast number of
African
slaves; more than 37% of all slaves taken from Africa were sent to Brazil, mostly to be processed in Bahia before being sent to work in plantations elsewhere in the country.
The oldest
Roman Catholic cathedral and the first
medical college in the country are located in Bahia's capital, which also has one of the highest percentage of churches of any capital city in Brazil. The Catholic
Archbishop of
São Salvador da Bahia,
Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo, is the
Cardinal Primate of Brazil.
According to the IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro da Geografia e Estatística) 2000 Demographic Census, Bahia's population breakdowns are as follow:
Total population: 13,070,250;
Whites (Branca): 3,067,786 (23%)
Blacks (Preta): 1,700,531 (13%)
Asians (Amarela): 23,868 (less than 1%)
Mixed race (Parda): 8,095,318 (62%)
Indigenous (Indígena): 60,329 (about .5%)
Bahia has the largest numerical population of self-identified
Black residents in Brazil, as well as the one of the highest combined percentages (75%) of Black and mixed-race residents of any Brazilian state.
The state's geographical regions comprise the
mata atlântica or remnants of the Atlantic coast forests; the
recôncavo region radiating from the Bay (the largest in Brazil), the site of sugar and tobacco cultivation; and the
planalto, which includes the fabled
sertão region of Bahia's far interior.
Bahia is bordered, in counterclockwise fashion, by
Sergipe,
Alagoas,
Pernambuco,
Piauí, and
Maranhão to the north,
Goiás and
Tocantins to the west, and
Minas Gerais and
Espírito Santo to the south.
Brazil's second longest river system, the
São Francisco, runs from the Atlantic Ocean along the state's northern border with
Sergipe and
Pernambuco down through the planalto into the neighboring southern state of
Minas Gerais.
The state has the longest coastline in Brazil; the northern coastline running from Salvador forms the
Linha Verde (Green Line).
Bahia contains the longest known cave in the Southern hemisphere,
Toca da Boa Vista, which has 84km of mapped passages.
Bahia is the main producer and exporter of
cacao in Brazil. In addition to important agricultural and industrial sectors, the state also has considerable
mineral and
petroleum deposits. In recent years,
soy cultivation has increased substantially in the state.
Another major industry is
tourism: Bahia's long coastline, beautiful
beaches and
cultural treasures make it one of Brazil's chief tourist destinations. In addition to the island of
Itaparica, the town of
Morro de São Paulo across the Bay on the northernmost tip of the southern coastline, and the large number of beaches between
Ilhéus and
Porto Seguro, on the southeastern coast, the littoral area north of
Salvador, stretching towards the border with
Sergipe, has become an important tourist destination. The
Costa do Sauípe contains one of the largest resort hotel developments in
Brazil.
As the chief locus of the early Brazilian slave trade, Bahia is considered to possess the greatest and most distinctive African imprint, in terms of culture and customs, in Brazil. These include the
Yoruba-derived religious system of
Candomblé, the martial art of
capoeira (especially the style of
capoeira de angola), African-derived
music such as
samba,
afoxé, and
axé, and a
cuisine with strong links to western Africa.
Bahia is the birthplace of many noted Brazilian artists, writers and musicians. Among the noted musical figures born in the state are
Dorival Caymmi;
João Gilberto;
Gilberto Gil, the country's Minister of Culture;
Caetano Veloso and his sister
Maria Bethânia (Gil and Veloso being the founders of the
Tropicália movement (a native adaptation of the hippie movement) of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which ultimate gained international recognition);
Daniela Mercury;
Ivete Sangalo; and
Carlinhos Brown. The city of Salvador is also home to internationally famous groups, known "blocos-afros," such as
Olodum,
Ara Ketu, and
Ilê Aiyê. The first rock'n roll singer in Brazil was also from Bahia. Born
Raul Seixas, he was known as "Maluco Beleza" or "Crazy Beauty."
During the 19th century, one of Brazil's greatest poets, the Bahian
abolitionist poet and
playwright Castro Alves, a native of the
recôncavo city of
Cachoeira, penned his most famous poem,
Navio negreiro, about slavery; the poem is considered a masterpiece of Brazilian
Romanticism and a key
anti-slavery text. Other notable Bahian writers include
Gregório de Matos, who wrote during the 17th century and was one of the first Brazilian writers, and Fr. Antonio Vieira, who during the colonial period was one of many authors who contributed to the expansion of the Portuguese language throughout the Brazilian territory. The major Brazilian fiction writer of the 20th Century,
Jorge Amado, was born in the southeastern Bahian city of
Itabuna, and resided for many years in
Salvador. His major novels include
Gabriela, Cinnamon and Cloves;
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands; and
Tieta, the Goat Girl, all of which became internationally renowned films. More recent writers from Bahia include the fiction writers
João Ubaldo Ribeiro and
Jean Wyllys, winner of
Big Brother Brasil 5 in
2005.
In the visual and plastic arts, one of the best known Bahian figures was the multigenre artist and
Argentinian native Hector Julio Páride Bernabó, also known as
Carybé (1911-1997). Fine examples of his work are visible in the
Afro-Brazilian Museum in Salvador.
In the sport of
boxing, Bahian native
Acelino "Popó" Freitas is the current world champion (
WBC) in the lightweight class.
The starting goalkeeper for the
2006 FIFA World Cup Brazilian team,
Dida, who also plays for Italian soccer team
A.C. Milan, is a native of the city of
Irará.
There also are
indigenous tribes, such as the
Pataxó, who reside on the southern Atlantic coast and in the state's interior, and
Tuxá, who reside on the edge of
São Francisco River in northern of Bahia.
Beyond the capital, other important cities in the state include:the old island city of
Itaparica, on the island of the same name, in the Bay of All Saints;the industrial city of
Camaçari in the Salvador region;the
reconcôncavo cities of
Cachoeira,
Santo Amaro,
Nazaré, and
São Felix;the resort towns of
Arembepe and Conde on the north coast;
Ilhéus, where
Jorge Amado spent his childhood, and nearby
Itabuna;the resort town of
Morro de São Paulo, in the
Valença region;the southern coastal cities of
Porto Seguro, now a major tourist destination,
Santa Cruz da Cabrália, and
Prado;
Juazeiro, the twin city of
Petrolina in
Pernambuco, on the São Francisco River;
Feira de Santana;
Jequié;
Vitória da Conquista, in the southeast part state;and
Lençóis and
Palmeiras, in the
Chapada Diamantina region.
See also:
*
List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
*
Official homepage (Portuguese)
*
Salvador*
Brazil*
Porto Seguro*
A.T.P. Association Tourism Porto Seguro*
IBGE Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Portuguese)
