Encyclopedia
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.
Name
Pronunciation . The name is an archaic spelling of the Portuguese word meaning "bay" and comes from "a baía de Todos os Santos" , first seen by European sailors on November 1st 1501, All Saints' Day.
History
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 independence, 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.
Also see wikipedia articles and respective discussions:
Empire of BrazilBrazilian War of Independence
Demographics
According to the IBGE 2000 Demographic Census, Bahia's population breakdowns are as follow:
Total population: 13,070,250;
Whites : 3,067,786
Blacks : 1,700,531
Asians : 23,868
Mixed race : 8,095,318
Indigenous : 60,329
Bahia has the largest numerical population of self-identified Black residents in Brazil, as well as the one of the highest combined percentages of Black and mixed-race residents of any Brazilian state.
Geography
The state's geographical regions comprise the
mata atlântica or remnants of the Atlantic coast forests; the
recôncavo region radiating from the Bay , 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 .
Bahia contains the longest known cave in the Southern hemisphere, Toca da Boa Vista, which has 84km of mapped passages.
Economy
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.
Bahian Culture
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 , 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 ; Gal Costa; Luis Caldas; Sara Jane;
Daniela Mercury; Ivete Sangolo; and Carlinhos Brown. The city of Salvador is also home to internationally famous groups known as "blocos-afros," including
Olodum, Ara Ketu, É o Tchan, and Ilê Aiyê. Additionally, groups such as Chiclete com Banana also are based in Bahia. The first well-known 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 central
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 . Fine examples of his work are visible in the Afro-Brazilian Museum in Salvador.
Sports
In the sport of
boxing, Bahian native
Acelino "Popó" Freitas is the current world champion in the lightweight class.
The starting goalkeeper for the
2006 FIFA World Cup Brazilian team,
Dida, who also plays for the Italian soccer team
A.C. Milan, is a native of the city of Irará. Another soccer player, Obina, one of the best strikers in Brazil, currently plays for Flamengo.
Indigenous Populations
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.
Other Important Cities
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:
Famous Bahians/Baianos
'Baianos', as natives and residents of Bahia are popularly called in Brazil, have made extensive contributions to Brazil's history, culture, music, literature, education, science, and technology. Some important contemporary Bahians include:
- Maria Bethânia, singer, sister of Caetano Veloso
- Carlinhos Brown, composer, percussionist, singer, and member of Timbalada and Tribalistas
- Luis Caldas, singer
- Gal Costa, singer
- Dida, internationally acclaimed soccer and goalkeeper
- Acelino "Popó" Freitas, WBC champion
- Gilberto Gil, singer, composer, environmentalist and Brazilian Minister of Culture ; founded the musical movement Tropicália with Caetano Veloso
- João Gilberto, singer and composer, considered with Tom Jobim as one of the founders of bossa nova
- Goya Lopes, fashion designer
- Margareth Menezes, pop singer
- Daniela Mercury, singer
- Luiz R. B. Mott, anthropologist, leading gay rights activist, and founder of Grupo Gay da Bahia, the oldest LGBT and human rights groups in Brazil
- Ivete Sangalo, singer
- Caetano Veloso, singer, composer, activist, and author, founded the musical movement Tropicália with Gilberto Gil
- Tom Zé , singer-songwriter, member of the Tropicália movement
External links
