Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26
states of Brazil
The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which ...
, located in the
Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after
São Paulo,
Minas Gerais, and
Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest by area. Bahia's capital is the city of
Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
(formerly known as "Cidade do São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos", literally "City of the Saint Savior of the Bay of All the Saints"), on a
spit of land separating the
Bay of All Saints from the Atlantic. Once a monarchial stronghold dominated by
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
,
slaving
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, and ranching interests, Bahia is now a predominantly
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
industrial and agricultural state. The state is home to 7% of the Brazilian population and produces 4.2% of the country's GDP.
Name
The name of the state derives from the earlier
captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos, named for
Bay of All Saints (' in
modern Portuguese), a major feature of
its coastline. The bay itself was named by the
explorer Amerigo Vespucci during
his second voyage, when he found it on
All Saints' Day (1 November), 1502. He named it after his
parish church in
Florence,
San Salvatore di Ognissanti ("
Holy Savior
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
of All the
Saints
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...
"). Over time, the bay became distinguished as the Bay of All Saints, the state as Bahia ("Bay"), and its capital first as Bahia and then finally as
Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
.
Geography
Bahia is bordered on the east by the
Atlantic Ocean. The
Bay of All Saints is the largest bay on the Brazilian coast. Under the
Brazilian Empire
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pe ...
, it was bounded on the north by the
Rio Real
Rio Real is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil. It is named for the nearby river.
See also
*List of municipalities in Bahia
This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Bahia (BA), located in the ...
and by the
Jequitinhonha on the south, but Bahia now comprises an irregular shape bound by other
states of Brazil
The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which ...
, some of which were formed from it. In the north, it is now bordered (from east to west) by
Sergipe,
Alagoas,
Pernambuco and
Piauí
Piaui (, ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the country's Northeast Region. The state has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.7% of the Brazilian GDP.
Piaui has the shortest coastline of any coastal Brazilian state at 66&n ...
. In the northwest, it is bordered by
Tocantins. In the southwest, it borders
Goiás, and in the south it is bordered (from east to west) by
Espírito Santo and
Minas Gerais.
The state is crossed from west to east by
many rivers, but the most important is the
São Francisco, which starts in
Minas Gerais and runs through western Bahia before emptying into the Atlantic between
Sergipe and
Alagoas. Formerly plied by
paddlewheel steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...
s, the river is only navigable to small modern craft but is still vital to the arid west since it continuously supplies water during seasons when many other smaller rivers dry out. The
Sobradinho Dam
The Sobradinho Dam is a large hydroelectric dam built on the São Francisco River in Sobradinho, Bahia, Sobradinho, in the state of Bahia of Brazil. Completed in 1982, the dam generates power by utilizing six Francis turbine-generators, totalling ...
created one of the largest reservoirs in the world; other major hydroelectric projects along its length include the
Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex and the Itaparica or
Luiz Gonzaga Dam
The Luiz Gonzaga Dam, formerly known as the Itaparica Dam, is a rock-fill embankment dam on the São Francisco River downstream of Petrolândia in Pernambuco, Brazil. The dam was built for navigation, and hydroelectric power generation as it s ...
.
Regions
Bahia's geographical regions comprise the
Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...
; the maritime region (''Recôncavo'') radiating from the Bay of All Saints, the site of
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
and
tobacco cultivation; and the ', which includes the ' region of Bahia's far interior. The state is crossed from north to south by the
Diamantina Tableland ('), which divides it into two distinct geographical zones. To the east, the soil is fertile and the rain falls regularly. The western area is more arid and its predominate vegetation the '. The natural aridity was greatly worsened over the 19th century by the cowboys' habit of starting wildfires each year to improve the quality of the grass. The
Chapada Diamantina National Park is home to picturesque '.
Coconut Coast
The Coconut Coast, in the north of Bahia, corresponds to a total of of coastline, where coconut
grove
Grove may refer to:
* Grove (nature), a small group of trees
Places
England
*Grove, Buckinghamshire, a village
* Grove, Dorset
* Grove, Herefordshire
* Grove, Kent
* Grove, Nottinghamshire, a village
* Grove, Oxfordshire, a village and civil ...
s,
dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
s, rivers, swamps and fresh water
lagoons are abundant as well as the presence of the
Atlantic Rain Forest. The Green Road, a road that connects Mangue Seco in the far north to Praia do Forte, crosses this region maintaining a critical distance from the areas of environmental preservation. For this reason, the route is sometimes more than from the beach. At Praia do Forte, the road meets the Coconut Road (Estrada do Côco) leading to Salvador, passing through spots, which are now integrated in the urban development of the state capital. In this region is located
Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport.
Bay of All Saints
The largest bay on the
Brazilian coast, the
Bay of All Saints (') has a large number of islands with tropical beaches and vegetation. In its 1,052 square km, it contains 56 islands, receives fresh water from numerous rivers and creeks (especially the Paraguaçú and Subaé) and bathes the first capital of Brazil and the largest in the
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
, Salvador, and more than ten municipalities. It is the largest navigable bay in Brazil and one of the most favorite spots for nautical sports, due to its regular breezes, medium annual temperature of and sheltered waters. The bay offers various leisure options, with hundreds of vessels of all different types, especially saveiros, schooners, motor boats, jet ski that criss-cross its crystalline waters on maritime excursions to the islands, and boat races. Events and sport activities occur throughout the year, beginning on 1 January, with the Procession of Bom Jesus dos Navegantes greeting the New Year.
All Saints' has also been traditionally the venue for rowing contests at the Enseada dos Tainheiros, in Salvador and now the bay is included in the routes of the great international
regatta
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...
s, such as the Ralley Les Iles du Soleil, regatta Hong Kong Challenge and the Expo 98 Round the World Rally, which consider the bay an important stop along the route. The islands of the bay are a separate attraction. Some are privately owned, others were declared a state heritage and transformed into Environmental Protection Areas or ecological stations. Other islands are the patrimony of 12 municipalities located around the bay. Only a few are uninhabited and many have small communities where the natives live on fishing and tourism. All have common characteristics, such a calm sea, dense vegetation, especially
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
s and
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s, as well as vestiges of the
Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...
. Of the 56 islands, the most important are
Itaparica
Itaparica is an island located at the entrance of Todos os Santos Bay on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It is located about from the city of Salvador, Bahia and covers . There are two municipalities on the island: ...
, Madre de Deus, Maré, Frades, Medo, Bom Jesus dos Passos.
Dendê Coast
The Dendê Coast, south of
Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
, is surrounded by verdant vegetation, clear waters, islands, bays, coral reefs and a very diversified
fauna. The name of the area refers to the cultivation of the
palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
, or ''
Elaeis guineensis'', likely imported from West Africa. It is connected to Salvador and the southern part of the state by ferryboats and the BA-001 highway, the second ecological highway along the Bahian coast, which connects the southern coastline and the extreme southern part of the state. It includes the municipalities of Valença, Cairu and the International attractions of Morro de São Paulo,
Camamu, Taperoá, Igrapiúna, Ituberá and Maraú. The mouth of the
Rio Una, in the form of a
delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also re ...
, contains 26 islands, the largest of which is
Ilha de Tinharé, where the Morro de São Paulo is located. At Boipeba and Cairú, which are part of the archipelago of Tinharé, the diversity of the ecosystems enables visitors to practice
water sports, walk along the beach, follow trails in the
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
and bathe on completely deserted beaches such as Garapuá.
Cacao Coast
Along the southern coast of Bahia, the Cacao Coast preserves ecological sanctuaries with dozens of kilometers of beaches shaded by dense coconut groves, the
Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...
, large areas of wetland vegetation and
cacao plantations. Walking along paths in the forest or along the beaches, horseback riding along the coast, boat trips up the vast number of rivers are some of the options that the region offers. Here one can find Environmental Protection Areas at Itacaré/Serra Grande and the Lagoa Encantada in
Ilhéus, the Biological Reserve of Una and the Ecological Reserve of Prainha at Itacaré. From the Morro de Pernambuco to Canavieiras, there are of beaches, with
reefs,
inlet
An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea.
Overview
In marine geogra ...
s,
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
grove and an infinite number of estuaries of rivers which extend throughout the Cacao Coast. Highway BA-001 links the municipalities, nearly always bordering the coastline. The most important locations at Cacao Coast are: Itacaré, Ilhéus, and Olivença.
Discovery Coast
The Discovery Coast preserves, virtually intact, the landscape seen by the Portuguese fleet described in the first pages of the
history of Brazil
The history of Brazil begins with indigenous people in Brazil. Europeans arrived in Brazil at the ending of the 15th century. The first European to claim sovereignty over Indigenous lands part of what is now the territory of the Federative Republ ...
. There are approximately of beaches, inlets, bays, cliffs, numerous rivers and streams surrounded by the verdant
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
groves, wetlands and the
Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...
. There are various types of water sports, walks, trips on horseback, surfing and deep sea diving trips available. Recife de Fora, Coroa Alta and Trancoso can be reached in one day schooner excursions. BA-001 and two
ferryboat systems over the Rio João de Tiba and Rio Buranhém connect the municipalities with the coast. Trips from Barra do Cai, passing through the Parque Nacional do Monte Pascoal, Caraíva, Trancoso, Arraial d'Ajuda, the environmental protection areas of Santo Antônio and Coroa Vermelha, to the mouth of the Rio João de Tiba as far as the Rio Jequitinhonha are among the various ecological trips available.
Diamantina Tableland
The geographical center of Bahia is the Diamantina Tableland (') region. It is a mountainous region with diversified topography. 90% of the rivers of the Paraguaçu, Jacuípe, and Rio das Contas
basins have their source here. There are thousands of kilometers of clear waters that spring from these mountains and descend in cascades and waterfalls to plateaus and plains, forming natural pools. The vegetation mixes cactus species of the caatinga dry lands with rare examples of the mountain
flora, especially
bromeliad
The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...
s,
orchids and "sempre vivas" (member of the strawflower family). On the area one, can find the three highest mountains in the state: Pico do Barbado, high, Pico Itobira, , and Pico das Almas, .
Another scenic attraction is the
Cachoeira da Fumaça ("Waterfall"), which falls ; the Gruta dos Brejões, the largest cavern opening of Bahia; and the
Poço Encantado
Poço Encantado is a cave located near the Chapada Diamantina National Park.
See also
*List of caves in Brazil
This is the List of caves in Brasil with links displayed alphabetically.
Caves in Brazil
References
Parks
* Parque da Cascata ...
. Many of the sites are protected by the National Park of the Diamantina Tableland and the Environmental Preservation Area Serra do Barbado and Marimbus, Iraquara.
Climate
Bahia's climate is tropical. It has the longest coastline of the country: 1,103 km long (685 miles; north coast: 143; Bay of All Saints: 124; and southern: 418). With 68% of its territory located in the
semi-arid zone, the State presents diversified climates and an average rainfall that varies from per year, depending on the region.
History
The
Portuguese Pedro Álvares Cabral sighted
Monte Pascoal
Monte Pascoal is a mountain to the south of the city of Porto Seguro, in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
According to history, it was the first part of land viewed by Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, allegedly
In law, an allegation is ...
("Easter Mountain") near
Itamaraju
Itamaraju is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Bahia in the Nordeste, North-East region of Brazil. "Itamaraju" is a word from the Tupi language meaning "rock of the trees of Jucuruçu" from the terms itá ...
and landed at what is now
Porto Seguro on the southern coast of Bahia in 1500, claiming the territory for
Portugal. In 1549, Portugal established the city of
Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
on a hill facing the
Bay of All Saints. The city and
surrounding captaincy served as an administrative capital of
Portugal's colonies in
the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
until 1763. It remained the
religious capital of
Brazil's Roman Catholic hierarchy, with
its archbishop serving as the
national primate until 1907.
Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
holds the country's
oldest cathedral and first medical college (1810), and an engineering school was established in 1899.
Bahia's captaincy was the first to fail, with its lands reverting to the Portuguese crown in 1549. While
Portugal was united with
Spain, the
Dutch West India companies tried to conquer Bahia but was unsuccessful in the area, with
Dutch Brazil restricted to the area from
Pernambuco Northward.
Bahia was a center of
sugarcane cultivation from the 16th to the 18th centuries and contains a number of historic towns, such as
Cachoeira, dating from this era. Integral to the sugar economy was the importation of a vast number of
African slaves
Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean sl ...
: more than a third 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 state was the last area of the country to join the
Empire of Brazil, as members in the local elite remained loyal to the
Portuguese crown after the rest of the country proclaimed
independence under on 7 September 1822. Control of the province was disputed in several battles, mostly in Pirajá, before the Portuguese were fully expelled on 2 July 1823. It became a Brazilian state in 1889.
Charles Darwin visited Bahia in 1832 on
his famous voyage on the ''
Beagle''. In 1835, Bahia was the site of an urban
slave revolt, the
Malê Revolt of 1835 by the predominantly Muslim
West African slaves at the time. The term ''malê'' was commonly used to refer to Muslims at the time from the
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
word ''imale''. The revolt is particularly notable as the greatest slave rebellion in the history of the Bahia. Under the
Empire, Bahia returned 14 deputies to the general assembly and 7 senators; its own provincial assembly consisted of 36 members. In the 19th century,
cotton,
coffee, and
tobacco plantations joined those for sugarcane and the discovery of
diamonds in 1844 led to large influx of "washers" (') until the still-larger deposits in
South Africa came to light. A smaller boom hit
Caetité in 1872 upon the discovery of
amethyst
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that t ...
s there. The cattle industry of the interior led to the development of
Feira de Santana before collapsing in a series of droughts.
Politics
After the end of military governments in Brazil in 1985, the state of Bahia was usually governed by PFL or PMDB. The
Workers' Party achieved the governorship in 2007 and has held it ever since, in five successive elections (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022).
Demographics
According to
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...
data of 2008, there were 14,561,000 people residing in the state. The population density was . Urban population: 67.4% (2006); Population growth: 1.1% (1991–2000); Houses: 3,826,000 (2006). The last PNAD (National Census of a Sample of Households) showed the following numbers: 9,149,000
Brown (
Multiracial
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
) people (62.83%), 3,000,000
White people (20.60%), 2,328,000
Black people (15.99%), 42,000
Amerindian people (0.29%), 37,000
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
people (0.26%).
According to ''Instituto Socioambiental'', there are 14 Indigenous groups in the state: Atikum, Kaimbé, Kantaruré, Kiriri, Pankaru, Pankararé, Pataxó, Pataxó Hã-ha-
hãe, Payayá, Truká, Tumbalalá,
Tupinambá, Tuxá and Xukuru-Kariri.
Historically, the population was estimated at 1.45 million in the 1870s and was 1.92 million at the time of the 1890 Brazilian census.
Public Safety
Bahia has one of the highest crime rates in the country, having four of the ten most violent cities in Brazil. Gun violence in the state more than doubled from 2004 to 2014, ranking first out of the 26 states of Brazil. In 2014, the state also had the highest number of murders in the country.
Largest cities
Education
Educational institutions
* Centro Universitário da Bahia (FIB) (University Centre of Bahia);
*
Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública
The Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública (''Bahian School of Medicine and Public Health'', known simply as Bahiana) is a private and non-profit higher education school of medical sciences and health, established in 1952 in Salvador, Bah ...
(EBMSP) (Bahian School of Medicine and Public Health);
* Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF) (Foundation Federal University of São Francisco Valley);
* Instituto Federal da Bahia (IFBA);
* Instituto Federal Baiano (IFBAIANO);
* Universidade Católica de Salvador (UCSal) (Catholic University of Salvador);
*
Universidade do Estado da Bahia
Bahia State University ( pt, Universidade do Estado da Bahia, UNEB) is a public university in the Brazilian state of Bahia.
Founded in 1983, the university regrouped existing schools in the state of Bahia including the Technical Education Ce ...
(UNEB) (Bahia State University);
*
Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
The State University of Feira de Santana ( pt, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, UEFS) is a public institution of higher education in Brazil, based in the city of Feira de Santana, Bahia. Until the 1990s, was also the only university in t ...
(UEFS) (State University of Feira de Santana);
* Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC) (State University of Santa Cruz);
* Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia (Uesb) (State University of Southwest of Bahia);
*
Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA) (Federal University of Bahia);
* Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB) (Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia);
* Universidade Salvador (Unifacs) (Salvador University);
* and many others.
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
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
-derived religious system of
Candomblé
Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...
, the
capoeira (martial art emerged in
Quilombo dos Palmares
Palmares, or Quilombo dos Palmares, was a ''quilombo'', a community of escaped slaves and others, in colonial Brazil that developed from 1605 until its suppression in 1694. It was located in the captaincy of Pernambuco, in what is today the Br ...
, located in the state of
Alagoas ), African-derived music such as
samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
(especially Brazlian samba precursor, the samba-de-roda),
afoxé
The afoxé is an Afro Brazilian musical instrument composed of a gourd
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of spec ...
, 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
Waldick Soriano
Eurípedes Waldick Soriano (May 13, 1933 in Caetité – September 4, 2008 in Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian singer–songwriter, best known as a composer and singer of songs in the brega style.
Biography
Soriano was born in Bahia, where he liv ...
,
Raul Seixas
Raul Santos Seixas (; 28 June 1945 – 21 August 1989)allmusic Biography/ref> was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza", the last one roughly transla ...
,
Marcelo Nova
Marcelo Nova is a Brazilian singer born in the state of Bahia.
He began his career in the group Camisa de Vênus in the 1980s and had recorded several hit songs such as "Bete Morreu" (Betty Died), "Eu Não Matei Joana D'Arc" (I Did Not Kill Joana ...
, Luiz Caldas,
Dinho Dinho is a Portuguese male name. Notable people with this name include:
* Dinho (footballer) (born 2000), São Toméan midfielder
* Dinho (Brazilian footballer), Edi Wilson José dos Santos (born 1966).
* Dinho Chingunji (born 1964) a political lea ...
,
Netinho,
Dorival Caymmi,
Joao Gilberto,
Bira
Bira may refer to: Places Greece
*Boura (Achaea) (alternatively spelled Bira or Bura), an ancient city of Achaea, Greece India
* Bira, North 24 Parganas, a census town in West Bengal, India
** Bira railway station Lebanon
*Bireh, Akkar
* Al-Bireh ...
, and
Carlinhos Brown.
The city of Salvador is also home to groups known as "blocos-afros", including
Olodum, Ara Ketu, and
Ilê Aiyê. Additionally, groups such as
Chiclete com Banana
Chiclete com Banana (Portuguese for "chewing gum with banana") is an Axé music band, currently consisting of Bell Marques, Wadinho Marques, Rey, Waltinho Cruz, Deny and Lelo.
The group is named after the very well known and influential song ...
,
Camisa de Vênus
Camisa de Vênus (the old-fashioned Portuguese term for "condom") was a Brazilian rock group from Bahia whose peak of popularity was in the mid 1980s. Former lead singer, Marcelo Nova would be the producer and partner of Raul Seixas in his last y ...
,
A Cor do Som,
Novos Baianos
Novos Baianos (English: ''New Bahians'') were a Brazilian rock and MPB group from Salvador, Bahia, in 1969. The group was active between 1969 and 1979, enjoying success throughout the 1970s. The group had reunions in 1997 and 2015 respectively ...
are based in Bahia. The first well-known rock'n roll singer in Brazil was also from Bahia. Born
Raul Seixas
Raul Santos Seixas (; 28 June 1945 – 21 August 1989)allmusic Biography/ref> was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza", the last one roughly transla ...
, he was known as "Maluco Beleza" or "Peaceful Lunatic" (being "beleza (beauty)" in this manner means to be either "in peace" or "tranquil").
During the 19th century, one of Brazil's greatest poets, the Bahian
abolitionist poet and playwright
Castro Alves
Antônio Frederico de Castro Alves (14 March 1847 – 6 July 1871) was a Brazilian poet and playwright, famous for his Abolitionism, abolitionist and Republicanism, republican poems. One of the most famous poets of the "Condorism", he won the ...
, a native of the ''recôncavo'' city of
Cachoeira, penned his 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 playwright and screenwriter
Dias Gomes
Alfredo de Freitas Dias Gomes () (19 October 1922 – 18 May 1999) was a Brazilian playwright.
He was born on October 19, 1922 in Salvador, Bahia. He started writing plays at age 15 and later wrote soap operas. He wrote the first ever colo ...
,
Gregório de Matos
Gregório de Matos e Guerra (December 23, 1636 – November 26, 1696) was a famous Colonial Brazilian Baroque poet. Although he wrote many lyrical and religious poems, he was better known for his satirical ones, most of them criticizing the Cath ...
, who wrote during the 17th century and was one of the first Brazilian writers, and Fr.
António Vieira
Pedro António Vieira (; 6 February 160818 July 1697) was an Afro-Portuguese Jesuit priest, diplomat, orator, preacher, philosopher, writer, and member of the Royal Council to the King of Portugal.
Biography
Vieira was born in Lisbon to ...
, who during the colonial period was one of many authors who contributed to the expansion of the Portuguese language throughout the Brazilian territory.
One of Brazil's most prominent writers 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, Clove and Cinnamon''; ''
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands''; and ''Tieta, the Goat Girl'', all of which became internationally renowned films. Other notable authors from Bahia include the fiction writers
João Ubaldo Ribeiro
João Ubaldo Ribeiro (January 23, 1941 – July 18, 2014) was a Brazilian writer, journalist, screenwriter and professor. Several of his books and short stories have been turned into movies and TV series in Brazil. Ribeiro was a member of the Br ...
and historic writer
Euclides da Cunha, who wrote "
Os Sertões".
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
Héctor Julio Páride Bernabó (7 February 1911 – 2 October 1997) was an Argentine-Brazilian artist, researcher, historian and journalist. His nickname Carybé, a type of piranha, comes from his time in the scouts. He died of heart failure aft ...
(1911–1997). Fine examples of his work are visible in the
Afro-Brazilian Museum in Salvador.
In the interior of the state, there is the traditional culture of the ''vaqueiros'' among agricultural communities. From the 1550s onward, in Bahia, these farmers were integral to the process of expansion away from the coasts of Brazil.
Tourism and recreation
Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
has a Historical Center registered by
UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site. In the last few years, the State Government promoted the total restoration of the
Pelourinho, the largest group of colonial Iberian baroque style buildings in Latin America, today transformed into an important point for visitation by tourists. Pelourinho was once Salvador's principal red-light district as well as a working-class neighborhood that was home to thousands of Afro-Brazilians. Since 1992, however, the overwhelming majority of these people have been forcibly removed and replaced by boutiques, NGO headquarters, government offices, folkloric representations, monuments, and amenities for tourists.
Economy
In 2004, Bahia comprised 4.9% of the
economic activity of Brazil and it has the biggest GDP of the states of the North and Northeast. The industrial sector is the largest component of
GDP at 48.5%, followed by the service sector at 40.8%. Agriculture represents 10.7% of GDP (2004). Bahia exports: chemicals 22.4%, fuel 17.5%, mineral metallics 13%, paper 9.4%,
cacao
Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to:
Plants
*''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree
** ...
5.6%, vehicles 4.8%,
soybean 4.5% (2002). 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. Bahia is the sixth largest economy in the country.
During the
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 a ...
and
imperial periods, Bahia was a center of Brazilian
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
production and
slave trading. In the 19th century, the Bay of All Saints was also a
whaling spot, as some species of
whales used the bay as a mating ground. By that time, the province was also growing
cotton,
coffee, and
tobacco with great success.
mandioc,
rice,
beans, and
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
saffron,
oranges,
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
es, and other fruit were grown for local consumption. The arid interior was mostly used for
cattle-farming
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
, but this was ruined by a series of droughts caused in part by the custom of starting annual wildfires to improve the grass.
Diamonds,
gold, and
amethyst
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that t ...
s were panned for in the rivers, while
coal was mined on
Itaparica
Itaparica is an island located at the entrance of Todos os Santos Bay on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It is located about from the city of Salvador, Bahia and covers . There are two municipalities on the island: ...
.
cacao
Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to:
Plants
*''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree
** ...
was being farmed by the time of the
First World War. As late as the mid-1950s, the Bahian economy could be considered a typical example of the primary-exporting model, which followed the subsistence production. For ten years, this dynamic was led by the cocoa crop, that used to be the state's main product and its most important source of income. With the acceleration of the industrialisation process in the 1970s, which started in the 1950s, the productive structure began to change. This process, which was not limited to the regional market, was inserted in the Brazilian industry matrix through the chemical (specially petrochemical) and metallurgical segment. Consequently, for the last twenty years, it grew more than the national average, due to the fact that the state was previously below the average level. The industrial sector is the main contributor to this growth, when the investments that was being made was in the chemical, petrochemical and automotive segment, and in
agroindustry
Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...
and food production.
In
agriculture, the state stands out in the production of
cotton,
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
,
soy and
tropical fruits such as
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
,
papaya
The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...
,
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
,
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
and
guarana, in addition to also producing
sugar cane,
orange,
beans and
cassava, among others.
In 2017, the Northeast Region was the largest producer of
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
in the country, with 74.0% of national production. Bahia produced 351 million fruits, being the leader in the country. However, the sector has been suffering strong competition and losing market to Indonesia, the Philippines and India, the world's largest producers, who even export coconut water to Brazil. In addition to climatic problems, the low productivity of coconut palms in the Northeast Region is the result of factors related to the variety of coconut harvested and the technological level used in coastal regions. In these areas, the semi-extractive cultivation system still prevails, with low fertility and without the adoption of cultural management practices. The three states that have the largest production, Bahia, Sergipe and Ceará, present a yield three times lower than that of Pernambuco, which is in 5th place in the national production. This is because most of the coconut trees in these three states are located in coastal areas and cultivated in semi-extractivist systems.
In the production of
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
, for a long time, Bahia led the Brazilian production. Today, it is disputing the leadership of national production with the state of Pará. In 2017 Pará obtained the leadership for the first time. In 2019, people from Pará harvested 135 thousand tons of cocoa, and Bahians harvested 130 thousand tons. Bahia's cocoa area is practically three times larger than that of Pará, but Pará's productivity is practically three times greater. Some factors that explain this are: the crops in Bahia are more extractivist, and those in Pará have a more modern and commercial style, in addition to paraenses using more productive and resistant seeds, and their region providing resistance to
Witch's broom.
In 2018, the Northeast was in 3rd place among the regions that most produce
sugar cane in the country. Brazil is the world's largest producer, with 672.8 million tons harvested this year. The Northeast harvested 45.7 million tons, 6.8% of national production. Alagoas is the largest producer, with 33.3% of Northeastern production (15.2 million tons). Pernambuco is the 2nd largest producer in the Northeast, with 22.7% of the total in the region (10.3 million tons). Paraíba has 11.9% of northeastern production (5.5 million tons) and Bahia, 10.24% of production (4.7 million tons).
Bahia is the 2nd largest producer of
cotton in Brazil, losing only to Mato Grosso. In 2019, it harvested 1.5 million tonnes of the product.
In
soy, Brazil produced close to 120 million tons in 2019, being the largest world producer. In 2019, the Northeast produced close to 10.7 million tons, or 9% of the Brazilian total. The largest producer in the Northeast was Bahia (5.3 million tons).
In the production of
maize, in 2018 Brazil was the 3rd largest producer in the world, with 82 million tons. The Northeast produced about 8.4% of the country's total. Bahia was the largest producer in the Northeast, with 2.2 million tons.
In 2018, the South Region was the main producer of
beans with 26.4% of the total, followed by the Midwest (25.4%), Southeast Region (25.1%), Northeast (20.6%) and North (2.5%). The largest producers in the Northeast were Ceará and Bahia.
In
cassava production, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Maranhão was the 7th largest producer in the country, with 681 thousand tons. Ceará was 9th, with 622 thousand tons. Bahia was 10th with 610 thousand tons. In total, the northeast produced 3,5 million tons.
Bahia was the 4th largest producer of oranges in Brazil in 2018, with a total of 604 thousand tons, 3,6% of the national production.
Bahia is the second largest fruit producer in the country, with more than 3.3 million tons a year, behind São Paulo. The north of Bahia is one of the main fruit suppliers in the country. The State is one of the main national producers of ten types of fruit. In 2017, Bahia led the production of cajarana, coconut, count fruit or pinecone, soursop, umbu, jackfruit, licuri, mango and passion fruit, and is in second place in cocoa almond, atemoia, cupuaçu, lime and lemon, and third in banana, carambola, guava, papaya, watermelon, melon, cherry, pomegranate and table grapes. In all, 34 products from Bahia's fruit culture have an important participation in the national economy.
Rio Grande do Norte is the largest producer of
melon in the country. In 2017 it produced 354 thousand tons. The Northeast region accounted for 95.8% of the country's production in 2007. In addition to Rio Grande do Norte, which in 2005 produced 45.4% of the country's total, the other 3 largest in the country were Ceará, Bahia and Pernambuco.
In the production of
papaya
The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...
, in 2018 Bahia was the 2nd largest producer state in Brazil, almost equaling with Espírito Santo: 337 thousand tons.
Bahia was the largest producer of
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
in the country in 2019, with production of around 281 thousand tons per year. Juazeiro (130 thousand tons per year) and Casa Nova (54 thousand tons per year) are at the top of the list of Brazilian cities that lead the cultivation of fruit.
In the production of
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
, in 2018 Bahia was the 2nd largest national producer.
Bahia is the largest Brazilian producer of
guaraná. In 2017, Brazilian production was close to 3.3 million tons. Bahia harvested 2.3 million (mainly in the city of Taperoá), Amazonas 0.7 million (mainly in the city of Maués) and the rest of the country, 0.3 million. Despite the fact that the fruit originated in the Amazon, since 1989 Bahia has beaten Amazonas in terms of production volume and guarana productivity, due to the fact that the soil in Bahia is more favorable, in addition to the absence of diseases in the region. The most famous users of the product, however, acquire 90% to 100% of their guarana from the Amazon region, such as
Ambev and
Coca-Cola. Bahian guarana prices are well below those of other states, but Sudam's tax exemptions lead the beverage industry to prefer to purchase seeds in the North, which helps maintain the highest added value of Amazonian guarana. The pharmaceutical industries and importers, on the other hand, buy more guarana from Bahia, due to the price.
The Northeast region housed 93.2% of the Brazilian
goat herd (8,944,461 heads) and 64.2% of the
sheep herd (11,544,939 heads) in 2017. Bahia concentrated 30.9% of the goat herd and 20.9% of the national sheep herd.
Casa Nova took first place in the municipal ranking with the largest numbers of both species.
In 2017, Bahia had 1.68% of the national mineral participation (4th place in the country). Bahia had production of
gold (6.2 tons at a value of R$730 million),
copper (56 thousand tons, at a value of R$404 million);
chrome
Chrome may refer to:
Materials
* Chrome plating, a process of surfacing with chromium
* Chrome alum, a chemical used in mordanting and photographic film
Computing
* Google Chrome, a web browser developed by Google
** ChromeOS, a Google Chrome- ...
(520 thousand tons, at a value of R$254 million) and
vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...
(358 thousand tons, at a value of R$91 million).
Bahia had an industrial GDP of R$53.0 billion in 2017, equivalent to 4.4% of the national industry. It employs 356,997 workers in the industry. The main industrial sectors are: Construction (24.8%), Industrial Services of Public Utility, such as Electricity and Water (15.0%), Petroleum Derivatives and Biofuels (13.8%), Chemicals (9.4%), and Food (6.1%). These 5 sectors concentrate 69.1% of the state's industry.
Bahian
industry have automobile and tyre industries, footwear and textiles, furniture, food and beverages, cosmetics and perfumes, information technology and naval sectors.
In Brazil, the
automotive sector represents close to 22% of industrial GDP. Bahia has a
Ford factory. It was created in
Camaçari
Camaçari is a city in Bahia, Brazil. It is located at . It is part of the Salvador Metropolitan Region (''Região Metropolitana de Salvador''), being the industrial city of the metropolis. Camaçari covers , and had an estimated population of 304 ...
(2001). The Bahian automotive sector, led by Ford was in 2005 the third largest contributor (14.6%) to the Bahian
GDP.
Chemical and petrochemical
Bahia's Petrochemical Pole is the largest integrated complex in the Southern Hemisphere, and is the result of R$10 billion in investments, accounting for a third of the state's exports and for nearly half of the industrial production value.
Reconcavo Basin
The Reconcavo Basin has been a principal petroleum-producing region, mainly from the
Upper Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...
and
Lower Cretaceous Bahia Supergroup, since 1939 and contains the Agua Grande Field (discovered in 1951 by the Conselho Nacional de Petroleo and producing from the Sergei and Candeias Formations at about 1 km depth and the shallower Ilhas Formation), the Dom Joao Field (discovered in 1947 by the Conselho Nacional de Petroleo and producing from the Sergei Formation at a depth of about 200 m), the Miranga Field (discovered in 1965 by
Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a state owned enterprise, state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name transla ...
producing from the Ilhas Formation at a depth of about 1 km), the Candeias Field (discovered in 1941 by Conselho Nacional de Petroleo and producing from the Candeias Formation at a depth ranging from 690 to 2400 m), the Buracica Field (discovered in 1959 by Petrobras and producing from the Sergi Formation at about 600 m depth), and the Taquipe Field (discovered in 1958 by Petrobras and producing from the Ilhas Formation).
Other market segments
Agribusiness;
Footwear;
Call Centers;
Informatics, Electronics, and Telecommunications;
Nautical;
Paper and Pulp;
Textiles;
Plastic Transformation; and
Tourism.
Public investment
The State of Bahia has been assigning a significant part of its revenues to public investments. The investment programs of the state have been backed basically by its own resources and, in a complementary fashion, with resources originating from credit operations signed with international organizations (World Bank, IDB, KFW, OECF, etc.), and with national creditors (CEF, BNDES, etc.). There are governmental investments in progress in the fields of environmental and urban sanitation (Bahia Azul), popular housing (Viver Melhor), transportation (Corredores Rodoviários), tourism (Prodetur),
urban development (Produr), and
regional development (Sertão Forte).
Infrastructure
Airports
Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport is located in an area of more than . It lies north of downtown Salvador. In 2007, the airport handled 5,920,573 passengers and 91,043 aircraft movements, making it the
fifth busiest airport in Brazil in terms of passengers. It's responsible for more than 30% of passenger movement in northeastern Brazil. Nearly 35,000 people circulate daily through the passenger terminal. The airport generates more than 16,000 direct and indirect jobs, to serve a daily average of over 10,000 passengers, 250 takeoffs and landings of 100 domestic and 16 international flights.
The international airlines are Lufthansa, TAP, United Airlines, American Airlines, Alitália, Air France, Air Europa, Ibéria, Aerolíneas Argentinas, LanChile. In addition to domestic and regional services, the airport has non-stop flights to
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
,
Madrid,
Frankfurt,
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
,
London,
Santiago,
Buenos Aires,
Asunción and
Miami. Its
IATA airport code
An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a three-character alphanumeric geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the ...
is SSA and it is the sixth busiest airport in the country, the first in northeastern Brazil, behind
Congonhas International,
Guarulhos International,
Juscelino Kubitschek International,
Santos Dumont Regional and
Galeão International.
Bahia also has some smaller modern regional airports like
Ilhéus Jorge Amado Airport
Ilhéus/Bahia-Jorge Amado Airport , is the airport serving Ilhéus, Brazil. Since March 12, 2002 it is named after the writer Jorge Amado de Faria (1912–2001), who was born in the nearby city of Itabuna.
It is administrated by Socicam.
Histor ...
or
Porto Seguro Airport.
Highways
The state has its transportation based on highways, with few options in other sectors. The main highways in the state are all from the Federal Government:
*
BR-101 – It borders the state coast, connecting it with the country's richest region (Southeast) and with the rest of the Northeast. It passes through the
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
producing area of the state, in the cities of
Itabuna and
Ilhéus, reaching the capital Salvador and from there to
Aracaju, capital of
Sergipe.
*
BR-116 – also crosses the state from north to south, parallel to BR 101 but passing further inland. It cuts through some of the important cities of the state, such as
Vitória da Conquista
Vitória da Conquista is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in Bahia, Brazil, that has a population of approximately 341,000 people as of 2020, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Ge ...
,
Jequié
Jequié is a city in the state of Bahia, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Br ...
,
Feira de Santana and
Euclides da Cunha, going towards the interior of
Pernambuco and
Fortaleza
Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
, capital of
Ceará
Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...
.
*BR-242 – the highway cuts the state in half in an east–west direction, connecting Salvador to
Brasília, the country's capital. It passes through important cities like
Lençóis
Lençóis is a municipality in the state of Bahia in Brazil. The population is 11,499 (2020 est.) in an area of 1277 km². The town has a well-preserved colonial atmosphere and is the starting point for treks into Chapada Diamantina
Chap ...
,
Barreiras and
Luís Eduardo Magalhães.
*BR-407 – together with
BR-324
BR-324 is a federal highway in the Northeast Region of Brazil. The 1270.9 km road goes from Balsas, Maranhão, across the states of Piauí and Bahia to the Bahian state capital, Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, ...
, the highway connects the region of Bahia, which is the largest producer of fruit and the largest breeder of
sheep and
goats, in the cities of
Juazeiro and
Casa Nova, to Feira de Santana, Salvador and southeastern Brazil. The BR-235 borders the North of the state, connecting these same regions to the coast of Bahia.
*
BR-110 – crossing the interior of the Northeast Region, this highway connects Salvador with the hydroelectric plant of
Paulo Afonso and reaches
Mossoró, in
Rio Grande do Norte
Also noteworthy is the
BR-030, which crosses the south of Bahia in an east–west direction.
Ports
With cargo volume that grows year after year following the same economic development rhythm implemented in the State, the Port of Salvador, located on the
Bay of All Saints, holds status as the port with the highest movement of containers of the
North/
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and the second-leading fruit exporter in Brazil. The port's facilities operate from 8am to noon and from 1h30am to 5h30pm.
The ability to handle high shipping volume has positioned the port of Salvador for new investments in technological modernization, and the port is noted for implementing a high level of operational flexibility and competitive rates. The goal of port officials is to offer the necessary infrastructure for the movement of goods, while simultaneously meeting the needs of international importers and exporters.
Sports
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
is the most popular sport. The two most popular football teams are
Esporte Clube Bahia
Esporte Clube Bahia (), known familiarly as Bahia, is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Salvador, capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia. They play in the Campeonato Baiano, Bahia's state league, and the Campeonato Bras ...
and
Esporte Clube Vitoria. In 2013,
Bahia and
Vitoria
Vitoria or Vitória may refer to :
People
* Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian
* Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer
* Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer
* Steven Vitória (b ...
played in the Brazilian Championship Serie A (first division/premier league). Bahia has won the two most important football national league: The
Taça Brasil
The Taça Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) was the Brazilian national football championship contested from 1959 to 1968.
Bahia, Cruzeiro and Botafogo were the only champions to have played all phases of the tournament, because until the 1968 edition tea ...
in 1959 and the Brazilian Championship Serie A (
Campeonato Brasileiro) in 1988. Vitoria has never been a national champion but was runner up of the Brazilian Serie A in 1993.
Bahia is renowned for its
mixed martial arts fans, with prominent fighters from this state including former heavyweight champion of both
Pride Fighting Championship and
Ultimate Fighting Championship Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, his twin brother
Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion
Junior dos Santos. In the sport of boxing, Bahian native
Acelino Freitas
Acelino "Popó" Freitas (; born September 21, 1975) is a Brazilian politician and a former professional boxer who competed between 1995 to 2017. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO super featherweight title from 19 ...
has won the
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
belt in the lightweight class. In the
Capoeira world, the actor and
Capoeira Master,
Lateef Crowder dos Santos is an American born in Salvador, Bahia.
Salvador was one of the host cities of the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
, for which Brazil was the host nation.
Flag
The flag was officially adopted on 11 June 1960. The Bahian flag is influenced by the
flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...
, as well as colors and symbolism from the 1789
separatist movement of
Inconfidência Mineira
Inconfidência Mineira (; "Minas Gerais Conspiracy") was an unsuccessful separatist movement in Brazil in 1789. It was the result of a confluence of external and internal causes in what was then colonial Brazil. The external inspiration was th ...
and the 1798 Bahian
slave rebellion
A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedo ...
of the
Revolt of the Tailors.
See also
*
Virtual Museum of the São João da Bahia Theater
Virtual may refer to:
* Virtual (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse
* Virtual channel, a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel (or range of frequencies) on which the signal travels
* Virtual function, a programming ...
*
Urânia Vanério
Urânia Vanério de Argollo Ferrão (Salvador, 14 December 1811 — 3 December 1849) was a Brazilian teacher, writer and translator. In her childhood she witnessed the conflict between Brazilian and Portuguese troops in early 1822, in the context ...
References
Further reading
* Collins, John F. (2015), Revolt of the Saints: Memory and Redemption in the Twilight of Brazilian Racial Democracy, Durham: Duke University Press: describes the hotly contested restoration of the Pelourinho, or Salvador, Bahia's colonial city center that is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and links these changes to racial politics in Brazil today.
* : covers the period from the abolition of slavery in 1888 to the start of Brazil's military regime in 1964.
External links
ANP report on the Reconcavo Basin
All about Salvador Bahia Brazil
Bahia from Salvador to Porto Segurodiscovering Bahia in your language
Population of Bahia
Cities in the South of Bahia
Indira Weis's travelogue in Bahia
A Most Accurate Picture of Brazil a map of the Bahia region from 1630
{{Authority control
States of Brazil
*
States and territories established in 1823
1823 establishments in Brazil
Former Portuguese colonies