Cachoeira (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, meaning

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

) is an inland municipality of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

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, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, on the

Paraguaçu River The Paraguaçu River () is a river in Bahia state of eastern Brazil. It runs from the Chapada Diamantina highlands of central Bahia to its mouth at the Baía de Todos os Santos. The Paraguaçu is the largest river entirely within Bahia. Its banks ...

. The town exports

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 ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

, and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and is a thriving commercial and industrial centre. The municipality contains 56% of the

Baía do Iguape Marine Extractive Reserve The Baía do Iguape Marine Extractive Reserve ( pt, Reserva Extrativista Marinha da Baía do Iguape) is a marine extractive reserve in the state of Bahia, Brazil. As of 2002 the reserve supported about 5,000 people engaged in fishing and shellfish ...

, created in 2000. São Félix is located directly across the Paraguaçu River from Cachoeira; it also borders the municipalities of Conceição da Feira, Santo Amaro, Saubara,

Maragogipe Maragogipe is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil. Maragogipe covers , and has a population of 44,793 with a population density of 110 inhabitants per square kilometer. Maragogipe is located from the stat ...

, Governador Mangabeira, and

Muritiba Muritiba is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Bahia This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Bahia (BA), located in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Bahia i ...

History

The area of present-day Cachoeira was home to numerous

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

s prior to the colonial period. Paulo Dias Adorno and Afonso Rodrigues arrived in the region in 1531 from Portugal. They and their descendants entered into a century of conflict with the existing indigenous population, ultimately resulting in the expulsion of native Brazilians from the region.

Mem de Sá Mem de Sá (c. 1500 – 2 March 1572) was a Governor-General of the Portuguese colony of Brazil from 1557 to 1572. He was born in Coimbra, Kingdom of Portugal, around 1500, the year of discovery of Brazil by a naval fleet commanded by Pedro Á ...

, governor-general of the Portuguese colony of Brazil from 1557 to 1572, first attempted to expel the native population from Cachoeira in 1559. Álvaro Rodrigues Adorno, son of António Dias Adorno, arrived in 1595 and attempted peace settlements with the Amerindian population. Fighting continued between the two groups into the 17th century and hindered the settlement of the region by the Portuguese. Captain-General Gaspar Rodrigues Adorno attempted a final expulsion of the indigenous population in the early 17th century, and his son, João Rodrigues Adorno, rebuilt the a residential fort and a chapel in 1654. The chapel, Capela de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda ( Chapel of Our Lady of Help), became the first in Cachoeira. The settlement became known as Nossa Senhora do Rosário in 1674. It became the second town in Bahia under a Royal Charter of 1693 and was renamed the Vila de Nossa Senhora do Rosário do Porto da Cachoeira do Porto da Cachoeira do Paraguaçu. Because of its location on the

, the town served as an important economic link between the interior of Bahia and its capital, Salvador; the city connected the agricultural lands of the Reconcavo and the interior ''sertão'' region.

Sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

farming and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

mining on the De Contas River (Rio de Contas) brought wealth to Cachoeira and resulted in an organized settlement on the Paraguaçu with numerous public buildings, churches, and urban residences. Cachoeira became a center of the independence movement in the early 19th century. It was a center of the war of the

Independence of Bahia Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

and was elevated to city status under an imperial decree of March 13, 1873. The Companhia Central da Bahia—Imperial Central Railway Company Limited constructed a extension from

Feira de Santana Feira de Santana (; Portuguese for "Saint Anne's Fair") is a city in Bahia, Brazil. It is the second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 619,609 according to IBGE's estimate in 2020. It is located 100 km northwest of Salva ...

to Cachoeira and São Félix in 1874. A foundation stone of a future railroad bridge was placed in Cachoeira on December 22, 1881. The engineers Frederico Merei and Affonso Glycerio da Cunha Maciel built the bridge, which was inaugurated on July 7, 1885.

Pedro II of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimity, Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the List of monarchs of Brazil, second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. ...

allowed his name on the bridge, which was named the Dom Pedro II Bridge, and the Imperial Arms were placed on a keystone of the bridge. The worldwide 1846–1860 cholera pandemic reduced the population of Cachoeira and caused widespread social and economic disorder. The disease spread to Salvador in early 1855 and appeared in the Caquende and Pitanga neighborhoods of Cachoeira in August. It soon spread to both urban and rural parts of the town; 100 people died within the first ten days of the arrival of cholera in the Cachoeira. The epidemic disproportionately affected the town's slave population. Ultimately 3,000 died from the disease in the urban part of the city and 8,500 in outlying rural areas. Entire families were lost to cholera, the town was left with numerous orphans, several ''engenhos'' closed, and the economy of Cachoeira saw a steadily decline. The city is now a center of tourism, is noted for its historic structures, and is a center of Candomblé.

Population history

Notable people

* Francisca Praguer Fróes, Brazil's first female physician * Mateus Aleluia, Brazilian poet and musician.

Historic structures

Cachoeira is home to numerous colonial-period historic structures, many designated as Brazilian national and Bahian state monuments. The historic center of Cachoeira was designated a national monument by the

National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...

(IPHAN). Churches * Chapel of Our Lady of Help (''Capela de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda'') *

Church and Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel The Church and Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel ( pt, Igreja e Convento de Nossa Senhora do Carmo) is a 17th-century Catholic Church, Roman Catholic church and former convent in Salvador, Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The church is dedicated ...

and

House of Prayer of the Carmelite Third Order A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

(''Igreja e Convento de Nossa Senhora do Carmo e Capela e Casa de Oração da Ordem Terceira do Carmo'') * Church of the Old Seminary in Belém da Cachoeira (''Igreja do Antigo Seminário de Belém de Cachoeira'') *

Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary The Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary ( pt, Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Rosário) is a 17th-century Roman Catholic church in Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil. Its construction began in the late 17th century and was completed in the 1750s, like ...

(''Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Rosário'') *

Parish Church of Santiago do Iguape The Parish Church of Santiago do Iguape ( pt, Igreja Matriz de Santiago do Iguape) is a Roman Catholic church in the Iguape district of Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil. Its construction began in the early 19th century and replaced an earlier church struc ...

(''Igreja Matriz de Santiago, Iguape'') *Ruins of the

Convent and Church of Saint Antony The Convent and Church of Saint Antony ( pt, Convento e Igreja de Santo António) is a former Franciscans, Franciscan church and convent in Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil. Construction on the church was likely completed in 1658. The church is dedicated ...

(''Ruínas do Convento e Igreja de Santo António'') Candomblé Terreiros *Terreiro Aganjú Didê da Nação Nagô-Tedô *Terreiro Dendezeiros *Terreiro Egbé Éran Ope Olúwa - Terreiro Viva Deus * Terreiro Loba Nekun Filho *Terreiro Ogodum Ei *Terreiro Rumpayme Ayono Runtólogi *Terreiro Zogbodo Male Nogun Seja Unde (Roça do Ventura) Residences *Ana Nery Birthplace (''Casa Natal de Ana Nery'') * House at Praça Dr. Aristides Milton 23-A (''Casa à Praça Dr. Aristides Milton 23-A'') *

House at No. 4 Rua Ana Nery House at No. 4 Rua Ana Nery ( pt, Casa à Rua Ana Nery, 4, or ''Sobrado à Rua Ana Nery, 4'') is a house in Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil. Its date of construction is unknown but is likely between the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th ...

(''Casa à Rua Ana Nery, 4'') *Sobrado at No. 1 Rua Ana Nery (''Sobrado à Rua Ana Nery, 1'') * Sobrado at No. 2 Rua Ana Nery (''Sobrado na Rua Ana Nery, 2'') *Sobrado at No. 25 Rua Ana Nery (''Sobrado à Rua Ana Nery, 25'') *House at No. 1 Rua Benjamim Constant (''Casa à Rua Benjamin Constant, 1'') *House at No. 2 Rua Benjamim Constant (''Casa na Rua Benjamim Constant, 2'') *

House at No. 17 Rua Benjamin Constant House at No. 17 Rua Benjamin Constant ( pt, Casa à Rua Benjamin Constant, 17, or ''Casa à Ladeira da Cadeia, 17'') is a former home and archive building in Cachoeira, Brazil. Its date of construction is unknown but is likely between the end of ...

(''Casa à Rua Benjamin Constant, 17'') *House at Rua Estrada de Ferro (''Casa à Rua Estrada de Ferro'') *Teixeira de Freitas Birthplace (''Casa natal de Teixeira de Freitas'') *Estrela Manor House (''Solar Estrela'') *Sobrado at No. 4 Praça da Aclamação (''Sobrado à Praça da Aclamação, 4'') *Sobrado at No. 13 Rua Treze de Maio (''Sobrado à Rua Treze de Maio, 13'') *Sobrado of João R. Adorno (''Sobrado de João R. Adorno'') Urban buildings and structures * Praça Dr. Aristides Mílton Fountain (''Chafariz da Praça Dr. Mílton'') * Garden of Hospital São João de Deus (''Jardim do Hospital São João de Deus'') * Dom Pedro II Bridge (''Ponte Dom Pedro II'') * Town Hall of Cachoeira (''Casa de Câmara e Cadeia'', ''Paço Municipal de Cachoeira'') Sugar plantations *Campina Sugar Plantation (''Engenho Campina'') *Da Ponta Sugar Plantation (''Engenho da Ponta'') *Embiara Sugar Plantation (''Engenho Embiara, Sobrado'') *Vitória Sugar Mill (''Engenho Vitória'')

Gallery

File:Nineteenth-Century Facade in Cachoeira - Bahia - Brazil.JPG, Nineteenth-Century Facade File:Igreja da Ordem Terceiro do Carmo - Cachoeira - Bahia - Brazil.JPG, Church of the Third Order of Carmel File:Interior of Pousada do Convento do Carmo - Cachoeira - Bahia - Brazil.JPG, Carmel Inn File:Building Facades - Cachoeira - Bahia - Brazil.JPG, Building Facades

References

:''This article incorporates a translation from the Portuguese

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External links

{{Authority control Municipalities in Bahia National heritage sites of Bahia