Camaçari is a city in
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, 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 b ...
,
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 ...
. 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 304,302 in 2020, with a population density of 310 per square kilometer. The municipality consists of three districts: Camaçari, Abrantes, and Monte Gordo.
History
The area of Camaçari was inhabited by
Tupinambá ethnic group prior to the arrival of the Portuguese. The first Portuguese settlement was in 1558 by two Jesuit priests, João Gonçalves and Antônio Rodrigues.
They formed a village called Aldeia do Divino Espírito Santo. Aldeia do Divino Espírito Santo played an important role in the expulsion of the Dutch who arrived in Bahia in the 17th century. Troops under the leadership of bishop D. Mark Teixeira drove out the Dutch in 1624. The name of the village was changed to Vila de Nova Abrantes do Espírito Santo on September 28, 1758 under orders from the Marquiq de Pombal. The Jesuits were also expelled from the area at the same time. Later the village came to be known simply as Vila de Abrantes.
Economy
Several factories and petrochemical plants compose one of the largest industrial areas in
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 ...
and the largest of the Northeast region of the country. The Brazilian multinational company
Braskem
Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in São Paulo. The company is the largest petrochemical company in Latin America and has become a major player in the international petrochemical market (8th largest resin producer worldw ...
, the largest petrochemical company in the Americas by production capacity, owns a major petrochemical complex in Camaçari. It is the largest in Brazil, along with that of
Triunfo, which is also owned by
Braskem
Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in São Paulo. The company is the largest petrochemical company in Latin America and has become a major player in the international petrochemical market (8th largest resin producer worldw ...
. The city was also home to a large
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarde ...
factory owned by the
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
.
Notable births
*
Fabiano Santacroce
Whellington Fabiano Santacroce (born 24 August 1986) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender in the centre or on the left. He was born in Brazil to an Italian father and an Afro-Brazilian mother, then spending his ...
- professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
*
Lins - professional footballer
See also
*
Roman Catholic Diocese of Camaçari
References
Populated coastal places in Bahia
Municipalities in Bahia
{{Bahia-geo-stub