São Félix, Bahia is a municipality in

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 ...

. The municipality has a population of 14,762 with a population density of 142 inhabitants per square kilometer. It is located from the state capital of Bahia, Salvador. São Félix directly faces

Cachoeira Cachoeira (Portuguese, meaning waterfall) is an inland municipality of Bahia, Brazil, on the Paraguaçu River. The town exports sugar, cotton, and tobacco and is a thriving commercial and industrial centre. The municipality contains 56% of the B ...

across 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 ...

; it also borders

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 ...

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 ...

Cruz das Almas Cruz das Almas (translation: Souls' Cross) is a municipality, in the state of Bahia, in Brazil. Founded in 1897, it is home to the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia and is one of the main cities of Bahia. In 2020, it had a population of 63 ...

, São Felipe, and Governador Mangabeira.

History

São Félix has its origin in a Tupinamba village. In 1534, the Tupinambá village had about 20 huts and a population of approximately two hundred. The Portuguese took the land for the timber trade and to establish

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 ...

plantations. Their attempts to enslave the Tupinamba population was unsuccessful and

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 1557–1572, expelled them from the region. Slaves were brought from Africa to Bahia beginning in 1549, and to Sao Felix and Cachoeira in 1615. Tobacco production fueled the economy of São Félix from the eighteenth century to the first half of the nineteenth century. Its waterfront was lined with warehouses and three large cigar factories. São Félix became the largest producers of cigars in Brazil. Noted brands were Costa Penna, Dannemanm e Cia, and Simas Cardoso. 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. The engineers Frederico Merei and Affonso Glycerio da Cunha Maciel planned and supervise a railroad bridge between the Cachoeira and São Félix, which was inaugurated on July 7th, 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 first parish church in São Félix was established in 1838 under the name of Nossa Senhora do Desterro do Outeiro Redondo. In 1857 the parish was renamed Senhor Deus Menino de São Félix. Luis Xavier Leal founded the Colégio São Félix in 1884 in the building that now houses the Municipal Market (Mercado Municipal) of São Félix. São Félix was separated from Cachoeira and became an independent municipality in 1889. It was elevated to the level of city in 1890 under the name of São Félix do Paraguaçú. The name was shorted to São Félix in 1931.

Historic structures

São Félix is home to numerous colonial-period historic structures, some designated as Bahian state monuments. The protected Urban and Landscape Complex of the City of São Félix was established by the federal government in 1989. *Saint Felix Church (''Igreja do Senhor São Félix'') *Parish Church of the Infant Jesus (''Igreja Matriz do Deus Menino'') * Municipal Market of São Félix (''Mercado Municipal de São Félix'') * Town Hall of São Félix (''Paço Municipal de São Félix'') *Terreiro Ilê Axé Ogunjá *Terreiro Raiz de Ayrá * Antiga Casa dos Hansen Bahia na Fazenda Santa Bárbara, the house of the artist Hansen Bahia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Felix, Bahia Municipalities in Bahia National heritage sites of Bahia