The Bay of All Saints ( pt, Baía de Todos os Santos), also known as All Saints' Bay and Todos os Santos Bay, is the principal bay of the
Brazilian state
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 ...
of
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 ...
,
to which it gave its name.
It sits on the
eastern coast of Brazil, surrounding part of Bahia's capital
Salvador and opening to the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. It covers , making it the largest bay in Brazil.
Farol da Barra (Barra Lighthouse), on the site of a historic fort, stands at the entrance of the bay.
The Bay of All Saints is shallow along much of its area with an average depth of . The
Paraguaçu River travels to empty into the bay and the coastal lowlands of the Reconcavo Basin are at its mouth.
It contains 91 islands, the largest being
Itaparica Island at its entrance. Other important islands include the
Ilha dos Frades,
ilha de Maré Ilha (Portuguese for "island") may refer to the following places in Portugal or Mozambique:
* Ilha (Santana), a parish in the municipality of Santana, Madeira
* Ilha (Pombal), a former parish in the municipality of Pombal
*Island of Mozambique
...
,
ilha de Bom Jesus, and the small
Ilha do Medo.
History
The
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
Amerigo Vespucci was the first
European to visit the bay, during
his second expedition to the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. He entered the bay on
All Saints' Day
All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kn ...
(November 1), 1501.
He named the of after the date and his
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
,
San Salvatore di Ognissanti
The chiesa di San Salvatore di Ognissanti or more simply chiesa di Ognissanti (; "Church of All Saints"), is a Franciscan church located on the piazza of the same name in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. Founded by the lay order of th ...
. Initially, the bay,
its principal settlement, and the
captaincy around it all shared the same name, but they were eventually distinguished, the state becoming simply Bahia, the bay becoming the Bay of All Saints, and the city becoming first Bahia and now (usually) Salvador.
In 1501, one year after the arrival of
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral ( or ; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in ...
's fleet in
Porto Seguro
Porto Seguro (, Safe Harbor in English), is a city located in the far south of Bahia, Brazil. The city has an estimated population of 150,658 (2020), covers , and has a population density of 52.7 residents per square kilometer. The area that inc ...
,
Gaspar de Lemos
Gaspar de Lemos (15th century) was a Portuguese explorer and captain of the supply ship of Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet that arrived to Brazil. Gaspar de Lemos was sent back to Portugal with news of their discovery and was credited by the Viscoun ...
arrived at the Bay of All Saints and sailed most of the Bahia coast. The first European to disembark in Morro de São Paulo was
Martim Afonso de Sousa
Martim Afonso de Sousa ( – 21 July 1564) was a Portuguese '' fidalgo'', explorer and colonial administrator.
Life
Born in Vila Viçosa, he was commander of the first official Portuguese expedition into mainland of the colony of Brazil. Threate ...
in 1531, while he was leading an expedition charged with exploring the coast of the new continent.
Salvador was a major
slave port for the
sugarcane fields of Brazil by the early 18th century.
In
the whaling days, it was also a popular spot, since the bay was a mating ground for
whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s.
The northeast shore of the Bay of All Saints is home to
Brazil's first active oil fields. The municipality of
São Francisco do Conde, at the north of the bay, remains a port that serves the oil refineries at
Mataripe. The bay is dredged from the port to the Atlantic Ocean to remain open to shipping.
References
Bibliography
* .
External links
"''Plano de la Bahia de todos Santos situada en la costa meridional del Brasil''" a 19th-century Spanish map of the Bay of All Saints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bay of All Saints
All Saints