Itabuna is a municipality 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 the 6th largest city in Bahia by population after Salvador, Feira de Santana, Camaçari, Vitória da Conquista, and Juazeiro. It had an estimated 214,123 residents in 2021. Itabuna covers a total area of and has a population density of 550 residents per square kilometer.

Etymology

The name "Itabuna" derives from Tupiniquim ''itáabuna'', meaning ''father of stone'' (''itá'', stone + ''abuna'', father). This name refers to a rock the Tupiniquim thought reminded them of a father and was bigger than the other stones around.

History

The Portuguese arrived in the 16th century. The region was inhabited by the

Tupiniquim Tupiniquim (also Tupinã-ki, Topinaquis, Tupinaquis, Tupinanquins, Tupiniquins) are an indigenous people of Brazil, who now live in three indigenous territories (''Terras Indígenas'' in Portuguese). The indigenous territories (Caieiras Velha ...

, an indigenous group of the larger Tupi people. The Portuguese established the Captaincy of Ilhéus in the region, but it failed due to attacks by the nomadic Aimoré people, who emerged from the interior of Brazil in the 1550s. Settlement began when the region served as the main crossing point for drovers heading to Vitória da Conquista. In the region crossed by the Cachoeira river, Arraial de Tabocas emerged in 1857, in the middle of a forest that had not yet been explored at the time. The name Tabocas, according to the tradition, is due to a huge jequitibá, whose felling had been disputed, being the 'pau da taboca', that is, the swidden that opened. The region was populated by non-native Brazilians from 1867, mainly by migrants from

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...

. Felix Severino de Oliveira, later known as Félix Severino do Amor Divino, and José Firmino Alves, his cousin, founded Fazenda Marimbeta, a farm, in the municipality. A street remains with the name in the Conceição of Itabuna. Itabuna was emancipated from

Ilhéus Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the most important touris ...

in 1910. In 1978, the city became the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Itabuna The Roman Catholic Diocese of Itabuna ( la, Dioecesis Itabunensis) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia, São Salvador da Bahia in Bahia state, eastern Brazil. Its c ...

. Itabuna used to be very wealthy due to the amount of cacao farms around it. It was once the second largest exporter of cacao in Brazil. The cacao boom however was short lived due to a disease called

witch's broom Witch's broom or witches' broom is a deformity in a woody plant, typically a tree, where the natural structure of the plant is changed. A dense mass of shoots grows from a single point, with the resulting structure resembling a broom or a ...

. The economy of itabuna is now weak compared to cities of similar size and location. In December 2021, the town was flooded after two dams burst.

Economy

Itabuna is a regional center of

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

and

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

, along with its neighbour

. Its economic importance grew during the ''golden era'' of cocoa cultivation. Thanks to its fertile

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

, the city became the second biggest producer of cocoa in Brazil, exporting to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. After the devastation of crops caused by the

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...

''Crinipellis perniciosa'' (which causes a disease known as

), which led to a profound crisis in its economy, the city began to search a diversification of its economical activities. Nowadays, Itabuna is one of the most important trade points located along

BR-101 The BR-101 (also called ''Translitorânea'' (transcoastal), officially named ''Rodovia Governador Mário Covas''.Itabuna Esporte Clube, Itabuna EC is the local

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team.

Notable people

Jorge Amado Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in ...

, writer *Rui Chapéu, snooker * André Silva Carvalho, footballer

References

Municipalities in Bahia {{bahia-geo-stub