The Bay of All Saints (), also known as All Saints' Bay and Todos os Santos Bay, is the principal bay of the
Brazilian state
The federative units of Brazil () 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 together form the Federative Repu ...
of
Bahia
Bahia () 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 (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
, 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 borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. 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 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
explorer
Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...
Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci ( , ; 9 March 1454 – 22 February 1512) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Florence for whom "Naming of the Americas, America" is named.
Vespucci participated in at least two voyages of the A ...
was the first
European to visit the bay, during
his second expedition to the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. 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 know ...
(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 (building), 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 com ...
in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
,
San Salvatore di Ognissanti. Initially, the bay,
its principal settlement, and the
captaincy
A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...
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 (; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; ) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in history to ever be on four continents, ...
'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 Viscou ...
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
Martim Afonso de Sousa was born in Vila Viçosa, and had been raised in the Duke of Bragança household and was a personal fri ...
in 1531, while he was leading an expedition charged with exploring the coast of the new continent.
Salvador was a major
slave port
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
for the
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
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 animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
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