Nova Almeida is a neighbourhood (''bairro'' in Portuguese) in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Serra, in the State of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The town is located about north of the state capital, Vitória. It has a population of around 266,800.

History

Nova Almeida was founded in 1556 by

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priests who wanted to spread the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

amongst native

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

. First founded under the name "Reis Magos" (now the name of the river at whose mouth it rests), it was then known as "Aldeia Nova" (taking that name from neighbouring Aldeia Nova, which today is Santa Cruz). It later changed to its current name, Nova Almeida. Around 1760, there were about 3000 Tupiniquim Amerindians living here, forming the bulk of Nova Almeida's population.

Geography

Nova Almeida's area is , and it lies on the

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

at sea level. It is now considered part of the Greater Vitória metropolitan area, since it lies within Serra.

Economy

This town has undergone great transformation in the last 30 years or so; from a typical rural area, it has become an international hub for

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

and

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 ...

. Today, it has two large-scale

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

s as part of its infrastructure and a number of industrial enterprises. Neighbourhoods in Brazil Populated places established in 1556 1556 establishments in the Portuguese Empire {{EspiritoSanto-geo-stub