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The Recôncavo Baiano is a geographical region located in the Brazilian state 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 ...
that covers the inland area surrounding the
Bay of All Saints The Bay of All Saints (), also known as All Saints' Bay and Todos os Santos Bay, is the principal bay of the Brazilian state of Bahia, to which it gave its name. It sits on the Brazilian coast, eastern coast of Brazil, surrounding part of Bahia' ...
and the Metropolitan Region of Salvador. However, the expression is not constantly used to refer to
Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...
. The region is very rich in oil. In agriculture, sugar cane, manioc, tobacco and some tropical fruit crops are suitable for planting. Since the beginning of Brazil's colonization, the word "''recôncavo''", originally used to describe lands around a bay, has been associated with the area near the Bay of All Saints.


History

In the 16th century, the Recôncavo Baiano was notable for the presence of
brazilwood ''Paubrasilia echinata'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. It is a Brazilian timber tree commonly known as Pernambuco wood or brazilwood (, ; Tupi: ) and is the na ...
. The local climate contributed to the cultivation of sugar cane crops, which became the strongest economic activity in the area and resulted in the construction of more than 400 sugar mills. The massive presence of Africans enslaved on Brazilian plantations influenced different cultural elements, such as music, food and religion. A genetic study conducted in municipalities in the Recôncavo Baiano confirmed the high degree of African ancestry in the region. People from the urban areas of Cachoeira and Maragojipe were analyzed, as well as ''
quilombolas A ''quilombola'' () is an Afro-Brazilian resident of '' quilombo'' settlements first established by escaped slaves in Brazil. They are the descendants of Afro-Brazilian slaves who escaped from slave plantations that existed in Brazil until ab ...
'' from the rural area of Cachoeira. The result indicated that African ancestry was 80.4%, European ancestry 10.8% and indigenous ancestry 8.8%. In Salvador, the genetic analysis carried out on the population confirmed that the city's largest genetic contribution is African (49.2%), followed by European (36.3%) and indigenous (14.5%). It also concluded that individuals who have a surname with a religious connotation are more likely to have African ancestry (54.9%) and to belong to less privileged social classes.


Geography

The Recôncavo Baiano covers 20 cities:
Aratuípe Aratuípe 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. Bahi ...
,
Cabaceiras do Paraguaçu Cabaceiras do Paraguaçu 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Castro Alves Antônio Frederico de Castro Alves (14 March 1847 – 6 July 1871) was a Brazilian poet and playwright famous for his abolitionist and republican poems. One of the most famous poets of the Condorist movement, he wrote classics such as '' Esp ...
, Conceição do Almeida,
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 2022, it had a population of ...
, Dom Macedo Costa, Governador Mangabeira,
Itatim Itatim 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 ...
,
Jaguaripe Jaguaripe is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of 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 a ...
,
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 state c ...
, Muniz Ferreira,
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 ...
, Nazaré,
Salinas da Margarida Salinas da Margarida 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 Br ...
, Santa Terezinha, Santo Amaro,
Santo Antônio de Jesus Santo Antônio de Jesus is a List of cities in Brazil, city in the eastern part of the state of Bahia, Brazil, located west of the state capital Salvador, Brazil, Salvador. It is part of the mesoregion Metropolitana de Salvador. The population is 1 ...
,
São Felipe São Felipe 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. Bahi ...
, São Felix,
São Miguel das Matas São Miguel das Matas 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 Br ...
,
São Gonçalo dos Campos São Gonçalo dos Campos is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and de ...
, Sapeaçu, Saubara and
Varzedo Varzedo 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 is ...
. The region features stretches of Atlantic Forest with typical specimens of
caatinga Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...
and
cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...
. The soils in the valleys and at the mouths of the
Paraguaçu Paraguaçu is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 21,605 (2020 est.) in an area of 424 km². The elevation of the municipal seat is 825 m. It became a municipality in 1911. Paraguaçu is part of ...
,
Jaguaripe Jaguaripe is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of 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 a ...
and Subaé rivers are shallow, well-drained and have medium to high natural fertility. It also presents the highly fertile ''massapê'' soil, which originates from the pedogenetic processes of
igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...
and meta-igneous rocks such as
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
,
gabbro Gabbro ( ) is a phaneritic (coarse-grained and magnesium- and iron-rich), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is ch ...
, green schist and chlorite schist.


Education

Besides the
Federal University of Bahia The Federal University of Bahia (, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia. Students can study there without paying tuition fees, as it is a public university. To j ...
(UFBA) and the
Federal Institute of Bahia The Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia da Bahia (acronym: IFBA), in english: Bahia Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology, is a Brazilian institution that offers higher and vocational education, having a multi ...
(IFBA), both based in Salvador, the Recôncavo Baiano also features two other public institutions: the
Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia The Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia (, UFRB) is a Brazilian university, with its main campus at Cruz das Almas, Bahia.
(UFRB), with campuses in the cities of Cruz das Almas, Santo Antônio de Jesus, Amargosa, Santo Amaro and Cachoeira, and the University for International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB), based in São Francisco do Conde. Santo Antônio de Jesus has a campus of the State University of Bahia (UNEB) and of the Adventist College of Bahia (FADBA), which was the first private higher education institution in the region.


Culture

Around 1860, the first manifestations of
samba de roda Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or prefix used for ...
, proclaimed a
Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage—such traditions, rituals, dance, and knowledge—and ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
, appeared in the Recôncavo Baiano. The region is notable for the Velloso family (originally with two "l"s), originally from Santo Amaro da Purificação, which includes singers
Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompas ...
and
Maria Bethânia Maria Bethânia Viana Teles Veloso (; born 18 June 1946) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Born in Santo Amaro, Bahia, she started her career in Rio de Janeiro in 1964 with the show "Opinião" ("Opinion"), she is "The Queen of Brazilian Musi ...
, who began their careers in the 1960s. Several cities in the region host festivals that unite Catholic and Afro-Brazilian religions. In Cachoeira, the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Good Death is responsible for organizing the annual '' Festa da Boa Morte'' on August 13, which includes mass, ''samba'' and food. In Salvador, the '' Lavagem do Bonfim'' is held every January and includes the washing of the steps and atrium of the Church of Our Lord of Bonfim.


See also

*
Chapada Diamantina Chapada Diamantina (; Portuguese language, Portuguese for the "Diamond Plateau") is a region of Bahia state, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast of Brazil. This mountain range is known as “Serra do Espinhaço,” in Minas Gerais state, ...
*
Colonial architecture of Brazil The colonial architecture of Brazil is defined as the architecture carried out in the current Brazilian territory from 1500, the year of the Portuguese arrival, until its Independence of Brazil, Independence, in 1822. During the Colonial Brazil, ...
*
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 is divided into 417 municipalities, which were, until 2017, grouped into 32 microregions, which were grouped into 7 mesoregions. ...


References

{{Portal bar, Brazil, Geography Geography of Bahia Geography of Brazil Bahia Bahia geography stubs Salvador, Bahia