São Sebastião, São Paulo
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São Sebastião ( Portuguese for
Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...
) is a Brazilian
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' ...
, located on the southeast coast of Brazil, in the state of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
. The population in 2020 was 90,328, its density was 185/km2 and the area is 403 km2. The
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reach ...
lies 25 km north. The municipality existed since 1636 and formed a part of the old hereditary
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 ...
of Santo Amaro. The archipelago municipality of
Ilhabela Ilhabela (Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the ...
is located on the east coast of the city; the largest island of the archipelago is also called São Sebastião. Between the city and the island, there is the São Sebastião channel with 30 kilometres in length, and variable width (2 km being the shortest crossing). There is an oil terminal at the channel, owned by Transpetro, a subsidiary of Petrobrás. The city is famous for its beaches, which makes it a popular tourism destination, especially for people from the state of São Paulo. Near the boundary with Bertioga, there is a small Guarani village managed by
FUNAI is a Japanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Daitō, Osaka. Currently, it is in liquidation. Apart from producing its own branded electronic products, it was also an OEM providing assembled televisions and video players/recor ...
. In 2024, it was elected by '' Time Out magazine'' as the third most underrated travel destination in the world.


History

Before the Portuguese first arrived, the area was inhabited by the Tupinambás to the north and the Tupiniquins to the south. Both tribes were separated by the Serra de Boiçucanga (''Boiçucanga Mountain range''), located 30 km south of the city centre. Both tribes disliked each other. When the French arrived in Brazil via the
Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay (, , ) is an oceanic bay in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro (city), Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, a ...
and confronted the Portuguese, the Tupiniquins united with the Portuguese and the Tupinambás, with the French. This battle between them was witnessed and recounted by
Hans Staden Hans Staden (c. 1525 – c. 1576) was a German people, German soldier and explorer who voyaged to South America in the middle of the sixteenth century, where he was captured by the Tupinambá people of Colonial Brazil, Brazil. He managed to survi ...
. The municipality was named after
Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...
in honor of the day that the Américo Vespúcio expedition sailed through the channel between the city and
Ilhabela Ilhabela (Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the ...
– January 20, 1502. The first Portuguese to settle there were Diogo de Unhate, Diogo Dias, João de Abreu, Gonçalo Pedroso and Francisco de Escobar Ortiz, just after the subdivision of Brazil into capitanias hereditárias. São Sebastião was part of the Captaincy of Santo Amaro. The area was first developed as an agriculture and fishing village. The agricultural activities transformed the village into a major
sugar cane 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 ...
producer, which later helped the hamlet to earn its village status on March 16, 1636. To gain this status, though, the village had to build a church in honour of Saint Sebastian. A few years after this, another hamlet developed just north of São Sebastião: São Francisco da Praia (''Saint Francis of the Beach''). In 1840, the hamlet took the first step to become independent: they asked it to become a
freguesia (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Portuguese over ...
. The request was eventually accepted in the same year, but the freguesia was disestablished in 1859 and re-joined to São Sebastião. The city kept on basing its economy on the production of sugar cane,
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
,
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and fishing. The local port was widely used to load ships with
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
from
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was also used by
pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
and
smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
. When
slavery 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 ...
was abolished, in 1888, and the railway linking São Paulo to the bigger Port of Santos was opened, the city's economy entered a period of crisis, and the population decreased. From that moment on, the city began to rely on
subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...
and "handicraft fishing" (''Pesca Artesanal''), a type of fishing done entirely by hand from the fishing to consumption (in other words, no machinery is used, and most of the people who practice it do it for subsistence as well). Until the 1960s, nothing much changed. However, in that decade,
Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
built its oil terminal, attracting new employees and investments. The population growth of the city grew wider and faster. While the city centre kept developing, workers migrating from other parts of Brazil built their houses near the Serra do Mar, establishing the neighborhood of Topolândia, which now is home to the lower-class families. São Sebastião became a tourist destination in the late 1980s, when the ''Rodovia Rio-Santos'' (a section of the
BR-101 The BR-101 (also called ''Translitorânea'' (transcoastal), officially named ''Rodovia Governador Mário Covas''.Santos, São Paulo, Santos to
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
) was completed. Most of the lands were sold to countryside or paulistanas families who wished a house to spend the weekends and holidays on the coast. Most of the ''
caiçaras Caiçaras () are a people who inhabit the coastlines of the Brazil, Brazilian states of Paraná (state), Paraná, São Paulo (state), São Paulo and Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, and the municipalities of Paraty and Angra dos Reis, in the ...
'' (people who make a living out of fishing) started to work with tourism, even though a few of them still earn money from fishing. Until now, tourism plays an important role in the city's economy. However, as the city grew, proper water and sewage pipes have not been built for every building, which led to the lack of proper urban infrastructure in certain parts of the city. As of November 2010, less than 50% of the city's sewage received proper treatment. However, after a project by the government of the state of São Paulo called "Onda Limpa" (''Clean Wave''), the percentage of houses connected to sewage pipes went up to 94% as of January 2012. In addition, illegal housing became a major problem, as more houses are built in Mata Atlântica zones which, as well as being subject to preservation restrictions, are highly likely to suffer from
mudslide A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/ ...
s. There are an estimated 11,045 houses built in "frozen" areas, that is, areas in which new houses are not allowed to be built. The number of new buildings in the region grows 20% every year. Another current threat to the city is the
sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...
, which may affect several beaches and buildings located close to the shore. In March 2012, the deputy mayor of São Sebastião, Wagner Teixeira ( PV) was caught doing
illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...
off the coast of the city, near Paredão Island, Alcatrezes Archipelago. He was on his private boat with five other men, and didn't stop until his engine ran out of gas, even with the coast guard on his tail with sirens on. He was carrying 116 kg of fish, including
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
, and stated he wasn't aware of the prohibition of fishing in that area. The Port of São Sebastião will receive considerable investment in the next decade so that it increases its operation capacity in a long-term expansion project due to continue until 2035. The number of employees at the port is expected to jump from the current 450 to 4500, 2/3 of them being required to hire local residents. Another improvement expected for the next years (tentatively 2016) involves doubling the lanes of Tamoios Highway, which connects
São José dos Campos São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...
and the neighboring city of Caraguatatuba and is the main route to the city for people coming from São Paulo and many other cities.


Geography

Virtually everything in the city is located on the narrow plains between the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains, except for some cell phone towers and
transmission tower A transmission tower (also electricity pylon, hydro tower, or pylon) is a tall structure, usually a lattice tower made of steel that is used to support an overhead power line. In electrical grids, transmission towers carry high-voltage transmis ...
s. In the central portion of the city, these plains are never wider than 3 km, although they may measure up to 6 km in the less developed areas to the west. Most of the city concentrates between the Enseada Beach (the last beach before Caraguatatuba) and the Guaecá Beach. From Toque Toque Grande beach to Boracéia Beach (the last beach before Bertioga), hotels, summer houses and nightclubs dominate the terrain. The Guaratuba River marks the border with Bertioga, while the Juqueriquerê River marks the border with Caraguatatuba. The city has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
, with an annual average temperature of 24 °C. Most of the mountainous terrain and the islands are covered by the Atlantic Forest. Two districts make up the municipality: São Sebastião District (''Distrito de São Sebastião'') and Maresias District (''Distrito de Maresias'').


Islands and islets

There are a number of islands and islets spread along the city's coastline, all of them created by ancient volcanic activities. The largest and most famous is the Ilha de São Sebastião (''São Sebastião Island''), which is part of the municipality of
Ilhabela Ilhabela (Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the ...
.


Toque-Toque Islands

Viewed from north to south, the Toque-Toque Grande island comes first after Ilhabela, and is located in front of the beach of the same name. There are neither beaches nor people there, but it is popular for scuba diving. The nearby Toque-Toque Pequeno Island is smaller, and resembles a sea turtle when seen from the Santiago Beach.


Gatos Island

The Ilha dos Gatos (''Island of the Cats'', located 1.8 km (1.1 mi) from Ponta da Baleia (''Whale Point''), a hill between Camburi Beach and da Baleia Beach), is an island open to the public. It is said that it was once owned by a member of the Rockefeller family, and that the ruins on top of its hills are from a mansion Rockefeller himself tried to have built, but that was prohibited by the Brazilian government. It is adequate for
freediving Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving, is a mode of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear. Besides the limits of breat ...
. The waters surrounding Gatos Island are full of snooks, and they are also frequently visited by whales during the winter.


Alcatrazes Islands

The Alcatrazes Archipelago is formed by five bigger islands (Alcatrazes Island, Sapata Island, Paredão Island, Porto Island (aka Farol Island) and Southern island), and some smaller unnamed islands. It is the farthest island of São Sebastião, being some 30 km (18.6 mi) away from the southern tip of Ilhabela and 35 km (21.7 mi) from the nearest continental beach, Boiçucanga. Several birds, whales and other sea animals stop there seasonally to reproduce. The main island was once used by the
Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...
as a
howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...
shooting exercise range. As the shots were harming the environment of the island (either because of the noise or because of damage), the Brazilian Navy abandoned this practice. However, the island is still ruled by the military, who forbid fishing, diving and visiting on the island, except for researchers. The islands are within the Tupinambás Ecological Station. Two species of frogs ('' Cycloramphus faustoi'' and '' Ololygon alcatraz'') and a pitviper species (''
Bothrops alcatraz ''Bothrops alcatraz'', also known as the Alcatrazes lancehead, is a pitviper species found only on the Alcatrazes Islands off the coast of southeastern Brazil. No subspecies are currently recognized. Like all pit vipers, it is venomous. Descr ...
'') are only found on the Alcatrazes Island.


As Ilhas

Despite its name (which means ''The Islands''), As Ilhas are actually formed by only one island. It differs from other islands because there is a beach that is frequently visited by tourists from the nearby Barra do Saí and Juqueí beaches, both located around 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the island.


Couves Island

Ilha das Couves (''Cabbage Island'', located 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the coast and mere 600 m (1,920 ft) south of As Ilhas) is accessible from Barra do Sahy, via boats that are run by a fisherman's cooperative. Local grassroots efforts are underway to create an ecotourism educational center focusing on sustainable living. It also has some ruins on top of it: a small hotel was started in 2008 but was also prohibited by the
Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...
.


Montão de Trigo Island

The Ilha Montão de Trigo lies 10 km (8.7 mi) south of the nearest beach (Barra do Una). Unlike the other islands of São Sebastião, it is permanently inhabited. Some 52
caiçaras Caiçaras () are a people who inhabit the coastlines of the Brazil, Brazilian states of Paraná (state), Paraná, São Paulo (state), São Paulo and Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, and the municipalities of Paraty and Angra dos Reis, in the ...
live there, and were granted official permission to occupy and explore the island in 2012.


Unnamed islet in front of Juqueí

There is a small unnamed
skerry A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...
in front of the Juqueí beach. It is part of the annual Volta do Parcel, an
open water swimming Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. Competitive open water swimming is governed by the International Swimming Federation, World Aquatics (formerly kno ...
competition which starts at the beach, takes the athletes around the islet and finishes back at Juqueí.


Ilha do Maracujá

The Ilha do Maracujá (
Passion Fruit ''Passiflora edulis'', commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to the region of southern Brazil through Paraguay to northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its ...
Island) is a small islet located in front of the wild beach of Brava, between Juréia and Boracéia. It is frequented by surfers.


Economy

As of 2005, the city has a GDP of R$1,107,595,000.00 and a GDP per capita of R$15,138.


Sites of interest

Apart from its 36 beaches (listed below), the city has a few places to visit, like the Igreja Matriz de São Sebastião, the Museu de Arte Sacra (''Sacred Art Museum''), the Convento da Nossa Senhora do Amparo and the Convento Franciscano. The city centre can be divided in two parts. One of them is located around the Igreja Matriz, and is filled with houses from the colonial period, most of them containing bars, hotels and restaurants. The other part is located near the sea and concentrates most of the nightlife. There are a number of bars and ice cream shops, a handicraft fair and a large recreational square, which includes the largest
skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...
in Brazil, measuring 7,000 m2.


Beaches

There are 37 beaches along the more than 100 km (63 mi) of coast of the city. From North to South, they are:


Media

In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia de Telecomunicações do Estado de São Paulo until 1975, when it began to be served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).


Transportation

The only way to access the city is via the
BR-101 The BR-101 (also called ''Translitorânea'' (transcoastal), officially named ''Rodovia Governador Mário Covas''.Diogo Silva (taekwondo), Diogo Silva - Taekwondo practitioner *
Gabriel Medina Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira (born 22 December 1993) is a Brazilian professional surfer. He won the 2014, 2018 and 2021 WSL World Championships. In two appearances at the Olympic surfing tournament, Medina won a bronze medal at the 2024 Olym ...
- Surfer


Sister city

São Sebastião has one sister city designated by Sister Cities International: *
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...


See also

* 2023 São Paulo floods and landslides *
List of municipalities in São Paulo This is a list of the municipalities in the state of São Paulo (SP), located in the Southeast Region of Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countr ...


References


History of the city at the City Hall's page

Document of the City Hall's page containing the history of the city, with original texts from the first centuries of the city

Information on the beaches, islands and sites of the city at citybrazil.com


External links

* *
Transpetro
*
City Hall official website
*
São Sebastião at Citybrazil.com.br
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Sebastiao Populated coastal places in São Paulo (state) Populated places established in 1636 Port cities in Brazil 1636 establishments in the Portuguese Empire Municipalities in Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte