Some Of Salvador de Bahia's History

The city of Salvador de Bahia has a rich history and it is a great place for history buffs. There are many things about the sate that makes it an amazing place and is a must see for every person.

It all began in the year 1501-02 when the Europeans encountered All Saints Bay (Baía de Todos os Santos ) for the first time. It was christened in the year 1502. Camaru, a Portugese settler, who was traveling in a ship in the year 1510 met with an accident and his ship wrecked somewhere near the Rio Vermelho, a borough. Francisco Pereira Coutinho and found a town adjacent to the Barra borough in the year 1534, called Vila Velha, which means "old town" in Portugese.

In the year 1549, Tomé de Sousa, the first Governor-General of Brazil headed a group of Portugese settlers and established the state of Salvador. The city is built on high cliffs, beyond the All saints bay, it became colonial Brazil's first colonial capital. The state has the major sea ports and is the mot important centre for the sugar business and slave trade.

Salvador was divided into parts- the upper city, where all the administrative and religious activities are carried out and most of the state's population lives there, and the lower city is the place where the financial center of the state is located. There are several ports and markets in the lower city as well. An elevator (the Elevador Lacerda) and funiculars were built in the 19th century to bridge the distance between the two.

The city is a centre of the Brazilian Catholism and became the place of the first Catholic Bishop, in the year 1552. Over the time, population increased in the city and in the year 1583 there were 1600 inhabitants in the city. The city quickly grew to be one of the largest in New World, which is much beyond any other colonial city of America.

Salvador was the first city to be the capital of Portuguese viceroyalty of Grão-Pará and the province of Bahia de Todos os Santos. The city was captured by the Dutch Republic and was totally sacked in the year 1624.

Until 1763, Salvador was the capital city of Brazil; Rio de Janeiro was the successor. The Brazilian movement started from the city of Salvador and it bema the base of the movement. The city was attacked in the year 1812 by the Portuguese troops; it finally earned liberation in 1823, on the 2nd of July. Today the city happens to be the national tourist and cultural attraction.

The population cont of the city reached a mark of 340,000 people by the end of 1984 and in the year 1991 the figure rose to 2.08 million.

The Centro Historico or the Pelourinho (historic center) was renovated in the 1990s. Now the historical center, the Pelourinho is a mark of cultural heritage of the city and if the heart of Salvador.

Salvador is the native of many renowned personalities like lyricist Dorival Caymmi, Gol Costa, a famous star and Gilberto Gil, winner of Grammy Award. Music is very popular in Brazil and so are these musical personalities.