Salvador, Bahia

Lore & Background

Salvador lies on a small, roughly triangular peninsula separating the Bay of All Saints from the Atlantic Ocean. It was first reached by Gaspar de Lemos in 1501, and Amerigo Vespucci sighted the bay on All Saints' Day 1502, naming it the Bay of the Saint Savior of All the Saints. The first European to settle nearby was Diogo Álvares Correia, shipwrecked in 1509, who lived among the Tupinambá. The present city was established as the fortress of São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos in 1549 by Portuguese settlers under Tomé de Sousa, Brazil's first governor-general. From a cliff overlooking the bay, it served as Brazil's first capital and became a major port for the slave trade and sugarcane industry. The city was long divided into an upper city (administrative, religious, residential) and a lower city (commercial, with a port and market). In 1551, Salvador became the seat of the first Roman Catholic diocese in Brazil. The city was captured by a Dutch West India Company fleet in 1624, then recaptured by a Luso-Spanish fleet in 1625. In 1763, the colonial administration moved to Rio de Janeiro. Salvador remained loyal to the Portuguese crown during Brazil's independence, with rebels besieging the city until Portugal surrendered in 1823. In 1835, the Malê revolt, a slave revolt of Muslim enslaved Africans, took place, Brazil's largest such event.

Reader's Guide

Salvador's significance stems from its role as the first capital of Colonial Brazil, a major port for the slave trade and sugarcane industry, and a enduring center of Afro-Brazilian culture. Its Historic Center, iconized on the outskirts of Pelourinho, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 for its colonial architecture. The city hosts one of the biggest Carnivals in the world, recognized by Guinness World Records as the biggest street party, and was integrated into UNESCO's Creative Cities Network as the 'City of Music.' Salvador is the most populous municipality in Northeast Brazil, the fifth most populous in the country, and the core of the Great Salvador metropolitan area, the second most populous in the Northeast. It is an economic center, port city, and administrative and tourist hub, with its metropolitan region having the highest GDP among urban concentrations in the Northeast. The city has hosted major events including the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics women's football tournament. Its classification as a global city by the GaWC in the 'Sufficiency' category reflects its international reach, while its African-influenced cultural aspects make it a unique destination.

Did You Know?

• Salvador was founded in 1549 by Tomé de Sousa as the first capital of Colonial Brazil.
• The city's Historic Center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
• Salvador's Carnival is recognized by Guinness World Records as the biggest street party in the world.
• The Malê revolt of 1835 was Brazil's largest slave revolt, involving Muslim enslaved Africans.