History

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It all started here, precisely in Porto Seguro. After 43 days of traveling, the fleet of nine warships and three caravels, led by the Portuguese sailor Pedro Álvares Cabral, finally saw dry land. It was Tuesday, April 22nd 1500, three days after Easter, when the crew saw the top of a “very high and round” mount, soon called Mount Pascoal.

First, they thought it was only a small archipelago, whose biggest island was called Vera Cruz. When they realized how big the land was, the Portuguese called it Terra de Santa Cruz and, later, Brazil, due to the abundance of the tree called “pau Brasil” in the region.

The Portuguese were so well received by the native people, the tupis-guaranis, that two days later the priests of the crew were already celebrating mass in Brazil. In this way, Cabral and his companions started the Portuguese colonization of the Brazilian land.

Still today, from the vast seashore to the inland, Bahia preserves the memory of Colonial Brazil, set in the stone paved streets; in the monuments built to honor Portuguese saints, great names of the past and the historical battles at the discovery and colonization times; in the secular buildings, from the baroque to the neoclassic architecture; in the ruins of cannons and artillery used to defend cities; in the museums that shelter a vast cultural asset; in the marks of the battles for National Independence.

From squares and churches to historical sites and Pelourinho – Historical-Cultural Heritage of Mankind – in Salvador, the state perspires its history and the Brazilian history in every corner and under the enchant of this land blessed by all saints.