Bahia

History

Bahia was one of the places of unloading of the Portuguese in Brazil and current the Nordeste was the first area of colonized Brazil, there is more than 500 years. Its first governor-general, Divided into volumes of Sousa, founded El Salvador which became the capital of the country in 1549. The Portuguese colonists developed to with it the culture of the Canne with sugar and cotton thanks to black slaves off-set in mass of Africa (see Esclavage). The attacks on behalf of the English and of the Dutch at the 17th century were pushed back.

In 1798, the conspiracy of Bahia proposes the formation of a Republic of Bahia. With the independence of Brazil, the inhabitants of Bahia required federation a greater autonomy, which was refused. An armed rising was repressed by the central government.

In 1926, a law recognized 9 million hectares to the Amerindians of the State de Bahia. But they were decimated, and in the years 1960 there were not practically more Indians on these grounds since occupied by great landowners (fazendeiros) with complicity of the soldiers. Since 1982, some surviving families of the community Pataxó Hãhãhãe try to make recognize their culture, rights and grounds by carrying out legal actions and occupations known as “retomadas” . The government their recognized 54100 Hectare S delimited, but in 2005, they have about it indeed only one third. And they are always confronted with the pressures of land great landowners wanting to keep them. As in other areas of Brazil, several Pataxó Indians were assassinated while fighting for the defense of their rights, of which one burned alive.
En 2006, a campaign aiming reducing the tensions between communities and at promoting peace by a better mutual knowledge of the Indian and nonIndian cultures of the area took place with the support of the State de Bahia and France. A Portuguese book will describe the culture Pataxó Hãhãhãe for the Brazilian ones of the area, with a French version envisaged.

Geography

The borders of the State are

with the Northern : Alagoas, Sergipe, Pernambuco and Piauí;
with the Southern: Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo;
with the Western: Goiás and Tocantins;
with the Is: the Atlantic coast .

The principal rivers crossing Bahia are the São Francisco, Paraguaçu, Jequitinhonha, Itapicuru, Capivari E Told it. Its main cities are El Salvador (capital), Feira de Santana, Vitória da Conquista, Itabuna, Ilhéus, Juazeiro and Jequié.

90% of the territory of the State are located at more than 200 m of Altitude.

Economy

The saving in Bahia is agrarian (Canne with sugar, Manioc, Maïs, Coconut, Cacao), Industrie lle (Chimie, Informatique, Automobile and Pétrochimie) and mine. There exists also an important petrochemical pole and an industrial complex of Ford Motor Company in Camaçari, in the proximity of El Salvador. Bahia is also famous for the quality of its coffees, whose grains are dried with the sun and are protected from the morning dew by large sides of fabric. This special attention offers to the coffees of Bahia soft and fruity savors very appreciated.

Tourism

Thanks to its important maritime frontage and the beauty of its beaches, the State de Bahia experiences since ten years a strong development of balneal tourism in places such as Oporto Seguro, Praia C Strong, Itaparica or Trancoso. Since the restoration of its historical center (Pelourinho), classified Inheritance of Humanity in 1985 by UNESCO, El Salvador became a place impossible to circumvent for any tourist wishing to visit the Brésil, transforming this famous district malfamé in the years 1980 into a place completely turned towards tourism.

More recently, Chapada Diamantina, high plateau located in the interior of the grounds, became a paradise for the trekkeurs with many excursions on the basis of Lençois or of Capao in particular making it possible to contemplate the " Veu da Noiva" (Wedding veil - gigantic water fall located on Chapada Diamantina).

Demography

The State de Bahia counts 417 municipalities for a total population of: 13815334 inhabitants. The principal city of the State, El Salvador, account: 2673560 inhabitants

See the summary table of the population by municipalities: Municipalities of the State de Bahia by population (Source IBGE - Estimate of 2006)

Culture

Religion

The Catholicism common to Brazil, plus a strong establishment of the Candomblé, religion Brazilian Negro practiced in many countries of South America: Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentinian or Venezuela, particularly present because of strong proportion the Brazilian originating ones in Black Africa.

Gastronomy

fish Moqueca

Dance

One of the popular dances is Forro (note the capital state of Forro is Recife more in north of Bahia). She dances herself to two and is very merry. The characteristic instruments are inter alia the triangle and the accordion.

Forro is very popular in Nordeste, in Bahia, it is mainly danced during the festivals of São João, which is held over one week during the time of June 21st.

This Festival is the analog of the Saint Jean Frenchwoman, Nourriture, Danse and Fires of artifices are there with the honor.

Bahia is the state originating in another " danse" , since the Capoeira which one knows today finds its roots with Bahia, more precisely between the communes of El Salvador and Santo Amaro da Purificação.

It is difficult to allot an origin bahianaise with certainty to these dance but:

- Puxada de Rede, dances traditional of fishermen drawing the nets from the sea. - the Maculélé, African dance practiced with machetes or sticks are frequently practiced there. It is Mestre popo, Capoeiristes de Santo Amaro da Purificação, which developed the teaching of maculélé in Bahia.

Random links: