The first encounters in Todos os Santos Bay

In 1501, Amerigo Vespucci discovered Baía de Todos os Santos, marking the Portuguese claim to the area with a Portuguese crown monument near the present-day Fort and Barra Lighthouse (source summary: Vespucci, 1501 expedition[1]).

Around c.1509–1511, Diogo Álvares Correia, en route to the Indies, was shipwrecked in the bay. According to chroniclers and local traditions, he was rescued by the Tupinambás and survived because he was tall and thin — the legendary reason for his nickname Caramuru. He gained the tribe’s trust and married the daughter of the chieftain Taparica, Paraguaçu (later christened Catarina in France), giving rise to the first local settlement (traditional/chronicle account[2]).

The founding of Salvador and racial mixing

The first settlement, situated between what are now Graça and Vitória, is said to have been named Salvador in reference to the shipwreck. Regarded as a patriarch, Caramuru had numerous descendants — which is why Gregório de Matos nicknamed him “Adam of Massapê” (as recorded in literary and chronicle sources).

Racial mixing, a defining feature of the city, began during this period, whilst Portugal initially showed little interest in effective occupation, given its commercial priorities and the absence of precious metals in the early expeditions (historiographical summary[3]).

Hereditary captaincies and the captaincy of Bahia

Faced with threats from France, England and the Netherlands, King João III organised Brazil into hereditary captaincies. The captaincy of Bahia was granted to Francisco Pereira Coutinho, who arrived in 1536 and founded the town of Bahia (Vila do Pereira, later known as Vila Velha), on the site of the present-day Fort of São Diogo and the Church of Santo Antônio da Barra (documents and historical summaries[4]).

Pereira planted cotton and sugar cane, but his venture failed; historical accounts state that he died following a conflict with indigenous people (details of his death appear in historical accounts and may contain legendary elements)[2][4]. Caramuru played a part in the merger of several settlements, leading to the formation of Vila Velha.

The centralisation of power and the founding of the city

Concerned about the power wielded by the grantees, King João III established the general government to centralise administration. The Pereira Coutinho family sold the captaincy to the Crown, which planned to build “a fortress and a large, strong settlement”.

The first governor-general, Tomé de Souza, arrived on 29 March 1549 (a date often cited as the city’s official foundation date). Initially based in Vila Velha, Tomé de Souza decided to establish the first town on the site now occupied by Praça Municipal — a fact documented in the chronicles and in historiography[5].

Boundaries and organisation of the early Salvador

The plans and drawings came from the Crown. The original boundaries were set out in the colonial plans and descriptions of the time:

• To the south: Santa Luzia Gate (where Rua Chile meets Praça Castro Alves).
• To the north: Santa Catarina Gate (between Praça Municipal and Rua da Misericórdia).
• To the east: the small sandbar known as Barroquinha.

Salvador was founded, serving as Brazil’s gateway and the capital of the South Atlantic until 1763, marking the effective occupation of the territory by the Portuguese administration (historiographical summary[5]).