The Bay of Todos os Santos and its inland bays form a vast amphitheatre, where nature, history and culture come together to form a beautiful setting for water sports and ecotourism.

This magnificent landscape consists of a vast expanse of calm waters, from which 56 islands emerge.

There are beaches, forests, trails, rivers, waterfalls, rapids, mangroves, nature reserves, ruins of sugar mills, old churches and old convents, testaments to the opulence and wealth of the sugar cane fields that sprang from the lands of the Massapé.

Dominating the landscape, the city of Salvador stands facing west on Baía de Todos os Santos, which, for more than two centuries, was the capital of Brazil and the most important city in the Americas.

A city of art, with its Baroque excesses, Salvador’s colonial architecture would be reflected in the towns and cities that sprang up around the sugar mills of the Recôncavo Baiano, in which one can recognise the urban planning ideals of Renaissance Portugal.

Alongside these profound marks of colonisation, a unique cultural fusion between European, African and indigenous cultures has given rise to a rich folklore, an unrivalled cuisine and artistic expressions that combine, in just the right balance, the influences of the three races.

To ensure the protection of its islands, regulate socio-economic activities in the region and preserve sites of great ecological significance, the Baía de Todos os Santos Environmental Protection Area was established in June 1999.

Bay of Todos os Santos

1. 1. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS
   2. A TREASURE OF BEAUTY AND HISTORY
   3. Boat tourism
   4. ECOTOURISM

1. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS

1. The Legend of the Creation of Baía de Todos os Santos
2. The First European Explorers
3. Ponta do Padrão and the Fort of Santo Antônio da Barra
4. Geography of the Bay of Todos os Santos
5. Indigenous Presence and Colonisation
6. Relations between the Tupinambás and the French and Portuguese
7. The Arrival of Cristóvão Jacques and the Fight against the French Privateers
8. The Legend of Caramuru
9. Founder of the Captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos
10. The Tupinambá Revolt
11. The Transformation of the Recôncavo Baiano and the Legacy of Sugar Cane

1. The Legend of the Creation of the Bay of Todos os Santos

A legend of the Indians recorded by the chroniclers of the early days of settlement in  Brazil told that, at the beginning of the world, a great  bird with very white feathers set off from far away and, flying day and night without stopping, reached the coast of a vast land where, exhausted by the long journey, it fell down dead.

Its long, snow-white wings, spread out on the ground, turned into white beaches.

At the spot where the heart  struck the earth, a vast and deep depression opened up, which the waters of the sea flooded, and its banks were fertilised by the blood of the legendary bird.

Such was the belief of the land’s original inhabitants – the Tupinambás – that kirimuré had come into being: the vast bay of gentle waters and its  Recôncavos, which the white Europeans would later name Baía de Todos os Santos.

2. The First European Explorers

Although the records provide little information, the first European to enter these sheltered waters appears to have been the Portuguese navigator Gaspar de Lemos, captain of the supply ship in the fleet of  Pedro Álvares Cabral, tasked with delivering the letter from Pero Vaz de Caminha bearing the glad tidings of the discovery to the King of Portugal, King Manuel, the Fortunate.

This messenger ship, which set sail from Porto Seguro on 2 May 1500, bound for  Lisbon, probably anchored in Baía de Todos os Santos on 5 May.

However, the official discovery is credited to the Florentine cosmographer Amerigo Vespucci, who, on 1 November 1501, entered the wide mouth of this bay aboard one of the six ships of the exploratory expedition led by Gaspar de Lemos, the same pilot as that of the messenger ship.

3. Ponta do Padrão and the Fort of Santo Antônio da Barra

It was customary at that time to name the places where ships called at after the saint of the day according to the calendar, and so it came to be known as  Baía de Todos os Santos, the great gulf “capable of sheltering, without confusion, all the fleets of the world”, as a foreign traveller visiting Bahia described it centuries later.

Gaspar de Lemos’s expedition stayed here for about five days.

On a rocky outcrop of the sandbar separating the bay with its calm waters from the open sea, a stone pillar was erected  – a marker – which the Portuguese used to place in locations they had discovered, as a marker of their ownership and dominion over the land.

For many years, the place was known as Ponta do Padrão.

Between 1583 and 1587, on the site where the monolith bearing the coat of arms of Portugal once stood, the Fort of Santo Antônio da Barra, or  Barra Fort, whose lighthouse still today warns ships of the presence of reefs and shallows at the entrance to the bay.

The site came to be known as Farol da Barra, a name it still bears today.

Once past Ponta do Padrão, one is met by the Baía de Todos os Santos in all its vastness.

A vast amphitheatre with a circumference of approximately 200 kilometres, indented by  coves, inlets, lagoons and a small bay, that of Aratu.

4. Geography of the Bay of Todos os Santos

The mouth, a wide opening facing south, between Ponta do Padrão and Ponta do Garcez, is approximately 18 nautical miles (33 km) wide. Its straight-line length is 50 km, from the mouth to the town of São Francisco do Conde; and 35 km, running west–east, from  Paripe to the mouth of the Paraguaçu River.

Within the bay there are 56 islands of various sizes: Madre de Deus, dos Frades, Maré, do Medo, Grande, Cajaíba, Bimbarras, das Vacas, Maria Guarda, das Fontes, Bom Jesus dos Passos, Pati and, in the south-western part, the largest of them all, Itaparica, with an area of 246 km.

Halfway along the western shore of the bay, the Paraguaçu River flows into the bay; its indigenous name means ‘big river’. About 36 km south of the mouth of the Paraguaçu, the  Jaguaripe River (or yaguar-y-be, ‘jaguar river’) flows into the bay at a place known as Barra Falsa da Baía de Todos os Santos.

5. Indigenous Presence and Colonisation

In the early colonial period, the bay and its  Recôncavos were inhabited by the Tupinambás Indians who, not long before, had driven the Tapuias—the original lords of the land—into the hinterlands.

In Bahia, the Tupinambás dominated the coast, from the mouth of the  São Francisco River to beyond the Jaguaripe River, where the territory of the Tupiniquins began.

The vast expanse of water in Baía de Todos os Santos provided vessels with a safe anchorage, making it the preferred choice of sailors along Brazil’s extensive coastline.

French privateers had been raiding the unguarded coasts of Bahia since 1504. They were primarily attracted by the lucrative smuggling trade in brazilwood, the red dye from which was consumed on a large scale by the textile industries of the Flanders region.

This trade reached such proportions that there was a time when it surpassed that of the Portuguese, the rulers of the colony.

6. The Tupinambás’ Relations with the French and the Portuguese

The French were able to forge alliances with the Tupinambás, facilitating trade. Eduardo Bueno offers a lucid interpretation in his book Capitães do Brasil: a saga dos primeiros colonizadores: “It did not take the Tupinambás long to realise that the Portuguese were different from the French.”

Unlike the French, who came to Bahia solely to collect brazilwood – exchanging their goods as friends and, as friends, leaving without arousing suspicion – the Portuguese had come to stay and, as well as taking possession of the land, were prepared to enslave the natives”.

In other words, the French did not arouse suspicion amongst the Tupinambás, unlike the Portuguese, who were set to become their masters.

For many years, Baía de Todos os Santos had not a single Portuguese settlement, and trade was mainly conducted with the French, who were friends of the indigenous peoples living on its shores and islands.

7. The Arrival of Cristóvão Jacques and the Fight against the French Privateers

In 1526, a Portuguese fleet commanded by Cristóvam Jacques was sent to Brazil to drive the French privateers off the coast.

When this coastguard squadron entered Baía de Todos os Santos, it encountered three French ships carrying  brazilwood on the Paraguaçu River, at the mouth of the Iguape Lagoon, at the spot which is still known today as Ilha dos Franceses.

The battle lasted a whole day. The French were defeated, and three hundred crew members were taken prisoner.

8. The Legend of Caramuru

The illegal trade in brazilwood found in Bahia a sort of commercial agent for the French: the Portuguese  Diogo Álvares Correia, who went down in history under the legendary name of Caramuru.

Castaway from a ship, possibly French, which, in 1509 or 1511, ran aground on the reefs and  rocks on the ocean shore, a league’s distance to the north of the bay’s entrance, at the spot now known as Mariquita Beach, a name which is a corruption of the Tupi word  mairaquiquiig or ‘the French shipwreck’.

The fact that it emerged from the sea amongst the rocks led the Tupinambás to call it Caray-muru, which in the language of the indigenous people means a  fish with a long, slender body like an eel that lived amongst the rocks.

Some authors believe the name derives from ‘the wet white man, or the drowned man’.

However, the story that the castaway, upon emerging from the sea, fired a shot from the arquebus he had retrieved from the ship, bringing down a bird, and leaving the indigenous people so astonished that they called him ‘son of fire’ or ‘son of thunder’, is nothing more than a legend.

Caramuru lived for 47 years amongst the Tupinambás, having married the famous indigenous woman Paraguaçu, daughter of the powerful chieftain Taparica, lord of the cannibals on the island of Itaparica. They were married in France, probably in 1525, where the Indian woman was baptised and given the name Catharina, in honour of Queen Catharina de’ Medici.

Legend has it that when Caramuru set sail for his wedding overseas, an indigenous woman threw herself into the waters of the bay and swam alongside the French ship, which was carrying her ungrateful lover, until she met her death. Her legendary name remains: Moema, mbo-em in the language of the Tupinambás, meaning ‘the fainting one’ or ‘the exhausted one’.

In Baía de Todos os Santos, it is difficult to distinguish between history—based on documents—and storytelling—a fictionalised account of the facts.

Caramuru had a major influence on the early days of settlement. It is certainly curious that French pilots, who were smugglers of brazilwood, referred to the spot at the entrance to the bay – known to the Portuguese as Ponta do Padrão – as Pointe du Caramourou.

9. Founder of the Captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos

Towards the end of 1535, the nobleman Francisco Pereira Coutinho arrived in Bahia  to settle the capitania that had been granted to him by King D. João III, by means of a charter of grant signed in Évora on 5 April 1534.

The Captaincy of Bahia (Captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos) stretched for fifty leagues (300 km), measured from the mouth of the São Francisco River to the tip of the Bay of All Saints, including the Recôncavo Baiano thereof, encompassing any islands that might be found, and extending inland and onto the mainland as far as the boundary of  Castela, the Tordesillas Meridian.

The captain-grantee settled in the vicinity of the farmstead where Caramuru lived, together with his Indigenous wife, his mixed-race children and his sons-in-law.

At the site now known as Porto da Barra, Pereira Coutinho built a seaside settlement to serve as the official seat of the  Capitania, namely Vila Velha or Povoação do Pereira.

About a year later, the grantee had a deed of grant drawn up, granting a sesmaria to  Caramuru, thereby confirming the lands he occupied with his people.

10. The Tupinambá Revolt

It did not take long for the Tupinambás to realise that this new wave of invading settlers, who had come with the grant holder, was gradually taking over their lands, their forests and their rivers.

Furthermore, they reduced the indigenous people to slavery, even selling them to other capitanias. This oppression could only lead to one outcome: the Tupinambás rose up en masse against the white invaders.

The trigger for this uprising was the death of the son of one of the indigenous chiefs, which was attributed to a relative of the grantholder himself.

It is true that Caramuru helped the new arrivals by supplying them with provisions and facilitating relations with the indigenous people, but he was not an ally of all the Tupinambás. Nor could he be.

There were a great many indigenous villages scattered along the coast and inland in the Recôncavo , divided into various tribes, each with its own chief, guarding their forests and fishing grounds.

And it was quite common for them to wage war against one another, taking prisoners whom they would roast and eat at great feasts, or sell as slaves to outsiders.

The Tupinambás  united and, with some six thousand warriors – their faces painted black with jenipapo, in stripes alternating with the bright red of urucum, which gave them a terrifying appearance – burnt down fences, destroyed sugar mills, killed several Portuguese and laid siege to the survivors in  Povoação do Pereira.

“It was five or six years spent in great hardship,” reported the plantation owner and historian Gabriel Soares de Souza in 1580, “enduring severe famines, diseases and a thousand misfortunes, whilst the Tupinambá Tupinambá killing people every day”.

As if that war were not enough, the grantholder also had to contend with the betrayal of certain exiles and settlers who, owing to internal rivalries within the capitania, allied themselves with the Indians, inciting them to take up arms.

As for Caramuru, all the evidence suggests that he did not take a stand against the Indians who laid siege to the headquarters of the Capitania. However, it seems he was the one who escorted the elderly grant holder as he fled to the Capitania of Ilhéus. As a result, the Tupinambás ravaged the village.

Whilst the Captaincy of Bahia was in a state of disarray, the French, who were on friendly terms with the indigenous peoples, were plotting to establish themselves there, driven by their ambition to make Brazil a French possession.

This threat of possible French domination prompted the return of Francisco Pereira Coutinho to his estates. It was Caramuru himself who persuaded the  grantholder to leave Porto Seguro, where he had taken refuge, and return to Bahia on the promise of peace offered to the indigenous peoples.

In 1547, on the return journey, the ship carrying Pereira Coutinho ran aground on the treacherous reefs of the  Pinaúnas, at the southern tip of the island of Itaparica.

This tragic episode was described by Eduardo Bueno: “The grantholder and most of his companions managed to escape, but were captured by the Tupinambás. When they realised that Pereira himself was among the prisoners, the Tupinambás decided to kill him.

The one who wielded the club was a five-year-old Tupinambá, the brother of a native whom Pereira himself had ordered to be killed. During the sacrificial ritual, the boy was assisted by an adult warrior in delivering the blow that ended the life of Francisco Pereira Coutinho.

The tribe then devoured the body of the grantee in a raucous cannibalistic feast.

Of the nine years of Pereira Coutinho’s administration, almost nothing remained. The sugar mills that had been established in the Recôncavo were burnt down by the Tupinambás. Vila Velha do Pereira, or what remained of it, reverted to its original state as a “mere nest of mamelucos”.

The tragic death of the elderly and ruined Francisco Pereira Coutinho precipitated a complete overhaul of the administrative system of Brazil, which had long been the subject of studies in Lisbon. Broadly speaking, the entire system of hereditary captaincies had failed.

On 29 March 1549, a Friday, before the sun set behind the island of Itaparica, the bows of three large ships – two caravels and a brigantine – entered the calm waters of the Baía de Todos os Santos.

At the head of the Portuguese fleet was  Tomé de Souza, “Captain of the settlement and lands of   Bahia de Todos os Santos and Governor of the lands of Brazil”, titles he had held since his appointment on 7 January 1549.

He was to found “a large and strong fortress and settlement”, the city of Salvador da Baía de Todos os Santos.

A few months before the arrival of the Governor, an emissary from the king delivered a letter to  Diogo Álvares Caramuru announcing the arrival of the fleet and, above all, instructing him to set aside provisions for Tomé de Souza and his entourage.

Following the death of the grant holder, Caramuru had become the most important man in the Captaincy and had already secured from the  Tupinambás a promise of cooperation with the ‘new’ colonists.

Although skirmishes with the indigenous people had not ceased, the Governor managed, with the help of Caramuru, to begin establishing peace between the settlers and the indigenous people.

Further into the bay, to the north, just under half a league from Vila do Pereira under one of the bluest skies in the world, the  Governor founded the fortress city atop a cliff, facing west, overlooking the Bay of All Saints.

The indigenous people cooperated with the numerous craftsmen who, under the orders of Master Luis Dias, were building the city.

At first, there were mud-walled huts; then came the stone and lime houses, and the city would rise proudly, seventy metres high, overlooking the bay; and it would become a city of art, with its Baroque excesses and its animist cults, the metropolis of the  Baía de Todos os Santos and its Recôncavos, the city of Bahia, seat of the Portuguese colonial government for 214 years.

Eight years after the founding of the city of Salvador in 1557, death brought an end to the troubled life of Diogo Álvares, Caramuru.

It fell to Mem de Sá, the third Governor-General of Brazil, to pacify the warlike indigenous peoples with the help of the Jesuit missionaries.

11. The Transformation of the Recôncavo Baiano and the Legacy of Sugar Cane

When it became necessary, the Governor did not hesitate to invade the lands of the rebellious tribes and destroy the villages that attempted to resist. More than one hundred and thirty villages were destroyed. Mem de Sá was the great promoter of sugar cane cultivation in the region.

He even went so far as to build a proper mill with its own waterwheel to process the sugarcane brought in by farmers who did not have their own mills. On the massapê lands – where the deep clay sticks to your shoes – mills sprang up.

Sugar cane cultivation and sugar production have become typical and fundamental activities in the Recôncavo regions.

The sugar cane fields and mills lined the entire bay, from Salvador to Barra do Jiquiriçá and the lands of Jaguaripe, where Gabriel Soares established his mills; they spread across the plains of Santo Amaro and São Francisco do Conde, and followed the mighty Paraguaçu river upstream.

By the last quarter of the 16th century, there were already a considerable number of landowners in the Recôncavo who owned vast sesmarias and well-established sugar mills, with large numbers of slaves. These mills were not merely farms; they were settlements.

It was from these that the towns and cities of the Recôncavo began to emerge.

For a long time, communication between these towns took place exclusively via the Baía de Todos os Santos and the rivers that flow into it.

Then came the railways and the motorways, which broke the isolation. The sugar mills were transformed into sugar factories.

Tobacco was grown across the lands of the Cachoeira – São Félix – Maragogipe region. In the 20th century, the towering silhouettes of the oil wells dotted the countryside, where the wind had once whipped through the sugarcane fields. Industries sprang up.

A new era of change. The humble sailboats and steamboats gradually gave way to schooners, sailing boats and catamarans.

Cars now travel across the bay on ferries.

However, traces of the past endure in the austere architecture of the colonial mansions, with their facades adorned with Portuguese tiles, and in the monumental churches that dominate the landscape.

The silence of the cloisters of the convents echoes with tales of old, whilst the waterwheel of the sugar mills reveals the production cycle that shaped the region.

The silver artefacts and the imagery of the altars highlight the cultural and spiritual richness of Bahia.

Furthermore, the ships and caravels lie beneath the waves, preserving memories of voyages past.

The cannons of the old forts still watch over the horizon of the bay, bearing witness to the history that unfolded there.

All of this is interwoven in the mixed heritage of the people of Bahia de Todos os Santos, who carry within them the legacy of a time rich in change and traditions.

2. A TREASURE TROVE OF BEAUTY AND HISTORY

Bordered at either end by the Barra Lighthouse and Ponta do Garcez, the Baía de Todos os Santos combines beauty, history and culture, evident in its crafts, traditional cuisine and architecture, making it an ideal setting for water-based tourism and ecotourism.

This landscape comprises a body of calm waters covering an area of 1,052 km², home to islands and beaches, and fed by the fresh waters of countless rivers and streams, the main ones being the Paraguaçu, the Jaguaripe and the Subaé. Furthermore, at one end of this area lies Brazil’s first capital and the largest city in the North-East: Salvador da Bahia.

The surrounding area is home to the municipalities of Itaparica, Vera Cruz, Jaguaripe, Nazaré, Salinas da Margarida, Maragogipe, São Félix, Cachoeira, Santo Amaro, Saubara, São Francisco do Conde, Madre de Deus and Candeias, among many others that make up the Recôncavo Baiano.

In Bahia, the word Recôncavo has taken on a new meaning, with a capital letter, to refer to the region surrounding this bay.

To ensure the protection of its islands, regulate socio-economic activities in the area and preserve sites of great ecological significance, the Baía de Todos os Santos Environmental Protection Area was established by State Decree No. 7,595 of 5 June 1999.

The APA covers an area of approximately 800 km², including the waters and islands of the bay which contain remnants of Atlantic Forest, mangroves and restingas, and is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna.

3. WATER SPORTS TOURISM

1. History and Investment in Water Sports Tourism
2. Marine Infrastructure
3. Traditional Competitions and Regattas
4. Water Sports Attraction
5. Shipwrecks and Hidden Treasures: Exploring the Depths of Todos os Santos Bay

1. History and Investment in Water Sports Tourism

In the past, Baía de Todos os Santos was the largest seaport in the Southern Hemisphere. Today, it is the focus of major public and private investment, with the aim of boosting water-based tourism and ecotourism in the region.

2. Water Sports Infrastructure

A large private marina has already been built near the Lacerda Lift, offering 300 berths for boats of all sizes, with modern facilities.

Furthermore, the Bahia Nautical Centre, an initiative of the State Government, not only provides moorings for boats but also promotes and coordinates a range of water sports activities across the state.

3. Traditional Competitions and Regattas

Among the most notable sailing events are the traditional regattas, such as the Saveiros João das Botas and the famous Aratu – Maragogipe. International regattas, such as the Rally les Iles du Soleil and the Hong Kong Challenger, are also part of the programme.

During the summer, the Mar Grande–Salvador crossing is the main competition, forming part of the Bahia Open Water Circuit with events in locations such as Salinas, Itaparica, Ponta de Areia, Itacaranha, Ribeira, and São Tomé de Paripe.

4. Water Sports Attractions

The Bay of Todos os Santos has a rich history, stretching from the arrival of ships and caravels to the present day, welcoming ocean-going yachts, luxury transatlantic liners, and even Queen Elizabeth II’s yacht.

Procession of Senhor Bom Jesus dos Navegantes

The largest and most important annual event on the bay is the Procession of Senhor Bom Jesus dos Navegantes, which takes place on 1 January.

The galley *Gratidão do Povo* carries the statue of Bom Jesus on a long journey from Cais do Porto to Porto da Barra and then on to the Igreja da Boa Viagem, accompanied by hundreds of boats.

5. Shipwrecks and Hidden Treasures: Exploring the Depths of Todos os Santos Bay

Another unique feature of Baía de Todos os Santos is the combination of beautiful natural and historical landscapes hidden beneath its waters. These landscapes hold surprises for divers, who come across  coral reefs and the wrecks of ships as they explore the area.

It’s good to know that opposite the Porto da Barra, at a depth of 12 metres and with visibility of 10 to 15 metres, there are some stunning coral reefs. For experienced divers, the  outer corals or the “Wall” are situated in the middle of the Bay, between Itaparica and Salvador.

The drop-offs, one mile from Salvador, are between 25 and 45 metres deep and, at high tide, visibility ranges from 15 to 20 metres.

The formations of corals and  reefs near the islands of Maré have a maximum depth of 11 metres and horizontal visibility of up to 15 metres.

Opposite the harbour quay, on the northern breakwater, there is an interesting spot for night dives with an abundance of marine life. Opposite the beach at  Aratuba, in Itaparica, the Pontinha and Caramunhãs coral reefs, two miles off the coast, offer a rich underwater landscape.

The ghosts of history have also become a focus of interest for divers in search of treasure, conducting research or simply out of curiosity.

Amidst battles, invasions and storms, numerous ships were shipwrecked in Baía de Todos os Santos, the best-known and most historically documented of which are:

• The ship Nossa Senhora de Jesus, 1610 – attacked by the Dutch of the Dutch East India Company – was wrecked off Fort Santo Antônio da Barra, at the entrance to the bay;
• Seven Portuguese ships, 1624 – were set alight and sank off the slope of what is now Avenida Contorno;
• Two Flemish ships and one Portuguese ship, 1627 – sank off Preguiça Beach during fighting between the Portuguese and the Dutch over control of the city of Salvador;
• Two Dutch ships and one Portuguese ship, 1647 – were wrecked following another naval battle near Monte Serrat Fort;
• The ship Santa Escolástica, 1648 – sank as it left the bay;
• The galleon Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso, 1700 – sank off Preguiça Beach;
• Spanish galleon San Pedro, 1714 – sank at the same location;
• The galleon Nossa Senhora do Rosário, 1737 – sank off Monte Serrat, laden with jewels, gold, crockery, amber and pepper;
• The wreck of the Bretanha, known as the “Navio de Dentro”, lies near the Barra Lighthouse, sheltered by the coral reefs, and is an ideal spot for introductory dives.

4. ECOTOURISM

The verb ‘to combine’ is always present when talking about the Baía de Todos os Santos: combining sea and land, the old and the new, legends and history. Thus, the ‘discovering’ gaze of ecotourists is met with the possibilities of visiting its islands and the region of the Recôncavo Baiano, where the marks of Portuguese colonisation and the cultural fusion of European, African and Indigenous cultures are strong.

The 56 islands that make up the archipelago of  Baía de Todos os Santos share common features, such as beaches with crystal-clear waters, calm seas, dense vegetation—predominantly mangroves, coconut groves and banana plantations—as well as remnants of the Atlantic Forest.

The main islands in the Bay of Todos os Santos are Itaparica Island, the largest island in the bay, known for its calm beaches and reefs; Frades Island, famous for its beaches with crystal-clear waters and natural pools; Maré Island, a popular destination for its peaceful beaches and lush natural surroundings; Cajaíba Island; Bimbarras Island; Vacas Island; Canas Island; Bom Jesus Island; and Medo Island.

The Recôncavo Baiano, rich in  folklore, cuisine and the arts of its dark-skinned people, bears the marks of its past in the  historic towns and in the nearly 400 old sugar mills that dotted the region during the colonisation of Brazil.

It harbours a history of riches and heroic deeds by its people, who, virtually unarmed, fought against foreign invasions and plantation owners, uniting in support of D. Pedro I, fighting bravely against the Portuguese for Brazil’s independence.

To explore the Recôncavo Baiano is to be dazzled by the Baroque style of 18th-century architecture, in towns such as  Cachoeira, São Félix, Santo Amaro, Jaguaripe and  Nazaré, which were founded, developed and experienced luxury and opulence throughout the cycles of sugar cane, tobacco and cattle. tobacco and cattle.

With the abolition of slavery in Brazil, the economy of the Recôncavo went into decline and the plantation owners went bankrupt.

The families from the big house moved to the provincial capital, leaving behind villages, towns, beautiful colonial buildings and the lands of the massapé. A world of memories that has crumbled away over time.

It is also a delight to savour the traditional cuisine which blends, in just the right balance, the influences of the three ethnic groups in dishes drizzled with  palm oil and a wide variety of sweets, liqueurs and spirits; it means discovering natural beauty hidden along the Paraguaçu and  Jaguaripe throughout the area surrounding their estuaries in Baía de Todos os Santos, in the Iguape lagoon, and on the beaches of Saubara.

Religiousness, mysticism and history are the hallmarks of the  Recôncavo, all set against a backdrop of vast  sugarcane fields, rich mangrove swamps and what remains of rainforest.

History and Tourism in the Bay of Todos os Santos

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