History of the Captaincy of the Baía de Todos os Santos (1500-1697)

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The Captaincy of the Bahia de Todos os Santos was one of the main hereditary captaincies established by the Kingdom of Portugal at the beginning of the colonization of Brazil in 1534.

Granted to the donatário Francisco Pereira Coutinho, it occupied a strategic position on the Brazilian coast, centered on the bay that gave it its name, now known as Baía de Todos os Santos. Its territory included part of the current state of Bahia, and the region soon stood out for its economic and geopolitical importance.

Initially, the colonization of the captaincy faced various challenges, including conflicts with indigenous peoples and administrative difficulties. Francisco Pereira Coutinho, the first donatário, attempted to establish a settlement but was not very successful due to a lack of resources and the hostility of local tribes.

In 1549, the Portuguese Crown decided to intervene, transforming Baía de Todos os Santos into the nucleus of colonial administration by creating the Governo-Geral do Brasil and sending Tomé de Sousa as the first governor-general, who founded the city of Salvador, the first capital of Brazil.

Baía de Todos os Santos quickly became an economic center due to sugar production and the natural port that facilitated maritime trade with Europe and other colonies. Over the centuries, the captaincy played a crucial role in the development of colonial Brazil, being the target of foreign invasions, such as those by the French and Dutch, due to its strategic location and the wealth generated by agricultural and commercial activity.

Brazil, as a Portuguese colony, became the new India for the Iberian country.

What at the time of its discovery was merely a coastline with no evident signs of wealth proved to be much more than that.

Products such as wood, slaves, and sugar were the first to demonstrate the great economic potential of the territory, attracting the interest of European powers.

This work aims to publicize and deepen topics little explored during the degree, within the context of the Portuguese maritime empire.

The choice of the topic was motivated by the significant importance that the Bahia captaincy had during the Portuguese overseas empire.

If there is one region to be highlighted during the Age of Discoveries, Bahia is certainly one of them, and this work will seek to clarify why.

The temporal approach between 1500 and 1697 was chosen for the study: 1500 for being the date attributed to the discovery of Brazil, and 1697 for marking the discovery of gold. I chose 1697 not because I worked until that date but because the introduction of gold represented a significant change in the economy and politics of Bahia, making it less relevant for this study.

In this work, general traits of various factors that marked the history of the Bahia region during the period in question will be explored. The goal is to use, whenever possible, period sources, either for direct analysis or for deepening already conducted research.

Captaincy of the Bahia de Todos os Santos: Foundations, Conflicts, and Transformations (1500-1697)

Discover the history of the Captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos between 1500 and 1697, from its foundation, indigenous conflicts, and foreign invasions to its consolidation as one of the main economic and administrative centers of colonial Brazil.

  1. Geography
  2. Settlement
  3. Economy and Food
  4. Brazilwood
  5. Slaves
  6. Sugar
  7. Fishing and Hunting
  8. Invaders – French and Dutch
  9. Politics and Social Organization
  10. Church
  11. Conclusion

1. Geography

Bahia, Recife, Rio, São Vicente, among other ports, are favored by reefs and coastal barriers, which provide them with distinct protection.

Recens Elaborata Mappa Geographica Regni Brasiliae in America Meridionali, Maxime Celebris Accuratae Delineata, Seutter, Matthias - 1730
Recens Elaborata Mappa Geographica Regni Brasiliae in America Meridionali, Maxime Celebris Accuratae Delineata, Seutter, Matthias – 1730

Bahia is a privileged center of maritime life, located between two coasts with distinct characteristics. The city is built on a mountain isolated in the region.

The port is an extremity of the city, protected by reefs, with a bay that serves as an excellent communication route between various lands, functioning like a true Mediterranean Sea due to the ease of communication it offers.

The Captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos, when granted to the donatário Francisco Pereira Coutinho in 1534, had fifty leagues of coast, from the right bank of the São Francisco River to the current Cabo de Santo António.

The capital of Bahia, the city of Salvador, was built near the old Vila do Pereira. With the implementation of a governor-general, Salvador became the administrative center when Tomé de Souza arrived.

2. Settlement

Bahia was one of the first points discovered by the Portuguese in Brazil. Baía de Todos-os-Santos was discovered on November 1, 1501.

It was in this bay that the first European settlers established themselves, including Diogo Álvares and his companions who shipwrecked (the first confirmed occurrence).

The division of Brazilian territory into captaincies, adopted by King João III of Portugal, aimed at the settlement and colonization of this new territory. However, this goal was not initially achieved.

At first, we see settlement nuclei scattered along the Brazilian coast, with some developing (few) and others stagnating or disappearing due to various factors.

In its early days, Bahia was also merely a collection of settlement nuclei—the captaincy in theory and in Portugal’s image, but where the donatary captains failed in settlement and development, leaving Bahia and other areas under native control until 1549.

Accuratissima Brasiliae Tabula, 1633
Accuratissima Brasiliae Tabula, 1633

See the Foundation and History of Salvador de Bahia

At the moment Tomé de Souza arrived, the first governor-general of Brazil and founder of the city of Salvador, the population began to spread, most likely due to the security that the presence of the governor-general provided. Now there was a representative of the king in this colony.

The demands of the population and the donataries were quickly addressed, with a different type of response. This created conditions for Bahia to develop, with the population nucleus becoming structured, growing, and solidifying.

The main obstacle to Portuguese settlement in Brazil was the constant resistance from the indigenous people.

The search for resources was one of the goals of the settlement. We previously saw that Bahia had abundant brazilwood and that it was of high quality, but it was something that was not in high demand. The colonists were also interested in discovering other riches, such as metals and precious stones, although this played a secondary role in Bahia.

These searches mobilized large human contingents, which increased the population in the area and allowed the development of communication networks between Bahia and other regions.

Both Bahia and Brazil as a whole took time to develop, but when economic interest in these new lands began to grow, the Portuguese saw significant growth, and competition with other European powers also played a favorable role.

The growth of cities is one of the points where we can see this development, as well as the increase in population.

Let’s now look at more specific demographic issues.

Povoamento da Cidade de Salvador de 1549 a 1640

Settlement of the City of Salvador from 1549 to 1640

According to Padre Nóbrega, in 1549, Francisco Coutinho‘s population had forty to fifty white residents.

As previously mentioned, the settlement of Bahia was not easy; indeed, no land in Brazil was entirely straightforward. The main issue was the tensions with the natives.

For example, the Tupinambá came into significant conflict with the Portuguese when Francisco Pereira Coutinho implemented sugarcane production in Bahia.

On July 28, 1541, Coutinho granted two sesmarias (one in the esteiro do Pirajá to the nobleman João de Velosa and another in Paripe to Afonso de Torres, a Castilian noble).

In cooperation with Francisco Coutinho, they established sugar mills at these two locations.

The enslavement of natives around sugar cultivation was not the only reason for conflicts between the Portuguese and the indigenous peoples.

As Padre Simão de Vasconcelos noted, “peace with the indigenous people of Bahia only lasted as long as their patience did, because there was no vile trade, barbarity, violence, extortion, or immorality that the Portuguese did not practice against those they called savages, but whom they surpassed in savagery.”

The Jesuit Padre Manuel da Nóbrega also reported upon his arrival in Bahia in 1549 that there was no place where Christians had not caused wars and conflicts, asserting that all the initial tensions in Bahia had been caused by them.

Video about Jesuit Father Manuel da Nóbrega

Jesuíta Padre Manuel da Nóbrega

Portuguese occupation in the Baiano-Sergipana region only began to move inland and extend beyond the coast with its relief in the mid-17th century.

The primary reason for this inland advance was the need to find new lands for cattle production, for products necessary for sugar mills, and for food to support the growing population.

These were the main reasons for occupying the hinterlands of Bahia, as well as for the excess of Bahian cattle ranchers moving to other regions like Ceará, Piauí, and Maranhão.

Another reason for the population expansion was the donation of lands to pioneers (a measure to combat the rebellious natives who, around 1669, almost reached sugar mills like those in Jequiriçá and Jaguaripe).

In 1532, Martim Afonso de Sousa informed the king of the risks that the French might pose to the Portuguese colony, which was also one of the reasons for wanting to settle Brazil more systematically.

Organizationally, starting from 1680, several parishes, villages, and settlements emerged, such as the Parish of Santo António de Jacobina, the Parish of Maragogipe, and other settlements that would later become parishes in the following century.

During the 17th century, Bahia shared its importance in Brazil with Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro, being like three capitals of the State of Brazil.

This was mainly due to the fact that they were among the oldest colonial territories in Portuguese America, but also because they were the cities with the greatest economic, political, and cultural development.

In comparison, the other captaincies played a secondary, ancillary role at that time.

When discussing the settlement of Bahia, the city of Salvador cannot be overlooked. The choice of location for the construction of this city was based on a defensive perspective.

As we will see later, the city was divided into Cidade Baixa and Cidade Alta.

In the Cidade Baixa, there was only one street, where the warehouses related to the port and the ermida of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia were located.

In the Cidade Alta, the administrative part was situated. This area housed the Palácio dos Governadores, the Senate of the Chamber, the chapels of Ajuda and , the Hospital da Misericórdia, the Tribunal da Relação, the Jesuit College and Church, and the first residences (in August 1549, there were about 100 houses and by 1587, the estimate was 800 neighbors).

The original nucleus in the Cidade Alta extended from Porta de São Bento to Praça da Cidade. Later, this nucleus expanded.

To the north, it extended towards the Portas do Carmo and then to the Convento do Carmo (1586).

To the south, it moved towards the Mosteiro de São Bento (1584) and to the east, the first occupation was with the construction of the Capela do Desterro (1567).

In terms of defense, a crucial aspect of the city’s construction, the fortifications proved fundamental. Initially, Cidade Baixa was defended by two bastions, while Cidade Alta was protected by a fence and a mud wall (1551) along with four bastions.

Later, two forts were built to protect the city from the bay: one at the Barra (Santo António, 1583-1587) and another at Itapagipe (Montserrat, 1585-1587).

When the Dutch entered, they reinforced the two gates and constructed the first dike in the present-day Baixa dos Sapateiros.

After the Dutch departure, two small forts were built at the Barra, at the site of the Dutch landing (Fortes de Santa Maria and São Diogo) and two more forts to the north, one at Santo António and another in Cidade Alta and São Bartolomeu, at Itapagipe.

Urbs Salvador, Montanus, Arnoldus - 1671
Salvador da Bahia – Urbs Salvador, Montanus, Arnoldus – 1671

A major issue during this period was the accommodation of the 2,000 soldiers defending the city.

However, as can be easily understood, despite the numerous defensive constructions, they were unable to neutralize the Dutch offensive, and the city suffered from bombings, looting, and the destruction of residences. The same happened during the city’s recovery by Spanish troops in conjunction with others.

3. Economy and Food

The initial economic development of the Portuguese colony was very challenging, as was the expansion of settlers into these new lands.

In the beginning, the Portuguese faced a lack of resources; the human resources they had were also very limited, with few inhabitants and settlers. But worse than that were the significant and continuous hostilities from the indigenous peoples, notably the Tupiniquins, the Aimorés, and especially the Tupinambás, as will be discussed further.

When the first captain donataries arrived, the initial cultivations and plantations began, most likely starting with the production of cassava (according to Nóbrega, upon arrival in Bahia, this root was the common staple derived from the land, transformed into flour similar to American corn). This period also saw the first attempts at sugarcane production.

By 1538, a sugar mill was already operating in Bahia, funded by investors from Lisbon. However, this did not survive until the arrival of Tomé de Sousa, as we will see.

It was with the change in policy (the implementation of a General Government headquartered in Bahia) that economic activities expanded.

From this point, timber extraction developed, leading to advancements in shipbuilding, the production of lime, the regulation and increase of the whale fishing industry, particularly for whale oil, the cultivation of cotton, tobacco, and ginger, the establishment of cattle ranching, the expansion of cattle pens, and the growth of the sugar industry.

The following are brief notes on the main resources exploited in the Captaincy of Bahia.

4. Brazilwood

The first major economic resource of Brazil, or, if we prefer, the first product to be explored with significant economic impact, was undoubtedly wood, specifically the pau-brasil.

Pau-brasil is a wood that provides a dyeing substance.

At the time Brazil was discovered, the textile industry was in full development, and since artificial dyes were not yet known, pau-brasil was a highly valued and sought-after raw material.

It was found along the Brazilian coast, in the forested area stretching from the coast to the region of Cabo Frio, with relative abundance.

Afterward, this extraction declined and continued to deteriorate over the next 200 years, until advancements in chemistry allowed for the creation of synthetic dyes, leading to a loss of interest in pau-brasil.

The cycle of pau-brasil exploitation was a rudimentary process, consisting of simple collection—a typical extractive industry.

By the mid-16th century, Brazil was nothing more than a land of colored wood for Europe, a wood used for making precious furniture and other purposes.

The profitability of this business led to the emergence of wood traders during this century.

The Portuguese Crown reserved the monopoly on pau-brasil exploitation for itself.

In 1501, we see the first monopoly contract signed for three years with Fernando de Noronha. This briefly explains the economic importance of the wood in Brazil.

Regarding Bahia, we know that there was an abundance of pau-brasil, a quality wood, as noted by the Governor-General of Brazil, Diogo Botelho, in 1606.

The port of Bahia was one of the major ports for shipping cut wood.

This wood was typically unloaded in Lisbon, unless unusual conditions such as storms or encounters with privateers required a detour to another port like Porto, Viana, Peniche, or elsewhere.

Generally, it reached Lisbon and was stored in the Casa da Índia.

Cristovam Pires was one of many commanders, in this case, commander of the ship Bretôa, who in 1511 came from the Tagus River to collect 5,000 logs of pau-brasil and various exotic animals in the Bay of All Saints and Cabo Frio.

Several letters and records allow us to trace typical prices for wood departing from Brazilian ports, values that might have been close to those practiced at the port of Bahia.

In 1591, the price per quintal was around 900 to 1000 réis, while in 1666, it was about 610 réis. Of course, this was not a constant decline; there were some increases during this period, such as in 1625 when prices were around 1050 réis, possibly influenced by the Dutch problem in Bahia.

Regarding transportation prices, we know that at least between 1602 and 1624, the cost per quintal was around 300 réis (as a tax).

The Dutch harmed the Portuguese trade of Brazilian wood, especially around 1625, largely due to the effectiveness of the Dutch West India Company and direct supply from Amsterdam to Brazilian territories, notably Pernambuco.

We must consider that the Brazilian wood market was subject to significant smuggling, with the French even causing serious problems. As a countermeasure to this irregular trade, Abreu de Brito proposed in 1591 the creation of the office of Guarda-Mor and the construction of five forts, one of them in Bahia.

Smuggling was so prevalent that it was not difficult to conceal the arrival of wood in unauthorized ports, or rather, ports where the goods should not directly go.

A case was reported in the Netherlands in June 1657 by a certain Hieronymo Nunes da Costa, a resident of Amsterdam, who reported the arrival of a shipment of pau-brasil from Paraíba.

The governor of Bahia was tasked with addressing this issue. The problem of this trafficking was quite challenging to resolve, especially when certain Portuguese were complicit in these acts. However, when these illegal activities were caught, the wood and even the ships could be confiscated, and the accomplices faced punitive measures.

If wood from Pernambuco already arrived directly in Amsterdam, bypassing Lisbon, the wood from other captaincies like Bahia, which passed through Lisbon before going to the Netherlands, was sold cheaper due to competition. Although this competition was unfair as it was unauthorized by Portugal, it still impacted prices and, consequently, the national crown’s profits.

5. Slaves

When the Portuguese arrived in Brazil, it became clear that the Indians would be enslaved; those beings with their nakedness exposed seemed to serve no other purpose. However, it was not their capacity that was in question, but rather the need that the Portuguese had.

Human labor was necessary to exploit Brazil, and the Indian was a resource that was available, and this is the issue we must base our understanding on.

Videos about Slavery in Colonial Brazil

Later, the Portuguese came to the conclusion that it was a weak resource, largely due to the sugar exploitation. Frequent deaths and lack of profitability led to the search for a stronger human resource, and thus began the importation of slaves from various regions of Africa, a large portion of whom landed in the Bahia captaincy.

Effectively, the Africans from Africa became the main labor force in the Portuguese economy in Brazil, and the dependency was so great that when the Dutch entered Brazil and Angola, there was a period known as the Negro Famine (1625-1650).

Bahia was taken in 1625 and was one of the main ports of entry for black slaves. Pernambuco was also important and was captured in 1630. Not stopping there, in 1640 the Dutch took the Angolan coast, from which a large number of slaves came.

These three points were crucial in affecting the slave trade, to the extent that in 1644 the Overseas Council received a request from a certain Sebastião Araújo, who wanted to go to Guinea to trade certain goods for slaves to bring to Bahia, since the situation in Angola was complicated.

Interestingly, while the slave trade faced problems and the Dutch tried to monopolize this business, the sugar cane culture was developing, particularly in Rio and Bahia. Therefore, within the economic spectrum, not everything was problematic.

In Bahia, there was a very large mix of blacks; they were no longer pure Peuls or other races, nor was it a specific and immutable community. They were more of a conglomeration of mestizos, many having come from Senegambia, Guinea, and other African coasts.

There was an intention not to gather a single group of African peoples in one place, as there was a fear that it might trigger certain nationalisms, with a native group together potentially provoking revolts and other problems.

This issue was only extensively addressed in the 18th century, but already in 1647, a letter from Henrique Dias to the Dutch reveals the virtues and problems of certain African groups, leading to the conclusion that the best approach was the fragmentation of the various communities across different captaincies.

Between 1580-1590, about 3,000 to 4,500 slaves arrived in Bahia, though these numbers are quite dispersed in sources.

This was largely due to the Dutch. Between 1630-1636, few slaves entered Pernambuco, and they began to migrate to Bahia to escape the Dutch.

However, while this migration occurred during this period, it is worth noting that between 1600-1630, more slaves were entering Pernambuco than Bahia due to the higher number of mills in that captaincy.

In the 16th century, approximately 20,000 slaves arrived in Bahia (estimate).

During this time, the Church itself made a distinction between the Indian and the black, justifying that the black should be the slave, thus defending the Indian.

The Church and the religious orders always played an important role in the native communities.

6. Sugar

Sugar became the great wealth of Brazil in the 17th century. It provided the Portuguese Empire with a new source of wealth, somewhat overshadowing the riches previously coming from India.

With the implementation of this new economic structure, focused on sugar, considering its production and needs such as slave labor and the use of the best lands in the northeast led to social inequalities, wealth accumulation by certain individuals, and the Dutch invasion (1624-1625) due to their interest in controlling this business.

Brazil, specifically the north like the Recôncavo da Bahia, had favorable conditions for sugarcane plantations. It had fertile soils, some clayey, others consisting of massapé (black earth), rich in humus (decomposing organic material).

Bahia thus became, along with Pernambuco, one of the most important sugar-producing centers of the Portuguese Empire.

As previously noted, the quality of the soils, the climate (hot and humid), the abundance of forest resources, and the favorable condition of the port and the speed of communication with the metropolis were essential conditions for the elevation of the captaincy’s status.

Lands for sugarcane production and more were distributed under the sesmarias system, with priority given to granting lands near rivers and to those capable of installing water mills.

By installing mills near watercourses, transportation (via boats) was facilitated, and the water itself was used as a power source for the mill.

When this was not possible and mills were far from any watercourse, animal and human power had to be used.

Brazil became the main sugar producer for Portugal, to the point where it was nearly impossible to compete with it. Since the mid-16th century, signs of growth in production were already evident.

To give an idea, in the 1580s, a quintal of white sugar in Brazil cost about 800 réis, while in Funchal, it cost 1,800 réis.

Regarding mills in Bahia, initially, Francisco Pereira Coutinho (donor) tried to build two, which was not possible due to the natives forcing their abandonment.

Specifically, the Tupinambá united and, with about 6,000 men, burned the mills and killed many Portuguese. This war lasted about 5 to 6 years (starting around 1541). There were periods of severe famine, diseases, and other misfortunes.

In 1587, Gabriel Soares de Sousa reported 36 mills in Bahia (21 water-powered, 15 animal-powered, and 4 under construction).

Around 1610, though lacking solid evidence, the captaincy is estimated to have 50 mills. By 1628, Brazil had approximately 235 mills, excluding Maranhão.

Organizing information about the mills in Brazil, we can place the Bahia captaincy centrally, which in 1570 had 1 mill, increasing progressively to 146 mills by 1710 (across the entire central region).

The central region was not the most profitable; that distinction belonged to the south, specifically Pernambuco, not Bahia. In Bahia, the number of mills evolved from 18 to 84 between 1570 and 1629.

The increase in mills was limited, largely due to conflicts with the Indians, who killed whites and Europeans and destroyed the mills. These internal problems were a constant throughout Brazil.

Heavy rains, droughts, and animals were factors that hindered the development of sugarcane plantations.

In 1665, Lopo Gago da Câmara requested the Overseas Council to create regulations to prevent the circulation of livestock around his mill to prevent the shoots and other parts from being eaten.

Sugarcane exploitation, among other things, was subject to taxes (certain tithes). To make matters worse, the Bahia captaincy had to pay war reparations to Holland for 16 years. It was not the only one with such financial difficulties, but this is relevant to our study.

It appears that the first sugar mills began to be established in Bahia during the governorship of Tomé de Sousa, but it was only years later, possibly during the governorship of Mem de Sá, that production reached a level sufficient for commercial exploitation and export in significant quantities.

History of sugar cane in the colonisation of Brazil

7. Fishing and Hunting

According to period letters, some of them written to the king by those in the captaincy (e.g., the Jesuit priest Nóbrega), it is noted that there was a lot of fish, many shellfish, and a wide variety of food that served the local inhabitants.

There was also plenty of game in the forests and birds such as geese that were already being raised by the indigenous people.

The port of Bahia had strict regulations concerning the sale of fish, requiring that large fish be sold by weight.

Weights varied depending on quality.

Bahia established a set price for salted fish.

In the years following the arrival of Tomé de Sousa in Bahia, the exploitation of oysters for the production of lime began.

By the end of the 16th century, a large amount of oysters was being harvested from Oyster Island, which, according to Gabriel Soares de Sousa, allowed the production of over 10,000 moios of lime.

Gabriel Sousa also notes: “And there are so many oysters in Bahia and other parts that large boats are loaded with them to make lime from the shells, which is used extensively and very well for construction, and is very white; and there are mills where more than three thousand moios of lime from these oysters were used in the works.”

At the turn of the 17th century, freshwater fishing saw significant development. Friar Vicente mentions: “From there upwards is freshwater, where there are such large fisheries that in four days they load as many fish as the caravel ships can carry.”

This specifically refers to fishing in the São Francisco River. For Gabriel Soares de Sousa, the whale deserved great attention; he had already anticipated that this industry would succeed by the late 16th century, and this proved correct with the regular establishment of this fishery and the large number of whales entering Bahia.

With the Governor-General Diogo Botelho (1602-1608), appointed by King D. Filipe III, Pedro Urecha brought boats and skilled workers from Basque Country (Spanish region) specialized in whale hunting and processing (especially oil extraction) to develop this industry.

This development allowed for the export of whale oil to various regions of Brazil, addressing the shortage of this resource and enabling greater sugar production, as some mills could operate at night with proper lighting.

8. Invaders – French and Dutch

8.1. French Invaders

The French viewed Brazil favorably, aiming to establish a commercial stronghold from which they could extract as much wealth as the Portuguese.

In 1591, Francisco Soares wrote that in 1504 the French arrived in Bahia, and the Portuguese rejected their entry, even detaining three naus.

In fact, many of the privateers operating in Brazilian waters were French, as noted by the Jesuit in Bahia, Leonardo do Vale, on June 26, 1562: “the news from all over the land is that it is heavily frequented by French.”

On the other hand, the author Eduardo Bueno mentions that the Tupinambá had more respect for the French than for the Portuguese.

For them, the French came to Bahia merely to harvest brazilwood in exchange for other goods; there were no major conflicts either upon arrival or departure.

In contrast, the Portuguese arrived to stay on their land and were willing to enslave the natives for their own benefit.

History of Pernambuco and Recife marked by conflicts

See the History of Salvador’s Forts and Lighthouses

8.2. Dutch Invaders

The Dutch caused significant destruction and were notably troublesome invaders.

Contemporary accounts liken their actions to those of the French when they were invaded by the Vikings during the Middle Ages.

Frei Vicente do Salvador (1564-1635) reported that the Dutch, in the Bahia region (Rio Vermelho), burned everything in their path, stole, forced residents to flee into the woods, threatened them, and committed other atrocities.

It is evident that the Dutch inflicted as much, if not more, damage than the French in Brazil.

In response to the Dutch conquest of Bahia in 1625, a Luso-Hispanic armada entered the captaincy, managing to drive the Dutch from the Fort of São Filipe de Tapuype.

To understand why the Dutch were interested in Brazilian lands, we need to consider the context of the time. The Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621) had ended, and disputes between the Spanish and Flemings had resumed.

In this context, the Dutch had no further restrictions. Additionally, the Dutch were interested in Portuguese salt and sugar, which were crucial commodities.

Given this scenario, the Dutch saw occupation of Brazil as a solution to their dependencies. There was no need to buy or negotiate with the Portuguese when they could obtain these resources directly from the source.

This led to the interest of the West India Company, a Dutch private entity with significant rights.

Bahia was the strategic location for the company to establish its influence in South America.

On May 9, 1624, a fleet of 23 naus and 3 yachts, prepared for conquest, arrived in Bahia. This fleet was commanded by Jacob Willekens and Pieter Heyn, and the 1,700 men who disembarked were led by Johann van Dorth (governor of the occupied lands).

At that time, Bahia was governed by D. Diogo de Mendonça Furtado.

Bahia lacked sufficient resources to withstand an invasion, and the governor was eventually captured by the Dutch.

Thus, power was handed over to the Flemings, making them the political center of Portuguese America.

By the advice of Bishop D. Marcos Teixeira or by their own initiative, many inhabitants fled to other locations, notably to the village of Espírito Santo.

Only in March and April of the following year did a Luso-Hispanic armada arrive to confront the Dutch. This force included troops from Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro, as well as guerrilla fighters from the local population (“On March 29, the eve of Easter Resurrection, our Armada was launched at five in the afternoon into the Bay of the City”).

This collaboration was crucial for the Dutch surrender.

Further details reveal that after the establishment of the West India Company, a document was drafted outlining the step-by-step plan for the conquest of Bahia. This document is known as: “Reasons Why the West India Company Should Attempt to Seize from the King of Portugal the Land of Brazil and Everything That Brazil Might Translate.”

The Dutch aimed to attack three points of the Portuguese Empire: Bahia/Salvador, Pernambuco, and Angola, which would allow them to control the slave market.

The first point to be targeted was São Salvador, as this city was equipped with a bay with very favorable conditions. It was an excellent point for controlling sugar production and for communication with the slave market from Angola.

As noted earlier in this work, the Governor of the city was Diogo Mendonça Furtado (who had held this position for three years).

He was warned of the arrival of the Dutch fleet and, as such, ordered the reinforcement of the city’s walls and the construction of a fort on an islet in front of Salvador, where six cannons were mounted.

Curiously, when Van Dorth ordered the landing on May 10, he encountered no resistance. On the same day, Pedro Heyn took the recently built fort and several ships moored in the bay.

The first clash with the locals was due to the effectiveness of the Bishop of Salvador in mobilizing the population against the Dutch. At this time, Matias de Albuquerque, Governor of Pernambuco and Governor-General of Brazil, sent a caravel with letters from the Bishop to Spain informing of the Dutch capture of the city.

The news reached in June 1624, leading D. Filipe III of Portugal to order the operation to recover the city and the necessary fleet to be prepared in the ports of Lisbon and Cádiz.

Referring again to Tamayo de Vargas, we can see that both Spaniards and Portuguese were in tune regarding the offensive that needed to be carried out against the Dutch.

“Not only did Portugal show its usual loyalty and valor in promoting the necessary measures to remedy the suffering of the people of Brazil, who were oppressed by the perfidy of the Dutch, but also showed its noble spirit by demonstrating its wishes and efforts, with everyone coming forth in this opportune moment to exemplify nobility that would serve as an example for the people to follow.

Because, apart from a company of about 50 soldiers aboard the ship Nossa Senhora do Rosário Maior, which was sent by the royal treasury, everything else was due to voluntary provision, with the loyalty of Portugal serving its King, from the clergy […] and other individuals […] the businesspeople of the Kingdom, the Italians, Germans, and Flemings who traded with them […].

In addition to provisions for the army, ammunition, and navigation equipment, land fortifications and protections against the enemy, and twenty thousand cruzados for any necessary purpose at any moment, all offered in such good order that, despite these things sometimes being mere material for stories, in these reports they were proper to the Kingdom of Portugal and an example to all.

To such heroic use of the Crown’s wealth corresponded its illustrious blood.

For all this, the Council of Portugal, zealous for the service of its King, advises that in its liberal hands were already secure the rewards for the services of all those who participated in this expedition, as well as for the successors or for those who contributed to increasing their forces […].

Preparation proceeded for the fleet commanded by D. Manuel de Menezes, its General Captain and chronicler of Portugal, consisting of 18 ships and 4 caravels, with everything necessary for the journey and combat. […]

And many other nobles exchanged, for their love of the homeland, the comforts of leisure for the dangerous restlessness of the sea, considering it to be service to God and their King.

With such brilliance, the Armada left the port of Lisbon on November 19, 1624 with specific orders from His Majesty to unite the forces with greater promptness as soon as they left, as happened, before the Castilian Armada.”

These fleets eventually joined on February 4, 1625 in Cape Verde.

We can find these descriptions and others that glorify the image the Spaniards had at the time of the Portuguese in the work of D. Thomas Tamaio de Vargas, Restauracion de la Ciudad Del Salvador, i Baía de Todos-Sanctos, en la Provincia del Brasi.

This work, dedicated to His Majesty D. Filipe IV, King of Spain and the Indies & c., is indeed very interesting to see; there is a great positive portrayal of the Portuguese people and its analysis is fundamental to understanding these issues of the reconquest of Bahia.

Fradique de Toledo y Osório, Marquês de Villanueva de Valdueza, Captain of the Armada of the Mar Oceano and the military of the Kingdom of Portugal, was the General Captain of sea and land designated to take the city (responsible for the amphibious force).

The general master (chief of the landing forces) was D. Pedro Rodriguez de Santiesteban, Marquês de Coprani.

There were six fleets involved in this recovery. We have the Portuguese Armada (22 ships commanded by D. Manuel de Meneses), as already mentioned, we also have the Mar Oceano Armada (11 ships, including galleons and urcas, commanded by D. Fradique de Toledo), followed by the Guarda do Estreito Armada (4 galleons commanded by D. João de Fajardo), then the Esquadra das Quatro Cidades (6 galleons commanded by D. Francisco de Acevedo), and finally the Esquadra de Biscaia and the Armada of Naples, the former composed of 4 galleons and commanded by General Martin de Vallecilla and the latter composed of 2 galleons and 2 patachos according to the guidance of D. Francisco de Ribera and also composed by the Vice-Roi-Duque de Osuna.

The plan for the recovery of the city was simple and direct: “Unite the Spanish Fleets and Armadas with the Portuguese one, embark in Salvador da Bahia, recover that place and expel the Dutch definitively from Brazil.”

It apparently was on April 1, 1625 that the landing occurred, the attack order was given, and the siege artillery was put into action.

Days after the siege was set up (April 30), the capitulation was signed, thus the city saw the departure of 1,912 Dutch, English, Germans, French, and Walloons.

Much had already been taken from the Dutch during the siege, but with the effective victory over them, 18 flags, 260 pieces of artillery, 500 quintals of gunpowder, 600 black slaves, 7,200 marks of silver, and other goods worth around 300,000 ducats were handed over.

Six ships were also detained, and control of the captaincy was regained.

The Dutch, although they had lost this battle for the city, may have thought that the war was not yet lost.

When D. Fradique was planning his return to Spain, he learned that a Dutch fleet was on its way to contest the Iberian capture.

On May 22, 34 sails appeared at the entrance of the Bay of Todos-os-Santos.

In fact, the Dutch attempted several times to penetrate Bahia but with little success. The lack of effectiveness was also due to the Iberian fleet under the command of D. Fradique, which failed to neutralize the offensives, allowing the Dutch to go to Pernambuco.

Another response could possibly have prevented this occurrence.

The Dutch invasion of Salvador in 1624

9. Politics and Social Organization

Bahia, specifically Salvador, was the first capital of Brazil while it was a Portuguese colony. It enjoyed privileges due to this status, similar to those in Lisbon and Porto.

Map of Brazil 1707 - Brasiliaanze Scheepvaard, door Johan Lerius Gedaan uit Vrankryk, in't Iaar 1556, Aa, Pieter van der
Map of Brazil 1707 – Brasiliaanze Scheepvaard, door Johan Lerius Gedaan uit Vrankryk, in’t Iaar 1556, Aa, Pieter van der

São Salvador was a city within the Captaincy of Bahia, founded by Tomé de Sousa when he arrived on March 29, 1549, with the title of first Governor-General of Brazil (appointed by D. João III of Portugal).

The governor arrived on the mentioned date with around 1,000 men, and one of his purposes was to establish a political-administrative center, a hub that could serve as the capital of the vast Portuguese colony.

Alongside Tomé de Sousa, came the architect Luís Dias, responsible for designing the city, which, along with the rest of the Captaincy of Bahia, had previously belonged to the donatory captain Francisco Pereira Coutinho (a hereditary captaincy) before becoming a royal captaincy.

This new city was structurally inspired by the layout of Angra do Heroísmo (Azores). There was an interest in following the architectural and structural principles of important cities that the Portuguese were creating along the coastlines.

Thus, it was necessary for this new city to have a good port (which already had natural conditions for it), hills that favored the defense of the city, potable water sources, and lands suitable for cultivation, among other resources.

Salvador was the first city of significant political-administrative importance in Brazil. Due to this importance, it evolved from its creation into an authentic fortress city, which only fell during the Dutch invasion.

At the forefront of the city’s formation was the construction of a main square where the governor’s residence, the senate, the pillory, and even the prison would be located.

The growth of the city’s walls, largely due to the progressive increase in monastic-conventual houses from the orders that settled in Bahia and the establishment of various population centers, created a division in the city (a division into two parts, one referred to as the Lower City and the other as the Upper City).

In the Lower City, mercantile and port activities were predominantly represented, while the Upper City was characterized by administration, political, judicial, religious, and financial powers.

This urban morphology of the city of Salvador changed with the Dutch occupation in 1624.

When Mem de Sá assumed the general government in 1558, he already faced a Bahia larger than the old fortress.

In 1600, he informed the king that “the city is growing significantly.”

In the development of the captaincy, the indigenous people were incorporated as slaves, service providers, or captives of the Europeans. On a higher level were the Portuguese who came to Brazil, including factors, mechanics, and sugar masters with significant prominence due to their great profits. Among rural landowners, farmers and small cattle ranchers occupied a somewhat less advantageous position compared to the wealthy sugar planters.

Standing out from all were the sugar mill owners (wealthy landowners with their own plantations).

Salvador was the first city to be created in all of Portuguese America.

From the beginning, it had well-established communication routes. Until much later, most houses were of the primitive type, simple dwelling places covered with palm leaves, similar to the first houses built in Brazil.

Between 1549 and 1551, a Santa Casa da Misericórdia was established in Salvador with the primary goal of caring for and treating the poor and sailors.

According to Gabriel Soares, this institution did not have large workshops or infirmaries; it was poor, possibly due to a lack of contributions from the crown or private individuals, relying primarily on charity from local inhabitants.

In 1556, a college was also established in Bahia by the Jesuits, offering three courses: elementary letters, arts, and theology for clergy and higher students.

As a result of demographic expansion into the hinterlands, the development of agriculture and livestock, new social typologies began to emerge, including terms such as Vaqueiro (cowherd) and Fazendeiro (landowner).

A clearer distinction began to emerge between the privileged (mostly sugar mill owners) and the resource-less free men and captives, notably slaves.

Looking further into the administration, we see the representation of mechanics in the city council sessions and the creation of positions for procuradores dos mesteres (master’s procurators), which also allowed the election of a people’s judge. The implementation of slavery (royal decree of May 28, 1644) was an example of this.

The creation of these positions led to an increase in number, and these judges acquired powers previously held by the councilors.

The emergence of representatives of the mechanics in the administration altered the public’s perception of power, creating greater popular resistance to the central power. These political changes and the rise of mechanics elected by class to the City Council of Bahia were part of the people’s claims that, particularly in the 19th century, led to nationalist reactions and pressure for Brazil’s independence.

Regarding courts, the first was established in Bahia in 1603 by King D. Filipe II of Portugal, under the title of “Relação do Brasil”.

In 1626, by the will of D. Filipe III of Portugal and with the creation of the “Relação do Rio de Janeiro”, the Bahia court was renamed the “Tribunal da Relação da Bahia”, overseeing the Captaincy of Bahia as well as those of Sergipe, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Ceará, Maranhão, Pará, and Rio Negro.

Analyzing the political changes in Brazil, we can conclude that the implementation of the Hereditary Captaincies was a failure, which led the Portuguese crown to establish a Governor-General and create the city of Salvador by the Baía de Todos-os-Santos as a political center.

In the initial period, with the arrival of 1,000 inhabitants alongside Tomé de Sousa, the Portuguese crown aimed to create a new fortified city where these settlers—officials, clergy, military, builders, and others—could establish institutions to govern Brazil.

One of these institutions was the Governor-General, representing the crown in the colony and primarily responsible for its defense. Another significant institution was the first Tribunal da Relação, established in 1609 and abolished by the Spanish in 1625.

Captains and other notable political figures include Diogo Álvares Correia, better known to the indigenous people as Caramuru.

He was not a captain but was probably the first Portuguese lord in Brazil. According to the account of Juan de Mori, pilot of the Spanish ship Madre de Dios that wrecked around the Baía de Todos-os-Santos and who was assisted by Caramuru, and also according to a testimony from D. Rodrigo de Acuña (July 1, 1526), who was the first to mention Diogo Álvares‘ presence in Bahia, confirms that Caramuru had been in Brazil since the late 1509, when he wrecked on the reefs of Rio Vermelho on a possible French ship.

Although Caramuru traveled to France in 1528, he returned to Bahia to continue his involvement in trafficking and smuggling.

In practice, he proved to be a type of “commercial agent for French smugglers.” His time as lord of those lands, which were never legally his, effectively ended when Francisco Pereira Coutinho arrived in Bahia around November 1536 with seven ships and the title of legal owner of those lands.

However, on December 20, 1536, Francisco Pereira Coutinho granted a sesmaria to Caramuru.

Francisco Pereira Coutinho, son of Afonso Pereira, alcaide-mor of the Portuguese city of Santarém, was the first donatory captain of Bahia (April 5, 1534) and the second donatory to receive a lot in Brazil.

He arrived in Brazil, as mentioned earlier, in 1536. Upon arrival at his captaincy, he spent several days on the ship until a settlement capable of accommodating him and the rest of the crew was established.

It is believed that Francisco Pereira Coutinho was enthusiastic about these new lands, as seen in the letter he wrote to the king in 1536:
São Salvador was a city within the Captaincy of Bahia, founded by Tomé de Sousa when he arrived on March 29, 1549, with the status of the first Governor-General of Brazil (appointed by King João III of Portugal).

This governor arrived on the specified date with about 1,000 men, and one of his purposes was to establish a political-administrative center, a hub that could serve as the capital of the vast Portuguese colony.

Along with Tomé de Sousa, came the architect Luís Dias, tasked with designing this city which, together with the rest of the Captaincy of Bahia, previously belonged to the captain donatário Francisco Pereira Coutinho (hereditary captaincy) until it became a royal captaincy.

This new city drew structural inspiration from the configuration of Angra do Heroísmo (Azores). There was an interest in following the architectural and structural principles of important cities that the Portuguese were establishing along the coastlines.

Thus, the new city was expected to have a good port (already possessing natural conditions for this), hills that favored the city’s defense, sources of potable water, as well as land suitable for cultivation and other resources.

Salvador was the first city of significant political-administrative importance in Brazil. Due to this importance, it evolved into a true fortress-city from its creation, only succumbing during the Dutch invasion.

At the forefront of the city’s formation was the construction of a main square, where the governor’s residence, the Senate, the pelourinho, and even the prison would be located.

The expansion of the city’s walls, largely due to the progressive increase of monastic and conventual houses established by the orders in Bahia and the establishment of several population centers, created a kind of division in the city (with one part designated as Cidade Baixa and the other as Cidade Alta).

In Cidade Baixa were primarily mercantile and port activities, while Cidade Alta was marked by administration, political, judicial, religious, and financial powers.

This urban morphology of Salvador changed with the Dutch occupation in 1624.

When Mem de Sá assumed the governorship in 1558, he encountered a Bahia larger than the original fortress.

In 1600, he communicated to the king that “the city is growing considerably.”

In the development of the captaincy, the indigenous people were incorporated as slaves, service providers, or captives of the Europeans. At a higher level were the Portuguese who came to Brazil, including overseers, mechanical officers, and sugar masters, who were particularly significant due to the substantial profits derived from their work. Among rural property owners, farmers and small cattle breeders occupied a somewhat less prestigious position.

Standing out from everyone were the sugar mill owners (wealthy proprietors with their own estates).

Salvador was the first city to be created in all of Portuguese America.

From the beginning, it had well-established communication routes. Until very late, most houses were of the primitive type, simple dwellings covered with palm leaves, similar to the first houses built in Brazil.

Between 1549 and 1551, a Santa Casa da Misericórdia was established in Salvador with the main goal of healing and caring for the poor and sailors.

According to Gabriel Soares, this institution had few facilities and infirmaries, was poor, possibly due to the lack of contributions from the crown or individuals, with the only support being alms from local residents.

In 1556, a school was also established in Bahia by the Jesuits, which offered three courses: elementary letters, arts, and theology for clergy and higher education students.

As a consequence of demographic expansion into the hinterlands, agricultural and livestock development, new social typologies began to emerge, with terms like Vaqueiro and Fazendeiro appearing in Brazilian Portuguese.

A clearer distinction emerged between the privileged (mostly sugar mill owners) and the resource-poor free men and captives, notably slaves.

Further examining the administration, we see the representation of mechanical officers in the sessions of the City Council and the creation of positions for master’s prosecutors, which also allowed for the election of a people’s judge. The abolition of slavery (royal decree of May 28, 1644) was an example of this.

The creation of these positions increased in number, and these judges increasingly acquired powers that had previously belonged to the city councilors.

The emergence of mechanical officers’ representatives in the administration altered the people’s perception of power, creating greater popular resistance to central authority. These political changes and the rise of elected mechanical officers to the Bahia City Council were part of the people’s demands that would, in the future, particularly in the 19th century, lead to nationalist reactions and support for Brazil’s independence.

Regarding courts, the first was established in Bahia in 1603 by King Filipe II of Portugal, under the title of “Relação do Brasil.”

In 1626, by the will of King Filipe III of Portugal and with the creation of the “Relação do Rio de Janeiro,” the Bahian court became known as the “Tribunal da Relação da Bahia,” overseeing not only the Captaincy of Bahia but also Sergipe, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Ceará, Maranhão, Pará, and Rio Negro.

Analyzing the political changes in Brazil, we can conclude that the implementation of the Hereditary Captaincies was a failure, which led the Portuguese crown to establish a Governor-Generalship and the creation of Salvador by the Bay of All Saints as the political center.

In the initial period, with the arrival of 1,000 inhabitants alongside Tomé de Sousa, the Portuguese crown aimed to create a new fortified city where these settlers—officials, clergy, military, builders, and others—could establish institutions to govern Brazil.

One of these institutions was the Governor-Generalship, which represented the crown in the colony and was primarily responsible for its defense. Another significant institution was the first Tribunal da Relação, established in 1609 and abolished by the Spanish in 1625.

Captains and other notable political figures include Diogo Álvares Correia, better known among the indigenous people as Caramuru.

He was not a captain but was likely the first Portuguese lord in Brazil. According to Juan de Mori, pilot of the Spanish ship Madre de Dios, which was shipwrecked near the Bay of All Saints and helped by Caramuru, and also according to a report from D. Rodrigo de Acuña (July 1, 1526), who was the first to mention Diogo Álvares in Bahia, Caramuru was in Brazil since the end of 1509, when he was shipwrecked in the reefs of Rio Vermelho on a possible French ship.

Although Caramuru traveled to France in 1528, he returned to Bahia to continue his involvement in the trade and smuggling of pau-brasil.

In practice, he was a kind of “commercial agent for the French smugglers of pau-brasil.” His time as lord of those lands, which were never his, effectively ended when Francisco Pereira Coutinho arrived in Bahia around November 1536 with seven ships and the title of legal owner of those lands.

This did not prevent Francisco Pereira Coutinho from granting a sesmaria to Caramuru on December 20, 1536.

Francisco Pereira Coutinho, son of Afonso Pereira, mayor of the Portuguese city of Santarém, was the first captain donatário of Bahia (April 5, 1534) and the second donatário to receive a grant in Brazil.

He arrived in Brazil as previously mentioned, in 1536. Upon arriving at his captaincy, he spent days on the ship until a settlement capable of accommodating him and the rest of the crew was established.

It seems that Francisco Pereira Coutinho was enthusiastic about these new lands, as evidenced by the letter he wrote to the king in 1536:

“This is the best and cleanest land in the world… It is bathed by a river of fresh water as large as Lisbon, into which all the ships in the world can enter, and no better or safer port has ever been seen. The land is very peaceful, and a league from here, there is a village with 120 or 130 very gentle people who come to our houses offering food and, with their wives, children, and people, want to be Christians and say they will no longer eat human flesh and bring us provisions… The fish are so abundant that they are given for free, and they are fish of 8 palms… The coast has much coral… The land will produce everything you throw at it, the cotton is the best in the world, and the sugar will yield as much as you want.”

Bahia, like other captaincies, did not remain prosperous at all times.

Francisco failed to adapt to the demands, and there was considerable friction between him and Diogo Álvares. It was at the height of tensions between the Portuguese and the natives that Francisco Coutinho lost his position.

On December 20, 1546, Duarte Coelho, responsible for the Captaincy of Pernambuco, sent a letter to King João III detailing the problems occurring in Bahia. João Bezerra was a Portuguese cleric who greatly contributed to the movement against Francisco Coutinho.

A despicable cleric who received a reprimand from the king through Duarte Coelho and Father Manuel da Nóbrega. During this period of high tension, the French and Diogo Álvares continued their aggressive efforts in the pau-brasil trade. Francisco Coutinho ended up being captured along with other individuals by the Tupinambá, where they were killed, and the captain donatário himself was even eaten by the indigenous people.

As we have mentioned, Francisco Coutinho was the first to be appointed captain of the Captaincy of Bahia. At that time, when appointing governors for the captaincies, it was customary to appoint an old noble who had distinguished himself since the time of King D. Manuel.

Francisco Coutinho was an example of this; he was a “very honorable noble, with great fame and chivalry in India.” In fact, he served with Admiral Vasco da Gama, Vice-King D. Francisco de Almeida, and Afonso de Albuquerque.

As we have seen, Coutinho was not lacking in experience; he had a tumultuous life, but he was ineffective in maintaining the Captaincy of Bahia. Francisco Coutinho was one of the last captains to arrive, with about two years separating the donation letter from his effective arrival in the colony.

In the end, Tomé de Sousa, although he was not a donatário of the Captaincy of Bahia, nor a governor of the Chamber, nor a pioneer in the colonization of the territory, was responsible for the construction of the city of Salvador and thus deserves this highlight.

Tomé de Sousa, a member of noble lineage, served in Arzila between 1527 and 1532, went to India (1544), and in December 1548, at the request of D. João III, became the first Governor-General of Brazil with broad powers to govern the colony.

He brought with him a detailed regiment to administer the lands. He ordered the construction of the city of São Salvador on the Bay of All Saints.

By 1550, the city already had a municipal chamber where Tomé de Sousa’s title as Governor-General was registered.

This governor, unlike the captain-donatário Francisco Coutinho, knew how to relate to the Indians, established closer relationships with Diogo Álvares Correia, a Portuguese with great prestige among the Tupinambá (the largest indigenous nation on the coast and surrounding areas).

With Tomé de Sousa also came Father Manuel da Nóbrega and his Jesuit colleagues, who began a mass Christianization of South America.

Tomé de Sousa was a supporter of the Jesuits and a protector of the newly converted indigenous people. He returned to Portugal in 1533, receiving honors from D. João III, became the overseer of the king’s house and treasury, extending to the reign of D. Sebastião. He died in 1579.

10. Church

Before we discuss the Church itself and its foundation in Brazilian lands, we need to understand that several religious orders entered Brazil, either by royal initiative or by the initiative of the order itself.

With the arrival of Tomé de Sousa, the first Jesuits arrived, led by Manuel da Nóbrega, who established a chapel and a boys’ school. In 1582, the Benedictines settled, and in 1665, the Discalced Carmelites arrived.

Between 1514 and 1551, several churches and parishes were founded in various captaincies, each with its own vicars, curates, and chaplains.

In 1551, there was still no church in the city of Salvador that would later become a cathedral. On July 31, 1550, King João III petitioned the head of the Catholic Church for the creation of the first bishopric.

Here is a brief excerpt from the document:

“In the lands known as Brazil, there are many Christian settlements, and there are churches where divine services are held and sacraments are administered. There is hope that many of the infidel and barbaric people will convert to our holy Catholic faith, which has already begun. And because for good spiritual governance it is necessary that in those parts there be bishops to govern the clergy and people, and to teach and instruct them in our faith, I ask Your Holiness to create anew the cathedral church called Salvador, in the city also called Salvador…”

On February 25, 1551, Pope Julius III issued the Bula Super Specula Militantis Eclesiae, allowing the creation of the diocese of São Salvador da Bahia, the first in Brazil.

At this time, the Spanish Church in America was much more developed than the Portuguese Church.

In the overall panorama of America (including both Portuguese and Spanish territories), Salvador was the 23rd diocese and the 5th archbishopric of America in 1676.

Salvador was only the first city and the first diocese in the Brazilian context.

The bishopric created by the previously mentioned Bula was the bishopric of São Salvador da Bahia, not of Brazil.

The territories of the other captaincies did not belong to the Diocese of Bahia. On December 7, 1551, King João III, in presenting D. Pedro Fernandes Sardinha to Tomé de Sousa and others, confessed to having asked the Holy Father that, until other bishoprics were created, the Bishop of Salvador could have authority and jurisdiction over the remaining lands of Brazil.

The city of Salvador did not hold the title of diocese of Brazil but was effectively the central city. It was the capital of the Archdiocese of Brazil from 1676 until 1892, when the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro was created (the second in Brazil).

Several religious orders came to Brazil, some on their own initiative rather than at the request of the Portuguese king. The missionaries of the Society of Jesus were among the first and had a significant presence.

The first arrived with Tomé de Sousa, with Father Manuel da Nóbrega as the main figure or superior of this group. By 1570, they had established convents in the Bay of Todos-os-Santos, as well as in Ilhéus and Porto Seguro.

In 1552, Bishop D. Pêro Fernandes Sardinha arrived. Several settlements governed by the Jesuits in this captaincy, often in survival contexts, included villages like Espírito Santo (1556), Vera Cruz or Santa Cruz (1560), Nossa Senhora da Assunção de Macamamu, São Tomé do Paripe, and Porto do Tubarão.

11. Conclusion

This work, although not very detailed or selective regarding certain aspects due to the limited time available for its preparation, is sufficient to demonstrate the centrality and importance of Bahia to the Portuguese maritime empire and beyond.

Firstly, we conclude that the first permanent Portuguese presence in the region was not organized. Instead, we see a man known to the indigenous people as Caramuru and his crew who settled in the region after a shipwreck. This Portuguese was the first to establish sustainable relations with the Tupinambás and others.

These indigenous people and Caramuru himself were responsible for the governmental failure of the captain-donatory Francisco Pereira Coutinho and the constant destruction of sugar mills.

Secondly, we conclude that this area had one of the most favorable ports for navigation and communication with other locations. It maintained advantageous routes both to the metropolis and to other places such as Angola, from where enslaved Africans arrived, both during the Portuguese and Dutch periods, as well as through clandestine trade routes (we saw that resources like brazilwood reached Amsterdam without passing through Lisbon first).

Thirdly, we observe significant economic development compared to other captaincies in terms of sugar mills and the extraction of various species of brazilwood.

Bahia had a vast forest. Its proximity to the ocean and freshwater sources favored the region in fishing.

Fourthly, we have seen an administration with various changes.

After Francisco Coutinho’s failure, we see Tomé de Sousa with the title of Governor-General founding the city of Salvador and developing not only Brazil but specifically Bahia, largely under the guidance of his regiments. We see the Church taking shape, establishing its structures, and forming its primary centers in Bahia.

Lastly, we must highlight the French and Dutch invasions. French privateers early on sought to gain profits from the trafficking of Brazilian goods; however, it was the Dutch who caused the most damage. They viewed Bahia not merely as a trading post but as a settlement.

The Dutch aimed to control everything, from sugar production and trade to the slave market, in order to retain all the profits for themselves.

At this time, Portugal was part of the Spanish monarchy, with the Philippine dynasty in power, and it was with joint attacks by Portuguese and Spanish forces, and support from other allies, that it was possible to recover the city of Salvador and more. Some believe that the poor strategy against the Dutch led them to attempt other settlement points, such as Pernambuco, instead of abandoning Brazil entirely.

Missing from this work are discussions on colonial taxation, financing, the Real Treasury, the City Council, and other related issues.

Captaincy of the Baía de Todos os Santos- Population, Economy and Politics between 1500-1697 – History of Brazil

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