SALVADOR

also called So Salvador, or Bahia city, major port and capital (since 1889) of Bahia state, northeastern Brazil, situated at the southern tip of a picturesque and bluff-formed peninsula that separates Baa de Todos os Santos (All Saints Bay), a deep natural harbour, from the Atlantic Ocean. One of the nation's oldest cities, it was founded in 1549 as capital of the Portuguese colony of Brazil by Tom de Sousa, the first governor general. As the entrept of the thriving sugar trade that developed along the bay shores, the city soon became a tempting prize for pirates and enemies of Portugal. It was captured by Dutch forces in 1624 but was retaken the following year. It remained under Portuguese control until 1823, when the last Portuguese troops were expelled in the war for Brazilian independence. With the transfer of the colonial seat of government to Rio de Janeiro in 1763, Salvador lost political preeminence and entered a long period of economic decline from which it did not emerge until after 1900. Salvador was a major centre for the African slave trade in the colonial period and still has one of the largest concentrations of Negro and mulatto populations in Brazil. These groups have contributed many of the folkways, costumes, and distinctive foods for which Salvador is noted. Since 1940 the city has experienced continuous and rapid population growth, accompanied by significant economic expansion, which is reflected in extensive public works and private construction. In the early 1970s the nearby Aratu Industrial Centre and the Camacari petrochemical complex were built and linked to Salvador by highway. The port of Salvador is one of the finest in Brazil. The first terminal of a deepwater port was opened in 1975. Imports consist chiefly of manufactured goods, while exports include cocoa, tobacco, sugar, sisal, hides, castor beans, diamonds, aluminum, iron ore, hardwoods, and petroleum from the nearby Candeias oil field. Food and tobacco processing, textile, ceramics, and automobile manufacturing, chemical production, metallurgy, wood- and leather-working, and shipbuilding and repair are Salvador's main industries. A distinctive feature of Salvador is its division into lower (cidade baixa) and upper (cidade alta) parts. The port, commercial district, and adjoining residential zones lie at the foot of a cliff on a low shelf of land facing west onto the bay, only a few feet above sea level. The principal shopping districts, state and municipal government offices, and leading residential areas are on the upper level, extending northward for several miles and eastward to the Atlantic shore. The two sections are connected by a few graded, winding roads, a funicular railway, and several elevators. The Lacerda elevator, an outstanding landmark, is the chief link, lifting passengers 234 ft (71 m) between the separate streetcar systems. Salvador is served by domestic and foreign steamship lines and airlines, and there are rail and bus connections with central and southern Brazil. Tourism, based on historic associations and fine beaches, has developed. The city is famed for the beauty of its many Baroque colonial churches, especially the church of the convent of the Third Order of St. Francis (1701). There are also notable examples of colonial secular architecture, including the Barra lighthouse at the Atlantic tip of the peninsula and many 17th-century forts. Salvador is the seat of Universidade Federal da Bahia (1946) and Universidade Catlica do Salvador (1961). There are several museums, including one displaying sacred art in the monastery of Santa Tereza. Pop. (1980 prelim.) 1,496,276.