Salvador
Salvador is a coastal city in northeastern Brazil and the capital of Bahia. Founded by the Portuguese in 1549, it was Brazil’s first colonial capital.
Pelourinho: Pelourinho is Salvador’s historic center, known for its colonial architecture and steep cobbled streets. Its preserved streets and churches form the best-known historic district within Salvador.
Portuguese colonization of the Americas: Portuguese colonization of the Americas was the settlement and rule of territories claimed by Portugal, chiefly in Brazil. Salvador was established as a Portuguese colonial center on Brazil’s Atlantic coast.
Afro-Brazilian culture: Afro-Brazilian culture comprises cultural traditions shaped by African peoples and their descendants in Brazil. Salvador is a major center of Afro-Brazilian cultural life and heritage.
Bahia: Bahia is a state in northeastern Brazil, with Salvador as its capital. Salvador is the state’s political center and largest city.
Elevador Lacerda: Elevador Lacerda is a public elevator connecting Salvador’s lower and upper city centers. It links the port-side Comércio district with the upper-city Praça Tomé de Sousa.
Tomé de Sousa: Tomé de Sousa was a Portuguese nobleman who became Brazil’s first governor-general in 1549. He founded Salvador as the seat of Portugal’s centralized colonial government in Brazil.
Candomblé: Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion that honors orixás through ritual, music, dance, and offerings. Salvador is one of Candomblé’s most important centers, with many historic temples.
Northeast Region, Brazil: The Northeast Region is one of Brazil’s five major regions, comprising nine states along the Atlantic coast. Salvador is one of the region’s largest cities and a major cultural center.
Igreja de São Francisco: Igreja de São Francisco is an eighteenth-century Catholic church and convent in Salvador, celebrated for its gilded Baroque interior. Its lavish interior exemplifies the wealth and religious art of colonial Salvador.
Sugar plantations in Brazil: Sugar plantations in Brazil were large colonial estates that produced sugar using enslaved labor, especially in the northeast. The plantations around Bahia helped make Salvador a major port and administrative center.