Bahia
| Bahia | |
|---|---|
| Bahia Republic | |
| República da Bahia | |
 | |
 Location of Bahia | |
| Capital | Salvador |
| Population | 27 million |
| Government Type | Federated Republic |
| Languages |
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Bahia, officially the Bahia Republic (Portuguese: República da Bahia) is a country in northeast South America. It is considered the birthplace of Lusophone America, as it was in the Bahian city of Porto Seguro where the first Portuguese voyage to reach the continent arrived. Bahia is bordered to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, the north by Pernambuco, the west by Equador and the south by Brazil. It comprises eight states and the Capital District of Salvador. Bahia is considered one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, it’s culture comprises influences from native Americans, European settlers and enslaved Africans. This junction of cultures can be seen in the country's religions, food and festivities. The country also has a diverse landscape, with lush and flat coastlines, a hot semi-arid interior, where part of the Caatinga(a biome that only exists in Bahia and Pernambuco) can be found. And a subtropical hilly southern region. Economically, Bahia has the largest Luso-American GDP, with its economic sectors including industry, mining, tourism and the export of livestock and agricultural products to all over the world.
History
Early History
Prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500, the territory that today comprises the Bahia Republic was inhabited by a variety of native groups, the two most prominent being the Tupi-Guarani and the Jê.
During the colonial period, the region became one of the most important in the former Colony of Brazil. At that time, the Captaincy of Bahia, was responsible for the large-scale production of sugar and cotton. Much of the labor force was enslaved Africans brought to South America by Atlantic Slave Trade. This forced immigration granted to the country the biggest black population outside Africa.
For most of the colonial period, the city of Salvador was the center of the government of the colony. This title was lost after the transfer of the government to Rio de Janeiro in the late XVIII century.
War for Independence
During the 1830s, both Europe and the American continent saw a series of revolutions based on liberalism, republicanism and nationalism, the Spring Of Nations. Of the various colonial revolts in both Spanish and Portuguese possessions, Bahia was one of those that managed to succeed. In the middle of 1835, a rebellion began in Salvador, formed by freed slaves seeking the abolition of slavery, liberals who could no longer support the centralizing policies of power in the hands of the Portuguese crown and bourgeois, especially merchants, who, although rich, had no political power, and low-ranking Brazilian military personnel who had no possibility of corporate ascension due to Portuguese laws.
The rebellion quickly spread through the city, and soon after through the captaincy. With great success in its beginnings, the Bahia Republic was proclaimed at the end of the year. In 1836, in response to the failure of local forces to control the rebellion, reinforcements were sent directly from Portugal to deal with the situation. The insurgents were not able to resist and as a last resort, they fled to the interior and adopted guerrilla warfare as a way to continue fighting.
With almost no advance from either side, the war became stationary until 1843. In that year, the southernmost captaincy of Brazil also rebelled, forcing imperial forces to focus on a new front, moreover, at that time there was a feeling that victory had already been secured in the north, which made the monarchist forces reduce concern for the region, giving the republicans an advantage. Now with two wars to deal with and the Bahians receiving support from the newly independent Colombia, it became very costly for Portugal, which for many decades was no longer the power it once was, to continue to fight. In 1845 a peace treaty was signed in Salvador recognizing the Bahia Republic.
