Salvador History Facts and Timeline

(Salvador, Bahia, Brazil)

Brazil's first colonial capital, Salvador, is one of the Americas' oldest cities. Portuguese explorers encountered the Baia de Todos os Santos in the year of 1500. However, it was not until some three decades later, in 1531, that explorer Martim Afonso de Sousa disembarked and set about exploring the coastline of this new land.

It was 1549 by the time that Portuguese colonists began to establish the settlement of Salvador, which was built atop a cliff overlooking the bay. It became the first Portuguese colonial capital of Brazil and its principal sea port. Salvador's history is also heavily linked to the trading of slaves and sugar cane.

The Early Years

The town became the country's main entry point for many Jews and Dutch settlers, with large numbers of Jews migrating to the state of Bahia during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Salvador was greatly influenced by the religion of Catholicism, becoming the Catholic bishopric's first seat in Brazil in the year of 1552. By 1583, the town was home to in excess of 1,500 people and soon became one of the New World's biggest and most significant cities.


Salvador was divided into two main parts - the Upper City and also the Lower City. The Upper City served as home to most of the population, as well as accommodating various important places of worship and administrative centres, while the Lower City was the financial district, being where the port and market were located. The two areas were linked by the useful Goncalves funicular railway, as well as the famous Lacerda elevator, both of which came into being during the latter part of the 19th century.

Brazilian Independence and Decline

Salvador was Brazil's first capital and retained its status until 1763, when Rio de Janeiro succeeded it. The city still had an integral role to play in the future of Brazil. It was a key base for the country's struggle for independence and faced attacks from the Portuguese in the year of 1812, eventually being liberated in 1823. However, this was to be the start of a downturn in Salvador's history, as it slowly fell out of Brazil's industrialisation programme and gradually declined during the next century.

Recent Times

Salvador's history, however, remains recognised for its key role in helping Brazil become what it is today. The city is now an important cultural, national and tourist centre. There were almost 350,000 people living in the city by 1950, making it Brazil's fourth-biggest. By 2010, it was home to well over three million inhabitants and was the country's third-biggest city in terms of its overall population.

The Centro Historico (Pelourinho district) enjoyed much renovation and restoration work in the 1990s, as part of a major city project. This area is now a cultural centre and lies within the heart of the city's main tourist district. However, this restoration did not come without controversy, since it forced the relocation of large numbers of working-class people, who had to move to the outskirts of Salvador and have since encountered significant economic difficulties, while the restored centre remains a depopulated tourist destination.