Portuguese Fort at Salvador Founded

1549

The Portuguese crown founded the city of Salvador da Bahia as the capital of colonial Brazil, sending Tome de Sousa with a thousand settlers, soldiers, and Jesuits. It became the administrative heart of Portuguese America, a port built on sugar, slavery, and the labor of enslaved Africans and Tupi. Salvador's All Saints Bay provided a superb harbor, and the city became Portuguese America's administrative heart, built on sugar and slavery.