Brazil Eco Adventure Tours
Rainforest - Hiking & Biking - Wildlife

Porto Seguro is the capital of the so - called Discovery Coast, 700 km south of Salvador. The city owes its name to the famous letter of Pero Vaz de Caminha, secretary of Cabral´s fleet, which on March 24, 1500, in search for a save haven (porto seguro) anchored south of Baía Cabrália, about 12 km north of today´s Porto Seguro.

In 1532, when the Brazilian coast was constantly plundered by pirates and corsairs and when the rumours intensified about the discovery of precious stones and metals in the Spanish part of the "New World", Portugal finally decided to promote the occupation of its territory by the system of so - called captaincies (capitanias hereditárias).

The Captaincy of Porto Seguro which extended from the southern shore of river Jequitinhonha to the northern shore of river Doce, was given to Pero Campos de Tourinho, a Portuguese nobleman from Viana do Castelo. In 1534, Tourinho founded the village Nossa Senhora da Pena, where today the upper part of the town of Porto Seguro is located.

With the creation of the captaincies, the economy diversified and the village became a starting point for expeditions to the interior of the country in search for precious stones and metals. Also, many sugar cane plantations and distilleries were installed. As most of the other captaincies, Porto Seguro suffered from constant atacks from the Indians, a situation that only improved when Portugal finally decided to establish an official government in Salvador together with more troops to defend the coast.

The historical city of Porto Seguro consisting of the three churches Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia (1530), Nossa Senhora do Rosário (1534) and Nossa Senhora da Penha (1718) such as the former jail and the monument marking the landfall of Gonçalo Coelho was declared National Heritage in 1976.

See also: Porto Seguro - Salvador