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Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size. It is also an important state, in terms of history and culture, in Brazil's Northeast Region. Bahia's capital is the city of Salvador, or more properly, São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, and is located at the junction of the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of All Saints.

Pronunciation IPA: [ba.'i.a] [1] (the H is not pronounced, and the stress is on the second syllable). The name is an archaic spelling of the Portuguese word meaning "bay" and comes from "a baía de Todos os Santos" (All Saints' Bay), first seen by European sailors on November 1 1501, All Saints' Day.

History
The Portuguese Pedro Álvares Cabral landed at what is now Porto Seguro, on the southern coast of Bahia in 1500, and claimed the territory for Portugal. In 1549, Portugal established the city of Salvador, on a hill facing the Bay of All Saints. The city and surrounding captaincy served as the administrative and religious capital of Portugal's colonies in the Americas until 1763. The Dutch held control of Bahia from May 1624 through April 1625. Charles Darwin visited Bahia in 1832 on his famous Voyage of The Beagle.

The state was also the last area of Brazil to join the independent confederation; Some members in the elite remained loyal to the Portuguese crown after the rest of the country was granted independence. After several battles, mostly in Pirajá, the province was finally able to expel the Portuguese on July 2, 1823, known as Bahia Independence Day, a great popular celebration. In the state there is an ongoing discussion about the exact moment of Brazilian independence, because for almost all "baianos," it really happened in Bahia with the battles, and not on September 7, when the Emperor, Pedro I, declared independence.

Bahia was a center of sugar cultivation from the 16th to the 18th centuries, and contains a number of historical towns, such as Cachoeira, dating from this era. Integral to the sugar economy was the importation of a vast number of African slaves; more than 37% of all slaves taken from Africa were sent to Brazil, mostly to be processed in Bahia before being sent to work in plantations elsewhere in the country.

The oldest Roman Catholic cathedral and the first medical college in the country are located in Bahia's capital, which also has one of the highest percentage of churches of any capital city in Brazil. The Catholic Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia, Geraldo Majella Agnelo, is the Cardinal Primate of Brazil.


Bahian Culture
As the chief locus of the early Brazilian slave trade, Bahia is considered to possess the greatest and most distinctive African imprint, in terms of culture and customs, in Brazil. These include the Yoruba-derived religious system of Candomblé, the martial art of capoeira (especially the style of capoeira de Angola), African-derived music such as samba (especially samba's Bahian precursor samba-de-roda), afoxé, and axé, and a cuisine with strong links to western Africa.

Bahia is the birthplace of many noted Brazilian artists, writers and musicians. Among the noted musical figures born in the state are Dorival Caymmi; João Gilberto; Gilberto Gil, the country's Minister of Culture; Caetano Veloso and his sister Maria Bethânia (Gil and Veloso being the founders of the Tropicália movement (a native adaptation of the hippie movement) of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which ultimate gained international recognition); Gal Costa; Luis Caldas; Sara Jane; Daniela Mercury; Ivete Sangalo; Carlinhos Brown and Margareth Menezes.

The city of Salvador is also home to internationally famous groups known as "blocos-afros," including Olodum, Ara Ketu, É o Tchan, and Ilê Aiyê. Additionally, groups such as Chiclete com Banana also are based in Bahia. The first well-known rock'n roll singer in Brazil was also from Bahia. Born Raul Seixas, he was known as "Maluco Beleza" or "Peaceful Lunatic" (To be "beleza" in this sense means to be either "in peace" or "high").

During the 19th century, one of Brazil's greatest poets, the Bahian abolitionist poet and playwright Castro Alves, a native of the recôncavo city of Cachoeira, penned his most famous poem, Navio negreiro, about slavery; the poem is considered a masterpiece of Brazilian Romanticism and a central anti-slavery text.

Other notable Bahian writers include Gregório de Matos, who wrote during the 17th century and was one of the first Brazilian writers, and Fr. Antonio Vieira, who during the colonial period was one of many authors who contributed to the expansion of the Portuguese language throughout the Brazilian territory.

The major Brazilian fiction writer of the 20th Century, Jorge Amado, was born in the southeastern Bahian city of Itabuna, and resided for many years in Salvador. His major novels include Gabriela, Cinnamon and Cloves; Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands; and Tieta, the Goat Girl, all of which became internationally renowned films. More recent writers from Bahia include the fiction writers João Ubaldo Ribeiro and Jean Wyllys, winner of Big Brother Brasil 5 in 2005.

In the visual and plastic arts, one of the best known Bahian figures was the multigenre artist and Argentinian native Hector Julio Páride Bernabó, also known as Carybé (1911-1997). Fine examples of his work are visible in the Afro-Brazilian Museum in Salvador.

Famous Bahians/Baianos
'Baianos', as natives and residents of Bahia are popularly called in Brazil, have made extensive contributions to Brazil's history, culture, music, literature, education, science, and technology. Some important contemporary Bahians include:

Raimundo Sodré, singer/composer noted for his adherence to traditional Bahian musical forms such as samba-de-roda, and traditional forms of Brazil's Nordeste, such as the baião.
Jason Singh - gamer, played The Myth of Soma as Bahia. biggest idiot on the game.
Maria Bethânia, singer, sister of Caetano Veloso
Carlinhos Brown, composer, percussionist, singer, and member of Timbalada and Tribalistas
Luis Caldas, singer
Gal Costa, singer
Elomar Figueira de Mello, composer, and singer
Dida, internationally acclaimed soccer and goalkeeper
Acelino "Popó" Freitas, WBC champion
Gilberto Gil, singer, composer, environmentalist and Brazilian Minister of Culture (2003-); founded the musical movement Tropicália with Caetano Veloso
João Gilberto, singer and composer, considered with Tom Jobim (Antonio Carlos Jobim) as one of the founders of bossa nova
Adriana Lima, fashion model and Victoria's Secret Angel
Goya Lopes, fashion designer
Margareth Menezes, singer
Daniela Mercury, singer
Luiz R. B. Mott, anthropologist, leading gay rights activist, and founder of Grupo Gay da Bahia, the oldest LGBT and human rights groups in Brazil
Ivete Sangalo, singer
Pitty, rock/hardcore singer.
Caetano Veloso, singer, composer, activist, and author, founded the musical movement Tropicália with Gilberto Gil
Tom Zé (Antônio José Santana Martins), singer-songwriter, member of the Tropicália movement
Raul Seixas, rock singer-songwriter
Glauber Rocha, (1938 — 1981) was the best brazilian movie maker, also great writer and actor.