Bahia Brazil

Bahia, Brazil, a province on the S.E. coast of Brazil, extending from the Rio Grande do Belmont to the Rio Real, and bounded inland by a range of mountains at an average distance of 200 miles from the sea. Of the total area (202,272 square miles) much is covered by forests, but the cultivated districts yield rich crops of cotton, coffee, sugar, tobacco, maize and fruits. Coal has been found, and mines of diamonds and other precious stones exist. Bahia, or San Salvador, the capital of the province, is a fine city standing partly on a height, the Praya commanding a view of the Bay of All Saints. It was founded in 1549, and until 1763 was the capital of the empire. Two-thirds of the population are mulattoes or blacks. It is a very important commercial port. The cathedral, the palaces of the governor and archbishop, and the other public buildings are spacious and handsome.