New Britain herald., 1929-04-10
|BAHLA JAMESTOWN
 | OF SOUTH AMERICA
Landing Place of Pliers Was
 First Portuguese Settlement

washington, U. C-, ApTli 1V- Bahia. where the Spanish transat- lantic flyers were forced down, was the first Portuguese settlement founded in Brazil" says . bulletin from the Washington, D. c. head quarters of the National Geographic Society. ......a.....
 According to the letters of Amerigo Vespucci, he and his fol- lowers spent several months in All Saints bay in the neighborhood of Bahia during the early days of the sixteenth century. Bahia was not of- ficially recognized by the Portuguese government. however. until 1549 when the first governor general of Brazil set up colonial government there. Bahia was the capital of Brazil from that time until 1763 when the government was removed to Rio De Janeiro.
 Bahta Divided by 2O0- Foot ChR
 While Rio De Janeiro and Sac Paulo surpass Bahia in Size. the old port. which lies about 400 miles down the coast from Pernambuco, is a thriving commercial center with about 300,OOO inhabitants.
 The harbor it faces is one of the finest on the east coast Of South America. Vessels from many world ports are anchored offshore, while smaller boats with local cargoes come and go like schools of water beetles.
 "The travellers first impression of Bahia. as he sails up the harbor to- ward the city. is that there are really two separate towns.
 "A cqpgested settlement hugs the shore line while on a cliff in the background, 200 feet above the roof tops. the fringe of another settle ment is visible.
 Bahia's Cocoa Comes to T., $,
 Tn the narrow streets of the low CT town and among the bordering warehouses half-naked porters. per. spring freely in the tropical heat, spend their days moving cargoes of cocoa. tobacco. cotton sugar. rubber and fruits. all products of Bahia state, brought to the port by rail- road trains and high-wheeled donkey carts
 "The customs house, depot and offices of foreign firms interested in Bahia commodities also are in the lower town. Most of Bahias cocoa. the larppet evporfohlo p.od,ot ns Bahia state, is shipped to the United States.
 Upper Bahia is reached by ele- vators, steps and winding roads. Here and there in the narrow streets Of this portion of the city, sky blue and delicate pink houses. some Of whose plastered fronts are deeply pock-marked. take the traveller back a century or two in Bahia's history. But within a stones throw of these districts there are wide modern thoroughfares. lined with fine shops, banks, theaters office and government buildings. A park or garden now and then breaks the monotony of the solid rows of masonry.
 Once Major Slave Port
 'Of the 3O0,000 habitants of Ba- hla, about two-thirds are Negroes. Some are pure blooded Negroes, some are mixture Of Portuguese and Negro. while others are a mix ture of Portuguese and Indian, and Indian and Negro Here are the blackest of black faces and this shade tapers off to a white. In fact many natives are recognized as Ne. groes only by their large blaeS eyes and thick lips. The first slaves from Africa were landed in Bahia and slave-trading was carried on until 1888.
 ''In Bahia the mulatto maidens with erect, well-built bodies wrapped in gaily colored cloth, gold chains about their necks, bracelets covering their arms. and large rings hanging from their ears. gracefully stride through the streets under such bur dens as baskets Of clothes and pans of sWeetmeats perched on their heads.
 There are other native women who prefer voluminous skirts of printed cloth. and low-necked. short sleeved blouses over which brightly colored shawls are thrown. Red handkerchiefs are knotted about their heads. Their callous, unshod feet do not smart on the roughly paved side streets