Trancoso History
Brazil’s colonial history dates back to 1500 when Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral landed ships and founded a small settlement in a location he named Porto Seguro (”safe harbour”).
Thirty kilometers to the south an order of Jesuit missionaries in 1586 decided to create a perfect village prototype for this new world, choosing for its location a majestic hilltop overlooking two rivers, woods, mangrove, and the sea. The thick rainforest was cleared to establish a simple church and town green. The green was surrounded by 50 small, colorful houses where it was imagined indigenous people would wish to reside in harmony with God and nature. This utopian community was christened São João Batista dos Indios, and was popularly referred to as Trancoso.
Due to isolation over past centuries Trancoso and its enchanting town green (the “Quadrado”) have remained largely unchanged and forgotten by the outside world.
Only in the late 1970’s did hippies and naturalists visiting southern Bahia begin to rediscover the village. With the graceful Quadrado intact and surrounded still by Atlantic marshes and rainforest along 24-kilometers of pristine coastline (featuring eight different unique beaches), the legend of the town reemerged.
During these times the only way to reach Trancoso was by a daylong walk along deserted beaches or via a ride on a fishing boat. In this remote place far from modern civilization new arrivals were welcomed by the natives and integrated into the community, and all carved out a future which emphasized preservation of the town’s natural environment and cultural heritage.