Brazil’s colonial history dates to 1500 when Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral landed ships and founded a small settlement in a location he named Porto Seguro (safe harbour).
30 kilometers to the south an order of Jesuit missionaries in 1586 chose to build a church and 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 town green measuring 320 by 60 meters and anchored on one end by a simple white church overlooking the sea. The green was surrounded by 50 small houses where it was imagined indigenous people would live in harmony with God and nature. This utopian community was christened São João Batista dos Indios, and was popularly called Trancoso.
Due to isolation over the 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 still surrounded by nature, the legend of the town reemerged.
During these years 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.
