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Welcome to Boipeba
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Boipeba Island is one of the
islands of the Tinharé archipelago,
in the county of Cairu, in the south of
the state of Bahia.
Surrounded by the ocean on
one side, and the Inferno River estuary
on the other, this island is of rare natural
beauty, home to a great variety of ecosystems.
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mboi pewa - is a Tupy Indian word which
means flat snake, in reference to a sea
turtle, giving the name to the island of
Boipeba.
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Boipeba is home to a dense Atlantic rainforest,
and with its salt marshes, sand dunes, extensive
mangroves, and paradisiacal coconut-palmed beaches
and reefs, it is a world of ecological diversity.
The reefs are found up and down the coast, sheltering
the beaches from waves and ocean currents. The
wide reefs are full of canals and shallow pools.
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Flora and fauna are rich in varieties of coral, algae,
fish, mollusks, sea urchins, starfish, and other sea
life. There are sea turtles found in the region, and
spawning eggs can be seen on beaches around the island.
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The forested areas of the island are home to
numerous species of birds, armadillos, fox and
reptiles, as well as other animal life.
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Boipeba being a natural wildlife habitat, and
given the necessity of protecting the Tinharé
and Boipeba ecosystems, the state of Bahia created
the Area of Environmental Protection (APA in Portuguese)
of the islands of Tinharé and Boipeba,
in June of 1992.
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InJoining forces together as Amabo, the Association
of Residents and Friends of Boipeba, residents of Boipeba
put together a proposal of Sustainable Development for
the island. With this proposal, Amabo would like to
help better the lives of the local population, developing
economic activities, especially tourism, without destroying
the environment.
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Communities
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Founded by Jesuits in 1537, Boipeba is one of
the oldest sites in Bahia colonized by the Portuguese.
There are four villages found on the island -
Velha Boipeba, São Sebastião, Moreré,
and Monte Alegre.
The only access is by water - sea or river transport.
River boats are used more frequently than boats
on the open sea, as the calm waters of the estuary
offer more safety for travelers. At the same time,
river access can be made more difficult due to
shallow waters and sandbanks which need to be
expertly navigated.
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Velha Boipeba
Velha Boipeba, with Santo Antônio Square
at its center, is the most important village on
the island, with a population of about 1,600.
Fishing has traditionally been the primary economic
activity, although there has been a great increase
in tourism in the last 10 years. The Church of
the Holy Spirit is the historic monument of greatest
importance, dating back to the 17th century.
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Moreré
This village is situated on the Atlantic coast,
between Ponta dos Castelhanos beach and Velha
Boipeba. Today Moreré is the second most
visited spot on Boipeba, and there are now a few
guest houses, bars and restaurants to be found.
There is no pier for boats to dock, so that all
arrivals and departures of people and merchandise
are done at the beach with the aid of canoes.
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São Sebastião
The village of São Sebastião is
found on the southern point of the island, off
of a small bay near Ponta dos Castelhanos. The
alternative name for the village is Cova da Onça,
literally jaguar's cave. The name comes from stories
told by the local population of an existing cave,
which was used by the Jesuits as a hideaway when
under attack from the native Indian populations.
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Economy and Infra-Structure
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Fishing is the predominant economic activity
of the island. There are about 40 fishing boats
run by diesel motors. While these boats are low
on navigational equipment, they are high on the
courage, ability, and knowledge of local boatmen.
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Fish, shrimp, lobster, clams, and a wide variety of
crab are all found off Boipeba's coast.
Tourism, as an economic activity, is a recent development.
There are about 30 small guest houses operating at the
moment.
Tropical fruits are the island's main agricultural
crop. Coconut, denude (the red fruit of the dendê
palm), as well as mangoes, cashew and mangaba (a small
native pear-tasting fruit), are grown.
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No cars are permitted on the island - all transport
is on foot or by tractor. This helps to protect
the environment and to promote ecologically minded
tourism. People get from one farm or village to
another by boat or by using the local trails.
Electrical energy is 220 volts, and is brought
to the island by underground cables.
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History
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During the first three decades of Portuguese
colonization, the Bahian coast provided a support
system for the route to India. At that time the
luxury products from Asia - silk, carpets, porcelain
and spices - were much more profitable than the
products of the new colony. Both the small and
larger natural ports were used for supplying water
and wood, in addition to providing sites for making
small repairs on ships.
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The coast of Bahia was inhabited by indigenous Tupi
nations: the Tupinambás, the Tupiniquins, and
the Aimorés. The islands of Boipeba, Cairu, and
Tinharé, were inhabited by the Tupinambás,
and the city of Cairu was the largest indigenous metropolis
of the region. The name Cairu comes from the Tupi word
aracajurru, meaning house of the sun.
The Portuguese colonization of the country began in
1516. The Bahian coast was divided into 3 captainships,
and later subdivided into 5. In the 18th century these
captainships were incorporated by the crown, and the
grand captainship of Bahia became the headquarters of
government.
Envisioning conversion, the Franciscans were the first
of the religious orders to establish contact with the
New World. It was the Jesuits, however, who were to
play a greater role in colonization, arriving in 1549
from Portugal, with the first Governor of Brazil, Tomé
de Souza. In addition to their school in Salvador, they
immediately established residency in Porto Seguro and
in Ilhéus.
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Branching out from these spots, they created
many villages not too far away. In 1563, Mem de
Sá granted the Jesuits land near Camamu,
where in the same year the Jesuits founded two
villages and residencies, in both Boipeba and
in Camamu.
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In the 17th century, this region began to develop a
role in the production of foodstuff and construction
material for both the city of Salvador, and for the
sugarcane-growing plantations around the bay. The village
of Boipeba grew, as colonizers fled the continent, fearful
of Aimoré Indian raids. The village became an
official settlement between 1608 and 1610.
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The Church of the Holy Spirit of Velha Boipeba,
which was constructed by the Jesuits around 1610
and enlarged in the 19th century, is the most
important historical monument on the island of
Boipeba.
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The economy of the Bahian coast was exclusively
one of extraction for three centuries. At first
the target was brazil-wood, highly valued by European
dye merchants. Afterwards wood was extracted which
was used for both naval and urban construction.
The cutting of the wood mostly took place along
the central portion of the Bahian coast, between
Ilhéus and Valença.
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This economy of extraction included the harvesting
of native fibers from palms, examples being both piassaba
and dendê fronds, both used for thatching. Sugar
cane production was developed during the 17th century
in Camamu, and the growing of manioc spread to the bays
of Tinharé and Camamu, especially on the islands,
far away from indigenous attacks.
Other crops, such as cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, cloves,
and black pepper, were introduced in the 18th century.
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In 1631, on the Morro de São Paulo, due
to its strategic position near the entrance to
the Bay of All Saints, a fortress was built by
order of Governor Diogo Luís de Oliveira.
The fortress was enlarged in 1730, becoming one
of the largest fortifications on the Brazilian
coast.
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At the end of the 18th century, the settlement
of Amparo, on the banks of the Una River, became
a town named Valença (1799), with its territory
separated from the County of Cairu.
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The first large industrial project implanted in the
state was in Valença, the Todos os Santos Textile
Factory. The factory was activated in 1847, and by 1848
was already producing 600 rods of fabric daily while
employing 100 workers. The factory is still operating
today.
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