Today, the city of Vitoria turns 459 years old. A long time ago, September 8, 1551 to be exact, the Portuguese fought and won a decisive battle against the Goitacazes tribe. They were so tickled with themselves for winning, the Portuguese called the island where the battle occurred Ilha de Vitoria, or Island of Victory. Thus, the city of Vitoria was born and has been continuously inhabited for the past 459 years.
A founding date of 1551 seems quite old to me, at least for a European city in the Western hemisphere. The city government claims on their website that Vitoria is the second oldest capital city in Brazil. I did some research (i.e. went to wikipedia) and found a list of the oldest cities in the US for comparison.
The oldest, continuously inhabited city in the US is St. Augustine, which was founded in 1565. Pensacola, FL was originally founded in 1559 but destroyed shortly after it’s founding. It wasn’t refounded until 1698, so it loses the title on a technicality. Either way, Vitoria is older than the oldest city in the US.
Actually, Europeans began living on the islands that now make-up Vitoria beginning decades before the city was officially founded. The first Portuguese governor of the region of Espirito Santo, Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, arrived in 1535. The bay was protected by a series of small islands making it an ideal port. The Portuguese could easily defend against the French and the Dutch. There were also some problems with the locals. With thousands of people already living up and down the Brazilian coast, the Portuguese had a little trouble convincing them to relocate.
The local Indian tribes called Vitoria Guanaaní, Island of Honey. The calm bay, bejewled with emerald green islands, was a beautiful site. The waters were filled with mollusks and fish and the forests were filled with parrots and monkeys. It was an Island of Honey, an island of plenty.
Unfortunately, a city cannot be a major port for 400 continuous years and remain an untainted oasis. While not at the levels of Rio, Vitoria has serious problems with water and air pollution. Fortunately, it only takes an hour or two to reach the small beach towns that line the coast of Espirito Santo. There you can see glimmers of the paradise Vitoria must have been.
So happy birthday Vitoria! I’ve only been here a week but I’m already a big fan. To be honest, you had me at your incredible fish stew, but throwing in centuries of history and a candy factory was a nice touch.
