Paratinga is a Brazilian municipality located in the interior of the state of Bahia, in the Northeast Region of the country. It is situated 710 kilometers west of the state capital, Salvador, and 749 kilometers east of the federal capital, Brasília. The municipality covers an area of approximately and had a population of inhabitants according to the 2010 census by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), making it the 89th most populous municipality in the state and the third in its microregion.
As part of the effort to settle Brazil's interior, Paratinga is one of the oldest cities in Bahia. It developed from the 17th century on farms and lands owned by the landowner Antônio Guedes de Brito. The municipality became an important regional hub due to its strategic port, through which populations traveled along the São Francisco River. It was the center of economic and political power for the Guedes de Brito family, and in the 18th century, its territory was the largest in the state, extending to the border with Minas Gerais. Over time, its territory was reduced with the emancipation of several municipalities, including Bom Jesus da Lapa, Ibotirama, and Macaúbas.
Today, Paratinga is home to significant historical heritage. Many of its old buildings feature influences of Neo-Baroque and Art Deco architectural styles. Beyond its cultural framework, the municipality is notable for tourism, particularly due to the thermal springs in the district of Águas do Paulista and one of its villages, Brejo das Moças. However, the city, like the entire São Francisco River region, faces environmental and economic challenges, influenced by neglect from national public administration since the Portuguese colonization, and during the periods of the Empire and the Republic.
The municipal seat has an average annual temperature of 27.9 degrees Celsius. Located in the Caatinga biome, with a semi-arid climate, Paratinga is bathed by the São Francisco River and has several watercourses within its territory. Its Human Development Index (HDI), according to 2010 data, is 0.590, considered low by the United Nations (UN). Situated at an average distance from major Brazilian capitals such as Salvador, Brasília, Goiânia, and Belo Horizonte, the municipality is served by the state highway BA-160, which connects it to various Bahian cities up to the border with Minas Gerais. Although it faces unfavorable indicators in areas such as education, socioeconomic and infrastructure indicators have shown improvements in recent years.
Etymology The name Paratinga, chosen to designate the city, is an adaptation from the Tupi language of the municipality's former name, Rio Branco, through State Decree No. A total of 141 of 31 December 1943. The name combines the Tupi words pará ("river") and tinga ("white").
History Early peoples and colonization The region on the left and right banks of the São Francisco River, in western Bahia, where Paratinga is located, was inhabited by various indigenous populations, including the Tamoios, Cataguás, Xacriabás, Aricobés, Tabajaras, Amoipira, Tupiná, Ocren, Sacragrinha, and Tupinambás. In Paratinga specifically, it is believed that the Tuxás were the predominant indigenous group.
The first records of Portuguese arrival in Paratinga date back to the 16th century, when Duarte Coelho Pereira, the donatary captain of Pernambuco, visited the region during an exploratory expedition between 1543 and 1550. In 1553, King John III ordered Tomé de Sousa to explore the sources of the São Francisco River. The Spaniard Francisco Bruza Espinosa, residing in Porto Seguro, led the expedition, which, according to scholars, may have reached Bom Jesus da Lapa a year and a half after its start. However, there was no permanent occupation by Luso-Brazilians. In 1602, the bandeirante Belchior Dias Moreia passed through the region.
Colonization effectively began in the 17th century when the cattle rancher and landowner Antônio Guedes de Brito received land grants covering large areas of the Interior of Bahia, including the Paratinga region, forming his latifundium, the Casa da Ponte, which was the second largest in Colonial Brazil. Guedes de Brito, known for his exploration, was also responsible for the extinction of much of the indigenous population in the Middle São Francisco, enslaving the survivors.
Later, after his death, his granddaughter Joana da Silva Caldeira Pimentel Guedes de Brito inherited several family farms. Within the Santo Antônio do Urubu de Cima Farm, the settlement of the same name, simply known as Urubu, emerged. This village was characterized by cattle ranching and agricultural activities, with residents comprising Luso-Brazilians, indigenous people, and Africans. It developed around a chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony, built in 1680, the oldest temple in the Middle São Francisco region. According to legend, the settlement's name originated from the discovery of an image of Saint Anthony under a tree, guarded by a vulture perched above, shielding it from the sun.
Due to the settlement and large cattle corrals, by the early 18th century, Paratinga became a strategic point for rest and passage of herdsmen traveling between the interior of Minas Gerais and Bahia. Additionally, some of the cattle passing through were traded in Goiás and Mato Grosso.
In the São Francisco Valley, the Guedes de Brito family owned ten cattle ranches: Boa Vista, Batalha, Volta, Campos de São João, Itibiruba (Itibiraba), Mocambo, Campo Grande, Curralinho, Riacho dos Porcos, and Santo Antônio do Urubu. The region was mapped in 1734 by Joaquim Quaresma Delgado, hired to explore and map the interior of Bahia and Minas Gerais.
At that time, most farm owners were absent from their properties, allowing slaves and other residents a degree of independence. In the owners' absence, specific individuals—free, enslaved, or manumitted, of indigenous and Afro-Brazilian origin—performed administrative tasks, granting them a certain hierarchical authority over others.
Land leasing was a significant system during the Casa da Ponte era, involving people from various regions and economic backgrounds, including pilgrims passing through Bom Jesus da Lapa. Through this activity, many Portuguese and Paulistas settled with families in Santo Antônio do Urubu de Cima by purchasing and leasing lands from the Guedes de Brito family. Communication and interaction among the traveling populations of Santo Antônio do Urubu de Cima, Bom Jardim, and the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus da Lapa were crucial for the region's development and settlement through terrestrial routes.
Colonial and pre-imperial period
In the 1710s, the then Archbishop of Bahia, Sebastião Monteiro da Vide, requested King John V to create new parishes, outlined in 1712. In this context, over twenty settlements, including Urubu, gained prominence. Due to its growth and the presence of the Santo Antônio Parish Church, Sebastião decreed on 11 April 1718 that the Santo Antônio do Urubu de Cima settlement become a parish, retaining the same name. In 1714, it had 362 households and inhabitants.
On 23 March 1746, King John V, after consultation with the Overseas Council of the Portuguese court, ordered André de Melo e Castro, the Count of Galveias, to establish the Vila de Santo Antônio do Urubu, separated from Jacobina. However, the village was only officially established on 27 September 1749 by the ombudsman Francisco Marcolino de Souza.
After Joana's death, her inheritance and surname passed to her husband through the Guedes de Brito estate. The last heir to the family's fortunes was João de Saldanha da Gama Melo Torres Guedes Brito, governor of the Captaincy of Bahia between 1805 and 1809, responsible for receiving the Portuguese royal family in Brazil, fleeing the Napoleonic wars in 1808. He died during his term, and in 1819, the sesmaria territories were registered and divided into six administrative districts named after the municipalities managing them. Besides Urubu, Rio de Contas, Rio Pardo, Caetité, Xique-Xique, and Jacobina were included. According to the literary journal O Patriota, in 1813, Urubu spanned 18 leagues.
During the period leading up to Brazilian independence, the Bahia province experienced political unrest. Rio de Contas, one of the main villages in the region, sought support from Caetité and Urubu to form a new province, encompassing Bahian and Minas Gerais territories, with Rio de Contas as the capital. The autonomy proposal, made in different years, caused tension between Rio de Contas and Caetité and, despite some regional impact, was not approved by the Crown.
During the same period, in mid-1822 and 1823, Urubu residents produced a petition requesting a new ombudsman for the village, distrusting the incumbent. Francisco Pires de Almeida Freitas held the position at the time, and the population's distrust stemmed from his request to the Empire's minister to relocate the Justice and Registry Office from Urubu to the Macaúbas settlement, citing an alleged epidemic of river fevers in the village. Another account suggests correspondence to the Internal Council claimed the move was necessary due to "attacks of despotism against citizens," the recruitment of slaves by Portuguese, and opposition to the independence process to ensure Urubu's "obedience," countering the tension created by Rio de Contas.
On 10 April 1823, the village's representatives, through seven documents, opposed the ombudsman's decision. Their efforts were in vain: the ordinance of 17 December 1823 mandated the transfer of the Justice and Registry Office to Macaúbas. The decision was reversed only in 1834, after numerous local protests and Macaúbas' emancipation from Urubu in 1832, becoming an independent village.
Imperial period During this period, Urubu underwent several changes and held prominence in the São Francisco region, mainly for centralizing local public power and serving as a commercial and cultural reference. In terms of territorial extent, it was the largest municipality in Bahia. In 1827, the village bordered Pilão Arcado to the north, Minas Gerais to the south, Barra do Rio Grande and Campo Largo to the west, and Santo Antônio da Jacobina, Rio de Contas, and Vila Nova do Príncipe e Santana de Caetité to the east.Anuário Estatístico 2002, v. 1, SEI, Salvador ISSN 0102-0676 In this context, in 1830, Urubu received its first public school; on 2 May 1835, the Comarca of Urubu was established to extend imperial government authority to the region.
The Comarca of Urubu included the terms of Urubu, Brejinhos, and Macaúbas and faced growing regional challenges. From the following decade, cases of banditry, such as cangaço, posed challenges for the comarca and nearby municipalities such as Carinhanha and Minas Gerais cities such as Januária. The perpetrators were diverse, including wealthy and poor men, slaves, priests, and even judges, driven by a desire to subvert the established order, leading to disputes over political power. Victims were typically poor free individuals, merchants, and public authorities. In the Bom Jesus settlement, part of the territory, disputes arose over control of the Bom Jesus da Lapa Brotherhood.