Nova Almeida is a neighbourhood (''bairro'' in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

) in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of Serra, in the State of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The town is located about north of the state capital, Vitória. It has a population of around 266,800.

History

Nova Almeida was founded in 1556 by

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priests who wanted to spread the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism, monotheistic religion based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, life and Teachings of Jesus, teachings of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. It is the Major religious groups, world's ...

amongst native

Amerindians The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

. First founded under the name "Reis Magos" (now the name of the river at whose mouth it rests), it was then known as "Aldeia Nova" (taking that name from neighbouring Aldeia Nova, which today is Santa Cruz). It later changed to its current name, Nova Almeida. Around 1760, there were about 3000

Tupiniquim Tupiniquim (also Tupinã-ki, Topinaquis, Tupinaquis, Tupinanquins, Tupiniquins) are an indigenous people of Brazil, who now live in three indigenous territories (''Terras Indígenas'' in Portuguese). The indigenous territories (Caieiras Velha ...

Amerindians living here, forming the bulk of Nova Almeida's population.

Geography

Nova Almeida's area is , and it lies on the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

at sea level. It is now considered part of the

Greater Vitória Greater Vitória (''Região Metropolitana da Grande Vitória'') is a metropolitan area in Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is made up of the following municipalities: Cariacica, Fundão, Guarapari, Serra, Vitória, Vila Velha, and Viana and acc ...

metropolitan area, since it lies within Serra.

Economy

This town has undergone great transformation in the last 30 years or so; from a typical rural area, it has become an international hub for

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, natio ...

and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. Today, it has two large-scale

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

s as part of its infrastructure and a number of industrial enterprises. Neighbourhoods in Brazil Populated places established in 1556 1556 establishments in the Portuguese Empire {{EspiritoSanto-geo-stub