Engenho Vitória is a

sugarcane mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw sugar or plantation white sugar. Some sugar mills are situated next to a back-end refinery, that turns raw sugar into (refined) white sugar. The term is also used to refer ...

founded in the nineteenth century, located on the banks of the

Paraguaçu River The Paraguaçu River () is a river in Bahia state, located in eastern Brazil. It runs from the Chapada Diamantina highlands of central Bahia to its mouth at the Baía de Todos os Santos. The Paraguaçu River is the largest river entirely within B ...

in the countryside of

Cachoeira Cachoeira ( Portuguese, meaning waterfall) is an inland municipality of Bahia, Brazil, on the Paraguaçu River. The town exports sugar, cotton, and tobacco and is a thriving commercial and industrial centre. The municipality contains 56% of the ...

, Bahia, Brazil.

History

The year 1812 marks the beginning of the construction of Engenho Vitória, on the banks of the

, an important

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

in Bahia, near

. The work was sponsored by the

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Pedro Bandeira, an important merchant of his time and one of the pioneers in the use of steam navigation in Bahia. Built in the period of

Colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil (), sometimes referred to as Portuguese America, comprises the period from 1500, with the Discovery of Brazil, arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves ...

, the Engenho building is connected to the slavery process in Brazil, as it was a place that used slave labor during its operation as a sugar business. The mill consists of a three-level '' sobrado'', based on an architectural project that imagined the construction of the building with a "T" shape. The building includes covered access between the ''

engenho ''Engenho'' () is a colonial-era Portuguese term for a sugar cane mill and the associated facilities. In Spanish-speaking countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, they are called ''ingenios''. Both words mean ''engine'' (from latin ''ingenium ...

'' and the '' sobrado''. There is also a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

hall, chapel, storage room and a room for the

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. The building also has an

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

– later renovated and expanded. The property also mentions Bandeira's family, with references to his family on the door and the Muniz family

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

carved in marble.

Heritage register

In 1943, the

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

underwent the process of historical listing with the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), the organization responsible for historical preservation linked to the

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

References

{{Brazil-hist-stub Slavery in Brazil National heritage sites of Bahia Bahia Colonial Brazil Empire of Brazil Sugar refineries Sugar industry of Brazil 1810s establishments in Brazil Industrial buildings completed in 1812

History

Heritage register

See also

References