Itaparica

Itaparica lies on the coast of Espírito Santo, at the site of the settlement later called Vila Velha. The shore was inhabited by Indigenous peoples when Vasco Fernandes Coutinho arrived in 1535 to take possession of his Portuguese captaincy. There he founded Vila do Espírito Santo, the first seat of the captaincy, amid conflict with local inhabitants. In 1549 the administrative centre was moved to a more defensible island nearby, where Vila Nova, later Vitória, was established.