Santos City Map Poster

About Santos

The city is an important economic hub, with one of Brazil's busiest ports and a major industrial center. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santos and home to the University of São Paulo's campus "Universidade do Grande ABC". Santos: History The region where Santos sits was originally inhabited by Tupi-Guarani native Americans. The first European to settle in the area was João Ramalho, a Portuguese sailor who may have been shipwrecked around 1510; he eventually married into captivity among natives before being released. In 1532 his nephew Estêvão Gomes Ramalho received permission from king Dom Sebastião to occupy part of this land. Eleven years later it became known as "Ramalinha", which means small or little Ramalho (in reference to its founder).