This paper draws on the history of the formation of Salvador's city tramways between 1849 and 1930. The Proclamation of the Republic in Brazil (1889) started the modernization of the tramway companies which, through the merger of enterprises and the arrival of foreign capital, was responsible for the introduction of the electric tramways in Bahia's capital. Two rival groups, in this context, competed in the Brazilian market, now in Salvador: on the one hand, the national enterprise Companhia Brasileira de Energia Elétrica, and on the other, the foreign company Light, led by the North-American entrepreneur Percival Farquhar. In this context of competition, the paper analyses the relation between the enterprises and Salvador's Town Council, the institution responsible for tramway concessions in the city.
The Bahia Tramway; Light and Power Co.; Companhia Brasileira de Energia Elétrica e Salvador