Vitória [key], city (1996 pop. 263,708), capital of Espírito Santo state, E Brazil, on an island in Espírito Santo Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of Brazil's chief ore ports and is linked by rail with rich iron deposits at Itabira, in Minas Gerais state. Besides processing ore, the city produces cacao, grains, alcohol, molasses, coffee, furniture, and paper bags. By the early 1990s, oil in Espírito Santo Bay had been discovered but not yet exploited. Vitória was founded in 1535 as a defensive position against the indigenous peoples. The city repelled several French attacks and the English pirate Thomas Cavendish (late 16th cent.), as well as an attempted Dutch invasion in 1625.
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