This article analyses the constitutive elements of the so-called "cocoa regional civilization" through the reports written by four German naturalists who travelled about the south of Bahia during the first three-fourths of the nineteenth century. Having the concept of "shared memories" as a starting point, the author demonstrates that the contribution given by these four Humboldt's disciples goes beyond the limits of science. The memories they had of their travelling were properly filtered by the local elite and mixed with another group of memories related to a recent past in which cocoa had been the chief product in the region. The process shows the search for identity by a population that developed within a certain geographic area, gained national relevance and searched to differentiate itself from the characteristic model Brazilian rural communities adopted in regard to values, ideas, social conventions and political practice.
travellers and naturalists; nature and exoticism; regional identity; Ilhéus; shared memories