Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira
Encyclopedia
Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira (April 27, 1756 – April 23, 1815) was a naturalist
born in the Portuguese colony of Brazil
. He undertook an extensive journey which crossed the interior of the Amazon Basin
to Mato Grosso
, between 1783 and 1792. During this journey, he described the agriculture
, flora
, fauna
, and native inhabitants. Because of the energy and skill that he devoted to his explorations, he became known as the "Brazilian Humboldt
".
He then studied law and then natural philosophy and mathematics at the University of Coimbra, where he received his baccalaureate at age 22. He continued his studies at the institution, where he studied natural history, and obtained his doctorate in 1779.
He then worked at the Royal Museum of Ajuda. On March 22, 1780 he was admitted as a corresponding member of the Portuguese Royal Academy of Sciences.
gold of Mato Grosso, Goiás
, and, especially, Minas Gerais
. For this reason, the queen Maria I of Portugal
, desiring to know more about the central and north of the Brazilian colony, which at that point remained practically unexplored, in order to implement developmental measures, ordered Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira, as a naturalist, to undertake a "philosophical voyage through the captaincies
of Grão-Pará, Rio Negro, Mato Grosso e Cuiabá." The idea was to provide an impetus for economic exploration and enable conquest of disputed territory.
In 1783 the naturalist left his post at the Museum of Ajuda, and, in September, left for Brazil to describe, collect, prepare and remit to the Royal Museum of Lisbon samples of tools used by the local population, as well as local minerals, plants, and animals. He was also to write political and philosophical commentaries about what he saw in the places he passed through. This pragmatism was what separated this voyage from other, more scientific, voyages led by other naturalists who explored America.
With uncertain resources, he counted on two draftsmen or sketchers (riscadores), José Codina, about whom little is known, and José Joaquim Freire, who had an important position in the drawing house of the Museum of Ajuda and frequented the design halls of the Foundry of the Royal Army Arsenal. He was also served by a botanical gardener, Agostinho do Cabo. The voyage was undertaken under auspices of the Academy of Sciences in Lisbon, the Ministry of Business and Ultramarine Dominions, and was planned by the Italian naturalist Domenico Vandelli
. It was originally planned to include four naturalists, but due to financial cuts, Ferreira was the only one, and on his shoulders lay the responsibilities of collecting species, classifying and preparing specimens for the return journey to Lisbon, and preparing studies about the agriculture and maps of the area.
In October 1783, he arrived in Belém do Pará on the Águia e Coração de Jesus ("Eagle and Heart of Jesus"). The following nine years were dedicated to crossing the central-north of Brazil, from the island of Marajó
, Cametá
, Baião
, Pederneiras
and Alcobaça
.
He went up the Amazon River
and the Rio Negro to the border with Spanish lands, and navigated up the Branco River
to the mountain of Cananauaru. He went up the Madeira River
and the Guaporé River
to Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade
, then capital of Mato Grosso. He continued through the town of Cuiabá
, crossing from the Amazon watershed into the marshes of Mato Grosso, in the Prata River watershed. He followed the Cuiabá
, São Lourenço
and Paraguai Rivers. He returned to Belém do Pará in January 1792.
He inventoried the flora and fauna, the indigenous communities and their customs, evaluated the economic opportunities and possible places for centers of population. His was the most important voyage of discovery in Brazil during the colonial period.
His "Diary of a Philosophical Voyage" (Diário da Viagem Filosófica) was published in the Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro in 1887. The Division of Manuscripts of the National Library Foundation preserves in the Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira Collection hundreds of documents from Philosophical Voyage, along with other papers relating to the Amazon from the 18th century.
He returned to Lisbon in January 1793, and dedicated the remainder of his life to metropolitan administration. He was named Official of the Secretary of State of Sea Commerce and Ultramarine Dominions. In 1794 he was awarded the Order of Christ
and took a post as temporary director of the Royal Cabinet of Natural History and the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra
. In the following year, he was nominated, in sequence, the Vice Director of the institution, Administrator of the Royal Farms, and Deputy of the Royal Junta of Commerce. He died in Lisbon.
The material provided by the Philosophical Voyage remained for more than a century unknown and unstudied by Portuguese scholars, not even by Ferreira himself. He never resumed work on the species and samples collected in Brazil, nor refined his records and studies of the journey, and much of the material was taken to Paris as war booty. There remains today, however, a rich archive of diaries, geographic, demographic and agricultural maps, correspondence, more than a thousand boards and records, today kept mainly in the National Library Foundation in Rio de Janeiro
and the Museum Bocage in Lisbon.
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
born in the Portuguese colony of Brazil
Colonial Brazil
In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...
. He undertook an extensive journey which crossed the interior of the Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
to Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
, between 1783 and 1792. During this journey, he described the agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
, fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
, and native inhabitants. Because of the energy and skill that he devoted to his explorations, he became known as the "Brazilian Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
".
Life and work
Born in Bahia (present day Salvador), the son of the merchant Manuel Rodrigues Ferreira, Ferreira began his studies at the Convent of Mercês, in Bahia, which gave him his first orders in 1768.He then studied law and then natural philosophy and mathematics at the University of Coimbra, where he received his baccalaureate at age 22. He continued his studies at the institution, where he studied natural history, and obtained his doctorate in 1779.
He then worked at the Royal Museum of Ajuda. On March 22, 1780 he was admitted as a corresponding member of the Portuguese Royal Academy of Sciences.
Expedition to Brazil
At this time the colonial economy of Brazil was in a state of decadence, having exhausted the placerPlacer
Placer may refer to one of the following:*Placer deposit*Placer sheep*Placer mining*Placer, rugby league football role.Geographical names:* Placer, Masbate, Philippines* Placer, Surigao del Norte, Philippines...
gold of Mato Grosso, Goiás
Goiás
Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
, and, especially, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
. For this reason, the queen Maria I of Portugal
Maria I of Portugal
Maria I was Queen regnant of Portugal and the Algarves from 1777 until her death. Known as Maria the Pious , or Maria the Mad , she was the first undisputed Queen regnant of Portugal...
, desiring to know more about the central and north of the Brazilian colony, which at that point remained practically unexplored, in order to implement developmental measures, ordered Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira, as a naturalist, to undertake a "philosophical voyage through the captaincies
Captaincy
A captaincy is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. Each was governed by a captain general.-In the Portuguese Empire:...
of Grão-Pará, Rio Negro, Mato Grosso e Cuiabá." The idea was to provide an impetus for economic exploration and enable conquest of disputed territory.
In 1783 the naturalist left his post at the Museum of Ajuda, and, in September, left for Brazil to describe, collect, prepare and remit to the Royal Museum of Lisbon samples of tools used by the local population, as well as local minerals, plants, and animals. He was also to write political and philosophical commentaries about what he saw in the places he passed through. This pragmatism was what separated this voyage from other, more scientific, voyages led by other naturalists who explored America.
With uncertain resources, he counted on two draftsmen or sketchers (riscadores), José Codina, about whom little is known, and José Joaquim Freire, who had an important position in the drawing house of the Museum of Ajuda and frequented the design halls of the Foundry of the Royal Army Arsenal. He was also served by a botanical gardener, Agostinho do Cabo. The voyage was undertaken under auspices of the Academy of Sciences in Lisbon, the Ministry of Business and Ultramarine Dominions, and was planned by the Italian naturalist Domenico Vandelli
Domenico Vandelli
Domenico Agostino Vandelli was an Italian naturalist, who did most of his scientific work in Portugal....
. It was originally planned to include four naturalists, but due to financial cuts, Ferreira was the only one, and on his shoulders lay the responsibilities of collecting species, classifying and preparing specimens for the return journey to Lisbon, and preparing studies about the agriculture and maps of the area.
In October 1783, he arrived in Belém do Pará on the Águia e Coração de Jesus ("Eagle and Heart of Jesus"). The following nine years were dedicated to crossing the central-north of Brazil, from the island of Marajó
Marajó
Marajó is an island located at the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. It is part of the state of Pará.- Geography :With a land area of 40,100 km² , which compares to the size of Switzerland, it is the largest island to be completely surrounded by freshwater in the world...
, Cametá
Cametá
Cametá is a Brazilian city in the state of Pará. The mayor is José Waldoli Filgueira Valente of the Democrats Party....
, Baião
Baião, Pará
Baião, Pará is a town and municipality in the state of Pará in the Northern region of Brazil.-References:...
, Pederneiras
Pederneiras
Pederneiras is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2010 according to is 41,497 people and the total area is 729 km². The elevation is 475 m.- History :* Foundation: May 22nd, 1891...
and Alcobaça
Alcobaça, Bahia
Alcobaça is a municipality of Bahia, Brazil.- External links :*...
.
He went up the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
and the Rio Negro to the border with Spanish lands, and navigated up the Branco River
Branco River
The Rio Branco is the principal affluent of the Rio Negro from the north; it is enriched by many streams from the sierras which separate Venezuela and Guyana from Brazil. Its two upper main tributaries are the Urariquira and the Takutu...
to the mountain of Cananauaru. He went up the Madeira River
Madeira River
The Madeira River is a major waterway in South America, approximately 3,250 km miles long The Madeira is the biggest tributary of the Amazon...
and the Guaporé River
Guaporé River
Rio Guaporé is the name of a river in western Brazil along the Bolivian border. Its Bolivian name is Río Iténez.The river has its source in the Brazilian Mato Grosso circa 150 km northeast of Pontes e Lacerda. From this town on it flows in a westerly direction for about 120 km, where at...
to Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade
Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade
Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade is a Brazilian municipality in Mato Grosso with 14,523 inhabitants. It is located at upper Guaporé River close to the border with Bolivia...
, then capital of Mato Grosso. He continued through the town of Cuiabá
Cuiabá
Under the Koppen climate classification, Cuiaba features a tropical wet and dry climate. Cuiabá is famous for its searing heat, although temperatures in winter can arrive sporadically at 10 degrees, indeed atypical, caused by cold fronts coming from the south, and that may only last one or two...
, crossing from the Amazon watershed into the marshes of Mato Grosso, in the Prata River watershed. He followed the Cuiabá
Cuiabá River
The Cuiabá River is a Brazilian river in the southern state of Mato Grosso that flows in the Rio de la Plata Basin....
, São Lourenço
São Lourenço River
-Brazil:* São Lourenço River * São Lourenço River * São Lourenço River * São Lourenço River * São Lourenço River...
and Paraguai Rivers. He returned to Belém do Pará in January 1792.
He inventoried the flora and fauna, the indigenous communities and their customs, evaluated the economic opportunities and possible places for centers of population. His was the most important voyage of discovery in Brazil during the colonial period.
His "Diary of a Philosophical Voyage" (Diário da Viagem Filosófica) was published in the Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro in 1887. The Division of Manuscripts of the National Library Foundation preserves in the Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira Collection hundreds of documents from Philosophical Voyage, along with other papers relating to the Amazon from the 18th century.
Remittance to Portugal
During all of the years of exploration of the hinterland, he ordered the material collected to be sent to the royal court. Upon discovering that all of the expenses had been covered by the captain, spending his daughter's dowry, he decided that it wouldn't do to embarrass her marriage, and married his daughter, Germana Pereira de Queiroz, himself on September 16, 1792.He returned to Lisbon in January 1793, and dedicated the remainder of his life to metropolitan administration. He was named Official of the Secretary of State of Sea Commerce and Ultramarine Dominions. In 1794 he was awarded the Order of Christ
Order of Christ (Portugal)
The Military Order of Christ previously the Royal Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ was the heritage of the Knights Templar in Portugal, after the suppression of the Templars in 1312...
and took a post as temporary director of the Royal Cabinet of Natural History and the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra
Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra
The Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra is a botanical garden in Coimbra, Portugal. It was founded in 1772-1774 and it was integrated in the Natural History Museum established by the Marquis of Pombal...
. In the following year, he was nominated, in sequence, the Vice Director of the institution, Administrator of the Royal Farms, and Deputy of the Royal Junta of Commerce. He died in Lisbon.
The material provided by the Philosophical Voyage remained for more than a century unknown and unstudied by Portuguese scholars, not even by Ferreira himself. He never resumed work on the species and samples collected in Brazil, nor refined his records and studies of the journey, and much of the material was taken to Paris as war booty. There remains today, however, a rich archive of diaries, geographic, demographic and agricultural maps, correspondence, more than a thousand boards and records, today kept mainly in the National Library Foundation in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and the Museum Bocage in Lisbon.