Emboabas' War
Encyclopedia
The Emboabas' War was a war
waged in the early 18th century between two generations of Portuguese
settlers in the vice-kingdom of Brazil, then merely the Capitaincy of São Vicente
.
Starting from the village of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga
, the Bandeirantes
had explored all of current Brazil, effectively taking advantage of the union of the Crowns
of Portugal
and Spain
from 1580 to 1640 to incorporate all the former Spanish territories then west of the Tordesilhas Line, now part of Brazil. Their goal was to capture new Indian slaves—this put them in conflict with the Jesuit Reductions
—, recapture runaway slaves and mainly find precious metal and stones.
Their search was rewarded in a then-inaccessible area just north of their original Capitania that was to become Minas dos Matos Gerais. The problem was that the mines, if rich, were in a vast area they couldn't effectively settle, so it attracted a gold rush from Portugal. The new arrivers, called Emboabas (Portuguese and Brazilian immigrants) after a local tree, found an alternative, shorter route to the sea, the Caminho Novo das Minas dos Matos Gerais to São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, at the Bay of Guanabara, bypassing and alienating the original discoverers.
The Bandeirantes
, or simply Paulistas
, tried to assert rights of precedence, but were defeated. As a result the provinces of Minas Gerais
and Rio de Janeiro
were formed, their capital cities of Vila Rica do Ouro Preto
and São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, respectively, became the new centers of power in the vice-kingdom of Brazil. São Sebastião (later shortened to its present name of Rio de Janeiro
) became the capital city of the vice-kingdom, later to become the capital too of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
waged in the early 18th century between two generations of Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
settlers in the vice-kingdom of Brazil, then merely the Capitaincy of São Vicente
Capitaincy of São Vicente
The Captaincy of São Vicente was the only captaincy to succeed in Southern Brazil, along with Pernambuco in the North. It was the origin of the state of São Paulo and of the expansion of Portuguese America west of the Tordesilhas Line by the Bandeiras....
.
Starting from the village of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga
São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga
São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga was the village that grew into São Paulo, Brazil in the region known as Campos de Piratininga...
, the Bandeirantes
Bandeirantes
The bandeirantes were composed of Indians , caboclos , and some whites who were the captains of the Bandeiras. Members of the 16th–18th century South American slave-hunting expeditions called bandeiras...
had explored all of current Brazil, effectively taking advantage of the union of the Crowns
Iberian Union
The Iberian union was a political unit that governed all of the Iberian Peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580–1640, through a dynastic union between the monarchies of Portugal and Spain after the War of the Portuguese Succession...
of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
from 1580 to 1640 to incorporate all the former Spanish territories then west of the Tordesilhas Line, now part of Brazil. Their goal was to capture new Indian slaves—this put them in conflict with the Jesuit Reductions
Jesuit Reductions
A Jesuit Reduction was a type of settlement for indigenous people in Latin America created by the Jesuit Order during the 17th and 18th centuries. In general, the strategy of the Spanish Empire was to gather native populations into centers called Indian Reductions , in order to Christianize, tax,...
—, recapture runaway slaves and mainly find precious metal and stones.
Their search was rewarded in a then-inaccessible area just north of their original Capitania that was to become Minas dos Matos Gerais. The problem was that the mines, if rich, were in a vast area they couldn't effectively settle, so it attracted a gold rush from Portugal. The new arrivers, called Emboabas (Portuguese and Brazilian immigrants) after a local tree, found an alternative, shorter route to the sea, the Caminho Novo das Minas dos Matos Gerais to São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, at the Bay of Guanabara, bypassing and alienating the original discoverers.
The Bandeirantes
Bandeirantes
The bandeirantes were composed of Indians , caboclos , and some whites who were the captains of the Bandeiras. Members of the 16th–18th century South American slave-hunting expeditions called bandeiras...
, or simply Paulistas
Paulistas
Paulistas are the inhabitants of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, and of its antecessor the Capitaincy of São Vicente, whose capital early shifted from the village of São Vicente to the one of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga....
, tried to assert rights of precedence, but were defeated. As a result the provinces of 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...
and 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...
were formed, their capital cities of Vila Rica do Ouro Preto
Ouro Preto
-History:Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto was originally called Vila Rica, or "rich village," the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil's golden age in the 18th century under Portuguese rule....
and São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, respectively, became the new centers of power in the vice-kingdom of Brazil. São Sebastião (later shortened to its present name of 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...
) became the capital city of the vice-kingdom, later to become the capital too of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.
Further reading
- Leme, Pedro Taques de Almeida Paes, "Nobiliarquia Paulistana Histórica e Genealógica", Ed. São Paulo University (1980, São Paulo).
- Taunay, Afonso de E., "Relatos Sertanistas", Ed. São Paulo University (1981, São Paulo)
- Taunay, Afonso de E., "História das Bandeiras Paulistas", Ed. Melhoramentos (São Paulo)
- Franco, Francisco de Assis Carvalho, "Dicionário de Bandeirantes e Sertanistas do Brasil", Ed. São Paulo University, São Paulo, Ed Itatiaia, Belo Horizonte (1989)