José da Silva Pais
Encyclopedia
José da Silva Pais was a 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...

 soldier and colony administrator.

He was involved in diverse situations in the disputed territories between the Portuguese and Spanish in the territory that today is the South
Southern Region, Brazil
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and covers 576,409.6 km ², being the smallest portion of the country...

 region in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. He organized the support for the Sacramento Colony during the Spanish–Portuguese War, 1735–1737, and went head-to-head with his Spanish rival, Don Pedro de Ceballos Cortez y Calderón.

For the purpose of maintaining the territory in the hands of Portugal, Pais was charged with construction of the Fortress Jesus Maria e José in the town of Rio Grande
Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande is the oldest city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and also the former state capital from 1835 to 1845...

. That area was the object of the Spanish incursion commanded by Pedro de Ceballos, who invaded it twice.

On Santa Catarina Island
Santa Catarina (island)
Florianópolis Island is an island in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It is located on the south coast of Brazil between the south 27° latitude and west 48° longitude...

, when it was in Spanish hands under the authority of Pedro de Ceballos, the Brigadier General Pais invaded and took the island for Portugal, placing himself as governor. He remained governor of the captaincy of Santa Catarina from 1739 until 1745.

He planned the construction of forts which would constitute the defense of Santa Catarina Island: in the north, Fortaleza de São José da Ponta Grossa, Fortaleza de Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim, and Fortaleza de Santo Antônio de Ratones; and in the south: Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Araçatuba.

Further reading

  • Piazza, Walter F. (1988) O Brigadeiro José da Silva Paes: Estruturador do Brasil meridional. Editora da Furg. ISBN 8585042257

External links

Uruguaiana website O Mate no Rio Grande do Sul
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