Pedro Teixeira
Encyclopedia
Pedro Teixeira 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...

 explorer who became, in 1637, the first European to travel up the entire length of 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...

.

Teixeira was born at Cantanhede; the date of his birth is unknown. His exploits are considered remarkable even by today's standards. Because of Teixeira and other Portuguese who pushed into the depths of the Amazon, Brazil was able to obtain far more of South America from their Spanish
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...

 competitors than the Treaty of Tordesillas
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas , signed at Tordesillas , , divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagueswest of the Cape Verde islands...

 had granted in 1494. He was called by the indian natives Curiua-Catu, meaning The Good and Friendly White Man.

1637: Amazon Expedition

In 1637, two Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 friars, under threats from nearby natives, abandoned their mission on the Amazon River and, with six soldiers, paddled a canoe up the entire length of the river to the principal Portuguese settlement of Fort Presépio. Their arrival led the Portuguese to wonder how far east the Spaniards had settled the Amazon. Although Spain and Portugal were both under the rule of Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...

 (Philip III of Portugal), trading rivalry was nevertheless intense and there was a strong movement towards the restoration of the Portuguese independence (which did take place in 1640}. Consequently, the governor of Maranhão
Maranhão
Maranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...

, Jacome Raimundo de Noronha, lost no time in commissioning an expedition under the command of Captain Pedro de Teixeira.

Teixeira already had considerable experience exploring the Amazon and the Xingu River
Xingu River
The Xingu River , also called Rio Xingu, is a 1,230-mile long, river in north Brazil; it is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River.-Description and history:...

 leading expeditions to expel English and Dutch traders and settlers. One of the Franciscan friars, Andres de Toledo, was dispatched to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

 to report his expedition to the Portuguese authorities.

So Teixeira became the first European to travel up the Amazon River, reaching Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...

 by way of the Napo River
Napo River
The Napo is a tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the volcanoes of Antisana, Sincholagua and Cotopaxi.The total length of 1075 km. Catchment area of ​​100,518 square kilometers...

. The Portuguese expedition was a large one, consisting of 47 canoes powered by 1,200 natives and Negroes to transport 70 fully armed Portuguese soldiers and their cargo of food, weapons, ammunition and barter goods. Feeding so many over a journey of several months was a formidable task, demanding the most of the explorers' hunting, fishing and food gathering skills, and often requiring barter with local tribes. The journey upstream against a strong current was arduous, and advance parties were regularly sent out to reconnoiter the way ahead in order to identify the correct fork in the river to take. Teixeira also had difficulty persuading the natives to stay with the expedition as it got farther from their homes.

During the Expedition Pedro Teixeira explored the mouth of the Rio Negro and discovered 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...

, who explored in the downstream part and baptized with this name. The Madeira River and the Mamoré and Guaporé
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...

 rivers linked to it would become decisive for the great journey of discovery conducted by Antonio Raposo Tavares
Antonio Raposo Tavares
António Raposo Tavares o Velho was a Portuguese colonial bandeirante who explored mainland eastern South America and claimed it for Portugal, extending the territory of the colony beyond the limits imposed by the treaty of Tordesillas...

 Flag from 1648 to 1652.

After eight months, the Portuguese reached the first Spanish settlement on the Rio Quijos. At this stage, Teixeira divided the expedition, sending eight canoes ahead whilst the remainder were to stay at the settlement for the return journey. The Rio Quijos was eventually abandoned when the current grew too strong, and the rest of the journey was completed on foot. After almost one year, in 1638, the expedition reached Quito to a rousing reception.

1638: Return Journey

Although the Spaniards of Peru afforded the Portuguese explorers every hospitality, they were nevertheless concerned to know how far the Portuguese had settled the Amazon. Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas , signed at Tordesillas , , divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagueswest of the Cape Verde islands...

 of 1494, and the strength of the expedition of Francisco de Orellana
Francisco de Orellana
Francisco de Orellana was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He completed the first known navigation of the length of the Amazon River, which was originally named for him...

, the Spanish considered the Amazon theirs. Consequently, Teixeira and his party were detained several weeks in Quito whilst the Spanish authorities decided what to do. In the end it was decided to send a party of Jesuit priests, headed by Cristóbal de Acuña, to accompany the Portuguese on their return journey and report all they observed. Father Cristóbal was to present his report to the Royal Council of the Indies.

Father Cristobal's report was published as a book in 1641. In it, he gives a glowing account the Amazon regions and is especially complimentary towards the indigenous Brazilian natives and their way of life. The expedition itself appears to have been uneventful, apart from a disagreement between the Jesuits and the Portuguese officers over a proposed slaving
Slavery in Brazil
Slavery in Brazil shaped the country's social structure and ethnic landscape. During the colonial epoch and for over six decades after the 1822 independence, slavery was a mainstay of the Brazilian economy, especially in mining, cotton, and sugar cane production.Brazil obtained an estimated 35% of...

 expedition up the Rio Negro. Teixeira gave way to the Jesuits over the slaving issue and the expedition eventually reached Belém
Belém
Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...

 on 12 December 1639, just over two years after it had set out. Although Father Cristóbal urged Spain to lose no time in settling the Amazon, his advice came too late. In 1640, King João IV
John IV of Portugal
|-|John IV was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1640 to his death. He was the grandson of Catherine, Duchess of Braganza, who had in 1580 claimed the Portuguese crown and sparked the struggle for the throne of Portugal. John was nicknamed John the Restorer...

 was proclaimed king of Portugal and, in 1641, king of Brazil as well.

Little is known about Pedro Teixeira apart from the Amazon expedition. After completing the expedition he went to São Luís do Maranhão
São Luís, Maranhão
São Luís is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The city is located on Ilha de São Luís in the Baía de São Marcos , an extension of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the estuary of Pindaré, Mearim, Itapecuru and other rivers. Its coordinates are 2.53° south, 44.30° west...

 to make his report to the governor. He was duly promoted to Capitão-Mor
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...

. He accepted the post of governor of Pará
Pará
Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...

on 28 February 1640 but he yielded the office after three months due to ill health. He died on 4 July 1641.

Sources

  • Smith, Anthony (1994). Explorers of the Amazon. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226763374
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