2. Daminana da Cunha Time: Knowledge of Daminana surfaced in 1780 or 1781 during the treaty between the Caiapo and the Portuguese city of Vila Boa. Colony: Plateau Goias, South America Group: Caiapo Gender: Female Occupation: Teacher, missionary, mediator and frontierswoman. Daminana da Cunha did much for the Caiapo people. She tried very hard to bridge the gap between the Caiapo and the Portuguese settlers. She was the principal Indian leader of her community. Primarily, I think she was in the book was because of her unique upbringing. She was raised for some of her childhood as a Caiapo Indian and the rest of her womanhood she spent living among the Portuguese settlers making her the perfect mediator between the two people groups.
3. Antonio de Gouveia Time: Born in 1528 Colony: Born in Terceira, Portugal Group: Azores Gender: Male Occupation: He was an Azorean Priest and Part of the slave trade in South America, among many other things. I think Gouveia was included in Struggle and Survival was because his diverse involvement. He was during the first part of what we know about his life a sub deacon in the Catholic church. As the biography unfolds his dealings with the witchcraft and his bold personality lead to his banishment to South America and then incarceration back to Lisbon. This was a very interesting read.
4. Catarina de Monte Sinay Time: 1696 Colony: Bahia, Brazil Group: European Gender: Female Occupation: Catholic Nun, Property Renter, Money Lender, Pastry Chef I am beginning to see a common theme in the characters picked for these stories. These characters are caught between two lives. This provides for a very interesting dynamic. Her primary life was lived as a nun in servitude towards the church. Her second life was lived as a business woman. What a great picture showing the pious but harsh life styles of a nun and her skills as a business woman juxtaposed together in difficult moral battle.
5. The Portuguese Empire Early Portuguese History begins with the invasion of the Celts in the first millennium B.C. Romans then invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 B.C. and in 200 years the entire peninsula was annex by Rome. During this 200 year period most of Portugal's modern day cities were formed. Next, during the early 5th century Germanic tribes invaded the peninsula and would eventually conquer all of it. The Moors landed near Algeciras in 711 A.D. The Moors would soon invade and destroy the kingdoms set up by the Germanic tribes. Count Vimara Peres conquered and governed the region between the rivers of Minho and Douro in 868 A.D. This is seen as the first milestone in the history state of Portugal. In 1095 A.D. Portugal began separating itself from the kingdoms of Galicia. During the end of the 11th century Portugal claimed its independence. On June 24th, 1128 Afonso proclaimed himself the first prince of Portugal. Eventually in 1179 Afonso I was declared king of Portugal by the Pope.
6. The Portuguese Empire July 245h, 1415 marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese armada set sail for the Islamic trade center of Ceuta, North Africa. Less than a month later, on August 21, 1415 Ceuta was conquered by Portugal and the Portuguese Empire started. In 1418 two captains of the Portuguese navy were shipwrecked during a storm on Medeira Island. 2 years later the uninhabited island was colonized by the Portuguese. During 1427 through 1431 a majority of the Azorean islands were found and colonized by the Portuguese. In 1434 Gil Eanes, a Portuguese naval captain sailed past Cape Bojador and thus putting to rest the fear of what lay beyond the borders of northern Africa. With their fears gone and the introduction of the new, highly innovative ship the caravel, unvailed in the mid-15th century, the Portuguese sailed further and further south along the African border each year. In May of 1498, Vasco da Gama guided by a local pilot found Calicut, India. 2 years later in 1500 a second voyage was dispatched to India under the leadership of Pedro Alvares Cabral. It was on this journey that Cabral would discover Brazil and advise the throne to begin its colonization.
7. The Portuguese Empire After the discover of Brazil by Cabral the Portuguese showed little interest in colonizing Brazil, focusing their efforts on Africa and India. In 1530 though, the Portuguese crown began to settle and create colonial villages in Brazil after rumors of other European colonies extracting Brazilwood. The first settlements of Brazil were formed privately and 15 captaincies were in place. Only 2 of the 15 captaincies were able to prosper, leading the King to colonize Brazil under royal effort. In 1549, the King sent Tome de Souza to Brazil to establish a central government. De Souza also brought along Jesuit missionaries who played a great part in the colonization effort. The Jesuit’s set up missions, save many natives from slavery, studied the native languages and converted many natives to Catholicism.
