- Damiana da Cunha was a leader of the Caiapó tribe of indigenous people in Brazil in the late 18th century who was baptized as a Catholic and acted as an intermediary between her people and the Brazilian government to prevent violence and disease. - António de Gouveia was a 16th century Portuguese priest who practiced magic and had various run-ins with the Portuguese Inquisition but traveled widely in Europe and Brazil. - Catarina de Monte Sinay was a nun in Bahia, Brazil in the late 17th to mid 18th century who used her business skills to generate income and make generous donations to her chapel.

1. American Colonial Empire:Portugal By Susan Hiner

2. A woman from the Caiapó tribe of Indians in Goiás, Brazil in 1778 Granddaughter of the chief, Angraí-oxá, and later the leader of the community, a church supporter and mediator between village inhabitants and the Brazilian government She was baptized in the Catholic faith, lived with the colonials and learned Portuguese. Went on several expeditions to bring the Caiapó out of the forest to the village in order to save them from extinction by violence and disease Brought back many of her people and fugitive slaves that were attacking the road to Cuiabá which was used for trade. On one trip, she returned with two chiefs. She made peace between the Caiapó people and the authorities of Goiás. She used her authority to Christianize her people and resist corrupt administrators of the Capital. Damiana da Cunha

3. He came from a Christian family in 1528, living in Terceira located in the heart of the Azores, one of the important islands west of Spain. Became an ordained priest, however practiced magic and had knowledge of medicine, astronomy and alchemy In 1557 he was denounced and sent to the Inquisition of Lisbon, charged with acts against the Faith. He went to jail several times, once escaping and sometimes was released. Travelled to Pernambuco, in the Northeast part of Brazil, as well as Italy, France and Germany He was smart, persuasive, murderous and disobedient. The 16th century was a time of transition, and using his ingenuity and knowledge he found ways to live his life his way and not conform to the customs and values of his environment. António de Gouveia

4. Catarina was the daughter of a scribe of the municipal council of Bahia in Brazil, although her father originally emigrated from Portugal. She lived as a nun most of her life from the late 17th century to the mid 18th century in the Destêrro Convent The Church had a large influence on Bahia and other nearby cities and the archdiocese had the authority on moral, ethical and religious inquiries. Bahia was a main sugar producer until early in the 1600’s when they could not compete with the British and French and the lack of imports from Europe caused a financial disaster. She used her skill and knowledge for business and finances to earn money from loans she placed, house rentals and selling sweets. Her income was used to help pay rent for family members, as well as generous donations to the chapel that would make it more comfortable and exquisitely beautiful. Catarina de Monte Sinay

5. Portugal’s empire began in 1415 with its broad trading which made it a major European power. The Portuguese ruled millions in Americas, Africa, Middle East, China and Japan. This was made possible in part, by Bartolomeu Dias who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope making it possible to trade with India in the east. Portugal’s empire ended in 1975. In 1755 Sebastião de Melo was elevated to Prime Minister from Minister of Foreign Affairs by Joseph I of Portugal. Subsequently, he changed economic policies and the military, abolished slavery and regulated commercial activity. After the earthquake in 1755, the city of Lisbon was leveled and he began the rebuild with quake proof buildings which still stand today. Later, he became a powerful dictator and after an assignation attempt on Joseph I, he punished or killed the family members involved, and was given the title ‘Marquis of Pombal’ in 1757 for 20 years until the death of Joseph I. His influence however was limited because the new Ruler, Queen Maria I of Portugal didn’t want him near her. History of Portugal

6. Iberian Union and Dutch Rivalry In 1580 Philip II of Spain took control of Portugal due to the death of King Sebastian I of Portugal, since he didn’t have any direct heirs. Therefore, Spain and Portugal were united and the two empires were legally separate, except for the Azores. The pros of this union from the Portuguese perspective, was the opportunity for the slave traders to use the Spanish networks to sell slaves in Spanish America at a higher price than in Brazil. Crossing the Tordesillas boundary, the Portuguese had expeditions into Brazil to find natives for slavery and later to find gold and diamond mines. The drawback of this union was that now they were included in the conflicts that Spain had with the British, French and Dutch. In the 1592 Spain/England war, the English captured a Portuguese ship that had just returned from the East. The Portuguese empire was the only empire that knew how to sail there. Consequently, the Dutch and English wanted the rich goods too, so a sneaky Dutch merchant who was the secretary of the Archbishop of Goa, copied secret maps on how to get to the East. Therefore , with this new information, the Portuguese Empire lost their dominant position in Asia to the Dutch and English who began their own East India Companies less than a decade later.

7. Jesuits were first brought to Brazil by Governor Tomé de Sousa. The king instructed him to give support to the Jesuits since it was important to spread the Catholic Faith to the native inhabitants. Many missions were founded in cities like Salvador and in São Paulo, directed by Father Manuel da Nóbrega, a Portuguese Jesuit Priest and they also helped in the foundation of Rio de Janeiro in 1565. The Jesuits had a central role in the colonial history of Brazil and they were able to understand the native culture and language. With that knowledge, they were influential in defeating the French colonists by calming the natives, who had been against the Portuguese. The natives were saved from becoming slaves with the help of the Jesuits, however, the down side was that diseases were spread to them because the Jesuits brought them into communities to be evangelized. The Jesuits had no problem with African people becoming slaves since slave labor and trade was an essential economy of Brazil. Colonial BrazilJesuits