Tomé de Sousa
Encyclopedia
Tomé de Sousa was the first governor-general of Brazil from 1549 to 1553, when it was a Portuguese colony. He was a nobleman and soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

 born in Rates
Rates
Rates is a Portuguese parish and town located in the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim. In the census of 2001, it had a population of 2,539 inhabitants and a total area of 13.88 square kilometres.-History:...

, Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in the Norte Region and sub-region of Greater Porto, with a 2011 estimated population of 63,364. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants with 42,396 living in the city proper. The urban area expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there...

. Sousa was born a half-breed noble and participated in military expeditions in Africa, fought the Moors and commanded the Nau
Carrack
A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in 15th century Western Europe for use in the Atlantic Ocean. It had a high rounded stern with large aftcastle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was first used by the Portuguese , and later by the Spanish, to explore and...

 Conceição to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, part of the armada of Fernão de Andrade.

Sousa in Brazil

He was the agent in charge of restoring the king's authority in Brazil. Up until this point, Brazil had been neglected by Portugal, which was putting all of its resources into the spice trade in India. There was a decline in the spice trade and increasing threats around Brazil's borders by the surrounding Spanish colonies, which prompted Portugal to intervene. As part of this mission, Sousa had established his capital city at Bahia on the Atlantic coast between São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 and Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...

. The new capital was supposed to bring together the twelve pre-existing settlements, though Sousa traversed the bordering areas and aided them by carrying over the idea of justice and diminishing the lawlessness and chaos. He planned on making the colony a strong military base to protect the Portuguese settlers from Indian or other outside forces. He brought 1,000 colonists and soldiers with him on an expedition to Brazil, including four hundred degredados - "men banished from Portugal for some minor criminal activity." Among the colonists were six Jesuits, the first in Brazil, whom he assisted in the christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...

 of the natives and helped to reaffirm the King's rule over the colonies. In terms of his relations with the Indians, he was able to befriend them and to prevent any further hostilities from them, as he proved to enjoy cruel and often extreme punishment.

Return to Portugal

In 1552, Sousa suggested that Rio de Janeiro might be a potential area for settlement and in 1553 he returned to Portugal to work under the King, acting as his adviser on Brazilian affairs.
Sousa also helped to attract settlers to Brazil by installing municipal organizations, similar to the ones in Portugal, into the cities. Along with that he also managed to appoint local officials over the captaincies and strengthened tactical areas around the coast that would be beneficial to the safety of the citizens.

Further reading

Crow, John A. The Epic of Latin America, Fourth Edition. University of California Press. 1992

External links

  • http://www.salvadorconvention.com.br/english/cidade/historia.html

  • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/555522/Tome-de-Sousa
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