Mem de Sá

Dom Mem de Sá (* 1500 or 1504 in Coimbra , Portugal ; † March 12, 1572 in Salvador da Bahia , Brazil ) was a Portuguese nobleman, lawyer, judge and governor. He was the third governor general (viceroy) of Brazil (also Portuguese America) from 1558 to 1572. He was also a co-founder of Rio de Janeiro .

Life

Mem de Sá was born as the brother of the famous poet Francisco Sá de Miranda in Coimbra and studied law in Salamanca . In 1528 he took his legal exam and a doctorate in law, in 1533 he married Dona Guiomar de Faria, with her he had a son, Fernao de Sá, who later became Capitao (Prefect) of the Prefecture of Espirito Santo . Sá worked for many years as a judge at various courts in Portugal. He was also a privy councilor.

On July 23, 1556 he was by the regent, Dona Catharina of Portugal , the mother of King Dom Sebastiaos and widow of Dom Johann III. appointed governor. But he had to wait until his predecessor, Dom Duarte da Costa , arrived in Portugal. This happened on April 30, 1557, a few days later he set out on his own journey to Brazil and landed there on December 28, 1557. He officially took office on January 3, 1558.

Consolidation of the state

Mem de Sá used his approximately 14-year term in office to consolidate the colony of Portuguese America and Brazil. He promoted agriculture and, above all, the cultivation of sugar cane , which later led to Brazil's monopoly and to the importation of slaves for work in the fields and families that became so-called "sugar dynasties" or "sugar barons". But Sá could not foresee all this.

He was involved in the founding of Rio de Janeiro together with the Jesuit Manuel da Nobrega , which was founded on March 1, 1565. He made his nephew, Dom Salvador Correia de Sá , city prefect of Rio de Janeiro. He was also involved in founding the city of São Lourenço, which is now called Niterói .

He encouraged the Jesuits in their endeavors to convert the local Indians , but at the same time came into conflict with the Jesuits because of conflicts with the Indians, without losing their esteem.

Overall, his reign is associated with peace (internally) and prosperity. He was very much appreciated by the two leading Jesuits in Brazil of their time, José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nobrega. Anchieta wrote the neo-Latin epic De gestis Mendi de Saa about him .

Fight against the Indians and the French

In various battles he first succeeded in consolidating his power and that of Portugal in Brazil, in which he repeatedly defeated attacking Indian tribes.

The French also attacked around 1560 and established themselves on the Baía de Guanabara , the bay of today's Rio de Janeiro, where they founded the Fort of Coligny. With around 120 Portuguese soldiers and around 1140 Indians, he succeeded in the battle of Guanabara in defeating the French and rejecting any French claims to the land.

death

On March 12, 1572, Mem de Sá died unexpectedly while he was preparing for his recall to Portugal. His successor Dom Luís de Vasconcelos, attacked twice by French privateers, was killed in the second attack and was unable to take office. So Sá remained in office on an interim basis until a successor was appointed. He probably died during this time.

swell

• Mem de Sá. In: Brasil Escola , accessed March 10, 2016 (Portuguese)
• Mem de Sá, Governador Geral do Brasil. In: Catolicismo. Revista de Cultura e Atualidades , accessed March 10, 2016 (Portuguese)
• Mem de Sá. In: Diário Universal , as of March 2, 2010, accessed on March 10, 2016 (Portuguese)

predecessor	Office	successor
Duarte da Costa	Governor of Brazil 1558–1572	Luís Brito e Almeida ( Salvador ) António Salema ( Rio de Janeiro )