Degredado
Encyclopedia
A degredado is the traditional
Portuguese
term for a convict exile
, esp. in 15th-18th C.
The term degredado (etymolygically, a 'decreed one', from Latin
decretum
) is a traditional Portuguese legal term used to refer to anyone who was subject to legal restrictions on their movement, speech or labor. Exile
is only one of several forms of legal impairment. But with the development of the Portuguese penal transportation
system, the term degredado became synonymous with convict exiles, and exile itself referred to as degredo.
Most degredados were common criminals, although many were political or religious prisoners (e.g. 'backsliding' New Christians), who had been sentenced to be exiled from the Kingdom of Portugal
. The sentence was not always direct - many had been given long sentences of imprisonment(sometimes death), but took the option to have their sentences commuted to a shorter period of exile overseas, in service of the crown.
Degredados played an important role in the era of Portuguese discoveries
and were of outsized importance in the establishment of Portuguese colonies overseas, particularly in Africa
and Brazil
.
In the early years of Portuguese discoveries and empire-building in the 15th-16th C., outbound ships usually carried a small number of degredados, to assist in tasks deemed too hazardous or onerous for ordinary crewmen. e.g. upon reaching an unfamiliar shore, a degredado or two were usually landed first to test if the native inhabitants were hostile. After opening contact was made, degredados were often assigned to spend the nights in the native town or village (while the rest of the crew slept aboard ships), to build up trust and collect information. If relations turned hostile, it was degredados who were charged with the dangerous job of carrying negotiating terms between the ships and local rulers.
Eventually, most degredados would be dropped off at a colony or (especially in the early years) abandoned on an unfamiliar shore, where they would remain for the duration of their sentence. Many were given specific instructions on behalf of the crown, and if they fulfilled them well, might earn them commutation or pardon. Common instructions included helping establish staging posts and warehouses, serving as laborers in a new colony, or garrisoning a fledgling fort. Degradados abandoned on unfamiliar shores (known as lançados
, literally 'the launched ones') were often instructed to conduct exploratory work inland, searching for rumored cities, making contact with unknown peoples. Some degredados achieved a measure of fame as inland explorers, making their name almost as famous to posterity as that of the great discoverer captains themselves (e.g. António Fernandes).
While many degredados performed well enough to have their sentences reduced or pardoned as a reward, probably as many just ignored the terms of their exile. Some jumped ship along the way, usually at a relatively safe port, rather than allowing themselves to be dropped off at some distant and dangerous shore. Others sneaked onto ships returning to Portugal (or some other European country) at their first chance. Some went off and formed 'outlaw' degredado colonies, away from the supervisory eye of crown officials. Others 'went native', building up a new life of their own among the local inhabitants, obliterating their past altogether (e.g. the 'Bachelor of Cananeia')
In the 16th and 17th C., degredados formed a substantial portion of early colonists in Portuguese empire
. The Moroccan enclaves, the Atlantic islands, São Tomé and Príncipe
and more distant African colonies such as Angola
, Benguela
and Mozambique
, were built up and significantly (if not mostly) populated by degredados. Many of the original Brazilian colonies were also originally founded with degradado colonists, e.g. Vasco Fernandes Coutinho
carried some 70 degredados to found Espírito Santo
in 1536; royal governor Tomé de Sousa
carried an estimated 400-600 degredados to establish Salvador
, the original capital of Portuguese Brazil
, in 1549.
Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
term for a convict exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
, esp. in 15th-18th C.
The term degredado (etymolygically, a 'decreed one', from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
decretum
Decretum
Decretum may refer to:*The Decretum Gratiani is a collection of Canon law compiled in the twelfth century by a jurist named Gratian.*Decretum Gelasianum, traditionally attributed to Pope Gelasius I, contains a list of works adjudged apocryphal....
) is a traditional Portuguese legal term used to refer to anyone who was subject to legal restrictions on their movement, speech or labor. Exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
is only one of several forms of legal impairment. But with the development of the Portuguese penal transportation
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
system, the term degredado became synonymous with convict exiles, and exile itself referred to as degredo.
Most degredados were common criminals, although many were political or religious prisoners (e.g. 'backsliding' New Christians), who had been sentenced to be exiled from the Kingdom of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
. The sentence was not always direct - many had been given long sentences of imprisonment(sometimes death), but took the option to have their sentences commuted to a shorter period of exile overseas, in service of the crown.
Degredados played an important role in the era of Portuguese discoveries
Portuguese discoveries
Portuguese discoveries is the name given to the intensive maritime exploration by the Portuguese during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Asia and Brazil, in what become known as the...
and were of outsized importance in the establishment of Portuguese colonies overseas, particularly in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
In the early years of Portuguese discoveries and empire-building in the 15th-16th C., outbound ships usually carried a small number of degredados, to assist in tasks deemed too hazardous or onerous for ordinary crewmen. e.g. upon reaching an unfamiliar shore, a degredado or two were usually landed first to test if the native inhabitants were hostile. After opening contact was made, degredados were often assigned to spend the nights in the native town or village (while the rest of the crew slept aboard ships), to build up trust and collect information. If relations turned hostile, it was degredados who were charged with the dangerous job of carrying negotiating terms between the ships and local rulers.
Eventually, most degredados would be dropped off at a colony or (especially in the early years) abandoned on an unfamiliar shore, where they would remain for the duration of their sentence. Many were given specific instructions on behalf of the crown, and if they fulfilled them well, might earn them commutation or pardon. Common instructions included helping establish staging posts and warehouses, serving as laborers in a new colony, or garrisoning a fledgling fort. Degradados abandoned on unfamiliar shores (known as lançados
Lançados
The Lançados were settlers and adventurers of Portuguese origin in Senegambia, the Cape Verde Islands and other areas of the West Africa. Many were Jews escaping persecution from the Portuguese Inquisition, and many had wives from the local African groups...
, literally 'the launched ones') were often instructed to conduct exploratory work inland, searching for rumored cities, making contact with unknown peoples. Some degredados achieved a measure of fame as inland explorers, making their name almost as famous to posterity as that of the great discoverer captains themselves (e.g. António Fernandes).
While many degredados performed well enough to have their sentences reduced or pardoned as a reward, probably as many just ignored the terms of their exile. Some jumped ship along the way, usually at a relatively safe port, rather than allowing themselves to be dropped off at some distant and dangerous shore. Others sneaked onto ships returning to Portugal (or some other European country) at their first chance. Some went off and formed 'outlaw' degredado colonies, away from the supervisory eye of crown officials. Others 'went native', building up a new life of their own among the local inhabitants, obliterating their past altogether (e.g. the 'Bachelor of Cananeia')
In the 16th and 17th C., degredados formed a substantial portion of early colonists in Portuguese empire
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
. The Moroccan enclaves, the Atlantic islands, São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
and more distant African colonies such as Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Benguela
Benguela
Benguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E...
and Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, were built up and significantly (if not mostly) populated by degredados. Many of the original Brazilian colonies were also originally founded with degradado colonists, e.g. Vasco Fernandes Coutinho
Vasco Coutinho
Vasco Fernandes Coutinho was the founder of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo.He was born in Portugal. He was later amongst the first 12 volunteers from Portugal to come to the newly discovered land which came to be known as Brazil...
carried some 70 degredados to found Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...
in 1536; royal governor Tomé de Sousa
Tomé de Sousa
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 born in Rates, Póvoa de Varzim...
carried an estimated 400-600 degredados to establish Salvador
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
, the original capital of Portuguese Brazil
Colonial Brazil
In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...
, in 1549.
Famous Degredados
- João Nunes a New ChristianNew ChristianNew Christian was a term used to refer to Iberian Jews and Muslims who converted to Roman Catholicism, and their known baptized descendants. The term was introduced by the Old Christians of Iberia who wanted to distinguish themselves from the conversos...
degredado taken by Vasco da GamaVasco da GamaVasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
on the first expedition to India. On account of his rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew and Arabic, Nunes was the first to go ashore in Calicut, India, and it is Nunes (not Gama) who uttered the famous phrase "We came to seek Christians and spices".
- Luís de Moura, a degredado taken by Pedro Álvares CabralPedro Álvares CabralPedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
on the second armada2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
(1500). Dropped off in East Africa, Moura would serve for many years as the effective Portuguese factorFactor (agent)A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...
and representative to the Sultan of MalindiMalindiMalindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
, an important Portuguese ally in East AfricaEast AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
.
- António Fernandes - a sometime carpenter who had been exiled to SofalaSofalaSofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:...
in either 1500 or 1505; Fernandes went on to conduct a series of overland exploration trips in 1512-1515, 300 miles deep into the lands of the Monomatapa and MatabelelandMatabelelandModern day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people...
.
- 'Bachelor of Cananeia' (Bacherel de Cananéia), a mysterious New Christian degredado known simply as 'the Bachelor' Abandoned on the coast of southern Brazil in 1502, he went on to raise himself into a major chieftain of the Carijó Indians around CananeiaCananéiaCananéia is the southernmost city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, near to where the Tordesilhas Line passed. The population in 2008 was 12,377 and the area is 1,242.010 km². The elevation is 8 m. The city of Cananéia is host to the Dr. João de Paiva Carvalho research base belonging to the...
. In 1533, the 'Bachelor' famously led a raid to sack and destroy the Portuguese colony of São VicenteSão Vicente, São PauloSão Vicente is a coastal city of southern São Paulo, Brazil. Its estimated population in 2006 was 329,370 inhabitants.It was the first Portuguese permanent settlement in the Americas and the first capital of the Captaincy of São Vicente, now the state of São Paulo...
.
- João RamalhoJoão RamalhoJoão Ramalho is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 4,245 and the area is 417.18 km². The elevation is 551 m....
was either a degredado or a shipwrecked sailor (uncertain which), who was left in southern Brazil c. 1511. Ramalho established himself as a lesser chieftain among the TupiniquimTupiniquimTupiniquim is the name of an Amerindian tribe who now only live in three reservations . All three are located in the municipality of Aracruz in northern Espírito Santo state, southeastern Brazil. As of 1997 their population was 1,386...
of the Piratininga plateau. Unlike the hostile Bachelor, Ramalho helped the Portuguese establish themselves at São Vicente (1532) and later São PauloSão PauloSão 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...
(c.1550)
Sources
- Coates, T.J. (2001) Convicts and orphans: forced and state-sponsored colonizers in the Portuguese Empire, 1550-1755, Stanford University Press.
- Diffie, B. W., and G. D. Winius (1977) Foundations of the Portuguese empire, 1415–1580, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press
- Russell-Wood, A.J.R. (1998) The Portuguese Empire 1415–1808: A world on the move. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Subrahmanyam, S. (1997) The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.