Manuel da Nóbrega - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Manuel da Nóbrega (1517–1570) was a Portuguese Jesuit priest and first Provincial

Provincial superior

A Provincial Superior is a major superior of a religious order acting under the order's Superior General and exercising a general supervision over all the members of that order in a territorial division of the order called a province--similar to but not to be confused with an ecclesiastical...

of the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

in colonial 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...

. Together with José de Anchieta

José de Anchieta

José de Anchieta was a Canarian Jesuit missionary to Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's history in the 1st century after its discovery on April 22, 1500 by a Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral, Anchieta was one of the founders of...

, he was very influential in the early History of Brazil

History of Brazil

The history of Brazil begins with the arrival of the first indigenous peoples, thousands of years ago by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska and then moving south....

, and participated in the founding of several cities, such as Recife

Recife

Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

, 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...

, Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

and São Paulo, and many Jesuit Colleges and seminaries.

Early life

Nóbrega was born on October 18, 1517, in Sanfins do Douro, Trás-os-Montes

Trás-os-Montes (region)

Trás-os-Montes was one of the 13 regions of continental Portugal identified by geographer Amorim Girão, in a study published between 1927 and 1930.Together with Alto Douro it formed Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province.- See also :...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, to an important family; his father was Baltasar da Nóbrega, a prominent judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

of Justice. Manuel da Nobrega studied Humanities

Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....

at Oporto and Salamanca

Salamanca

Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

and at the University of Coimbra, where he obtained his baccalaureate in Canon law

Canon law (Catholic Church)

The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...

and philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, in 1541. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1544 and after being ordained, carried out pastoral work in the regions of Minho and Beira

Beira, Portugal

Beira was one of the six traditional provinces or "comarcas" of Portugal.-Administrative history:The medieval province of Beira was divided in 1832 into* Beira Alta Province* Beira Baixa ProvinceBeira Litoral...

Missionary in Brazil

In 1549, he joined the naval fleet of the first Portuguese Governor-General

Governor-General

A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...

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...

(1502–1579), following a request by King D. João III

John III of Portugal

John III , nicknamed o Piedoso , was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile...

to the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

, to start the missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

work of converting the Amerindians

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

, who were heathen in the eyes of the Catholic Church, of building churches and religious seminars, and of educating the colonists, who were, in the beginning, mostly degredados, or common criminals, political and religious prisoners expelled from Portugal as a sentence for their crimes.

Nóbrega arrived in the captaincy

Captaincy

A captaincy is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. Each was governed by a captain general.-In the Portuguese Empire:...

of Bahia

Bahia

Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

on March 29, 1549, accompanied by five other Jesuits. The Governor-General's first act was to found the colonial capital city of Salvador (The Savior, in 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...

) and to celebrate its first Mass in 1549.

Nóbrega and his colleagues tried to fulfill their mission but faced many difficulties because the colonists mistreated and tried to enslave

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

the Indians. He soon was fiercely engaged in the defense of the Indians, a posture which lead to serious clashes with inhabitants and authorities of the new colony, alike, including the first Governor-General and the one who succeeded him, Duarte da Costa.

To gain authority in his fight against the colonists, Nóbrega asked the King to establish an episcopacy in Brazil, which was granted on February 25, 1551. The first Bishop of Brazil, Dom Pedro Fernandes Sardinha took office on June 22, 1552. By then, Nóbrega had already created the Jesuit College of Salvador. Nóbrega was then nominated the first Provincial

Provincial superior

of the Society of Jesus in the New World

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...

, a post which he held until 1559. However, Dom Sardinha was killed and eaten by hostile Indians after a shipwreck, changing Nóbrega's mind about the Indian mission.

Sensing the difficulties of converting adult Indians to Christianity, Nóbrega determined that the Jesuit's efforts should concentrate on the teaching of children, which were more pliable, and the Jesuits started to create elementary schools for teaching Portuguese and 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...

, basic literacy and religion. The Jesuits discovered that singing was a very effective way of winning the attention of the students. Nóbrega was one of the pioneers in using music in education in Brazil. To help in the evangelization

Evangelization

Evangelization is that process in the Christian religion which seeks to spread the Gospel and the knowledge of the Gospel throughout the world. It can be defined as so:-The birth of Christian evangelization:...

of children, Nóbrega had the idea of bringing in seven orphan children to Brazil and making them learn Tupi, the language of the Indians, so that they would be bilingual and act as translators. These children would often go with the Jesuits on foot to faraway places and were protected and cherished by the Indians. Several of the children became Jesuit priests, too.

In 1552, Nóbrega accompanied again Tomé de Sousa to the captaincy of São Vicente, in the present-day Southern state of São Paulo

São Paulo (state)

São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

. There, he was joined by another group of Jesuits, who had arrived with José de Anchieta

José de Anchieta

, then a young novice, who travelled with Mem de Sá

Mem de Sá

Mem de Sá was a Governor-General of Brazil from 1557-1572.He was born in Coimbra, Portugal, around 1500, the year of discovery of Brazil by a naval fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral....

, the third Governor-General sent by the Crown. Nóbrega determined as the new mission of this small band of missionaries to found villages (aldeamentos) on the high plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

just above the coastline, in order to better pursue their work of catechesis and education of the Indians. Thus, on January 25, 1554, Nóbrega and Anchieta celebrated the first mass in the new and modest Jesuit College of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga

São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga

São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga was the village that grew into São Paulo, Brazil in the region known as Campos de Piratininga...

, in honor of Saint Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

's day of conversion to Christianity. The tiny settlement around this Jesuit school was to become one of the largest metropoles of the world, São Paulo.

Missionary Practice

Nobrega and his men began catechizing and baptizing the natives upon their arrival in Brazil. One of the early encounters they had with the heathens was when Nobrega and his men tried to stop preparations for a cannibal feast and the natives rose up against the Christians. The Governor's militia helped to defend the missionaries against the native uprising.

Busy building chapels and schools, the missionaries boasted of the high rate of conversion of the natives. The Jesuits had begun teaching prayers to the natives as well as teaching them how to write and sing. According to a report written by Nobrega five hundred natives had been baptized within the first five months of the arrival of the Jesuits and many more were catechumens.

The problems with the Portuguese colonies in Brazil, like many colonies in the Americas, were that slavery and concubinage were common practices amongst the new settlers. Nóbrega was concerned that the Portuguese settlers were not good examples. Nóbrega was unable to limit slavery among the Portuguese so he chose separation instead. He moved toward the physical separation of the natives and the Portuguese to limit their contact with corrupt surroundings and focused on reducing the Jesuits’ reliance on support from the Portuguese crown.

Nóbrega was encouraged that many natives had converted to Christianity despite being mistreated by the Europeans. The Brazilian sugar plantation colony for example was founded on the extensive use of Indian labor. Although this stage in the development of the Brazilian economy was temporary, the Portuguese eventually began using African slave labor, it had long lasting effects on the moral of the native people. The Portuguese created a society in which the natives had to live by Portuguese rules and conform to new modes of behavior, defined by European social and racial categories.

Descriptions of the Natives in Nobrega’s Diálogo sobre a Conversão do Gentio

From the point of view of two Portuguese settlers, Manuel da Nóbrega describes the native people of Brazil. Nóbrega created a script between these two men that provides insight into some of the characterizations of the native population.

Goncalo Alvarez, a lay person preaching to the natives, describes in the opening lines of the dialogue the natives as “those”, spoken pejoratively, as “beasts”. He is therefore dehumanizing the natives and at the same time questioning their capacity to understand and accept Christianity. Matheus Nugueira, his companion, agrees and upholds this characterization by stating that these natives are worse than all others in the sense that they do not grasp Christianity. This description is a reflection of Nóbrega’s frustration with the native population. Further along in the text though the two characters discuss the role of a Christian among a native population. Gonalo questions their goal and Nugueira clearly states that it is charity and love of God and of neighbor. This statement on the part of Nungueira places the native peoples, as human beings, among the neighbors to which Christians, including the Portuguese settlers must love. Nobrega questioned the importance of converting the natives. On one hand, he did not know if the natives were capable of fully grasping the concept of Christiaity, especially with the language barrier. On the other hand, as a Christian and as a Jesuit, he understood his stance needed to be that of a kind, understanding teacher.

War and Expansion

The exploitation and massacres of Indian villages by the Portuguese colonists continued despite the pacification efforts of Nóbrega. The Tamoio and Tupiniquim

Tupiniquim

Tupiniquim 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...

tribes, who lived along the Brazilian coast from the present-day states of 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...

to Paraná

Paraná (state)

Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...

were most affected. Rebelling, they formed a warring tribal alliance, which became the Tamoio Confederation (Confederação dos Tamoios, in Portuguese) and started attacks on the villages founded by the colonists. São Paulo was attacked several times, but the Portuguese resisted. Hard pressed, Nóbrega tried to make a peace treaty with the Confederation, sensing that all their effort and the Portuguese colonization was in great danger. Under considerable duress and several threats of being killed and eaten by the Indians, Nobrega and Anchieta stayed for a time in Iperoig (present-day Ubatuba in the Northern cost of São Paulo), in conference with the tribal chieftains, until Nóbrega was able to achieve a temporary peace. Anchieta's command of Tupi, the language spoken by most of the Indians (of which he had compiled a vocabulary

Vocabulary

A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...

and a grammar

Grammar

In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...

) was extremely useful to Nóbrega, who had no such ability.

The arrival of a French invasion force in 1555, in the Guanabara Bay

Guanabara Bay

Guanabara Bay is an oceanic bay located in southeastern Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lies the city of Rio de Janeiro, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and São Gonçalo. Four other municipalities surround the bay's shores...

, Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

(the so-called France Antarctique
France Antarctique
France Antarctique was a French colony south of the Equator, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which existed between 1555 and 1567, and had control over the coast from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio...

episode), however, tipped the balance again, since the Indians saw an opportunity to rally the Frenchmen's help to vanquish the Portuguese. Thus, Nóbrega had no alternative other than bless and support the punitive expeditions sent by the third Governor-General from Portugal, Mem de Sá

Mem de Sá

Mem de Sá was a Governor-General of Brazil from 1557-1572.He was born in Coimbra, Portugal, around 1500, the year of discovery of Brazil by a naval fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral....

, in 1560 and by his nephew, Estácio de Sá

Estácio de Sá

Estácio de Sá was a Portuguese soldier and officer who came to Brazil on orders of the Portuguese crown to wage war on the French colonists commanded by Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon , who had established themselves in 1555 at the Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, in the episode which became known...

, in 1565. The French colonists were defeated and expelled and their Indian allies were reduced to submission.

After the expulsion of the French invaders, Father Manuel da Nóbrega founded a new Jesuit College in Rio, the College of Saint Vincent, and was nominated its Rector (Dean). In 1570 he was again nominated Brazilian Provincial of the Jesuit Order, but he died before taking office, on October 18, 1570, the very day he was completing 53 years of age. Seven years later, the Jesuit Provincialship of Brazil was accepted by Anchieta, his great pupil and friend.

External links

Diálogo sobre a Conversão do gentio at MetaLibri Digital Library

Portugal in America

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