ANDRADA E SILVA, JOSÉ BONIFÁCIO DE


Meaning of ANDRADA E SILVA, JOSÉ BONIFÁCIO DE in English

known as José Bonifácio

born 0441; 1763, Santos, Braz.

died April 6, 1838, Niterói

Chief architect of Brazil's independence from Portugal.

Andrada was born in Brazil but educated in Portugal, where he became a distinguished scholar. On returning to Brazil in 1819, he functioned as chief minister of the Portuguese prince regent (later the emperor Pedro I ), who had fled Portugal with the rest of the royal family to escape Napoleon. Andrada was the leading intellectual advocate of independence. After Pedro I declared Brazil independent in 1822, he served as prime minister and as tutor to the child emperor Pedro II , who became an effective and enlightened monarch.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.