Captain Baltasar Fernandes (also spelled ''Baltazar'' or ''Balthazar'') (c. 1580 - c. 1667) was a colonist of

Captaincy of São Vicente The Captaincy of São Vicente (1534–1709) was a land grant and colonial administration in the far southern part of the colonial Portuguese Empire in Colonial Brazil. History In 1534 King John III of Portugal granted the captaincy to Martim ...

who led the expeditions called

Bandeiras ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate indigenous peoples during the early modern period. They played a major role in exp ...

into the interior seeking gold, silver, and iron. He was the founder and one of the first settlers of

Sorocaba Sorocaba () is a municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. With over 723,000 inhabitants, it is the seventh-largest city in the state and the second-largest outside the Greater São Paulo region, ranking behind only Cam ...

in 1654.

Early life

Fernandes was born in São Paulo and raised in Santana do Parnaíba. His mother,

Susana Dias Susana Dias (c. 1553 – 2 September 1634) was a Paulista woman who, along with her son captain , founded the city of Parnahyba in the Captaincy of São Vicente, which would become the modern-day city of Santana de Parnaíba, São Paulo, Brazil. ...

, would establish the farm that would become the city of Santana de Parnaíba. He was the brother of the founder of

Itu The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established ...

, Domingos Fernandes, and founder of

Santana de Parnaíba Santana de Parnaíba is a city and municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 142,301 (2020 est.) in an area of . It was founded in 1625 near the Tietê River by Susa ...

, André Fernandes. He married Maria de Zunega of Paraguay, daughter of Bartolomeu de Torales with whom he had a daughter, Mary Torales. After being widowed, married Isabel de Proenca, daughter of João de Abreu who had twelve sons. He began as a

bandeirante ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate indigenous peoples during the early modern period. They played a major role in exp ...

(or pioneer) who would enslave natives in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraguay to forcefully work in the fields.

Founding of Sorocaba

Baltasar Fernandes and his son, Captain Andrew of Zunéga Y Leon, along with his family and hundreds of captive native slaves, founded the city of Sorocaba on 15 August 1654. Around 1654, Fernandes built a house on the edge of the

Sorocaba River The Sorocaba River ( Portuguese, ''Rio Sorocaba'') is a river of São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Tietê River. The river runs large and important part of the municipality of Sorocaba. Geography Sorocaba headwate ...

and a chapel—Nossa Senhora da Ponte—known today as Sorocaba Metropolitan Cathedral. On 21 April 1660 he donated land, plantations and indigenous slaves to the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

. This later became the foundation of the Monastery of St. Benedict (Mosteiro de São Bento). In 1661, Baltazar Fernandes went to São Paulo to talk to the governor general Salvador Corrêa de Sá e Benevides. Fernandes wanted Sorocaba to cease being a village and turned into a ''vila'' (the name given to cities at the time). The governor granted his request and, on 3 March 1661, Sorocaba was elevated to the category of ''Vila'' (or town). The full name became the ''Vila de Nossa Senhora da Ponte de Sorocaba''. Sorocaba immediately started a city council and that same day, they named the main members of the board: Judges Baltazar Fernandes and André de Zunega,

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

s Cláudio Furquim and Paschoal Leite Paes, and Attorney Domingos Garcia, accompanied by Registrar Francisco Sanches. The seemingly positive attitude Baltasar Fernandes had in relation to the Catholic Church was because he had to mask his Jewish origin. According to the historian Anita Novinsky, Fernandes, as well as many other pioneers, was Jewish and a "New Christian" (cristão-novo). According to one account, Fernandes shot Father Diogo de Alfaro in the head after the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in 15 ...

sent him to investigate the

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its be ...

"heretics".

References

External links

Monument Image, Sorocaba

Torre Do Tombo National Archive, Letters to the Queen

Sorocaba City Interactive 3D

Commemorative Stamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, Baltazar Portuguese explorers of South America 17th-century Portuguese explorers Portuguese colonization of the Americas People from São Paulo People from Santana de Parnaíba People from Sorocaba Sorocaba 1580s births 1660s deaths Explorers of São Paulo

Early life

Founding of Sorocaba

See also

References

External links