Manuel Cardoso de Saldanha (

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, 17?? -

Salvador, Brazil Salvador () is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine, music, and arch ...

, 1767) was a Portuguese architect and military engineer noted for his work in

colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil (), sometimes referred to as Portuguese America, comprises the period from 1500, with the Discovery of Brazil, arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves ...

. Little is known about his early life in Portugal. His most significant work was the design of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia. The work was carried out in Portugal and executed by artisans in

. Saldanha was sent to Brazil in 1749, travelled to Portugal in 1761, but returned shortly and died in Bahia in 1767.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia

In the 1730s, while still in Lisbon, he was the author of the project to rebuild the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia, now known as the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, in Salvador, Bahia. The ''lioz'' limestone blocks for the church were carved in Lisbon and sent to Salvador as ballast for ships. Final work on the church was carried out by the mason Eugênio da Mota from 1739. The façade is monumental and flanked by two diagonally arranged towers. According to art historian Robert Chester Smith, the design of this innovative church was the best architectural example of in Brazil Colony, inspired by buildings such as the

Palace of Mafra The Palace of Mafra (), also known as the Palace-Convent of Mafra and the Royal Building of Mafra (), is a monumental Baroque and Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal, some 28 kilometres from Lisbon. Construction began in 1 ...

Works in Brazil

Saldanha was appointed Sergeant Major in 1749 and sent to Brazil to serve as an engineer. Saldanha was master at the ''Aula de Fortificação da Bahia'' ("Bahia Fortification Class"), where his main students were

José António Caldas José António Caldas (1725 – 31 October 1782) was a military engineer from the then Portuguese colony of Brazil. He was a pioneer of the use of the camera obscura in Brazil. He was a Knight Professor of the Order of Christ. Biography His locati ...

and Manuel de Oliveira Mendes. He carried out many inspections of numerous buildings in disrepair in Bahia with his assistants, such as a survey of the old Cathedral of Bahia (now demolished), and other architectural projects in the colony.

Saltpeter expedition

The Portuguese court in Lisbon tested

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

found in Bahia in the 1750s, a material in demand for the manufacture of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

, and ordered an expedition of the Serra de Montes Altos mountain region in 1757. Saldanha was selected for the expedition, and left Bahia on May 10, 1758 with João Pereira Henriques da Silva and Francisco da Cunha on the expedition. The team wrote to colonial officials a week later that the cost and difficulty of saltpeter extraction in Bahia outweighed its worth.

Death

Saldanha travelled to Portugal in 1761, but returned to Bahia shortly thereafter. He died in Bahia in 1767.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saldanha, Manuel Cardoso de 1767 deaths People from Salvador, Bahia Portuguese engineers Brazilian engineers