José de Anchieta

Who was José de Anchieta?

José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo, S.J. was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's history in the first century after its European discovery, Anchieta was one of the founders of São Paulo in 1554 and of Rio de Janeiro in 1565. He is the first playwright, the first grammarian and the first poet born in the Canary Islands, and the father of Brazilian literature. Anchieta was also involved in the religious instruction and conversion to the Catholic faith of the Indian population. His efforts along with those of another Jesuit missionary, Manuel da Nóbrega, at Indian pacification were crucial to the establishment of stable colonial settlements in the colony.

With his book The Art of Grammar, Anchieta became the first person to give a written ortography to the Old Tupi language most commonly spoken by the indigenous people of Brazil. It is recognized as the first compilation of an indigenous language made in the Americas.

Anchieta is commonly known as "the Apostle of Brazil". He was canonized by Pope Francis on 3 April 2014.