Margarida Teresa da Silva e Orta

Who was Margarida Teresa da Silva e Orta?

Margarida Teresa da Silva e Orta was a Brazilian author of the Enlightenment era. She was born in São Paulo and moved with her parents to Portugal at the age of six, where she remained for the rest of her life. Her chief work is Maximas de Virtude e Formosura, published in Lisbon in 1752 and reissued in 1777 under the title Aventuras de Diófanes. Based on Fénelon's novel Télémaque, it contains a criticism of royal absolutism, recommending instead that the king should follow a policy of enlightened paternalism.