José Bonifácio de Andrada

Who was José Bonifácio de Andrada?

José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, was a Brazilian statesman, naturalist, professor and poet, born in Santos, São Paulo, then part of the Portuguese Empire. He was one of the most important mentors of Brazilian independence, and his actions were decisive for the success of Emperor Pedro I. He supported public education, was an abolitionist and suggested that a new national capital be created in Brazil's underdeveloped interior. His career as naturalist was marked by the discovery of four new minerals.

In 1800, Andrada e Silva was appointed professor of geology at Coimbra, and soon after inspector-general of the Portuguese mines; and in 1812 he was made perpetual secretary of the Sciences Academy of Lisbon. Returning to the colony in 1819, he urged Dom Pedro I to resist the recall of the Lisbon court, and was appointed one of his ministers in 1821. When the independence of Brazil was declared, Andrada e Silva was made minister of the interior and of foreign affairs; and when it was established, he was again elected by the Constituent Assembly, but his democratic principles resulted in his dismissal from office, July 1823.