|
THE O'BRIEN
CHRONICLE
BERNARDO O'BRIEN'S BRAZIL
The Brazil that
Bernardo O'Brien visited during the early part of the 17th century
was much less settled than the coastline of North America. Brazil
was first discovered in 1499 by Spanish explorer Vicente Yáńez
Pinzón (who could not claim it due to the Treaty of Tordesillas,
1494). It was claimed in 1500 by Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares
Cabral, who landed on the far eastern tip of Brazil. Cabral had had
not been searching for land in that direction; he was actually
intending to sail to sourthern Africa. The Portugese had found that
the best way down the African coast was to sail far out toward the
western Atlantic. Cabral had merely been blown further west than
usual and thus struck the coast of Brazil. Though this was only
eight years after Columbus, colonization did not develop as rapidly
in the south as it did in the north. The early years of Brazil's
history is that of Portuguese exploration more so than colonization.
One of the first valuable commodities the Portuguese began to take
home were red and purple dyes from Brazilian wood, which the
Portuguese called pau-brasil, thus the origin of the
country's name.
 |
University of Georgia
Library
An early map of the Brazil
region of South America |
In early years of European involvement, Brazil was plagued by
numerous groups or marauding bands called bandeiras, who made
a living rounding up Indians for sale as slaves on the few European
mines, plantations and farms. The most effective enemy of these
slave traders were Catholic missionaries, especially those from The
Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. Their Indian settlements, known as
reducciones, were often the safest places for the native
population. It was not until the 1530s that the Portuguese first
began to colonize the coastline of Brazil. By then, other European
nations, most notably the French, were attempting to exploit some of
the riches of the Brazilian coast, as well, and the Portuguese
needed to think of solidifying their claims on the rich natural
resources of this emerging area. By midcentury the Portuguese had
developed a system of political control, with the settlement of
Salvador in the Bahia region as its capital. In 1580, the Portuguese
and Spanish kingdoms were merged under Philip II of Spain. This
union would last until 1640, which encompasses the period leading to
and including the time when Bernardo O'Brien was in Brazil. These
years were marked by increasing conflict between Philip's combined
kingdom and other Europeans, with the English and Dutch, who were
their traditional enemies on the continent, now presenting the most
serious problems.
Though the English had a presence in Brazil, it was by far the
Dutch who would be the biggest thorn in the side of
Spanish/Portuguese Brazil. Through the 1620s and '30s, the Dutch
would send many strong forces to Brazil and would seize large
portions of the country at various points. The Dutch would finally
be defeated in Brazil, but not until 1654. All of these countries
will come into play on the pages of the The O'Brien
Chronicle. O'Brien first comes to Brazil with an English
expedition and later is in contact with the Dutch, Portuguese,
Spanish, English, and other Irishmen; soldiers, explorers and
colonists of these countries move through his narrative at various
points. Like so many Irishmen forced to leave their country and use
their wits to make a new life, O'Brien must keep those wits about
him on many occasions, playing one side off against another in the
shifting tides that sweep him off in one direction and another
throughout his narrative.
This then is the Brazil of Bernardo O'Brien's world. A region
that is ostensibly owned by the recently merged Spanish/Portuguese
Empire, but one which is highly coveted by the English and Dutch,
who will take it by force, if possible. It is a dangerous world,
indeed, for this son of Erin, a world in transition, where friend
and foe are never certain, but it is a world he seems highly adept
at negotiating.
The
O'Brien Chronicle
E-mail us for more
information about The Wild Geese Today
|
