Engenho dos Erasmos or Engenho São Jorge dos Erasmos was a

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

facility on the island of São Vicente,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Constructed around 1534, the

engenho Engenho () is a colonial-era Portuguese term for a sugar cane mill and the associated facilities. In Spanish-speaking countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, they are called ingenios. Both words mean ''engine'' (from latin ''ingenium''). The word e ...

was owned for most of its working life by the

Schetz The House of Schetz or Schetz de Grobbendonk, originally House von Schetzenberg is a German Noble House. Most famous is the Flemish branch named Schetz, one of whose members became the first duke of Ursel. Origins It is believed that the origin ...

family. It is now a ruin, national monument and tourist destination.

Construction

Large-scale manufacturing of sugar in Brazil started with the 1532 expedition to São Vicente, led by

Martim Afonso de Sousa Martim Afonso de Sousa ( – 21 July 1564) was a Portugal, Portuguese ''fidalgo'', List of explorers, explorer and colonial administrator. Life Born in Vila Viçosa, he was commander of the first official Portuguese expedition into mainland of th ...

. The Engenho dos Erasmos sugar mill was probably constructed a few years later, around 1534 and was originally known as Engenho do Governador - the Governor's Mill. It was owned by Martim Afonso, Pero Lopes de Souza, Francisco Lobo, and Vicente Gonçalves, and was possibly the third such mill to be set up in Brazil, after Engenho da Madre de Deus in 1532 and Engenho de São João in 1533. It became the property of

Erasmus II Schetz Erasmus II Schetz sometimes Scets died 1550 was a Flemish nobleman. Lord of Grobbendonk He was born as son of Conrad I Schetz who married in 1485 to Maria Crans di Roscara, daughter of Mathieu Roscara. He lived in Maastricht, and came to Antwer ...

around 1540, via the commercial representatives Johan Van Hielst and João Veniste. When Erasmus died in 1550 it passed to his son,

Gaspard II Schetz Gaspar Schetz (1513–1580), Lord of Grobbendonk, Hereditary Marshal of Brabant was a financier and statesman in the Habsburg Netherlands. For reasons that are unknown he was nicknamed "Corvinus". Life Gaspar Schetz was born in Antwerp on 20 July ...

and it was owned by successive generations of the

family until the late 17th century, although they tried to sell it in 1593 and 1612. It produced

for export and domestic consumption, and operated until at least 1580, when there was increasing competition of sugar cane production from northeast Brazil and closed by the end of the 18th century. The site contained the factory, as well as administrative and accommodation buildings (including for the slaves). As well as the main building containing the factory, all under a single roof and powered by a

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...

, there was a blacksmith shop and two roofed houses. The site also had a chapel and a cemetery, and was dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

. Although often said to be built in Azorian style, it is based on the

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

n mill style. The factory was attacked by

Thomas Cavendish Sir Thomas Cavendish (1560 – May 1592) was an English explorer and a privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and retu ...

in 1591. In 1615,

Joris van Spilbergen Joris van Spilbergen (1568 in Antwerp – January 31, 1620 in Bergen op Zoom) was a Dutch naval officer. Joris van Spilbergen was born in Antwerp in 1568. His first major expedition was in 1596, when he sailed to Africa. He then left for As ...

set fire to the factory, which destroyed most of its facilities.

Ruins

The mill was abandoned in the 18th century and largely forgotten about until the 20th century. The site was owned by various families, including Braz Esteves, Pedrosa, Góis, Muniz Guimarães, Viana, Marques do Vale, Graça Martins and Toledo. In 1943 the land and the ruins were purchased by Otávio Ribeiro de Araújo. He donated it to the Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras in 1958 and it has been administered by the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

since then. While not much preservation work was carried out between 1958 and the end of the 1980s, this changed in the 1990s and 2000s, when archaeological excavations took place at the site. Over 2,000 fragments, including animal and human bones dating from the 16th century, were recovered during the excavations. The ruins are now a national monument, registered by

IPHAN The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...

in 1963 and

CONDEPHAAT The Council for the Defense of Historical, Archaeological, Artistic and Tourist Heritage ( pt, Conselho de Defesa do Patrimônio Histórico, Arqueológico, Artístico e Turístico), or CONDEPHAAT, protects, values and communicates information abou ...

in 1974. It is open for visitors, with free entry from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Sunday each week and various events are held at the site, including workshops and concerts.

References

{{University of São Paulo Sugar companies of Brazil Santos, São Paulo Ruins in Brazil University of São Paulo