Hipólito José da Costa Pereira Furtado de Mendonça (August 13, 1774 – September 11, 1823) was a Brazilian journalist and diplomat considered to be the "father of Brazilian

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

". He is the patron of the 17th chair of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...

Life

Costa was born in Colônia do Sacramento, now part of

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, to '' alferes'' Félix da Costa Furtado de Mendonça and Ana Josefa Pereira. His brother was José Saturnino da Costa Pereira, who would be a senator of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

and commander of the Brazilian Army. Although they had converted to Christianity, his family, the

da Costa Costa (, , , , ), sometimes Costas, da Costa, Da Costa, or Dalla Costa, is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. The surname spread throughout the world through colonization. It is also a surname chosen by Jews and other religious groups due ...

s, came from a long line of

Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

who were active in Portugal, England and the West Indies. In 1777, the family moved to

Pelotas Pelotas () is a Brazilian city and municipality (''município''), the third most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located 270 km (168 mi) from Porto Alegre, the state's capital city, and 130 km (80.8&n ...

, in Rio Grande do Sul, where Costa would spend his adolescence, until he was sent to the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...

in 1798, where he graduated in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, Philosophy and Mathematics. Recently graduated, he was sent on diplomatic missions to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

by then- Portuguese prime minister Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho. He would live in the U.S. for two years, more precisely in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, where he became a Freemason. He wrote an account of his trip to Philadelphia, named ''Diário de Minha Viagem para a Filadélfia'', but it would be only published in 1955. Two years after his trip to the U.S. he returned to Brazil, where he would receive another mission, this time for

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, in 1802. However, three or four years later, when he returned to Brazil, he was arrested by the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition ( Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of its king, John III. ...

, by order of

Pina Manique Dr. Diogo Inácio de Pina Manique (3 October 1733 – 1 July 1805) was a Portuguese magistrate. Early life He was the son and heir of Pedro Damião de Pina Manique (Baptised Lisbon, Sé, 12 October 1704 - Lisbon, Santa Engrácia, 13 December 1 ...

, since he was accused of spreading Masonic ideas through

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. However, he was able to escape prison and fled to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, disguised as a lackey. From Spain, he returned to England, where he received protection of Prince Augustus Frederick. Da Costa continued his masonic activities in England, having joined two masonic lodges under the auspices of the Premier Grand Lodge of England; the Lodge of the Nine Muses (1807) and then the Lodge of Antiquity (1808). Settling down in the city of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, he then founded what would be the first Brazilian journal: the ''

Correio Braziliense The ''Correio Braziliense'' (meaning ''Brazilian Mail'' in English) is a daily newspaper in Brazil. The paper was first published on 21 April 1960. Its founder is Assis Chateaubriand. The paper has its headquarters in Brasília. The name came f ...

'', which ran from 1808 to 1823. Through this journal, Costa would spread

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

ideas. However, the Portuguese ambassador in London, Bernardo José de Abrantes e Castro,

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its high ...

, was an extreme combatant of Costa's journal, and would create one of himself, entitled '' O Investigador Português em Inglaterra'' (''The Portuguese Investigator in England''), which ran from 1811 to 1819. Many other journals which fought the ''Correio Braziliense'' were created. Costa died in 1823, without knowing that he was proclaimed

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

of Brazil in England. He was buried in the church of Saint Mary the Virgin, in Hurley, Berkshire, but in 2001 his remains were brought to Brazil, and can now be found at the Museu da Imprensa Nacional. He was also famous for translating into Portuguese works by

Benjamin Thompson Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (german: Reichsgraf von Rumford; March 26, 1753August 21, 1814) was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th-century revolut ...

and

Benjamin Smith Barton Benjamin Smith Barton (February 10, 1766 – December 19, 1815) was an American botanist, naturalist, and physician. He was one of the first professors of natural history in the United States and built the largest collection of botanical specime ...

Honors

The Museu de Comunicação Social Hipólito José da Costa, in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

, is named after him. SepulturaHipolito

References

External links

Hipólito da Costa's biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Hipolito Da 1774 births 1823 deaths Brazilian journalists Brazilian diplomats Brazilian translators Brazilian emigrants to the United States Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters English–Portuguese translators Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Catholicism and Freemasonry 18th-century Brazilian writers 19th-century Brazilian writers Brazilian Freemasons 19th-century Brazilian male writers