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

Life

Costa was born in Colônia do Sacramento, now part of

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, 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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...

and commander of the

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

. Although they had converted to Christianity, his family, the da Costas, came from a long line of

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

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

Pelotas Pelotas () is a Brazilian city and Municipalities of Brazil, municipality (''município''), the fourth Largest cities in Rio Grande do Sul by population, most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, after Porto Alegre, Caxias do Su ...

, in

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, where Costa would spend his

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

, until he was sent to the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, 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 university ...

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, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he became a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. 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

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in 15 ...

, by order of Pina Manique, since he was accused of spreading Masonic ideas through

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 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 organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...

; 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

Correio Braziliense The ''Correio Braziliense'' (in English, ''Mail of Brasília'', after the archaic demonym) 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 Br ...

'', which ran from 1808 to 1823. Through this journal, Costa would spread Liberal 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 () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

, 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 thro ...

of Brazil in England. He was buried in the church of Saint Mary the Virgin, in Hurley,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, 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 Colonel (United Kingdom), Colonel Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (26 March 175321 August 1814), was an American-born British military officer, scientist and inventor. Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, he sup ...

and

Benjamin Smith Barton Benjamin Smith Barton (February10, 1766December19, 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 specimens in the ...

Honors

The Museu de Comunicação Social Hipólito José da Costa, in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

, 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 journalists 19th-century Brazilian writers Brazilian Freemasons 19th-century Brazilian male writers