José Carlos do Patrocínio (9 October 1854 – 29 January 1905) was a Brazilian writer, journalist, activist, orator and pharmacist. He was among the most well-known proponents of the abolition of slavery in Brazil, and known as "''Tigre da Abolição''" (The Tiger of Abolition). He founded and occupied the 21st chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1897 until his death in 1905.

Life

José do Patrocínio was born on 9 October 1854 in the city of

Campos dos Goytacazes Campos dos Goytacazes () is a city located in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 483,540 inhabitants. It is the largest city in Rio de Janeiro (state) outside of the Greater Rio de Janeiro metropolitan ar ...

, to João Carlos Monteiro, a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

and politician, and Justina do Espírito Santo, a young freed slave from Elmina,

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. João Carlos did not legally recognize his son, but he did partially subsidize his education in pharmacy school. After finishing school, Patrocínio went to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, where he served as a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

during the construction of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia. He became interested in medicine and began studying at the Facukty of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro, graduating in pharmacy in 1874. However, Patrocínio could not find a home to live in after his graduation. A friend of his invited him to live in the neighborhood of São Cristóvão, where he stayed at the house of a rich

laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

and captain named Emiliano Rosa Sena. Later entering to a Republican club, he met Quintino Bocaiuva, Lopes Trovão and Pardal Mallet, among others. He soon fell in love with Sena's daughter, Maria Henriqueta, whom he affectionately called "Bibi". Although Emiliano initially disapproved their relationship, he later complied with it. With Sena's permission, Patrocínio married Bibi in 1879. During this period, Patrocínio began his journalistic career. He founded, alongside Demerval da Fonseca, a journal named ''Os Ferrões'' (The Stings). Fonseca used the pen name "Eurus Ferrão", while Patrocínio used "Notus Ferrão". In 1879, he became a

contributing editor A contributing editor is a newspaper, magazine or online job title that varies in its responsibilities. Often, but not always, a contributing editor is a "high-end" freelancer, consultant, or expert who has proven ability and has readership dra ...

for the journal ''Gazeta de Notícias'', where he wrote articles under the pen name "Prudhomme". Within a short time his abolitionist writings increased the daily circulation of the paper from 2,000 to 12,000 copies. In 1880 he founded an Abolitionist society, called the '' Confederação Abolicionista'' (Abolitionist Confederation), alongside Joaquim Nabuco. He and its members (such as André Rebouças and Aristides Lobo) were famous for buying

manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that the most wi ...

s for slaves. In 1885, invited by Francisco de Paula Ney, Patrocínio travelled to

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, where he was very well received. He was also well received when he returned to Campos dos Goytacazes, where he took his mother to Rio de Janeiro, for her burial. Famous personalities, such as Ruy Barbosa, Rodolfo Epifânio de Sousa Dantas, Campos Sales and Prudente de Morais, attended the burial. Patrocínio had been a staunch republican for years, but in 1888 he abruptly converted into a supporter of the Brazilian monarchy out of gratitude towards Princess Isabel when she signed the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

on May 13. In the following months he dissociated himself from his republican club and founded the Black Guard to protect the monarchy against the rebellious aristocracy and military. In late 1889, however, with the proclamation of the republic, the Black Guard was dissolved. Patrocínio became a supporter of the Navy Revolt of 1893 against the newly founded Republic. As a result of his participation in the revolt he was briefly exiled in Cucuí, Amazonas. Patrocínio remained an active journalist after his exile up to his death on 29 January 1905, at the age of 50. He died during a speech in honor of Alberto Santos-Dumont at the Teatro Lírico in Rio de Janeiro, due to

hemoptysis Hemoptysis or haemoptysis is the discharge of blood or blood-stained sputum, mucus through the mouth coming from the bronchi, larynx, vertebrate trachea, trachea, or lungs. It does not necessarily involve coughing. In other words, it is the airw ...

. His funeral procession was attended by approximately 10,000 people.

Works

* '' Mota Coqueiro, ou A Pena de Morte'' (1877) * ''Os Retirantes'' (1879) * ''Pedro Espanhol'' (1884)

Representations in popular culture

Patrocínio was portrayed by Antonio Pitanga in the 1969 telenovel '' Sangue do Meu Sangue'', by Kadu Karneiro in its 1995 remake, by Valter Santos in the 1988 miniseries ''Abolição'' and by Maurício Gonçalves in the 1999 miniseries ''Chiquinha Gonzaga''.

References

External links

Do Patrocínio's biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patrocinio, Jose do 1854 births 1905 deaths Brazilian journalists Brazilian abolitionists Brazilian monarchists People from Campos dos Goytacazes Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian people of Ghanaian descent