João Ramalho () (1493–1582) was a Portuguese explorer and adventurer known as the first bandeirante. He lived much of his life among

Tupiniquim Tupiniquim (also Tupinã-ki, Topinaquis, Tupinaquis, Tupinanquins; plural: Tupiniquins) are an indigenous people of Brazil of the Tupi family, who now live in three indigenous territories (''Terras Indígenas'' in Portuguese). The indigenous ...

natives in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

after he arrived there around 1510. He even became the leader of an Indian village after he developed a friendship with

Tibiriçá Chief Tibiriçá (died 1562) baptized as Martim Afonso was an Amerindian leader who converted to Christianity under the auspices of José de Anchieta. He led the Tupiniquim people of Piratininga and other tribes. His daughter, Bartira, took the ...

, an important native chief at the time. Ramalho played an important role in the peaceful interaction between the Portuguese and the natives, especially after the arrival of

Martim Afonso de Sousa Martim Afonso de Sousa ( – 21 July 1564) was a Portuguese '' fidalgo'', explorer and colonial administrator. Life Martim Afonso de Sousa was born in Vila Viçosa, and had been raised in the Duke of Bragança household and was a personal fri ...

, with whom he became friends after meeting him in São Vicente, the first Portuguese settlement in the Americas. Some historians agree that his ancestors were Jews from

Covilhã Covilhã (), officially Covilhã City (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in the Centro, Portugal, Centro region, Portugal. The city proper had 33,691 inhabitants in 2021. The municipality population in 2021 was 46,455 in an area of . It is ...

.Covilhã (Rede de Judiarias de Portugal) https://www.redejudiariasportugal.com/index.php/pt/cidades/covilha He lived in the village of Santo André da Borda do Campo, which in 1553 was made a town by

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, then Governor General of Brazil. Ramalho exercised the posts of

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and

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(mayor) in the town. Ramalho is said to have originated the first mamelucos (people of mixed Portuguese and native ancestry), an ethnicity that played an important role in the 17th-century ''bandeiras'' (westward inland expeditions carried out by explorers known as ''

bandeirantes ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...

''). For that reason, he is often called the "Patriarch of the Bandeirantes". In historical records, Ramalho is described as an athletic man with a long beard and a brown skin originating from

sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...

. According to some sources, his original name was João Maldonado. In 1580, Ramalho fell ill and, on 3 May of that year, wrote his will. He died in 1582 in an unknown location in the jungle.

Legacy

The municipality of João Ramalho, in São Paulo, is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramalho, Joao 1493 births 1582 deaths 16th-century Portuguese explorers People of Colonial Brazil 16th-century Portuguese Jews Brazilian Jews