Polidoro da Fonseca Quintanilha Jordão, the Viscount of Santa Teresa, (2 November 1802 - 13 January 1879) was a Brazilian general and politician who served as

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

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 fought in the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

Biography

Early life

The son of colonel João Florêncio Jordão, Polidoro was born in

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 ...

on 2 November 1802. After finishing the humanities course, he was accepted into the Military Academy of Rio de Janeiro on 20 January 1823, becoming a cadet on 7 February 1824. Polidoro rose through the military ranks, successively being promoted to second lieutenant via decree on 12 October 1824; first lieutenant on 17 February 1825; and captain on 10 March 1827. He graduated the engineering course at the Academy on 22 December 1831. Polidoro was later promoted to major on 12 July 1837; lieutenant colonel on 3 August 1841 and colonel on 26 July 1851. On 15 November 1853 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Superior Command of the National Guard of Brazil, being promoted to brigadier on 2 December 1856 . With the formation of a new cabinet headed by

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pedro de Araújo Lima, the marquess of Olinda, on 30 May 1862, Polidoro was appointed Minister of War. He exercised this office until 12 May 1863. On 28 September 1862 he was appointed a justice in the Supreme Military Council, becoming Councillor of War in the council on 27 June 1867.

Paraguayan War

With the outbreak of the

, general Manuel Luís Osório, then Commander-in-Chief of the Brazilian Army in Paraguay, requested the appointment of a trusted officer who could replace him in the event of impediments. Polidoro was then appointed by the imperial government, not only for Osório's impediments, but also to replace the Viscount of Porto Alegre in command of the 2nd Army Corps. As soon as he arrived in Paraguay, with Osório's ailments increasing, Polidoro took command of the 1st Army Corps, beginning his work in the

Battle of Curupayty The Battle of Curupayty was a key battle in the Paraguayan War. On the morning on 22 September 1866, the joint force of Brazilian, Argentine, and Uruguayan armies attacked Paraguayan fortified trenches on Curupayty. The Paraguayans were led by g ...

, in which the Allied forces suffered a great defeat. Polidoro also commanded the 2nd Army Corps during the war.

Later years and death

Polidoro died in Rio de Janeiro on 13 January 1879 with the rank of lieutenant general; his remains were buried in the

São João Batista Cemetery SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of Yu ...

Titles and honors

Titles of nobility

* Viscount of Santa Teresa on 27 April 1870; * Viscount of Santa Teresa (with

Grandee Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

) on 24 March 1871.

Other titles

* Grandee of the Empire of Brazil.

Honors

* Grand Cross of the Brazilian

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Aviz (), known previously to 1910 as the Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz (), and before 1789 as the Knights of Saint Benedict of Aviz () or ''Friars of Santa Maria of Évora'', is one of the four former ancien ...

; * Commander of the

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose () was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Pedro I of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was cancelled as ...

; * Dignitary of the .

Military honors

* Medal awarded to the army, armada and to civil servants in operations in the Paraguayan War; * Medal of Military Merit; * Medal of Military Bravery.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordão, Polidoro Government ministers of Brazil 1802 births 1879 deaths Brazilian nobility Burials at Cemitério de São João Batista Marshals of Brazil Brazilian military personnel of the Paraguayan War 19th-century Brazilian military personnel 19th-century Brazilian politicians