The companion language of the empire?Formal and Informal spaces of the Portuguese language (16th-20th centuries)

2-3 FEBRUARY 2017Viterbo, Italy

PORTUGUESE, AMERINDIANS AND LITERACY PRACTICESperspectives on dominance and exchange in Colonial Brazil

Ana LeitãoUniversity of Lisbon, CLUL

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Main focus:

• Language policies in the context of the Portuguese Overseas Empire

• From formal education to literacy practices: controversies and achievements

• Reflexions and historical sources from:

• Master and PhD, both focused on the situation of BrazilianAmerindians language learning (16th to 18th centuries)

• Post-PhD, in the project Post Scriptum(*)• http://ps.clul.ul.pt/pt/index.php

(*) Arquivo Digital de Escrita Quotidiana em Portugal e Espanha na Época Moderna – 7FP/ERC Advanced Grant - GA 295562

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Teaching and learning Portuguese as Non-Mother Tongue

• Formal and/or informal school education• Goals and limits imposed by institutional policies and

guidelines• Methodologies • Pedagogical resources available• Teachers, schoolmasters and their background• Linguistic background of the autochthones • Internal and external obstacles • Results achieved.

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But also according to

• Societal, political and cultural features• Literate condition of the communities in contact• Nature of contact • Political will to take over the territory

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Language and socio-cultural policies - main periods:

• The early stage of John the third (1521-1557)

• The gold period of Peter the second (1680-1700)

• The “political earthquake” of Joseph the first (1750-1777)

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The early stage of John the third (1521-1557)

• Conquering lands and souls

• Deffense of coastline against European rivals

• Dependence of interpreters

• Settlements and Amerindian neighbours

• Educational and missionary activities

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PSCR1012: 1596. Carta de Francisco Soares para João Pereira de Castro de Sousa (o Botafogo), capitão da capitania de São Vicente.

“[…] E domingo a minha missa mandarei ao padre Viegas que lhe pregue as contas de Deus, E entre elas lhe diga estas palavras. «Nosso ofício é falar-vos das cousas de Vossa salvação, dizer-vos missa, batizar-vos confessar-vos, instruir-vos nas cousas de nossa Santa Fé, o irdes - e pera isto mais quer o pai grande, que presente está -, que estejais em vossas aldeias, que andardes pelos matos, nem nunca foi sua vontade andardes ausentes de vossas aldeias, nem alguém no-lo podia pregar da sua parte. E quanto é a vossas guerras, isso não nos pertence, nem é ofício nosso, dizer-vos que vades, ou não vades a elas, mas pertence ao senhor João Pereira de Sousa vosso capitão, e câmaras desta capitania. Neles pertence o irdes ou não irdes às guerras.» […]”

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The gold period of Peter the second (1680-1700)

• Expansion to the hinterlands

• Territorial dominance and the quest for gold and diamonds

• Laws against the use of Amerindians as slaves

• Obligation for Portuguese language teaching in the Amerindian missions

• Bilingual Christian indoctrination

• Promotion of mixed marriages

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The gold period of Peter the second (1680-1700)

“Ordeno que os Missionarios, ou pessoas a que estiver encarregado o

cuidado dos Indios tenhão escola em que se ensine a todos a Lingoa

Portugueza abolindosse o perniciozo abuzo de aplicarem estes só ao

Conhecimento da Lingoa Geral do Brazil, e de os afastarem do que devem ter

da Lingoa propria da Nação Dominante, e do seu Princepe, e senhor

natural[...]”

Alvará do rei D. Pedro II de 26 de Abril de 1688 sobre os índios: liberdade, casamento com

portugueses e aprendizagem da língua portuguesa. AHU-ACL-CU-009 Caixa: 7 Doc.: 795

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The “political earthquake” of Joseph the first

(1750-1777)

• The old missions became new villages

• The project Directório dos Índios and its expansion

• Portuguese language teaching as a strategy to promote

civilization and social integration?

• Implementation of a public education system

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Literacy in Colonial Brazil Formal school education

Private schooling

Classes in monasteries

Jesuit network

▪ Colleges

▪ Training centres

▪ Improvised schools in Amerindian villages

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Literacy in Colonial Brazil Informal school education

Home schooling

Apprenticeship

Training at work

Potencial of project Post Scriptum

Evidences of informal education through letterwriting (PSCR1387; PSCR1627… and many more)

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Literacy in Colonial Brazil

http://ps.clul.ul.pt/index.php?action=home

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Teaching Amerindian children

A sine qua non matter to the foundation of the first religious institutions

A privilege in times with no public classes? Strengthening bounds with community leaders Taking benefit of schooling: Amerindian epistolary usages From missionaries to local authorities: reasons for promoting

schooling and for exhibiting Amerindian performances

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Teaching Amerindian children

The success of the first schoolmaster of Brazil, Vicente Rodrigues, at Bahia.

“Ho Irmão Vicente Rijo insina há doctrina aos mininos cada dia, e tambem tem escola de ler e escrever; parece-me bom modo este para trazer hos Indios desta terra, hos quaes tem grandes desejos de aprender e, preguntados se querem, mostrão grandes desejos.”

From Father Manuel da Nóbrega to Father Simão Rodrigues, the first provincial of Portugal. Bahia, the 10th[?] april 1549. Apud LEITE, Serafim, S. J. Cartas dos primeiros jesuítas do Brasil. v. I. São Paulo: Comissão do IV Centenário da Cidade de São Paulo, 1954. p. 110-112.

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Evidence of letter writing and communication

The Amerindians of Ibiapaba Mountain, after the Ducth territorial dominance:

“Eram dez índios da serra que acompanhavam a Francisco [índio mensageiro de Vieira], dos quais o que vinha por maioral apresentou aos padres as cartas que trazia de todos os principais, metidas, como costumam, em uns cabaços tapados com cera, para que nos rios que passam a nado se não molhassem. Admiraram-se os padres de ver as cartas escritas em papel de Veneza e fechadas com lacre da Índia; mas até destas miudezas estavam aqueles índios providos, tanto pela terra dentro, pela comunicação com os Holandeses, de quem também tinham recebido roupas de grã e de seda, de que alguns vinham vestidos. [...] A letra e estilo das cartas era dos índios pernambucanos, antigos discípulos dos padres, e a substância delas era darem-se os parabéns de nossa vinda [...]”

VIEIRA, Padre António. A Missão de Ibiapaba. Coimbra: Almedina, 2006, p. 39-40.

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Portuguese language teaching following the Directório dos Índios:

School-works made by the Amerindian boys

Embroidery, Spinning and Calligraphic skills

Documents sent by the governor of Pernambuco, Luís Diogo Lobo da Silva, to the secretary of state for Navy and Overseas Affairs, Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real. Recife, the 6th mars 1759.

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Portuguese language – a strategic choice in order to:

- Promote bilingual interpreters

- Keep and reinforce alliances

- Develop settlements and increase the territories demographically

and economically

- Assimilate Amerindian diversity and promote mixing with

individuals of other ethnic and racial backgrounds

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Portuguese language – a strategic choice in order to:

- Benefit the development and control of labour activities where

Amerindians took an important place

- Combat the usage of autochthonous languages, dialects, and

other alternatives to the Portuguese as language of

communication

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Portuguese language and communication:

- A crucial matter in the beginning

- Brazilian colonial society, education and literacy

- The partnership with evangelization and civilization

- The benefits of acquiring a writing system

- Portuguese Crown, missionary activities and resistance

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