Acclamation of Amador Bueno
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 | |
| Date | 1641 |
|---|---|
| Location | São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga |
| Participants | Amador Bueno |
| Outcome | Failed revolt |
The acclamation of Amador Bueno, or Amador Bueno's Revolt (Portuguese: Aclamação de Amador Bueno), was supposedly a nativist revolt orchestrated by Spanish colonists[1] in São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga in 1641, shortly after the royal acclamation of John IV. It is considered the first nativist movement or the first gesture of autonomy in Colonial Brazil and, not coincidentally, took place in São Paulo, which at the time had limited contact with Portugal and extensive miscegenation between Portuguese, indigenous peoples, and foreigners.[2]
During the Iberian Union, the inhabitants of the Captaincy of São Vicente, mainly from São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, were able to expand into Hispanic America (in accordance with the Treaty of Tordesillas) the territory of free action of the capture expeditions, which even attacked Jesuit missions. During this period, trade and smuggling with the Río de la Plata region also flourished.
In December 1640, with the coronation of Dom João, Duke of Bragança, which marked the Restoration of Portuguese Independence, the colonists feared that Portugal would destroy this source of wealth, preventing the free transit of goods and prohibiting the imprisonment and sale of indigenous people captured in raids in the hinterland, since it was Portugal that profited from the exploitation of African human trafficking. The acclamation of the Duke of Bragança as the new king of Portugal and his new policy represented a potential blow to the merchants of the colony and the Castilians who had long been established in São Paulo, whose economy was then based on indigenous slave labor.[3]
The revolt
Wanting to maintain the city's autonomy, some local elites proposed choosing a local king, convincing other potential rebels that they could refuse to recognize the new Portuguese king, since they had not yet sworn allegiance to him, and that those based in the colony had personal qualities that qualified them for greater empires, and that the city's advantageous location and their control over thousands of indigenous people would keep them safe.[3]
They chose Amador Bueno da Ribeira (who probably lived between 1584 and 1649) as king, the son of a Spanish father from Seville and Maria, a Brazilian woman whose father was from Porto and whose mother was Tupi-Portuguese. Amador was a prosperous local figure, a landowner, Captain-General, and Ombudsman.[1][4]
Amador Bueno, who had personal connections to both Spanish and Portuguese nobility,[3] according to Gaspar da Madre de Deus, countered his acclamation by saying "long live Lord João IV, our King and Lord," and it is certain that he rejected the proposal, fearing its consequences.[citation needed] However, after intense negotiations, the Castilians and supporters of the proposal were assured that their businesses would not be affected by Portugal, and so they declared and swore allegiance to King John IV.[3]
Outcome
The gesture ended up having no serious consequences, as São Paulo was an economically marginalized region and the Castilians were unable to start a fight against Portugal without support from Madrid. The historical episode served, however, to demonstrate the discontent of certain groups in São Paulo with Portuguese domination.