ANCHIETA, JOSÉ de. — Missionary, apostle of Brazil. Born at La Laguna (Canary Islands) on 19 March 1534, he studied at the University of Coimbra and, in 1551, entered the Society of Jesus; his already ruined health led to his being sent, two years later, to the mission of Brazil. In 1554 the young religious was part of the group assigned by the provincial Manuel de Nobrega to found the Mission of S. Paolo in the áldeia of Piratininga (for this reason, and because of the outstanding activity he later carried out there, he must be counted among the founders of the present city of S. Paolo). A. remained there as a teacher of grammar before going with Nobrega to negotiate peace between the Portuguese and the fierce Tamoios, whose incursions paralysed the development of the colony; A.’s stay among the barbarians at Iperoig, as a hostage, is an episode of epic grandeur in the history of colonial Brazil. Ordained a priest in 1566, A. was Nobrega’s companion in the foundation of Rio de Janeiro (1567), but was sent back as superior to the mission of São Vicente, which he directed until 1577, while also directing the conversion of the Tapuyas. Provincial, based in Bahia (1578–86), he governed the entire mission during the delicate transition from the life of pioneers to more stable forms of activity. But his strength was by then exhausted; he was still able to work as a missionary or superior in Rio de Janeiro and Espiritu Santo, and died in the reputation of sanctity on 9 June 1591 at Reritiba (now A.). Recent historical research has been able to bring to better light the role belonging to Nobrega as initiator and organiser of the Jesuits’ work in Brazil; A. continues to personify its missionary and cultural endeavour, thanks to his tireless and versatile activity, his reputation as a saint and wonderworker, and the gifts of mind and style that enabled him to give expression to the soul of Brazil.
His writings are indeed the first specimens of Brazilian literature. He produced the first grammar of the Tupi language: Arte de grammatica de lingua mais usada na costa do Brasil (Coimbra 1495, reprinted at Leipzig in 1859 and 1874; a faca, edited by J. Platzmann, there 1876), a dictionary, a catechism with dialogues on the mysteries in Guarani, sermons, poems, and religious dramas in Portuguese, Latin, Tupi, and Guaraní. His numerous letters and fragments vividly reflect the troubled life of the colony and the mission. The fourth centenary of his birth, in 1934, assumed throughout Brazil the proportions of a national celebration.