Cândido Rondon

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Cândido Mariano de Silva Rondon (May 5, 1865-January 19, 1958) was a Brazilian military officer who is most famous for his exploration of Mato Grosso and the Western Amazon Basin, and his lifelong support of Brazilian indigenous populations. He was the first director of Brazil's Indian Protection Bureau (SPI/FUNAI) and responsible for the creation of the Xingu National Park. The current Brazilian state of Rondônia is named after him. He was made Marshal, the highest military rank in Brazil.

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[edit] Early life

He was born in 1865 in Mimoso, a small village in the Mato Grosso state. His father was of Portuguese ancestry, and his mother was an Indian. Both of his parents died when he was very young and he was raised by his uncle. After finishing high school at the age of 16, he taught elementary school for two years, and then joined the Brazilian army. On joining the military, he entered officer's school and graduated in 1888 as a second lieutenant. He was also involved with the Republican coup that overthrew Pedro II the last Emperor of Brazil.

[edit] As an army engineer

In 1890, he was commissioned as an army engineer with the Telegraphic commission, and helped build the first telegraph line across the state of Mato Grosso. This telegraph line was finally finished in 1895, and afterwards, Rondon started construction on a road that lead from Rio de Janeiro to Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso. Until this roadway was complete, the only way between these two cities was by river transport. Also during this time, he married his wife, Chiquinha Xavier, and together they had 7 children. From 1900 to 1906, Rondon was in charge of laying telegraph line from Brazil to Bolivia and Peru. During this time he opened up new territory, and was in contact with the warlike Bororo tribe of western Brazil. He was so successful in pacifying the Bororo, that he completed the telegraph line with their help. Throughout his life, Rondon laid over 4,000 miles of telegraph line through the jungles of Brazil.

[edit] Explorations

As a result of Rondon's competence in constructing telegraph line, he was put in charge of extending the telegraph line from Mato Grosso to the Amazon. In the course of constructing the line, he discovered the Juruena river, in northern Mato Grosso which is an important tributary of the Tapajós river. He also discovered the Nambikwara tribe, which had until then killed all Westerners they had come in contact with.

In May of 1909, Rondon set out on his longest expedition. He set out from the settlement of Tapirapuã in northern Mato Grosso heading northwest to meet up with the Madeira river, which is a major tributary of the Amazon River. By August, the party had eaten all of its supplies, and had to subsist on what they could hunt and gather from the forest. By the time they reached the Jiparaná River, they had no supplies. During their expedition they discovered a large river between the Juruena, and Jiparaná river, which Rondon named the River of Doubt. To reach the Madiera, they built canoes, and reached the Madiera on Christmas Day, 1909.

When Rondon reached Rio De Janeiro, he was hailed as a hero, because it was believed that he and the expedition had died in the jungle. After the expedition, he became the first director of the Brazilian Government's Indian Protection Agency or the SPI.

[edit] Expedition with Roosevelt

Main Article: Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition

In January of 1914, Rondon left with Theodore Roosevelt on the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition, whose aims were to explore the River of Doubt. The expedition left the Tapiripuã, and reached the River of Doubt on February 27, 1914. They did not reach the mouth of the river until late April, after the expedition had suffered greatly. During the expedition, the river was renamed the Rio Roosevelt.

[edit] Later life

After the expedition of 1914, Rondon worked until 1919 mapping the state of Mato Grosso. During this time he discovered some more rivers, and made contact with several Indian tribes. In 1919, he became chief of the Brazilian Corp of Engineers, and the head of the Telegraphic Commission.

In 1924 and 1925, he led army forces against a rebellion in the state of São Paulo. From 1927 to 1930, Rondon was put in charge of surveying all of the borders between Brazil and its neighbors. In 1930, he was interrupted by the Revolution of 1930, and he resigned his position as head of Funai. During 1934-1938, he was in charge of a Diplomatic Mission, to mediate a dispute between Colombia and Peru over the town of Leticia. In 1939, he resumed his directorship of Funai, and expands the service to new territories of Brazil. In 1952, he set up the first Brazilian National Park along the Xingu river, for the Indians living there. He died in 1958 in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 93.

[edit] Homages

Marshall Cândido Rondon is considered one of the foremost Brazilian heroes and patriots and has thus been honoured by population and government in many ways. He is the "Father of Brazilian Telecommunications" and May 5th is the National Day of Telecommunications, established in his honour.

In addition, thousands of streets, schools and other urban features and organizations have received Rondon's name. Literally in every city of Brazil there is one or more.

[edit] See also

[edit] Works Cited

  • Baker, Daniel ed. Explorers and Discoverers of the World. Detroit: Gale Research, 1993

[edit] External links

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