António de Araújo e Azevedo, 1st Count of Barca

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António de Araújo e Azevedo, 1st Count of Barca (May 14, 1754 - July 21, 1817) was a Portuguese statesman, author and amateur botanist. After cooperating in the establishment of the Academia de Ciências (Academy of Sciences) at Lisbon, he represented his government in Holland, France, Prussia, and Russia. He was first minister of John VI of Portugal, whom he followed to Brazil in 1807. There he was minister of the navy and of foreign affairs, and took great interest in promoting education and industry, having established the manufacture of porcelain in Rio de Janeiro. He conducted scientific studies and experiments in his own palace and private botanical garden, as well as the first trials for the acclimatization and culture of the tea-plant in Brazil. Later in life, he was the founder of Brazil's first school of fine arts.

As an author, his works include two tragedies and a translation of Virgil's pastorals.

[edit] References

• Various authors, Enciclopédia Luso-Brasileira, vol. 4. Lisboa, 1965.