Manoel Beckman, also known as Bequimão, was a 17th century trader and farmer in São Luís, Maranhão in the North East of Brazil. He was son of a German father and a Portuguese mother [1]. In 1684, together with his brother Thomas, he started a rebellion against the Portuguese colonial authorities because of unfulfilled promises of shipments of slaves and ships. The rebellion was eventually put down by Portuguese troops and Beckman was executed in November of 1686.