Antonio Raposo Tavares "o Velho" (portuguese:
''the old one'') (born in S. Miguel do Pinheiro, São Miguel de Beja,
Alentejo, Portugal, 1598 - died in São Paulo, Brazil, 1658)
was a colonial bandeirante who explored mainland eastern South America and claimed it for Portugal, extending
the territory of the colony beyond the limits imposed by the treaty of
Tordesillas.
He was of Iberian Jewish ancestry. link
Tavares sailed for South America in 1618 with his father Fernão
Vieira Tavares.
In 1622, after his father died, he settled around São Paulo; six
years later, in 1628, he left the village with the first
''bandeira'' composed of 900 portuguese brazilians and
2000 Tupi warriors.
This voyage was started to hunt the heretics down and to capture more
indigenous slaves (mostly Tupi, Tememinos and Carijós). The
bandeirantes first attacked some Guarani villages in the upper Parana
valley, which were protected by the Spanish Jesuits and brutally
killed many people, capturing 2500 indios. This journey allowed the
annexation of a portion of the land east of the Uruguay River
(current states of Paraná and Santa Catarina) to the portuguese
colony.
Raposo went back to São Paulo in 1633 and he became a judge. Three
years later he left again for a new journey, this time to destroy the
Spanish Jesuit settlements established southeast of the Uruguay River
(current Rio Grande do Sul).
From 1639 to 1642, Tavares fought along with the military which was
engaged in war against the Dutch, who had conquered the settlements in the north-eastern coast (Bahia
and Pernambuco).
He embarked on his last journey with a bandeira in 1648, searching
for gold, precious minerals and slaves in the unexplored mainland. He
was joined by 200 white mercenaries from São Paulo and
over a thousand indios. The bandeirantes travelled for over 10.000
kilometers following the the courses of the rivers, mostly the
Paraguay River, the Grande River, the Mamoré River, the Madeira
River and the Amazon River. Only Tavares, 59 whites and some Indios
reached Belém at the mouth of the Amazon River. After that, the
survivors returned back to São Paulo, where Raposo Tavares died shortly
after.
Antonio Raposo Tavares, Encyclopedia Britannica online
Antonio Raposo Tavares, netsaber.com.br (in portuguese)