Annaes historicos do Estado do Maranhão ….

Lisbon, Na Officina de Francisco Luiz Ameno, 1749.. FIRST EDITION. Folio (30 x 21 cm.), modern quarter morocco over cloth (slight wear to hinges), spine with raised bands in six compartments, gilt letter in second and fourth compartments, gilt date at foot. Title page in red and black. Large woodcut initials. In fine condition, except for moderate soiling on the title-page. Overall in very good condition. (13 ll.), 710 pp. Pages 247 and 275 misnumbered 147 and 175, respectively. *** FIRST EDITION, very rare, of this fundamental source on the history of Maranhão. Varnhagen called it "um dos mais preciosos livros que ácerca de nossa historia possuimos" (História geral II, 874) and Borba de Moraes comments, "This first edition is rare and much sought after, as it is a classic on Maranhão." The author covers the military, political and religious events in Maranhão from its discovery until 1718, the year he became its governor. The Estado do Maranhão originally encompassed the entire north of Brazil, from Amazonia to Ceará. The Annaes is an especially important source for the colonization of Maranhão, for the Dutch in Brazil, and for the bandeirantes - especially the expedition of Antônio Raposo Tavares, who left São Paulo in 1648, traveled to Paraguay and via the Guaporé, Mamoré, Madeira and Amazon Rivers to Gurupá in Pará, arriving there in 1651.Early sections of the book describes Vicente Yanes Pinçon (Vicente Yáñez Pinzón) and the navigation of the Amazon (which he called Mar Doce). The navigation of other rivers, such as the Pindaré, is described over the course of pp. 6-15. This includes details on the navigation of the Pindaré river, which was difficult in the winter and impractical in the summer because of the lack of water (p. 11). A riveting, sympathetic, and detailed description of the France Équinoxiale of Daniel de la Touche, Seigneur de la Ravardière, and Admiral François de Razilly (spelled “Racily” in this work) occupies pp. 48-71. It describes how their expedition of three ships left the Port of Cancale (Brittany) with missionaries and “homens de mar, e guerra” on March 19, 1612. However, the ships encountered such rough seas (which the author attributes to the devil) that they were forced to dock in England at Falmouth, then Dartmouth, and then Plymouth in order to repair the ships. The French were well received in those ports and the ships were repaired. They then travelled on April 23, experiencing good wind, around England’s Lizard Point (Cornwall), reaching the Canary Islands on May 7th. Technical coordinates are given regarding the ships’ navigation around Africa, past the Río de Ouro, where they encountered a fishing boat from Bayonne, to Cabo de Barbas, Cape Verde, and the Coast of Guiné. On June 13th, they were beneath the Equinoctial, which they passed through without issue “felicidade pouco ordinaria na navegação” (p. 58), encountering then three great Portuguese ships that were returning from Eastern India. On June 23rd, they “discovered” Ilha de Fernao de Noronha (p. 58), where they met a Portuguese man with 17 or 18 Tapuyas (indigenous Brazilians from Pernambuco, who did not speak the tupi language). The French stayed on the island until July 8th. On July 11th, they reached Brazil, and on July 24th, they discovered Serra de Ibiapaba in northeastern Brazil. They encountered another French ship on July 26th, but were suspicious of the crew because of the prevalence of French pirates in the region (p. 60). They then prepared entry to the island of Maranhão (p. 61), which they eventually brought under French control. The French lost control of Maranhão to the Portuguese in 1615 (see also Grande Enciclopédia, pp. 232-233).Pereira de Berredo, Governor of Maranhão from 1718 to 1722, was vehemently anti-Jesuit. Born circa 1680, he died in Lisbon in 1748 while preparing this book for the press. *** Borba de Moraes (1983) I, 103. Alden & Landis 749/25: citing copies at DLC, InU, MnU, OCl, RPJCB, the British Library and Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale. Mindlin, Highlights 162: "Berredo is one of the classic chroniclers from the north of Brazil. He describes Maranhão and the Amazon." Innocêncio I, 382-3; VIII, 396-7. J.H. Rodrigues, Domínio holandês 159: "Berredo é fonte clássica da história do Maranhão … Sobre a invasão e espulsão dos holandeses deve ser consultado." Borba de Moraes & Berrien, Manual bibliográfico de estudos brasileiros 3941 (this edition), 3275 (Maranhão, 1849) and 3750 (Florence, 1905). Schäffer, Portuguese Exploration to the West and the Formation of Brazil 62. Streit III, 1260. Palau 218678. Sabin 4967. Griffin, Latin America: A Guide to the Historical Literature 3369: "important." Palha 4262. JCB II, i, 915. JCB, Portuguese and Brazilian Books 749/1. Bosch 196. Rodrigues 388. Azevedo-Samodães 2396. Maggs, Bibliotheca brasiliensis (1930) 218: at £45. Cf. Boxer, The Golden Age of Brazil, pp. 287-9: "classic."