Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/461

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legislature for the province of Sao Paulo, but left Portugal when he heard of the independence of Brazil. On his return he was again elected for Sao Paulo to the constituent assembly of Brazil. He was appointed president of Rio Grande do Sul, 25 Nov., 1823, and founded the first typographical establishment there, the colony of Sao Leopoldo, and the charity hospital. On 13 Oct., 1825, he was made counsellor of state, and on 21 Nov. accepted the portfolio of minister of the empire. He ex- erted his influence for the improvement of public instruction, reorganized the school of medicine, founded a literary academy in the capital, and es- tablished chairs of law in Siio Leopoldo and Olinda. On 20 Nov., 1827, soon after negotiating a treaty of peace with the Argentine republic and a com- mercial treaty with England, he resigned his office. In 1830 he retired temporarily from the senate, and went for his health to Sao Pedro, where he was at the time of the revolution of 1831. In 1837 he again took his seat in the senate, and was in- trusted with important commissions. In 1838 he founded the Geographical and historical institute. Dom Pedro II. conferred many honors on Fernan- des. He was a member of many European scien- tific societies, and was the author of several works, the most important of which are " Vida e feitos de Alexandre de Gusmao e de Bartholomeu Lou- rengo de Gusmao "' ; " Resposta as Breves Annota- §oes que sobre a memoria Gusmao, escrevera o conselheiro Manoel J. M. da Costa e Sa."


FERNANDES-SARUINHA, Pedro, Brazilian R. C. bishop, b. in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1497; d. on the coast of Brazil in July, 1550. His parents, who were of noble family, destined him for the pro- fession of arms, but he entered the church in early life. On the establishment of a government in Brazil in 1549 the clergy of that country, without a head to govern them, were guilty of the grossest negligence and vices. In 1551 Fernandes-Sardmha was elected and consecrated first bishop of Brazil, and arrived in his diocese on 1 Jan., 1552. Com- bining severity with prudence, he soon improved the character of the secular clergy as well as of the Jesuits, who were beginning to work in the new region. During the governjnent of Thome de Souza everything went favorably, and rapid prog- ress was made in the conversion of the Indians ; but in 1553 Duarte da Costa, who was of a domi- nating and quarrelsome character, became gov- ernor, and soon serious differences arose between him and the bishop, and, as the quarrel became daily more bitter, the case was submitted to the crown, and both were ordered to appear at court. Pernandes-Sardinha sailed from Bahia, 2 July, 1556, but the vessel was attacked by violent storms, and on 16 July was wrecked on the reefs near the mouth of the Sao Francisco river. The crew and passengers were saved, and tried to travel along the coast to Olinda, but after a few days they fell into the hands of cannibals, wha slaughtered and ate the prisoners. Only three persons escaped, who afterward related that one of the first to be sacri- ficed was the bishop, who suffered his fate with resignation, and up to his last moment exhorted and consoled his fellow-sufEerers. The place where this tragedy occurred has since been called the bishop's wood. Fernandes, during his episcopacy, established the college of the mission of Sao Paulo.


FERNANDEZ, Diego, Spanish-American his- torian, b. in Palencia, Spain, about 1530, d. in Sevilla, 1581. He adopted the military profession, went to Peru in 1545, and took part in the cam- paign of 1553 and 1554, in which Francisco Giron {q. v.) was defeated and his party destroyed. The Marquis de Caiiete, who was viceroy in 1556, gave him an office, and ordered him to write the history of the events in which he had taken part. He after- ward returned to Spain, where Sandoval, the presi- dent of the council of the Indias, reqiiested him to write also an account of the troubles caused by Gonzalo Pizarro and his adherents. The work composed by Fernandez is entitled " Primera y Se- gunda parte de la Historia del Peru " (Seville, 1571). The author gives a detailed account of all that passed in Peru from the arrival of the first vice- roy, Blasco Nunez de Vela, in 1544. Since he took part in several of the events that he describes, and knew all the men of whom he writes, his history is usually regarded as the best account of the con- quest of Peru. Gareilaso de la Vega, however, ac- cuses him of partiality, and says that his record of events is colored by his animosity toward individ- uals. The sale of the work was forbidden by the council of the Indias, and the inhabitants of Span- ish America were particularly forbidden to read it.


FERNANDEZ, Juan, Spanish soldier, b". in Seville in 1490 ; d. in 1538. He accompanied Hernando Cortes when the latter conquered Mexico, and also served under Pizarro, but quitted his service and entered that of Pedro Alvarado. Fernandez was an experienced pilot, having frequently made the voyage between Peru and Panama, and Alvarado gave him the conmiand of the fleet, ordering him to explore the coast from Puerto Viejo to the territory governed by Pizarro, and to take possession of it in due form. After fulfilling this mission he was sent to Nicaragua in search of the troops that Alvarado had left in Panama. He was to keep near the coast with his fleet while Alvarado marched by land upon Quito. Diego de Almagro, who belonged to the party of Pizarro, wrote immedlately to Rivera, and to his partisans of Pachacama, to arrest and hang Fernandez, whom he considered a deserter from their own party. Shortly afterward Alvarado penetrated into the heart of the country, crossing the Andes by a perilous march. Alvarado subsequently agreed to renounce all his claims and cede his ships to his rival on receipt of one hundred thousand dollars, and Fernandez was thus obliged to enter the service of his former commander, who pardoned him, and in 1535 appointed him captain of a galleon, in which he made two voyages to Spain. He was still discontented under Pizarro, and left him again in 1537, taking service as pilot under Antonio Quesada, govei'nor of Hispaniola. The following year he was appointed adjutant, and accompanied Antonio de Sedefio, who had been ordered by the governor to reduce to submission the island of Trinidad. Instead of fulfilling their mission, they disembarked on the continent in order to discover the province of Meta, which was said to be rich in mines of gold and silver. The party penetrated into the country for some distance, but, after several fights with the Indians, were forced to turn back. Sedeno died in October, 1538, and Fernandez was then proclaimed commander, but survived him but a few days.


FERNANDEZ, Juan, Spanish navigator, b. in Cartagena, 1526; d. in 1576. The jealousy with which the Spanish court retarded the diffusion of intelligence regarding its possessions in America is perhaps the reason why so little is known about his voyages. The following incidents embrace nearly all it is possible to ascertain concerning him. He made frequent voyages along the coast of South America, and, according to the custom of sailors at the time, kept close to the shore. When sailing from Peru to Chili, however, he found that the pas-