José de Anchieta (1534 - 1597)

José de Anchieta was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's history in the 1st century after its discovery on April 22, 1500 by a Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral, Anchieta was one of the founders of São Paulo, in 1554, and Rio de Janeiro, in 1565. He was a writer and poet, and is considered the first Brazilian writer. Anchieta was also involved in the catechesis and conversion to the Catholic faith of the Indian population; his efforts at Indian pacification, together with another Jesuit missionary, Manuel da Nóbrega, were crucial to the establishment of stable colonial settlements in the new colony.