THE MADEIRAN COMMUNITY IN SOUTH AFRICA
Dedicated to the people of Madeira
Island who immigrated to South Africa, and in celebration of their Portuguese
roots.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Anne Lehmkuhl - All rights reserved
Updated on 06 April 2008
1) A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PORTUGUESE IN SOUTH AFRICA
The area that is now Portugal was first occupied by a tribe called the
Lusitanians in about 1000 B.C. They were followed by other tribes, and eventually
the Romans, who conquered the region in about 200 B.C. Next came the Visigoths
and the Moors. In 1140 Portugal declared its independence after a series
of battles with the Moors. Spain recognized the new country in 1143 and the
Pope did the same in 1179. The southern part of the country, the Algarve,
remained under the control of the Moors until 1249, when it was retaken by
the Portuguese. Portugal has retained its independence from 1140 until the
present day except for a brief period under Spanish rule from 1580 to 1640.
It has the oldest fixed borders of any European country. Portugal became
a republic on 05 October 1910.
The oldest links between South Africa and Europe are through Portugal
and its voyages of discovery. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to
set foot on South African soil. The first permanent European settlement was
established by the Dutch on 06 April 1952.
THE EXPLORERS
BARTOLOMEU DIAS
Bartolomeu DIAS (aka Bartholomeu DIAZ), Portuguese navigator, went ashore
at present-day Munro's Bay (Mossel Bay) on 03 February 1488. He named the
area Aguada de São Bras (watering place of Saint Blaize), having arrived
on the holy day of Saint Blaize and collecting fresh water from a spring.
The spring is still there today but no longer flows, although it was still
flowing in the 1970s. The first recorded Western religious service in South
Africa was during Dias' visit. A Catholic Mass was held when the sailors
erected the padráo (Dias Cross) near the Great Fish River. It was
the Portuguese custom that a padráo be erected at the turning point
before sailing home. Pieces of the padráo were found many years later
at Kwaaihoek near the mouth of the Bushman's River and are now in safe-keeping
at Wits University.
DIAS was born circa 1450 in the Algarve. Several Portuguese historians
believe that he was a relative or descendant of João DIAS who sailed
around Cape Bojador in 1434, and of Diniz DIAS who is said to have discovered
the Cape Verde Islands. Bartolomeu was a cavalier of the Royal Court, superintendent
of the Royal warehouses and a sailing-master. On 10 October 1486, King João
II of Portugal appointed him head of an expedition which was to sail around
the southern tip of Africa to find a trade route leading to Asia. DIAS left
Lisbon in August 1487 with a fleet consisting of three ships, two armed caravels
and one supply-ship. DIAS was in the caravel São Christovao, and
was accompanied by João Infante in the São Pantaleao. Among
his companions were Pero DE ALENQUER, Alvaro MARTINS and João GREGO.
The supply-ship was commanded by Bartolomeu's brother, Pero DIAS. There
were also two African men and four women on board who served as translators.
DIAS sailed first towards the mouth of the Congo River, discovered the
year before by Diogo CÂO and Martin BEHAIM. Following the African coast,
he entered Walvis Bay. From the present-day Port Nolloth area, a storm lasting
thirteen days drove the fleet south, taking them past the Cape without them
knowing it. When calm weather returned, they sailed in an easterly direction
and, when no land appeared, turned northward, landing in Bahia dos Vaqueiros
(Mossel Bay). This was later renamed Mossel Bay by the Dutch. On his return
voyage, DIAS saw the Cape and called it Cabo Tormentoso or Cabo das Tormentas
(Cape of Storms). It was later renamed Cabo da Boa Esperança (Cape
of Good Hope) by King João II when DIAS returned to Lisbon in December
1488. In 1500 DIAS commanded a ship in the expedition of Pedro Alvarez CABRAL.
His vessel was one of those wrecked not far from the Cape of Good Hope on
29 May 1500. His grandson, Paulo Dias DE NOVAIS, landed in Luanda ( Angola
) in early 1575, in command of a fleet of seven ships carrying a hundred
families of colonists and 400 soldiers.
VASCO DA GAMA
On 26 November 1497 Vasco DA GAMA visited Aguada de São Bras and
bartered for cattle from the Khoikhoi, making this most likely the first
commercial transaction between Europeans and indigenous people in South Africa.
In December, having sailed further on, DA GAMA went ashore on the east coast
and as it was Christmas Day, named the area Terra do Natal (meaning Land
of Christmas in Portuguese). DA GAMA met the first black people near the
mouth of the Limpopo. They were friendly and he named the area Terra de Boa
Gente (Land of Good People). DA GAMA and his crew reached India in May, becoming
the first Europeans to journey by sea to India.
DA GAMA was born about 1469 at Sines, Portugal. His father, Estevão
DA GAMA, was a nobleman and the civil governor of Sines. After the return
of DIAS, Estevão was chosen by King João II to command the
next expedition of discovery, but both died before it happened. The task was
given by King Emmanuel I to Vasco, who had already distinguished himself in
1490 by defending the Portuguese colonies on the coast of Guinea against the
French. As Vasco was not the first-born son, he had no right to a coat-of-arms,
a title or to his father's fortune. All that belonged to the first-born son,
Paulo. Vasco turned to the military and the sea for his career.
The fleet going to India consisted of four vessels and set sail after
prayers at a chapel on the site of the present-day church, Santa Maria de
Belem. On 08 July 1497 they left Lisbon. The ships were the São Gabriel
(commanded by Vasco and with 150 crew), São Rafael (commanded by
his brother Paulo), Berrio (later re-baptized São Miguel, commanded
by Nicolau COELHO) and a supply ship of unknown name commanded by Gonçalo
NUNES, later lost near the Bay of São Brás. One of the 600
men aboard the ships was Bartolomeu DIAS, who was on his way to Mina, near
present-day Accra, to act as captain-general. In early November they dropped
anchor in St. Helena Bay. This was soon followed by the sighting of the Cape
of Good Hope.
DA GAMA returned to Portugal in September 1499. King Emmanuel I gave him
the title of Dom (Lord). In December 1519 he was made Count of Vidigueira.
King João III made him Viceroy of India, and on 05 April 1524 he left
Lisbon for India, accompanied by his sons Estevão and Paulo. They
arrived in Goa during September. That Christmas Eve Vasco died at Cochin after
a short illness, and was buried in the Franciscan monastery. In 1538 his
son Pedro had his father's remains returned to Portugal and entombed in the
town of Vidigueira. On the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the sea
route to India he was reburied as a national hero in the Jeronimos monastery
at Belem, Lisbon. He was immortalized by Luis Vaz DE CAMÕES in his
epic national poem, Os Lusíadas.
PEDRO DE ATAIDE
In 1500 Pedro DE ATAIDE, a Portuguese ship's captain in the fleet under
CABRAL which made the second voyage round the Cape of Good Hope to India,
sought safety in the present-day Mossel Bay from a storm which destroyed
part of the fleet. The first letter posted in South Africa was deposited
in a shoe hung on a milkwood tree in the bay by DE ATAIDE. The letter described
the disaster that had befallen the Portuguese fleet on the voyage to India
and warned the following fleet against hostilities to be expected on the
Indian coast. This tree, still standing 350 m from Santos Beach, is considered
the first post office in South Africa. It was declared a national monument
on 30 September 1938. The bronze plaque reads: "This post office tree stands
near the fountains where the Portuguese navigators regularly drew water at
Aguada de São Bras (now Mossel Bay) from 1488 onwards. In May 1500
Pedro DE ATAIDE, captain of a homeward bound ship of Pedro CABRAL's fleet,
left a message here which was found on 7th July 1507 by the outward bound
ships of João DA NOVA. According to tradition the message was placed
in an old shoe and tied to a tree". In 1962 a post box, in the shape of
a shoe, was erected and letters mailed there carry a special stamp.
ANTONIO DE SALDANHA
In 1503 Antonio DE SALDANHA, Portuguese fleet commander, sailed into Table
Bay. A native of Castile, in the Portuguese service, he left Lisbon in May
1503. Owing to an error, he sailed into Table Bay after having lost sight
of his other two ships. DE SALDANHA followed the freshwater stream to the
foot of Table Mountain and then climbed up Plattekloof Gorge. This place
is at the crossing of the current Adderley and Strand Streets, where two mountain
streams flowed into the sea. His is the first recorded ascent of Table Mountain
by a European. It is possible that he gave the mountain the name Mesa do
Cabo (Table of the Cape). After his landing, Table Bay was known as Aguada
de Saldanha meaning watering place of Saldanha. Table Bay was called Aguada
de Saldanha until 1601 when Joris VAN SPILBERGEN arrived at the present-day
Saldanha Bay and thought he was in Aguada de Saldanha. When he reached Table
Bay a few days later, he realised the confusion and named it Table Bay, and
gave the name Saldanha Bay to his mistaken port of call, the present-day
Saldanha Bay. During DE SALDANHA's visit, the Portuguese attempted to barter
with the Khoikhoi. They offered mirrors, glass beads and a rattle in return
for two sheep and a cow. The sailors took the animals away, but perhaps the
bargain had been misunderstood. A group of 200 Khoikhoi ambushed the sailors
and took the animals back. DE SALDANHA was wounded in the arm. In 1505 and
1506 subsequent fleets traded without incident.
FRANCISCO DE ALMEIDA
On 01 March 1510, Dom Francisco DE ALMEIDA, a 60-year-old Portuguese aristocrat,
soldier and explorer, went ashore at Table Bay. He was on his way back from
India, returning to Portugal, when the fleet stopped for fresh water. Bartering
had taken place with the Khoikhoi - iron and fabric was bartered for sheep
or cattle from the Khoikhoi who were camped about 5 km from the Salt River
mouth. When some sailors were given permission to go to the camp, some of
their daggers went missing. One of the sailors, Concalo HOMEM, asked two
Khoikhoi to carry his goods back to shore but they suspected malice on his
part and soon a fight developed. When he returned to the fleet, with a bloodied
face and broken teeth, he found that others had also suffered injuries. The
next day, DE ALMEIDA led a punitive expedition of 150 men, armed with swords
and lances, to the camp. They had taken some cattle and children, and had
set fire to some of the dwellings, when they were surrounded by about the
same number of Khoikhoi armed with assegaais, arrows and stones. DE ALMEIDA
had ordered Diogo D'UNHO, ship master, to wait with their small boats close
to shore. When the fleeing sailors ran back to the shore they found that strong
winds had developed and D'UNHO had taken the boats closer to the ships for
safety. The stranded men tried to protect DE ALMEIDA but he was already heavily
wounded. As he was being carried by an officer, an assegaai pierced his throat
and he died. Fifty-six sailors, including 12 captains, died that day. Among
those who survived was Jorge DE MELLO, who returned to shore to find DE ALMEIDA's
body stripped of his clothing. The dead were all buried at the Cape.
DE ALMEIDA was born in Lisbon circa 1450, the first son of the first Count
of Abrantes. Two of his siblings became bishops and one became an ambassador
to the Holy See. He distinguished himself as a counsellor of King João
II and in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492.
In 1505 King Emmanuel I made him first viceroy of Portuguese India. In 1509,
he became the first Portuguese to set sail for Bombay. His son Lourenço
was killed in battle. Francisco was survived by a daughter, Leonor, who married
Rodrigo DE MELLO, Count of Tentugal.
JOÂO DA NOVA
João DA NOVA was born in the Spanish province of Galicia circa
1460. He served under King Emmanuel I of Portugal as a naval commander and
later as police chief of Lisbon. In March 1501, he took four ships and 400
sailors to India, on the third voyage since the first by Vasco DA GAMA.
DA NOVA arrived on 07 July 1501 at Aguada de São Bras (Mossel Bay),
where he found the message left for him by Pedro DE ATAIDE. DA NOVA is credited
with having erected the first building on South African soil, a chapel at
Mossel Bay in 1501. The Mossel Bay Stone was found there with DA NOVA's name
and a date (1501?) inscribed on it, which is now in the South African Museum,
Cape Town. He also discovered the island of St Helena and named it on 21
May 1502 (St. Helena's Day) on his homeward voyage from India. João
DA NOVA died a poor man in Cochin, India, in 1509.
FLEETING VISITORS
In 1505 a fleet under Lopo SOARES sailed past Cape St Blaize. One ship,
under Pedro MENDONCA, ran aground during the night. The wreck was sighted
at dawn but it was impossible to help the crew. A year later, a crew arrived
and two convicts were sent ashore to search the coast for survivors. They
returned after three days, stripped by the Khoikhoi and reported that they
found a ship's mast and a skeleton.
A Portuguese ship, the São João (after which Port St Johns
was named), was wrecked on 18 June 1552 off Port Edward. Manuel de Sousa
DE SEPULVEDA, a Portuguese nobleman, was the commander. Only 25 of the 500
passengers and crew survived. The Portuguese East Indiaman, the São
Bento, was wrecked off Msikaba on 21 April 1554. The survivors of both wrecks
walked up the coast to Delagoa Bay (Lourenço Marques). The São
Bento was homeward-bound from Cochin and items found washed up included broken
porcelain and cornelian trade beads. Fourty-four Portuguese and more than
100 slaves were lost. Ninety-eight Portuguese and 224 slaves survived the
wreck. Manuel de Mesquita PERESTRELO, one of the few Portuguese survivors,
wrote a narrative of the São Bento wreck, translated by THEAL in his
Records of Eastern Africa, Vol 1. There is a memorial at the São João
site in Port Edward.
The Santo Alberto, a Portuguese merchantman, was wrecked on the morning
of 24 March 1593, whilst reputedly carrying a vast treasure. There are varying
accounts of it being wrecked near Hole in the Wall or along the Ciskei coast.
She carried 357 passengers and crew, made up of 153 Portuguese and 194 slaves.
Twenty-eight Portuguese and 34 slaves died during the wreck. The survivors
made it to shore and stayed there until 03 April 1593, when they set off
on foot for Lourenço Marques. They reached their destination in mid-June.
The Nossa Senhora de Belem, a Portuguese galleon, ran aground near the
estuary of the Umzimvubu River on 24 July 1635. The survivors set up camp
on the shore for a year, while they built two lifeboats from the wreckage
to take them home. They left in January 1636 and reached Angola.
Among the ships carrying Ming porcelain wrecked along the Eastern Cape
coast were the São João, the São Jeronimo, the Nossa
Senhora de Belem and the São Bento. The porcelain from the São
João dates back to the Jiajing period of the Ming dynasty (1522-66).
Other Portuguese ship wrecks that make up South Africa 's underwater heritage
include:
1552 - São Jeronimo wrecks north of Richards Bay ; São João
wrecked near Port Edward
1554 - São Bento wrecked off Msikaba
1593 - Santo Alberto wrecked near East London
1608 - Santo Espirito wrecked near Haga-Haga
1622 - São João Baptista wrecked in October near the Fish
River
1630 - São Gonçalo, ran aground at the Piesang river mouth
in Plettenberg Bay, in July after developing a leak
1635 - Nossa Senhora de Belem ran aground near the Mzimvubu River
1643 - Santa Maria Madre de Deus wrecked near Bonza Bay, East London
1647 - Nossa Senhora de Atalaia do Pinheiro wrecked in June near the Cefane
River, north-east of East London; Santissimo Sacramento wrecked in July west
of Schoenmakerskop, near Port Elizabeth
1686 - Milagros sank off the Cape south coast
The ships were plying the route to the East, known as the Carreira da
India (Indian Route). They often carried women and children, besides valuable
cargoes. Most of the ships were wrecked in winter, usually because they had
left the East too late on the voyage home and because they were overloaded.
Survivors would salvage what they could from the wreck, and try to go north
towards Portuguese trading posts on the East Coast. The few Portuguese who
decided to stay put were mainly sailors. Subsequent parties of shipwreck
survivors would occasionally come across them, but they chose to remain in
Africa.
PORTUGUESE LEGEND AT THE CAPE
Adamastor is, according to Portuguese legend, the sea spirit of the Cape
and was depicted by Luis Vaz DE CAMÕES in Canto V, of his epic, Os
Lusíadas. According to DE CAMÕES, he showed his wrath when
DA GAMA sailed by. A dark and ominous cloud appeared overhead taking the shape
of a monstrous human figure who reproached the sailors for venturing into
the seas “which I so long enjoyed, and kept alone”. He foretells the disasters,
“shipwrecks and losses of each kind and race” which will befall those who
round the Cape of Storms. The monster tells them that he is Adamastor. He
tells of his lost love and his pursuit of the sea-nymph Thetis. He is punished
by the gods by being turned into a mountain, and set at the Cape to guard
the southern seas. The legend goes that Adamastor's revenge included Bartolomeu
DIAS dying off the Cape coast, Francisco DE ALMEIDA dying at the Cape, and
the fate that befell Manuel de Sousa DE SEPULVEDA, his wife Leanora and their
two children in 1552. In Lisbon, on the Miradouro de Santa Catarina, Bairro
Alto, stands a six metre high marble sculpture of Adamastor, created by the
Portuguese sculptor Julio VAZ junior. It was unveiled in 1927.
TIES THAT BIND
The Cape Field Artillery is the oldest artillery unit in South Africa
and the second oldest volunteer artillery unit in the world, after the British
Honourable Artillery Company. It was founded in Cape Town on 26 Aug 1857
with the Chevalier Alfredo DUPRAT, a Portuguese nobleman who had formerly
been second in command of the Cape Town Rifles, as its first commanding officer.
A large compass rose (a stone contraption used by 15th century sailors
for their calculations) of Sintra marble was a gift from South Africa to
the people of Portugal in memory of Prince Henry the Navigator. It forms part
of a South African monument, the Terrace of Good Hope, in Lisbon and lies
at the foot of the Portuguese national monument commemorating the great discoveries.
The South African presentation took place in 1960 on the occasion of the
5th centenary of Prince Henry's birth.
So close was the link between the Portuguese and South Africa, that it
was depicted on the facade of South Africa House in Trafalgar Square, London.
A figure of Bartolomeu DIAS by the Pretoria sculptor Coert STEYNBERG used
to be on display in the embassy.
In Port Elizabeth, the replica Dias Cross stands in the square in front
of City Hall. It was presented to the city in 1954 by the Portuguese government
and is made of stone from the same quarry near Lisbon as the original.
Agulhas (needles in Portuguese), at the southern tip of Africa, was named
by DIAS on 16 May 1488 as Ponta de São Brandao, in honour of Saint
Brendan. It was later renamed to Cabo d'Agulhas as the form and sharpness
of the rocks resembled needles. The St Francis Bay area was originally named
Bahia de São Francisco by Manuel PERESTRELO in 1575. It had been named
in 1488 by DIAS as Golfo dos Pastores (Shepherds' Gulf) and was also known
as Golfo dos Vaqueiros (Cowherds' Gulf). Paternoster, a fishing village on
the west coast, is named for the first two words of the Latin Our Father
prayer. Portuguese shipwrecked sailors prayed there for a safe return home.
Machadodorp was founded in 1894 on the farm Geluk and was named after Joachim
MACHADO, the Portuguese engineer who first surveyed the railway line between
Pretoria and Delagoa Bay.
The Portuguese priest, Joaquim de Santa Rita MONTANHA, went on a journey
from the port of Inhambane (in Mozambique ) to Schoemansdal to discuss trading
links with the Boers there. No treaty was signed but his visit laid the foundations
of Portuguese-Boer relations until the Anglo-Boer War. His illustrated travel
diary, from 25 May 1855 to 18 September 1856, was published in Portugal in
1857. There was also an unpublished Afrikaans version 80 years later. This
was revised a few years ago and published by Protea Boekhuis as Montanha
in Zoutpansberg: 'n Portugese handelsending van Inhambane se besoek aan Schoemansdal,
1855-1856, edited by O.J.O. FERREIRA, C.E.F. VON REICHE and D.P.M. BOTES.
The PELSER family has quite a history linked to Portugal. Various family
members were held there as Boer prisoners-of-war in Portugal. Daniel Petrus
PELSER (born 07 Mar 1862 in Smithfield ) was a gunner with the Boers when
he fled, with his family, to Lourenço Marques. They were imprisoned
at Caldas de Rainha, Portugal. Catharina Frederika PELSER was born at Caldas
de Rainha in July 1902. Hendrik Johannes (born 15 Jun 1856 in Burgersdorp)
and later a miller in Belfast, was a Cape Rebel who fled to Lourenço
Marques with his family. They were sent to Caldas da Rainha. Maria Magdalena
PELSER (born 09 Mar 1885 in Burgersdorp) was married in July 1902 in the
Caldas da Rainha camp to Stefanus PIENAAR.
Willem Jacobus PELSER (born 13 May 1857 in Burgersdorp) was a railways
official in Burgersdorp. He accompanied President Paul KRUGER to Lourenço
Marques. He was imprisoned in Alcobaça, Portugal. His son, Willem
Jacobus (born 02 Nov 1883) was later a mine worker in Robertsham, Johannesburg.
He was also sent to Alcobaça. Another Willem Jacobus PELSER (born 17
Jun 1875 in Burgersdorp) and later a mine worker in Kimberley, was also sent
to Alcobaça.
Mathys van As PRETORIUS (born April 1847 at Colesberg) died in Peniche,
Portugal, on 01 Jun 1901.
By the end of September 1900, Boers had crossed into Mozambique and exiled
themselves to avoid capture by the British. They were regarded as internees
but no attempts were made to restrict them. Following pressure by the British,
1260 adults and 173 children were shipped from Lourenço Marques to
Lisbon during March and April 1901. On their arrival in Portugal they were
accommodated at Caldas da Rainha, Peniche and Alcobaça.
Portuguese was spoken by many slaves at the Cape. During Batavian rule
at the Cape (1803 to 1806) a large number of slaves were from Mozambique
and Angola. Slaves who spoke Portuguese included Lindor of Mauritius, Adam
of Mozambique, Jean Baptist of Mauritius and Spadille of Mozambique. Adonis
of Mozambique also spoke Portuguese. He was taught to make barrels by the
master cooper Jacob MEINERT. Joseph of Mozambique learnt the shoemaking trade
from George MORRISON, master shoemaker of Oxford Street, London, who employed
him as a servant. Arend of Mozambique was well-known for his skills with horses.
Rachel of Mozambique worked for Captain Henry SMART, Commander of the Royal
Engineers. Her daughter Flavia was apprenticed to Mrs MORRISON. Theresa of
Mozambique was known for her washing and ironing skills. Mattheus of Mozambique
had been at the Cape for a few months when he ran away in March 1804.
In September 1966 Dimitrio TSAFENDAS, assassinated Prime Minister Hendrik
VERWOERD in Parliament. TSAFENDAS was the illegitimate son of a Greek father
and a Mozambiquean mother. In South Africa the mentally distrubed man was
classified coloured. Eventually, because of his Greek father, he was reclassified
as white.
One of Portugal 's most celebrated poets, Fernando PESSOA, attended Durban
schools. He was born in 1888 in Lisbon and died in 1935. He published one
book of poems in Portuguese under his own name. He wrote under a number of
pseudonyms - Alvaro de Campos, Alberto Caeiro and Ricardo Reis. At the age
of seven, he accompanied his mother to Durban where her second husband, Commander
João Miguel ROSA, was the Portuguese Consul. Fernando attended the
West Street Convent School where he first learnt to read and speak English.
In 1899 he was enrolled at Durban High School and three years later, after
spending a year in Portugal and the Azores, enrolled at Durban 's Commercial
School. Amongst the poems written while he was in Durban, was one denouncing
Joseph CHAMBERLAIN for being the cause of the Anglo-Boer War. The English
essay he wrote for his entrance exam to the University of Good Hope won him
the Queen Victoria Prize. After completing his BA degree in 1905, he returned
to Portugal for good. In 1987 a commemorative statue, funded by the Antonio
de Almeida Foundation, was erected on the corner of Pine and Gardiner Streets
in Durban.
Medical researchers at the University of Stellenbosch discovered two types
of progressive familial heart blockage. Type I (PF-HBI) is a dominantly inherited
cardiac bundle-branch conduction disorder that has been traced through nine
generations. Family members descend from Inacio FERREIRA and his wife Martha
TERBLANCHE. See Brink AJ, Torrington M. Progressive familial heart block
- two types, in the South African Medical Journal 1977; pages 52-59.
One of the oldest houses in Pretoria was lost when plans to restore the
Bras PEREIRA house on the corner of Skinner and Paul Kruger Streets in Fonteinedal,
did not go through. The house was pulled down in the 1960s. It was built
in 1866 and was to have been rebuilt as part of an open-air museum planned
by the Genootskap Oud-Pretoria. The restoration of the thatched-roof house
was to have been their first restoration projects. Bras PEREIRA was a Portuguese
businessman in Pretoria.
In 1692, the farm Schoongezicht was granted to the freed slaves Anthoni
and Manuel Marquard of Angola, Louis of Bengal, and to the VOC sergeant
Isaac SCHRIJVER, by Simon VAN DER STEL. After they died, the farm had assorted
owners. In 1922 it was bought by the aristocratic Mrs. Elisabeth Katharina
ENGLISH for £18 000 and renamed Lanzerac.
In 2005, Quinta de Fernandez, a Westcliff mansion, was auctioned off for
R12,2 million. It originally belonged to Ginger FERNANDEZ, an immigrant from
Madeira, who had the house built in 1928 after making his fortune on the
stock market. The elegant Madeiran-styled home with terracotta roof tiles
and the terraced gardens was a reminder of his birth place. The vegetable
garden and fruit trees further served as reminders to FERNANDEZ, who was fond
of cooking. Prior to being sold on auction, the house belonged to Julien MISSAK
who died in 1980. He bequethed the property to Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit,
on condition that it be used for philanthropic purposes and promoted Armenian
and Flemish cultures. The university ran it as a museum for 20 years before
handing it to the St John the Baptist monastery in Essex, England, and the
Armenian Benevolent Union.
A major Portuguese contribution to South African life has been on the
culinary scene. Long before Nando's spread across the country, and later
the world, Portuguese families enjoyed peri-peri chicken when it was known
as Galinha à Africana or Galinha à Cafreal, having been introduced
in Lourenço Marques. The name Nando's comes from Fernando DUARTE,
who together with a Jewish friend, Robert BROZIN, bought a small restaurant
called Chickenland in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, in September 1987. This
became the first Nando's restaurant. Today, Nando's is a major success story.
The LM (Lourenço Marques) way of cooking - in lots of olive oil,
garlic, onions, tomato, white wine and coriander - is synonymous with the
Portuguese in South Africa. Other favourites include prego rolls, poncha
(a traditional Madeiran shooter made of aguardente, honey and lemon), chouriço,
bachalau (dried salt cod), espetada (beef skewers on bay leaf branches),
grilled sardines, Portuguese bread, custard pastries, peri-peri chicken livers
and catemba.
Jan VAN RIEBEECK brought the first guavas to South Africa, from Madeira.
The first commercial guava plantation was started in 1890 by Gawie MALHERBE
in Paarl. The Frank Malherbe and Rossouws cultivars descend from the original
Madeira guavas.
In 1987, Cape Town was twinned with Funchal, the capital city of Madeira.
In 1993 Madeira and the Transvaal were twinned at a ceremony in Pretoria.
The Da Gama Clock in Durban was a memorial donated by the Portuguese community
to commemorate the first sighting of Durban by Vasco DA GAMA in 1497.
Dr. Gert SWART was instrumental in the establishment of the Portuguese
NG Kerk. He died in Johannesburg in July 2004. In the 1960s he also worked
among the Jewish community, which led to the opening of the English-speaking
Andrew Murray NG Kerk in Johannesburg in 1967, where he served until his
retirement in 1989.
Some South Africans will remember the days of listening to LM Radio. The
popular music station broadcasted from Lourenço Marques and could
be heard in South Africa. It started in 1935 as Radio Clube de Mocambique,
broadcasting for a few hours per night. G.J. McHARRY, a local businessman,
was involved in turning it into a commercial station. In 1946 a South African
partner was found and an office was opened in Johannesburg to sell airtime
to advertisers. On 01 March 1964, LM started broadcasting 24 hours per day,
under the management of David DAVIS. Many South African broadcasters started
their careers at LM Radio including Clark McKAY, Rob VICKERS, Dana NIEHAUS,
Darryl JOOSTE, Robin ALEXANDER and John BERKS. On the 01 June 1972 LM Radio
management was taken over by the SABC. LM Radio shut down at midnight on 12
October 1975. The next morning at 5 a.m. Radio Five (now 5FM) took to the
air in Johannesburg.
THE EARLY PORTUGUESE SETTLERS
The first known Portuguese to settle in South Africa permanently were
Ignatio Leopoldo FERREIRA and Manuel João D'OLIVEIRA.
Manuel João D'OLIVEIRA, born in Lisbon, was the captain of the
Portuguese ship São Josef which was shipwrecked at the Cape prior
to May 1795. He married Gesina VAN BLERK in May 1795 and they had 4 children.
This family became Afrikaans-speaking.
João ALBASINI, born in Lisbon on 01 May 1813, was 37 years old
when he married Gertina Maria Petronella JANSE VAN RENSBURG in Potchefstroom
in 1850. João's father, Antonio Augusto, was a ship's captain in Portugal,
but was born in the Tyrol region of Italy. He married Maria DE PURIFICACUA
of Spain. The couple had three children. When João was 17 years old
he accompanied his father and brother on a voyage to Brazil and Delagoa
Bay. Their ship was stranded on the east coast of Africa and João,
with the help of his father, set up a trading store in Delagoa Bay. His
father left for Lisbon shortly afterwards and never saw his son again. João
was 20 when the exiled Zulu chief Shoshangane attacked Delagoa Bay, massacring
many Euopeans and abducting João. He escaped six months later and
returned to Delagoa Bay. In 1838 he met Carel TRICHARDT when the Voortrekkers
of the Tregardt Trek reached Delagoa Bay, and the two formed a hunting partnership.
In 1845, Chief Magashula of the Shangaan gave him land on the Sabie River.
João built a settlement known as Makashula Kraal. The ruins of his
brick house are not far from where the Hippo Pools are located, near Pretoriuskop.
In 1845 he became the first Portuguese to trade with the Voortrekkers. After
a few years he settled on the farm Rustplaats near Ohrigstad and opened
a shop there in 1847. In 1849 he had to abandon the area because of fever,
and moved to Lydenburg. Again he set up as a trader, with Casimiro SIMOES
being his partner and Mariano Luis DE SOUZA his clerk. In 1853 he moved to
the area today known as Schoemansdal in the Soutpansberg, where he opened
a trading post. Later on he moved to Ohrigstad and lived on the farm Goedewensch.
The farm became a well-known visiting place where important guests, such
as President M. W. PRETORIUS, were entertained. Elephant hunters on their
way to the hunting-grounds also called there regularly. In 1858 the Portuguese
government appointed him Vice-Consul for the Transvaal Republic. He
built a store, supervised the local inhabitants and maintained trade between
the Republic and Portugal . He established a postal service between Delagoa
Bay and the Boer Republic. In 1859 the Transvaal Republic government appointed
him as Native Superintendent in Zoutpansberg charged with the collection
of a poll tax. This he did with the help of about 2000 Pedi. When Modjadji,
the Rain Queen, defied him, he set off with a commando and brought back cattle
and about 400 children as slaves. In 1867 Schoemansdal had few settlers left,
follwing a harassment campaign by the Venda chief. A few families remained,
including João, who was able to assist those who returned to the area
a year later. After the restoration of the Transvaal Republic, João
lived in poverty on Goedewensch because of the tribal disturbances in the
1880s and because he often had to pay for administration out of his own pocket.
He continued to serve as a justice of the peace, a Bantu commissioner and
a member of the district council, but his remuneration was very poor. After
an illness of more than a year he died on his farm on 10 July 1888 and was
buried opposite what is now the entrance to Albasini Dam. He had three sons
and six daughters. Among his descendants, of whom there are still many in
South Africa, there have been numerous professional people, businessmen and
farmers.
One of João's daughters, Hendrika Maria, married Christian Hendrik
(Doel) ZEEDERBURG in Pietersburg. The couple went to Bulawayo when he started
the first regular coach service through Matabeleland. Doel was born in Pietermaritzburg
in 1860 and died in London in 1907. Hendrika died in Bulawayo in 1934.
Maria, another daughter of João, married Dominee Louis BICCARD
who was a mine commissioner in Pietersburg. She had many of her father's
documents, including letters written by him in his capacity as Portuguese
Vice-Consul. Her daughter, Tina, married Hennie ROOD. They lived at Parksig,
the house next to Melrose House. Tina's son, Karel, married Steph DE KOCK.
He was Secretary of Public Works and died in 1967. Steph, the niece of the
poet Jan CELLIERS, died in Pretoria in 1990.
Another of João's daughters was Anna Maria Magdalena (09 Jul 1859
- 03 Apr 1920) who married Hans Jurgens DREYER.
Jacob Christovão DE COUTO was a Portuguese who also had Asian roots.
He was João ALBASINI's secretary and married a DU PLOOY. The couple
lived in Morgenzon, east of Goedgewensch. DE COUTO was also a brother-in-law
of Antonio de Paiva RAPOSO, a trader from Delagoa Bay who made a fortune
in the ivory trade.
Josephus Suasso DE LIMA was born on 27 June 1791 in Amsterdam into a Portuguese-Jewish
family. He converted to Christianity and became a member of the Hervormde
Kerk. He arrived at the Cape in 1818. He was a teacher, translator, author,
bookseller, printer, publisher and journalist. In 1823 he taught at the Evangelical
Lutheran School . Later on he became a bookseller and printer, running the
first Dutch bookshop at the Cape. In 1832 DE LIMA published the Kaapsche
Almanak and, between 1833 and 1854 the Kaapsche Almanak en Naamboek. The
Almanak was very popular. In 1825 he published Geshiedenis van de Kaap de
Goede Hoop in the form of question and answer, the first history of the Cape
published in Africa. On 07 January 1826 he published the first Dutch newspaper
at the Cape, De Verzamelaar, which appeared weekly. In its first year it
printed the earliest letters written in Afrikaans - those of Grietje Geldenaar
and Hennepikker. In 1830 DE LIMA became insolvent and C.E. BONIFACE succeeded
him as editor of the paper, which was renamed De Zuid-Afrikaan. He died
in Cape Town on 19 December 1858.
Artur Jose Oriolla Ferreira DE PAIVA was the Portugeuse governor in the
Humpata region of Angola. He was born circa 1865 to Bartolomeu DE PAIVA
and Theresa FERREIRA. In February 1882 he married Jacomina Gertruida Elizabeth,
eldest daughter of Jacobus Fredrik BOTHA, who was one of the Dorsland Trekkers.
Their children included Bartholomeu Jose Botha Ferreira, Jacobus (became
a doctor in Angola after studying in Portugal) and Maria Theresia. Jacomina
became a young widow when Artur died circa 1900 during a voyage to Portugal.
He was buried at sea. Bartolomeu (born 1883 in Humpata) was married in 1904
to Christina Johanna Sofia VENTER. Some of their children fled to South Africa
and South West Africa as refugees during the 1970s civil war.
Lourenço (Lourens) ANTONIO was born in Portugal and became a burger
at the Cape in 1836. He married Sara Johanna SWART.
João Soares DE BRITO was born in Oporto, Portugal, circa 1818 to
Antonio Soares DE BRITO and Anna Jaquema. He became a trader at Victoria
West. In June 1845 he married Anna Elizabeth MOCKE. He died at the age of
33 in 1851. Their children included Antonio Soares, Aletta Catharina (married
Daniel COGHILL) and João Soares Frederik.
Jose DE FIGUEIREDO was born at Terros Povoa de Varzim, Portugal, in April
1873 to Caetano Marques DE FIGUEIREDO and Delfina Candida de Aroujo. He arrived
in Lourenço Marques in 1891 and worked as a cabinet maker / joiner.
He moved to Makapanstad, Pretoria, and worked as a shop assistant. His new
employer could not pronounce his surname, so he changed it to DE FREITAS
which eventually became FRATES. Jose married Eliza WILLIAMS in Pretoria in
September 1887. In 1938 he started a construction business with his sons,
J. Frates & Seuns (Edms.) Bpk. He died in April 1942 in Pretoria.
Antonio JOSE, from Lisbon, married Susanna Maria CEZARS v.d.K in Cape
Town in April 1819. Their children included Johanna Maria and Antonio Francisco.
Manuel JOSE, from Lisbon, married Johanna Susanna KOEGELENBERG in Cape
Town in July 1819.
Antonio JOSEPH, from Portugal, married Johanna Elizabeth JANSE v.d.K in
Cape Town in April 1803.
Joseph Franciscus MANTANAGE, from Lisbon, married Jacoba Regina VAN VELDEN
in Cape Town in March 1826.
Antonio João PEREIRA arrived in 1822 from Portugal. In Feb 1822
he married Johanna Elisabeth VAN DEN BURGH in Cape Town.
Francisco Alves PEREIRA was born in Portugal and died at 33 Hanover Street,
Cape Town, in August 1877. He was married to Magdalena Sophia BUCHELING.
Augostinho PEREIRA, from Portugal, died in Kimberley in November 1875.
Gabriel Jose PEREIRA, born in Portugal, married Susanna Maria E. THUYN
in March 1797.
Rev. Henry Alvarez da Costa PEREIRA was born in Oxford, England in June
1879. He married Hilda Mabel Eleanor WILLIAMS (of Somerset, England ) in
August 1904. They arrived in South Africa in 1908.
Jose Correa PEREIRA was born in Quilemane, Mozambique, to Isodore Correa
PEREIRA en Louisa Jocana CORREA. He died at 7 Sir Lowry Road, Cape Town,
in November 1893. He was married to Johanna Josephine Maria ALMEIDA.
Manuel Nunez PEREIRA was born in Madeira, to Manuel PEREIRA and Leopoldina.
The jewelery dealer was married to Louisa Elisabeth DIFFENTHAL.
Anthonie PEREIRA was married by special license in Feb 1881 to Christina
LERDA.
Januario de Santa Quiteria PEREIRA died at Swartrivier, Cape, in April
1836. He was married to Helena SCHULTZE. Their son was Johan Frederik Coenraad
(born 14 Oct 1817) and married in Nov 1842 at Wynberg to Susan TIBBS.
Maria PEREIRA was married by sopecial license in Jan 1882 to Antonio dos
Santos DE ENCARNAEDO.
Christiaan VAN DEN BURGH, from Amsterdam, married Maria Josepha MATTHYS.
Their daughter Johanna Elizabeth was born in Cape Town in 1822, and married
Antonio Jogo PEREIRA from Portugal.
Georg Frederik (Friedrich) RAUTENBACH was born in Tremnik, Sakse, Ihitsland
circa 1734. He was in the service of the VOC. In 1762 he married Maria Magdalena
FERREIRA (widow of Frans HAARHOF), daughter of Ignatio Leopold FERREIRA.
Julio Arthur SANTOS was born in Lisbon in Apr 1896. He arrived in South
Africa in 1946 with his wife, Sulmina DA GAMA.
From 1885 to 1915, the following surnames are listed as leaving Madeira
for South Africa:
ACHADINHA
AGOSTINHO
AGRELA
ALEGRIA
ALVES
AMARO
ANTÓNIO
BACTA
BALANÇO
BAPTISTA
BARBEITO
BARQUINHO
BENTO
BORRAGEIRO
BORRESCOS
BRANQUINHO
CABELEIRA
CABOZ
CAMACHO
CARDOSO
CARRUS
CASIMIRO
CHADA
CHAMBEL
CLEMENTE
CORREIA
COUTINHO
CUNHA
DA ACHADINHA
DA CÂMARA
DA COSTA
DA LUZ
DA MATA
|
DA SILVA
DAS NEVES
DE ABREU
DE AGRELA
DE AMIM
DE ANDRADE
DE ARAÚJO
DE AZEVEDO
DE CANHA
DE CASTRO
DE COITO
DE FARIA
DE FREITAS
DE GOUVEIA
DE JESUS
DE LIMA
DE MENESES
DE NÓBREGA
DE OLIVEIRA
DE ORNELAS
DE PONTE
DE PONTES
DE ROQUE
DE SÁ
DE SOUSA
DE VASCONCELOS
DELGADO
DO NASCIMENTO
DOS RAMOS
DUARTE
ESPÍNOLA
FAIAS
FARINHA |
FARROBEIRA
FERNANDES
FERREIRA
FOGARÉU
FRANCISCO
GARCÊS
GOMES
GONÇALVES
GORGULHO
GUERRA
INÁCIO
JACINTA
JARDIM
JOAQUIM
LADEIRA
LEÇA
LEME
LOURENÇO
MALTEZ
MARTINS
MAURÍCIO
MENDES
MENESES
MONIZ
NETO
NINIM
NUNES
ÓRFÃO
PAIVA
PARDAU
PÁSCOA
PASCOAL
PATETA
|
PEQUITA
PEREIRA
PESTANA
PICHEU
PINTO
PIRES
PITA
POMBO
PONTE
PONTES
REBELO
REI
REIS
RELVA
RIBEIRO
RODA
RODRIGUES
SALGADO
SARDINHA
SEQUEIRA
SERINGA
SERRÃO
SIMÃO
SOARES
SPÍNOLA
TEIXEIRA
VALENTE
VALENTIM
VIEIRA
VIRÍSSIMO
XAVIER
|
NEW IMMIGRANTS
Portuguese people first arrived in South Africa in large numbers in the
1920s. Between the two World Wars, many Portuguese settled in and around
Johannesburg, where they set up shops - mainly fruit and vegetable shops,
and fish and chips or take-away shops. By 1938, the community was flourishing.
The largest influx was in the 1950s. H.F. VERWOERD's plans for more Whites
in South Africa focused on Anglo-Saxon Protestants in Europe but few of them
came to South Africa. The focus then shifted to what was then considered
"third rate" immigrants from Mediterranean countries. Even into the late
1970s, many of these immigrants were referred to in derogatory terms by some
white South Africans, who considered them beneath them. Being mostly of the
Roman Catholic faith did not make their acceptance into local communities
easier. Many of the immigrants' children left school early to work in the
family business. Socialization was mostly with other Portuguese. Parents
were very strict with their children. A large amount of South Africa's Portuguese
immigrants came from the island of Madeira, where job opportunities were
limited. Men became migrant workers in the fishing industry and many of them
worked in South African ports. They could not speak English and only a few
had basic schooling. The men usually went ahead to get a job and earn money
so that they could then send for their families. When Angola and Mozambique
gained independence in the 1970s, there was a large influx of Portuguese
people into South Africa. Estimations were that about 25 000 Portuguese fled
Mozambique between 10 and 23 September 1974.
The majority of Portuguese are Roman Catholic and the new immigrants soon
started their own churches. Holy days are celebrated at special masses followed
by social gatherings with food, music and dancing. One such day is the annual
blessing of the fishing fleet in Cape Town in October. They also started
their own social clubs, schools and banks. In April 1989 the community got
its own TV channel, Canal Portugues. There is also DStv Portuguesa. The community
has its own newspaper, O Seculo, which is produced in Johannesburg and distributed
all over South Africa, Mozambique, Angola and Portugal. The weekly publication
has a readership of 40 000 and keeps the community informed about what is
happening in Portugal and Portuguese-speaking communities locally and internationally.
Portuguese has also contributed to South Africa 's language heritage,
with words such as commando and picaninn (from the word pequeninho meaning
little one).
Today, the Portuguese are involved in all spheres of the South African
economy. They have served in the country's Defence Force, built community
centres and introduced Portuguese cuisine to South Africa. They have intermarried
into other South African communities, adding to the country's mosaic. Prior
to 1994, it was estimated that the Portuguese community numbered 700 000 and
that it is now about 500 000.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Many South Africans with Portuguese roots have carved careers in the limelight
or reached the top of their careers.
Maria da Conceicao das Neves Calha RAMOS, CEO of Transnet, was appointed
director-general in Finance Minister Trevor MANUEL's office in 1996. She
was born in February 1959 in Lisbon. Maria's first job was as a liaison clerk
at Barclays in Vereniging. She attended Wits University in the 1980s, gaining
a B.Com. honours in economics. She became a lecturer at Wits and Unisa. In
1992 she received a Helen Suzman bursary and obtained a MSc in economics
from the University of London. From 1990 to 1994 she was an economist in the
ANC's economic planning department. Maria is one of four daughters. The family
immigrated to South Africa when she was five years old. Her father worked
as a builder in Vereeniging.
Journalist Marianne THAMM grew up in Pretoria. Her mother was from Aljustrel,
Portugal. Her father was German and grew up in Berlin. They immigrated to
South Africa from England in 1963. Marianne has worked as a journalist for
more than 20 years. She has ghost-written several books and is a multiple
Mondi Award winner.
Manuel Lopes DA COSTA was born in June 1965 in Portugal to Manuel Lopes
DA COSTA and Cecilia Giria. He attended Lycée Francais in Venezuela.
The CEO of Accenture Financial Services group has an MBA and a MSc. In December
1990, he married Ana Paula PEREIRA and they have two daughters. The family
lives in Johannesburg.
Vanessa CARREIRA was Miss South Africa 2001. The then 20-year-old was
a final year B.A. student and worked as a public relations officer at Caesars.
Vanessa lived in Boksburg with her parents João and Adélia
CARREIRA, and a sister, Melony. She was crowned Miss Portugal SA in 1998,
going on to finish in the top eight at that year's Miss Portugal pageant.
She finished fourth at the Miss Universe 2002 pageant in Puerto Rico. She
initially boycotted the Miss World pageant in Nigeria over the Amina Lawal
case and when the event was moved to London, she was not able to attend as
it conflicted with the Miss South Africa 2003 crowning.
Jeannie D, the former Good Hope FM and current Top Billing presenter was
born to Antonio Mendes DE GOUVEIA and his wife Jean, who came from Ponta
do Pargo in Madeira. She was the 2000 Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit Rag queen.
Jeannie D has acting aspirations and had a small role as a bank assistant
in a Steven Seagal film, Mercenary, that was filmed in Cape Town. She was
also a warrior woman in the BBC series Cavegirl, that was filmed in the Cederberg.
She also had a small role in the M-Net drama series, Known Gods.
Maria GARCIA was born in Madeira and arrived in South Africa as a child.
She was orphaned at the age of seven. Maria first became known in the cosmetic
industry with the launches of Jeanne Gatineau and Redken hair products. Soon
afterwards she was suddenly widowed. Determined not to live in the poverty
she had known as a child, she decided to turn her childhood dream into reality.
She launched the Maria Garcia skincare and fragrance range, followed later
by the launch of Nu-Me for darker skin tones. Nu-Me was later sold to a multinational
company and Maria launched MG Labs to target the upper end of the market.
South African soccer has seen a number of Portuguese players and coaches.
Roger DE SA currently coaches Santos in Cape Town. He was born in October
1964 in Mozambique and moved to South Africa with his family in 1974. In
1984, he started playing for Kwikot Benoni before moving on to play for PSL
sides Moroka Swallows, Mamelodi Sundowns and Wits University. He was awarded
the league's goalkeeper of the year award three years in succession. He made
one appearance as goalkeeper in the national side in 1993. After finishing
his playing career, he became head coach at Wits. He was voted the Premier
League's coach of the year in the 2002-2003 season and served as Bafana Bafana
goalkeeper coach from 2000-2002. Portuguese-born Zeca MARQUES, former coach
of Moroka Swallows, is the now assistant coach at Wits University. DE SA holds
a South African record for representing his country in three different national
sides in a single year, namely soccer, basketball and indoor soccer. He is
married and has three children.
During the National Football League (NFL) days, the Lusitano team was
owned and supported by the Portuguese communities. Joe FRICKLETON, who came
to South Africa as a player with Highlands Park in the mid-1960s, went on
to make Lusitano a top team. They were the first league cup winners of the
newly-formed multiracial Professional Soccer League in 1978.
Sonia ESGUEIRA wrote and performed a one-woman play about her roots. The
hit comedy Pora! was her way of dealing with feelings of embarrassment and
displacement about being Portuguese in South Africa. Pora is an often derogatory
term referring to Portuguese people in South Africa. During the show, Sonia
portrays three generations of a Portuguese family, via various costume changes.
The idea for the show came from a comic sketch she did on her grandfather
during her final year at UCT Drama School in 2000. She went on to win the
Fleur du Cap award for best supporting actress for her role in Two Gentlemen
of Verona. Sonia was born and raised in Nelspruit, one of four children.
Joe BERARDO was born on 04 July 1944 in Madeira. At the age of 18, he
set sail for Africa. He stayed in Lourenco Marques for six months. In November
1963 he moved to Johannesburg and and then the Orange Free State. He started
off selling vegetables to the mines. After two years in the Orange Free
State, he returned to Johannesburg. In 1969 he married Carolina GONCALVES
and they had two children, Renato and Claudia. In 1978 Joe became the owner
of some of the biggest reserves of surface gold residue in Johannesburg.
This led to several multinationals proposing joint ventures. He supplied
the ore and they re-opened the refineries that had been closed for lack
of raw material. From gold mines he diversified into other areas, especially
the diamond industry and the financial sector. He was invited to join the
South African Presidential Advisory Council, consisting of 22 members, of
which he was the first foreigner. Joe reurned to Madeira. Today his business
interests included Portugal, Canada and Australia. In Portugal he is involved
in media, manufacturing, financial institutions, and the hotel industry.
His passion has been for the wine industry, both in vineyards and wine production.
He has secured joint ventures with Baron Rothschild, Bodegas y Bebidas,
and in Canada with Colio Estate Wines. Joe created the Berardo Foundation
through which he grants fellowships to Madeiran students wishing to study
outside of Madeira. He has also restored Madeira's Monte Palace gardens,
which had been derelict for about 40 years. He replanted 79 hectares of
forest in Madeira that had been devastated by fire. More recently, he bought
100 hectares of Laurisilva Macaronesea for the purpose of preserving this
rare flora, which was subsequently classified as a world heritage site.
In the early 1980s Joe started collecting international art which led to
the 1997 launch of the Berardo 20th Century Art Collection. This collection
is housed at the Sintra Museum of Modern Art.
João MENDONCA opened the original Mediterranean Fish Market in
a tiny Jules Street shop, next to the present shop, in Malvern in 1969.
Before that, he sold fresh hake door-to-door to the large Portuguese community
in Malvern. Today his son, Paulo, carries on the family business, on a bigger
scale.
Elias DE SOUSA came to South Africa at the age of 18 in 1961, with his
older brother and a cousin. The woman who was to become his wife, Julia,
followed him a few years later. Elias became one of five elected councillors
in South Africa who represent the community in the Portuguese government
on civil and cultural issues. He grew up in an agricultural family in Madeira
and left school at the age of 12 to work on the family banana plantation.
When he arrived in Durban, he worked at the Marburg Tearoom on the Esplanade.
He later owned a supermarket and the Cosmopolitan Restaurant in Point Road.
His son runs a Portuguese restaurant in Durban North.
In 1993, Paulo ANDRADE, then 22, was the youngest NP candidate to stand
in a municipal election. He was also the first Portuguese immigrant to stand
as a candidate. He was a final year law student at Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit.
Paul was born in Maputo in 1970 and moved to South Africa in 1975.
Manuel MOUTINGO, a prominent Portuguese community leader, was leader of
the Luso-South African Party, which contested the 1994 election.
Nadia ALMADA, from Madeira, moved to South Africa with her family in 1980.
She later moved to England, where in 2004, she won the TV reality show Big
Brother. Her parents are José Luis Corte Leodoro, who lives in Pretoria,
and Conceicao. Her mother moved back to Madeira with the six children - Jorge
(now Nadia), Duarte, Agostinho, Luis, Miguel and Andre - in 1993.
Leon BARNARD, ANC member, is a descendant of a Portuguese immigrant to
the Cape. He married Althea, a descendant of John DUNN (known as the White
Zulu).
The Vilamoura restaurants were started by Arnaldo GONCALVES, Victor GONCALVES
and Luis VIANA. The Hurlingham one was opened in 1990, followed by Sandton
in 1993 and Rosebank later.
In 2004 Ricky DE AGRELA (42) set a world record for the longest expedition
in a microlight aircraft, flying 62 000 km over six continents. His parents
immigrated to South Africa from Madeira. He has a daughter, Natasha, who
lives with her mother in Adelaide, Australia. Ricky's interest in flying started
when the moon landing in 1969 caught his attention. In Grade 12 he started
parachuting, followed by national service in the Air Force. Among his other
extreme sports adventures are the Argus cycle tour, the Berg River canoe
marathon, climbing the icy Kilimanjaro and swimming from Simons Town to Muizenberg.
The microlight adventure was done with Allan HONEYBORNE of Port Elizabeth,
who died near Changsha, China, when his microlight lost a wing.
In 1935 Antonio (Tony) DA COSTA arrived in South Africa from Madeira to
farm with vegetables. He passed away in Boksburg in May 2007. Today his
sons Manuel and Johnny farm 2800 hectares at Manjoh Ranch in Nigel. Manuel's
sons, Andre and Tony, are also involved. The brothers farm with mielies,
beans and cattle. In 2003 they were awarded Grain South Africa 's Grain Producer
of the Year award. Manuel started farming with his father in 1969 near Boksburg.
In 1974, his father started another farm near Bronkhorstspruit and Johnny
joined the farming business. In 1985 the brothers bought the present farm
in Nigel. Manuel is married to Lyndsey, and Johnny to Rita.
Mannie CALASA came to South Africa from Madeira. Today he is one of the
biggest vegetable farmers in the country.
Bill JARDINE was well-known for his anti-apartheid activities and involvement
in opening up sports to all races in the 1980s. He was the grandson of Joseph
Jardim DE SERA, an immigrant from Madeira, and his wife Elizabeth BARRY,
a Coloured woman. Bill was born in Vrededorp, Johannesburg. He left school
after standard 6 and later found work in a leather factory before starting
a small green grocer.
Esmé EUVRARD was married to Gilberto BONEGIO, a Portuguese flamenco
dancer and guitarist. In the early 60s, the couple toured the country, singing
with Gilberto's group. After he died in 1964 after being in a coma for 20
months after a car accident, she naver sang in public again. Their children
Raúl and Fernando became involved with Spanish dancing. Raúl's
wife, Gillian, was Charlize THERON's Spanish dance teacher. One of Raúl
and Gillian's twin daughters born in 1993 was named Esmé.
Evelyn MARTIN was a popular radio broadcaster on LM Radio and later Springbok
Radio and Radio Highveld. She was the longest serving announcer on LM Radio.
Born of Portuguese parents in Johannesburg, she joined the station in 1950
as a programme compiler. In 1953 she took over the children's Lucky Dip and
Birthday greetings and Hospital programmes. She worked on LM until she was
evacuated to Johannesburg after the occupation of the studios in 1974.
Peter DE NOBREGA grew up in Johannesburg. He worked for LM Radio from
the early 1970s until he made the closing station announcement from in October
1975. He then joined Radio 5 in Johannesburg and went to become the head
of programming at Radio Jacaranda, where he was still working in March 2004.
Manuel Maria Lamarque ESCORCIO was first heard on radio in December 1974
on Esmé EUVRARD's music programme. He promised his dying father that
he would not forget his Portuguese roots. Manuel was born in Mozambique of
Portuguese-French descent. His singing talent was discovered when, while
at school and taking a shower, a school prefect heard him and called the music
teacher. In 1977 he sang in his first opera as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore,
winning the Nederburg prize. As the principal resident tenor of the Cape
Town City Opera for 12 years, he has sung in over 40 productions. Manuel
has recorded 30 CDs, six of which are gospel. Three recordings have gone
gold and one platinum. He sings in English, Portuguese, Afrikaans, Spanish,
French and Italian, and has a Master of Music degree from the University
of Cape Town. In February 2005 he married Franscilla KRUGER, a Springbok basketball
player and indoor cricket player from Heidelberg, Gauteng. He has two sons
from a previous marriage.
In 1998, Johnny CANDELARIA of Northcliff, became the 2000th receiver of
a donated kidney since the first kidney transplant operation in was done
in South Africa in 1967. His wife, Rosemarie, donated one of her kidneys.
Johnny was an immigrant from Madeira who met Rosemarie in South Africa.
Alice DAS NEVES was 31 when she lost her life in the Helderberg crash.
She was the daughter of Manuel and Maria DAS NEVES of Plattekloof. Alice
was a ground hostess at D.F. Malan in Cape Town for four years before joining
the travel agency Lislind International in Parow. Her parents immigrated to
South Africa from Madeira over 40 years ago. Their five children were born
in South Africa. Manuel owned Tygerberg Cafe in Parow.
Osiers Cane and Linen was stared in 1921 by a group of Portuguese businessmen
from Madeira and a Scot.
João DOS SANTOS was born in Madeira and immigrated to Mozambique
as a child. He later moved to South Africa where he completed music studies.
After working as a librarian at the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, he started
a music publishing business, Amanuensis.
In 1998 when the Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg was finally closed, Fernando
FONTES, then 58, was the last manager. Fernando came to South Africa from
Madeira more than 30 years ago. He started working as a barman at the hotel's
Three Ships restaurant in September 1972.
In 2005, Staff-Sgt. Daniel ROXO and Sgts. José (Robbie) RIBEIRO
and Silva SOERIO were finally honoured with gravestones. The three Portuguese
were members of the famed SADF's 32 Battalion. Two were born in Portugal
and one in Guinea-Bissau. All three died in the Border War and were buried
at Voortrekkerhoogte in 1976, without gravestones. Members of the South African
Special Forces and the 32 Battalion Association raised funds for their grave
stones. ROXO was the first foreign-born soldier to be awarded the Honoris
Crux medal for bravery, for his part in the Battle of Bridge 14. RIBEIRO
was nominated for the HC, but did not receive it. He was a master of infiltration.
Both RIBEIRO and SOEIRO were allowed to wear the Pro Patria and Southern
Africa medals, but they were never issued with them. ROXO and SOEIRO died
shortly after Operation Savannah in a landmine explosion. RIBEIRO died two
days later in a vehicle accident while transporting wounded soldiers. ROXO
was survived by a wife and six children. RIBEIRO was survived by a wife and
a daughter. SOEIRO was single.
Pedro CAMARA played the role of Carlos in the SABC TV series 7de Laan.
His older brothers own the general dealer and the bottle store in Rawsonville.
Fredrico owns the general dealer and Silvino, the bottle store. Silivino
has done TV and magazine adverts and modelling. Their mother, Driekie, is
Afrikaans and married to their Portuguese father, Abel, who was tragically
murdered outside the shops in early 2008. The family lost a son, Abel, at
the age of 9 to bone marrow cancer. The two youngest children live in Worcester.
The parents met in Luderitz, where Driekie worked in the bank. Pedro married
Karin, a graphic designer who grew up in Patensie, in 1997 and they have a
son, Enzo. They live in Durbanville.
Anthony WILSON plays the role of Dan Williams in SABC's TV series Generations.
His father was Portuguese. His maternal grandfather was Charles HALWORTHY
who was living in Marabastad, Pretoria, when his mother went to live in Mozambique
with his father. Anthony spoke Shangaan and Afrikaans. Today he is married
to Wilhelmina and they have five grandchildren. They live in Eersterust.
2) TRACING YOUR PORTUGUESE ANCESTORS - A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
CHURCH REGISTERS
The oldest church register in existence belongs to Nabainhos, near Gouveia,
and dates from 1529. In 1563 priests were mandated to keep records of all
baptisms, marriages and deaths in the parish. The registers were the responsibility
of the Church, until the decree of 16 May 1832. This decree was the first
attempt to establish civil registration of births, marriages and deaths.
However, it was overturned by another decree on 09 August 1859, which again
made it the Church's responsibility. Yet another decree on 28 November 1878
made civil registration for non-Catholics compulsory. In March 1911, another
decree made the state the official record keeper. The State Archives took
over the old parish registers and other related books for safe-keeping.
However, churches continue to keep their own records.
The Catholic Church has been the official church for many years. It has
kept the following types of records: baptism (batismo), marriage (casamento)
and death (óbito). Parish registers older than 100 years are deposited
with the district archives. The public only has access to records older than
30 years and these are kept at the civil registry and at the office of the
public notary of each municipality. Churches also keep records of bequests
and donations, which contain information of use to genealogy. The documents
relating to the Inquisition period (15th-18th centuries) are found in the
National Archives at the Torre do Tombo in Lisbon.
Baptism records always contain the child's parents' names. In most cases
grandparents are also noted, as are godparents as well as their residence.
From the late 1800s, baptism records will sometimes have margin notes indicating
the marriage or death of the baptised individual. Marriage records usually
contain the parents' and godparents names. Sometimes grandparents are also
listed. The bridal couple's places of birth are also given. Death records
show the parents' names if the deceased was a young child. Spouse names are
noted for married deceased adults. By the 1700s, most death records started
showing the age at death and by the 1800s the surviving children were being
listed.
Although most church registers have survived, three events caused great
destruction of registers in some areas:
the Spanish invasion of Alentejo in 1580-1640
the 1755 earthquake in the Lisbon area
the French invasions of 1804-1814 devastated the provinces of Beira Baixa
and Ribatejo
CIVIL REGISTRATION
Civil registration in Portugal began in March 1911. These are birth, marriage
and death records for everyone within the boundaries of each registry office
(registo civil). Knowing which registry office holds the records for which
village/town/city, is the key to success. It is important to know how the
country is broken down into regions. A region could be the Island of Madeira,
within that region there are districts and within each district there are
concelhos, which are the same as counties or municipalities. Within each
conselho there are many freguesias (small towns and villages). There are also
lugars (places) within villages, which are mostly a group of 3 or so houses
in a remote spot of the village.
ARCHIVES
In Portugal, each district has an archive (Arquivos Distritais) where
all records for the district are kept. Records such as church records, property
records, wills and emigration records can be found there. Records older than
100 years are passed on to the Regional Archives and the National Archives.
OTHER RESOURCES
Libraries keep newspapers, which are useful in genealogical research,
especially if you know where your ancestor lived. Historical books are also
useful, especially those dealing with a region's early beginnings.
Cemeteries can be useful but if the grave dates prior to the 19th century,
it becomes a difficult task. Most people could only afford a wooden cross
and headstones were far and few between. Portuguese universities keep records
of all their graduates in their archives.
Military records are kept by the Military Archives, whilst the Navy has
its own Naval Archives.
District archives also keep records of those who are ordained priests
or become nuns or monks.
Foreigners who have applied for Portuguese nationality are recorded in
the National Archives of Torre do Tombo in Lisbon.
Wills date back to the early 15th century, for ancestors who owned land
or other property. Wills are kept in the local Notarial Registry (Carterios
Notarais) and are transferred every 30 years to the District Archives.
Portugal has a heraldic institution, the Conselho de Nombreza, set up
in April 1945, which grants coat of arms and titles. The Instituto Português
de Heraldica also undertakes genealogical research.
Passports were first issued in 1757 and are found in the District Archives.
They list names, date and place of birth, date of voyage and destination.
3) MADEIRA - THE PARADISE ISLAND
The Pearl of the Atlantic, Madeira, was known to the Romans as the Purple
Islands. The original natives of Madeira were farmers - the island having
been settled by Portuguese squires. Today the largest single economic activity
outside of Funchal is farming on smallholdings, most of which are less than
1000 square metres. Many of the popular festas that are celebrated around
the island are linked to a product such as the cherry, the chestnut, sugar
cane and the vine. When crops failed and the land was subdivided beyond
subsistence level, many Madeirans started emigrating. Some 750 000 people,
mostly resident in South Africa, Venezuela, the USA, and other EU countries,
call themselves Madeiran. The Madeira Islands, a volcanic archipelago in
the Atlantic Ocean, 400 miles west of Morocco, constitute the Madeira Autonomous
Region of Portugal. It is made up of the following islands: Porto Santo,
Desertas group of islands (Deserta Grande, Bugio, Ilhéu Chão
and Prego do Mar), Selvagens islands (Selvagem Grande, Selvagem Pequena and
Ilhéu de Fora). The Desertas and Selvagens islands are uninhabited.
The island of Porto Santo was the first to be discovered in 1418 with Madeira
being discovered the following year. The discovery was not planned. Two of
Infante Dom Henriques' (Henry the Navigator) squires, João Goncalves
ZARGO and Tristão Vaz TEIXEIRA, were sent to explore the seas off
Guinea. Their ships ran into storms. They found shelter on an island which
they named Porto Santo. They returned to Lisbon, leaving half the crew
on the island. On the return voyage in 1420 they were accompanied by another
squire, an Italian named Bartolomeu PERESTRELO. ZARGO and TEIXEIRA explored
another nearby island which was heavily wooded. They named it Ilha da Madeira
(Island of Wood). The three squires were granted governorships. The eastern
portion of Madeira, with its administrative centre (concelho) in Machico,
was given to Tristão Vaz TEIXEIRA. Joao Goncalves ZARGO was granted
the western portion with its concelho in Funchal. Porto Santo was granted
to Bartolomeu PERESTRELO. Madeira was made a province of Portugal and
in 1425 ZARCO became governor of the south side of Madeira, a position he
held for 40 years. He died at the age of 80 and was buried in the old church
adjoining the Santa Clara Convent, which was built in 1492. Bartolomeu PERESTRELO's
daughter Filipa Moniz married a young map maker, Christopher Columbus (Cristofõm
Colon), who lived in Lisbon and Madeira between 1470 and 1485.
The first Madeira settlers came from noble families of Portugal, many from
Algarve and Minho. The first children born in Madeira were those of Goncallo
Ayres FERREIRA, a companion of ZARCO on his first voyage who had taken his
wife to the island in 1425. The settlers had to clear land to cultivate. ZARCO
set fire to portions of the island in order to clear land quickly. The fire
burned for seven years and the wood ash enriched the soil.
Amongst the first Madeira families were the following who arrived with
ZARCO: Gonçalo Aires FERREIRA, Francisco CARVALHAL, João LOURENÇO,
Rui PAIS, João AFONSO, António GAGO, Lourenço GOMES,
Francisco ALCOFORADO, Vasco DELGADO, Alvaro AFONSO, Aires LORDELO, Vasco ESTEVES,
Manuel Afonso DE SANHA, João DO PRADO. Their blood runs through the
veins of almost every Madeiran.
In 1508 D. Manuel I, King of Portugal declared Funchal a city. At that
time, Funchal was the first city built by Europeans, outside Europe. In 1580
there were 21 800 inhabitants on Madeira and 1891 a census showed 132 223
inhabitants. In 1766 the Marquis of Pombal and Prime Minister, granted Madeira
the authority to mint her own money.
4) TOWNS AND PARISHES THAT MAKE UP EACH CONCELHO ON MADEIRA AND PORTO
SANTO
|
MADEIRA
|
CONCELHO
|
TOWN
|
PARISH
|
Calheta
|
Arco da Calheta
|
Sao Braz
|
|
Calheta
|
Espirito Santo
|
|
Estreito da Calheta
|
Nossa Senhora da Grace
|
|
Faja da Ovelha |
Sao Joao Baptista
|
|
Jardim do Mar
|
Nossa Senhora do Rosario
|
|
Paul do Mar |
Santo Amaro
|
|
Ponta do Pargo
|
Sao Pedro
|
|
Prazeres
|
Nossa Senhora das Neves
|
Camara de Lobos
|
Camara de Lobos
|
Sao Sebastiao
|
|
Curral das Freiras
|
Nossa Senhora do Livramento
|
|
Estreito de Camara de Lobos
|
Nossa Senhora da Graca
|
|
Quinta Grande
|
Nossa Senhora dos Remedios
|
Funchal
|
Monte
|
Nossa Senhora de Conceicao
|
|
Santa Luzia
|
Santa Luzia
|
|
Santa Maria Maior
|
Nossa Senhora do Socorro
|
|
Santo Antonio
|
Santo Antonio
|
|
Sao Goncalo
|
Sao Goncalo de Amarante
|
|
Sao Martinho
|
Sao Martinho
|
|
Sao Pedro
|
Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
|
|
Sao Roque
|
Sao Roque
|
|
Funchal
|
Se (Nossa Senhora da Assuncao Cathedral)
|
Machico
|
Machico
|
Nossa Senhora da Conceicao
|
|
Canical
|
Sao Sebastiao
|
|
Porto da Cruz
|
Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe
|
Ponta do Sol
|
Ponta do Sol
|
Nossa Senhora da Luz
|
|
Canhas
|
Nossa Senhora da Piedade
|
|
Madalena do Mar
|
Santa Maria Madalena
|
Porto do Moniz
|
Achadas da Cruz
|
Nossa Senhora do Livramento
|
|
Porto do Moniz
|
Nossa Senhora da Conceicao
|
|
Ribeira da Janela
|
Nossa Senhora da Encarnacao
|
|
Seixal
|
Santo Antao
|
Ribeira Brava
|
Campanario
|
Sao Braz
|
|
Ribeira Brava
|
Sao Bento
|
|
Serra d'Agua
|
Nossa Senhora da Ajuda
|
|
Tabua
|
Santissima Trindade
|
Santa Cruz
|
Santa Cruz
|
Divino Salvador
|
|
Santo Antonio da Serra
|
Santo Antonio
|
|
Agua de Pena
|
Santa Beatriz
|
|
Camacha
|
Sao Lourenco
|
|
Gaula
|
Nossa Senhora da Luz
|
|
Canico
|
Santo Antonio
|
Santana
|
Santana
|
Santa Ana
|
|
Arco de Sao Jorge
|
Sao Jose
|
|
Faial
|
Nossa Senhora da Piedade
|
|
Sao Jorge
|
Sao Jorge
|
|
Sao Roque do Faial
|
Sao Roque
|
Sao Vicente
|
Sao Vicente
|
Sao Vicente
|
|
Ponta Delgada
|
Senhor Bom Jesus
|
|
Boaventura
|
Santa Quiteria
|
|
PORTO SANTO
|
Porto Santo
|
whole island
|
Nossa Senhora da Piedade
|
5) DATABASE OF MADEIRANS IN SOUTH AFRICA
I have, through my interest in South African genealogy and through my Madeiran
roots, collected genealogical data on Madeirans who immigrated to South
Africa through the years. I am fortunate that my parents have a rich oral
history of Madeiran families. The island is very small when speaking in
genealogical terms - everyone knows who's who in their village and neighbouring
villages.
If you have Madeiran roots, especially if your family came to South Africa,
I might have some information in my database. Also, check the Facebook group
"Madeirans in South Africa".
Typical information that I need in order to see check the database:
1. Full names and Surnames of the person or people you're looking
for.
2. Dates and places of birth, death and marriages, if known.
3. Details of spouse, if known.
4. Details of children, if known.
5. Details of parents, if known.
6. Any other information that may assist me.
E-mail Anne
COPYRIGHT 2008 Anne Lehmkuhl - All rights reserved
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