José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, nicknamed the Patriarch of Independence, Brazilian statesman, was born in Santos, São Paulo, on June 13, 1763. He was a professor of geognosy and metallurgy at the University of Coimbra, where he had graduated in Natural Philosophy and Civil Law, and a member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences.
At the time of the French Invasion in 1807, he enlisted in the Academic Volunteer Corps, having served as an officer and later as a commander. Once the invaders were expelled, he became Chief of Police of Porto.
After returning to Brazil, he devoted himself to the study of minerals. He became a figure of political projection from 1821, as vice-president of the Governing Board of São Paulo.
He was the first Brazilian to occupy a ministry, that of the Kingdom, in January 1822. His great capacity, his gifts of intelligence and character made him, together with Dom Pedro, the main worker for independence.
During the First Reign, he occupied the Ministry of the Empire when, in 1823, with his brother Martim Francisco, he left the Crown Councils, initiating the opposition to D. Peter I.
He was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1823. In that year, he had his arrest and deportation to Europe, ordered by D. Peter I. Returning to Brazil in 1829, he went to live on the island of Paquetá, from whose retreat he left only to assume the seat of Deputy for Bahia, as an alternate, in the legislative sessions of 1831 and 1832. He reconnected with the Emperor who, upon abdicating to the Crown in 1831, appointed him to tutor his son, the future Dom Pedro II.
He was removed from tutorship by the Regency in September 1833. He was under house arrest until 1835, when the criminal proceedings brought against him for conspiracy and disturbance of public order ended.
In the last days of his life he moved to Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, where he died in 1838.
Praça da Independência, Praça José Bonifácio, Panteão dos Andradas and the house on Rua XV de Novembro, in the center of the city. These monuments honor the same man, a scientist, philosopher, polyglot and especially a political leader. Born June 13, 1763. Its importance for the country and Santos is such that it was even proposed to change the name of the municipality to Cidade Andradina or Bonifácia, at the time of the elevation of the category of village to the city.
José Bonifácio graduated in Civil Law and Philosophy at the University of Coimbra, in Portugal. He lived for a long time in Europe, receiving influences from the revolutionary environment in France. The royal family knew of his abilities and feared that he would proclaim Brazilian independence himself. So they paid for his studies and kept him away. Head of the Ministry of D. Pedro, Bonifácio planned the separation from Portugal and influenced the prince to do so.
And more: for just two days apart, the famous Grito do Ipiranga (Independence or Death) was not given in Santos. This was what the Patriarch intended, when he brought D. Pedro came here shortly before the fact. The prince had an indisposition and hastened his return to São Paulo, proclaiming the independence of the Fatherland in the Capital.
On June 13, 1999, Mayor Beto Mansur signed a Bill, instituting the addition to the calendar official of Santos the 'Week of the Patriarch of Independence', to be celebrated annually in the second week of June. Furthermore, the law will determine that Santos becomes the 'City of the Patriarch'.
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