A small poet from Minas Gerais, born near Vila do Ribeirão do Carmo, current city of Mariana, MG, considered the introducer of Arcadianism in Brazil, he became best known for his involvement in the movement of revolt against the Portuguese crown, called the Inconfidência Mineira, led by Tiradentes. From a wealthy family, after attending the Colégio dos Jesuitas in Rio de Janeiro, he studied law in Coimbra. Returning to Brazil, he practiced law in Mariana and Vila Rica (1753-1758), today Ouro Preto, MG, where he settled permanently. Twice he was secretary of the government of the captaincy of Minas Gerais. Respected for his culture, he was a liberal who had been influenced by Enlightenment philosophers and English economic theories. He was also a supporter of the reformist policy of the Portuguese despot Marquês de Pombal. He was a transitional poet, as he himself states in the prologue to Obras, he was influenced by the Baroque, but embraced the Arcadian cause. Arcadism was a literary style that lasted for most of the 18th century, with bucolicism as its main characteristic, elevating the carefree and idealized life in the countryside. Many of the participants in the Conjuração Mineira were Arcadian poets. He was a great friend of Tomás Antônio Gonzaga, and used the pseudonym Glauceste Satúrnio. His main works were Obras Poéticas (1768) and the epic Vila Rica, published posthumously (1839). Among his verses are the Metric Munusculo, the Epicédio in memory of Friar Gaspar da Encarnação, the Labyrinth of Love, the Metric Worship and Harmonic Numbers and the narrative Fable of Ribeirão do Carmo and the poem Rich village. Accused of gathering the conspirators in the investigation into the Conjuração Mineira (1789), arrested and interrogated, he was found hanged in the Casa dos Contos in Vila Rica, and the hypothesis of suicide was accepted.
Source: http://www.dec.ufcg.edu.br/biografias/BIOGVINC.htm
Biography C - Biography - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/claudio-manuel-da-costa.htm
