Marshal Rondon he was a Brazilian soldier who carried out, throughout his life, the work of a sertanista. The marshal carried out the scientific exploration of regions of Mato Grosso and the Amazon, in addition to having worked on the construction of telegraphs and carried out important actions in mapping these regions, considered at the time quite inhospitable.
The marshal was also marked for acting strongly in the defense of indigenous rights, and was at the head of important institutions created for this purpose: the Indian Protection Service and the National Council of Protection of the Indian. Rondon was also one of the great defenders of the demarcation of an indigenous land in the Xingu National Park.
birth and formation
![Marshal Rondon (sitting in the middle of the two standing men) during a session of the National Council for the Protection of the Indian.[1]](/f/42ca947a811b095d3397e7f889b76172.jpg)
Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon she was born on May 5, 1865, in the district of Mimoso, which is part of the city of Santo Antônio de Leverger, in the current state of Mato Grosso. He was the son of a pantaneiro cowboy, called
Cândido Mariano da Silva, it's from Claudina Lucas Evangelista, a woman of Bororo and Terena natives.Rondon, however, grew up an orphan, as his father died before he was even born and his mother died when he was two years old. His creation was given by his uncle Manuel Rodrigues da Silva Rondon. That's why, still in his childhood, he moved to Cuiabá and there he did all his basic training. The surname Rondon was a tribute by Cândido to his uncle, adopting him from 1890 onwards.
Before completing his studies, Rondon enlisted in the Army in Cuiabá, and after he finished, he left for Rio de Janeiro to join the Military School of Rio de Janeiro. In the Brazilian capital, he continued his career as a military man and graduated in courses in General Staff, engineering, Math and Physical and Natural Sciences.
In the Army, Rondon supported the Proclamation of the Republic, held on November 15, 1889, and his participation earned him a good promotion in the military hierarchy, making him become first lieutenant. The following year, Rondon was assigned his first major mission.
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readmore: The navigation of the rivers that led to Cuiabá was a focus of tension in the Paraguayan War
Rondon as explorer
In March 1890, Rondon left for his first major mission in the Army. He would be part of an engineering commission created with the aim of building a telegraph network that would connect Mato Grosso with the west of Goiás. This work was part of an effort by the military to integrate Mato Grosso with the capital (Rio de Janeiro), in order to facilitate communication between the two cities.
It was about putting an end to the isolation of Mato Grosso, as this state did not have roads connecting it with the capital, being necessary to make river navigation through the La Plata basin so that the news sent from Rio de Janeiro get there. Thus, communication with Cuiabá was very time-consuming.
The Construction Commission of the Telegraph Line from Mato Grosso to Goiás and the expedition to Mato Grosso were led by the Major Gomes Carneiro. Rondon worked as an assistant to the major, and his contact with Gomes Carneiro was important in his formation as a Sertanista, because of the necessary skills in locating the forest and building telegraph networks, Rondon learned from him.
In addition, with Major Carneiro Gomes, Rondon learned a lesson he had taken throughout his life: maintain peaceful contact with the Indians. Throughout the work of the commission, Carneiro Gomes dealt with situations that forced all members to fleeing from a location in the middle of the forest at night because of evidence that they would be attacked by indigenous peoples. Rondon then learned that peaceful contact with these people was the best way to ensure the mission's success.
In 1900, Rondon was appointed to lead a commission that would extend the telegraph network from Mato Grosso to Brazil's border with Paraguay and Bolivia. His work on these commissions was important in the sense that he promoted the country integration, but this integration was also marked by abuses against workers who acted in it.
At the end of these commissions, in which he served until 1906, more than 1700 km of lines had been built. telegraphs, in addition to important items for carrying out scientific studies were collected from the nature. Starting in 1907, Rondon joined a new commission: the Construction Commission of Telegraph Lines from Mato Grosso to Amazonas.
It was created with the aim of extending the telegraph network from Mato Grosso to the Amazon Valley. The focus was the same: to expand the integration of a vast territory understood as little known by the Brazilian government and in which communication was complicated. The first step in this was to explore the region so that construction could then be carried out.
The expedition organized by Rondon in carrying out this mission was known as CommissionRondon and acted from 1907 to 1910, making important recognitions in the Amazon region, demarcating territories in Mato Grosso and crossing the Forest to Manaus. Along this trip, in addition to the mapping work, Rondon carried out a ethnographic work, with different indigenous villages, which became known around the world.
From 1910 onwards, an institution of which Rondon was one of the great defenders was created, the Indian Protection Service. He assumed the leadership of the SPI as soon as it was created, in 1910, and acted in the defense of the indigenous people against the violence of farmers, miners and rubber tappers who wanted to invade their lands.
In 1913, Rondon was part of another very famous expedition — the Rondon-Roosevelt Expedition. former US president Theodoreroosevelt he had a taste for expeditions, deciding to carry out one of them in the Amazon region. This trip took place at the turn of 1913 to 1914, gained international fame and was responsible for mapping the River of Doubt. Along the way, Roosevelt contracted malaria and nearly died, ending up in poor health.
In the 1920s, Rondon joined the lieutenant movementand started to demonstrate against the Arthur Bernardes government. He even participated in the 1924 Paulista Revolution, when he was appointed general. At the Washington government Luís, he assumed the role of Brazil border supervisor.
He continued in this role until the mid-1930s, when he abandoned his career as an explorer. Between 1934 and 1938 he was the head of a diplomatic mission from Brazil sent to solve a problem between Peru and Colombia, due to the possession of a border town between these two countries called Leticia.
In 1939, he took over the head ofNational Council for the Protection of the Indian, institution that replaced the former SPI. In the 1940s, it was one of the great critics of fascismin Brazil, positioning itself for the country to join the Allies during the Second World War. He spent the last years of his life fighting for indigenous rights.
Accessalso: Indigenous culture - characteristics, customs, dances and influences in Brazil
Indigenous Defense
Throughout his career as an explorer in the interior of Brazil, Rondon was in the most isolated regions of the country and had contact with different indigenous peoples. His work in cataloging peoples and their customs was extremely important. In addition, he has been known to act his entire life in their defense.
Rondon's opinion about indigenous people changed throughout his life. At the beginning of his career, he defended the idea of integrating these peoples into Western culture, but, according to journalist Larry Rohter, he started to defend the right of indigenous people to remain isolated | 1 |. That is why he was one of the great defenders of the demarcation of indigenous lands.
Rondon began to defend the Indians' right to isolation when he realized the cruelty with which they were treated by the white man, especially by those who attacked them to take their lands, like the farmers. He had contact with countless of these peoples and always tried to keep the friendship with all of them. His motto in relations with the indigenous people was “die if need be, never kill”.
He approached people like the Bororo and the paris, and managed to maintain peaceful contact with very hostile peoples, such as the nhambiquaras, known for refusing to maintain any kind of contact with non-indigenous peoples. The defense of these and other peoples carried out by Rondon took place with different Brazilian governments throughout the 20th century.
As mentioned, he served in two important institutions in the defense of indigenous peoples here in Brazil, the SPI and the National Council for the Protection of the Indian. In the 1950s, he was one of the defenders of the demarcation of theXingu National Park, the largest indigenous area in Brazil. This area was created in 1961, during the government of Jânio Quadros. Unfortunately, Rondon did not live to see this feat, as he passed away on February 19, 1958, in Rio de Janeiro.
Accessalso: Demarcation of indigenous lands in Brazil
Tributes
The work of Marshal Rondon has barely reached the most populous regions of Brazil, but in other places that are part of the regions North and Midwest, he is considerably recognized. Rondon received numerous honors in his lifetime, but was also honored after his death.
In our country, there are four cities whose names pay homage to the marshal. Are they:
Marshal Cândido Rondon (PR)
Rondon (PR)
Rondonópolis (MT)
Rondon do Pará (PA)
In addition, a Brazilian state was named in honor of the explorer and sertanista. The territory of Guaporé was renamed as Rondônia, in 1956, being effectively transformed into a state in 1981. Here in Brazil, he was elevated to the rank of marshal in the Army when he was 90 years old.
In addition, Rondon's work was recognized by outstanding names, such as Albert Einstein and Claude Lévi-Strauss. Rondon was indicated by many as deserving of a peace Nobel (he was not a winner of this award) and won, in 1918, the David Livingstone Centenary Medal, an award given by American Geographical Society for personalities who do remarkable work for the development of geography in the South hemisphere.
Note
|1|The saga of Marshal Rondon, according to this biographer. To access, click on here.
Image credit
[1] FGV/CPDOC
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
