Teixeira, Pedro

For the settlement see Pedro Teixeira

Pedro Teixeira ( Pedro Teixeira ; between 1575 and 1585 - July 4, 1641) - Portuguese colonial administrator and explorer of Amazonia. Known as the first European to swim across the Amazon from the mouth to the source ^[1] .

At the beginning of the 17th century, Teixeira, whose early life was not known, lived in the city of Belen in the Amazon River Delta, apparently getting rich from smuggling goods that he dealt with over the Amazon and from the interior of the country.

A serious incentive for organizing a large expedition up the river was the arrival of seven Spaniards from Ecuador in Belem in 1637, accompanied by two Franciscan monks. If this happened after 1640, the Portuguese would have dealt with them or taken into custody, but in 1637, Portugal still belonged to the Spanish crown and the relations between the two peoples were peaceful.

The head of the Portuguese expedition was appointed Pedro Teixeira, and the main helmsman - Bento Acosta, who led her magazine. The expedition fleet consisted of 45 small vessels, on board of which were 70 Portuguese soldiers and 1,200 Indian soldiers and rowers and about the same number of women and children. In late July, the expedition sailed from Belem up the river. Their voyage along the river and its tributary, Napo, lasted about ten months. By order of Teixeira, Akoshta not only searched for convenient bays on the river itself, but also went to the mouths of large tributaries and climbed them for three to four days. Thus, at that time the mouths of the Rio Negro , Madeira and many others were first investigated.

After climbing the Napo River and overcoming the Andes on foot and horseback in early August 1638, the Portuguese arrived in Quito . Their appearance, in turn, alarmed the Spanish governor of Peru. However, they did not dare to do any harm to them because of their allegiance to the same king and sent the Portuguese back to Belen under the supervision of two Jesuit observers. One of them is Cristobal de Acuna , who in 1641 published in Madrid the book “The New Discovery of the Great Amazon River” ^[2] , in which, in addition to his personal observations, the reports of Teixeira and the diary of Acosta were used.

On February 16, 1639, an expedition led by Teixeira set off the same way, and on December 12 of the same year he returned to Belen. Teixeira made a report to the Governor immediately after his return. On February 28, 1640, he assumed the post of Governor of Belen, but due to poor health he resigned after three months of being there and died the following year (July 4, 1641). In his native city of Teixeira, Cantañedi , a monument was erected to him.

In honor of Pedro Teixeira, the Airbus A330 of Tap Portugal Airlines was named ^[3] .