TheTamoios

In 1554, a German mercenary named Hans Staden witnessed a meeting of “tamoio” leaders in the village on the Ariró river, a location in the bay of Angra dos Reis. Dozens of Indigenous chiefs were gathered there – among them the notorious Cunhambebe – seeking information about the movements of their Lusitanian enemies, the “perós,” from the recently captured European, who was also a gunner at the Bertioga fort. This fort had been built precisely to block the advance of the Tupinambás on the Portuguese of São Vicente. This meeting of leaders is emblematic and reveals the degree of organization among the Indigenous peoples in their attempt to protect themselves from the threat of enslavement and territorial loss they had faced since at least the mid-1530s.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white engraving. It shows a scene with several human figures in a natural setting. On the left side, there is a large tree with smoke coming out of it. In front, people are sitting on benches, while others are walking or standing. In the center, there is a rounded structure with a figure lying inside it. On the right, more figures are standing or sitting, some holding objects. At the top, there are two birds flying. The word "Arroop" is written above the tree.

The Tupinambá resistance movement against Portuguese domination began after the expedition of Martim Afonso de Sousa, who, in 1531, visited Guanabara and spent almost three months with the Tupinambás. The region's many tabas helped the Portuguese resupply their ships and undertake an expedition, crossing the interior of those lands in search of gold and silver. Reports from the Portuguese court point to an alliance between Martim Afonso and the Tupinambás of Rio de Janeiro. However, the Portuguese decided to implement the colonial project in a neighboring area of the Brazilian coast, in São Vicente (present-day state of São Paulo). This region was dominated by the Tupiniquins, who were then enemies of the Tupinambás, and it was this relationship, between the Portuguese and the Tupiniquins, that would trigger the resistance of the so-called "tamoios" against the Portuguese.

The Tupi term "tamüîa" was how the Tupinambá referred to "the elders" or "ancestors," in the sense of being the representatives of the "eldest" or the "first" owners of those lands. They fought in honor of their ancestors. The term appears to have been a war cry, and perhaps that is why the Portuguese-adapted word "tamoyos" appears in historical records to identify all the Tupi indigenous groups that organized themselves to fight the Portuguese along the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white engraving. It shows a figure with long, voluminous hair, wearing a headband. He holds a staff with a ball on top in his left hand. In the background, there is a landscape with mountains and trees.

With the arrival of Nicolas Villegagnon's expedition in Guanabara in 1555, the "tamoios" forged alliances with the French – acquiring better weapons and tools, made of iron –, but equally fundamental were the bonds and strategies among the tabas themselves, which made it possible to launch major attacks on the villages of São Vicente and Piratininga between 1560 and 1563. This indigenous front became known in history as the Tamoio Confederation.

The Tamoio Confederation created a critical situation for the Portuguese and put the colonization of São Vicente at risk. There are records of the hardship they were going through, requests for help, and threats to abandon the region. It is in this context that, in 1563, the Jesuit priests José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nóbrega offered to seek a truce with the "tamoios" in Iperoig (present-day Ubatuba). At that meeting, the leader Aimberê was summoned from Guanabara to sign an armistice, which allowed for the release of enslaved people in São Vicente.

Image description: This is a black-and-white print. The scene shows several canoes with naked people, some rowing and others waiting. On the left, a group of men is in a larger canoe, while on the right, other men are in smaller canoes. In the background, there is a dense forest and an isolated house.

Contrary to the priests' promises of pacification, the “Peace of Iperoig” lasted only as long as necessary for the Portuguese forces to reorganize, as they would set off on an expedition commanded by Estácio de Sá with the aim of defeating the “tamoios” and founding the city of Rio de Janeiro. This only happened in the year 1567, after the battles of Uruçumirim, in what is now Outeiro da Glória, and of Paranapucu, on Ilha do Governador, when the tamoios were defeated.