Uruçumirim

Image description: This is a painting depicting a historical scene involving several vessels. On the left, we see a group of naked men using wooden canoes, rowing with force. They are arranged in two rows, each holding a paddle. On the right, there is another similar group, also rowing toward the left. In the background, we see a landscape with trees and a structure that appears to be an indigenous house or hut. The setting suggests a battle or a war scene between different peoples.

Uruçumirim is a Tupinambá leader, a place, and also a battle. From a historical point of view, it can be considered the founding milestone of the city. Before Uruçumirim, Europeans had no control over the territories of Guanabara. They lived frightened, hungry, and entrenched in the small lowland area between the open sea and the Pão de Açúcar. Several times, they came close to being massacred by the indigenous people. It was only after the taking of Uruçumirim and the defeat of the Tupinambá warriors that the city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro came into existence, in what was named Morro do Descanso and later received the nickname Morro do Castelo, since the Portuguese fortified themselves there to found a new Rio, which went from indigenous to colonial.

In Guanabara, the natives organized themselves, fortified themselves and united to confront colonial rule in a way recorded in few places in Brazil. The period from 1540 to 1567 is marked by resistance to this rule, which culminated in what we know as Uruçumirim. There is only one primary source about what occurred on January 20, 1567 at what is now Morro da Glória. It is precisely the document "Instrumentos de serviços," dated 1570, produced by the then Portuguese governor-general Mem de Sá. Leading this undertaking, Mem de Sá had entered Guanabara two days earlier with all the reinforcements he had managed to recruit along the Brazilian colonial coast — from Pernambuco to São Vicente. Ships and men willing to set out for Guanabara were mobilized and enlisted, among them indigenous allies.

The document is an accounting report from Mem de Sá to Queen Catarina of Portugal, who had so insistently demanded the founding of the city. More than a necessity for the Portuguese rulers, defeating Uruçumirim was actually an imposition from the Portuguese crown, which had sent a fleet from Lisbon for that purpose. There was no longer any battle against the French, defeated in 1560 with the destruction of Villegagnon's fort. The war was now mainly against the indigenous peoples, who represented a major obstacle to the conquest of Guanabara. The last resistance was, therefore, the Tamoio stronghold — the Tamoios were a “gathering” of Tupinambás who fought against the Portuguese incursions, at times in alliance with the French.

Image description: This is a painting depicting a landscape featuring a fort. On the left side, we see several boats floating on the river. In the center, there is a hill covered with green vegetation. On the right, a building with a tower and a white roof is located at the top of the hill. Around it, there are some smaller structures with red roofs. In the lower right corner, there are two human figures walking. The sky shows tones of blue and yellow, with scattered clouds.

Thousands of indigenous people and around two dozen Frenchmen, who lived among the warriors, were entrenched atop a steep promontory by the sea with artillery and cannons, protected by a large Tupinambá palisade. Mem de Sá's fleet arrived in Rio de Janeiro on January 18, 1567. The attack on the Uruçumirim fortress happened immediately. It was urgent not to let the Tupinambá summon warriors from other villages along the coast, from the interior, and from other parts of the territory. One more day of waiting before the attack and perhaps, today, we would be telling a different story. We can imagine the despair of the Tupinambá inside the palisade and the rush to summon the neighboring villages as soon as they spotted the large number of boats entering the bay.

The term "Uruçumirim," incredible as it may seem, is a creation or perception of the Jesuit historian Simão de Vasconcellos, who wrote about that day some eighty years later, saying that "Uraçumirim" was the name of the fortification – which was followed by other historians. However, Mem de Sá states that he fought the stronghold of "Ibirauaçu-mirim, a great chief and very warlike, who was in a very high and rugged stronghold with many Frenchmen and artillery." According to the document, Ibirauaçu-mirim was one of the last leaders of the Tamoio Confederation.

The fortress was built near the villages of Karióca and Guiraguaçu – the best location for defending the present-day coast of Guanabara's "center." Since the location chosen by the Tupinambás was quite strategic, the battle was not easy for the Portuguese, and because of this "many Christians were killed and wounded," among them none other than the captain of the conquering forces, Estácio de Sá, pierced through his armor by a fatal arrow.

Image description: This is an oil-on-canvas painting, dated 1911, titled "The Death of Estácio de Sá," created by Antônio Parreiras. The scene depicts the interior of a hut with several human figures distributed throughout the space. On the left side, we see a seated figure, dressed in traditional clothing, while in front of them stands a man, nude, apparently wounded. On the right, other individuals are shown in different postures: some are standing, others are seated, all appearing to be engaged in various activities. In the background, there is a figure of a priest holding a crucifix, suggesting a religious context. The predominant colors are shades of green, brown, and beige, with emphasis on the texture of the clothing and the natural light entering through the window.

After hours of combat, the Europeans came out on top, due to the large contingent and weapons they brought. The French “tupis” were killed and some “surrendered and were captured, nine or ten of them”. Obviously, it's impossible to calculate the casualties among the tupinambás, but it's estimated to have been hundreds of men. The survivors retreated to then resist in another fortress, this one commanded by Paranapucu, son of Pindobuçu, on what is now Ilha do Governador. It still took two more days of intense combat for the Portuguese to put an end to Guanabara's self-determination. A period of diaspora and enslavement began for the tupis.

Image description: This is a painting depicting a coastal landscape. On the left side, we see a calm sea with a few boats in the distance. In the center, there is an island covered in green vegetation. On the right, a large building with a dome and a tower is located on a hill. In the background, there are more buildings and a mountain. In the lower part of the image, two boats are sailing near the beach.

In the place that became known as Uruçumirim, the decisive battle for control of Guanabara was fought, and from there, on January 20, 1567, the fate of Rio de Janeiro would be shaped.