Bandeirantes and the Sertão: Inside Brazil's Paulista Expansion

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the world of the bandeirantes, the mixed-race explorers and slavers from São Paulo who pushed deep into Brazil's interior (the sertão) in the 17th century. They discuss the economic and social drivers behind the bandeiras—from capturing Indigenous people for the slave trade to hunting for gold and precious stones—and the controversial legacy of figures like Antônio Raposo Tavares. The conversation covers the Paulistas' conflicts with Jesuit missions, the role of mamelucos (mixed Portuguese-Indigenous people) in opening the hinterland, and how the bandeirantes expanded Brazil's borders far beyond the Treaty of Tordesillas line, paving the way for the Minas Gerais gold rush. Specific elements include the founding of São Paulo, the preação raids, the destruction of the Jesuit reductions in Guairá, and the discovery of gold in the 1690s. The episode also touches on the tension between the bandeirantes' frontier ethos and the Portuguese crown's later efforts to control the interior. #Bandeirantes #Sertão #SãoPaulo #AntônioRaposoTavares #Mamelucos #Paulistas #JesuitReductions #Guairá #MinasGerais #GoldRush #Preação #Tordesillas #IndigenousSlavery #PortugueseColonialHistory #BrazilColonial #17thCentury #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo