Portugal's Forgotten African Empire: The Bandeirantes of São Paulo

While Portugal's maritime empire is well-known, a different kind of expansion was happening inland in South America. This episode explores the Bandeirantes, the mixed-race explorers from São Paulo who pushed deep into the Brazilian interior in the 17th and 18th centuries. Driven by a search for indigenous slaves, gold, and diamonds, these bands of mamelucos, Indians, and a few Portuguese opened up vast territories beyond the Tordesillas line. We trace their origins in the village of São Paulo de Piratininga, their brutal slave-hunting expeditions against Jesuit missions, and their later discovery of gold in Minas Gerais. Figures like Domingos Jorge Velho and Fernão Dias Pais Leme come to life. The episode also examines the darker legacy: the decimation of indigenous populations, the enslavement of thousands, and how the Bandeirantes expanded Brazil’s borders far beyond what the Treaty of Tordesillas allowed, reshaping the map of South America. #Bandeirantes #SãoPaulo #ColonialBrazil #Slavery #GoldRush #Jesuits #IndigenousHistory #Tordesillas #MinasGerais #DomingosJorgeVelho #FernãoDias #Mameluco #Entradas #Paulistas #BrazilianHistory #PortugueseEmpire #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo