João Nunes Saraiva

Date of birth: Second half of the 17th century, Trancoso (Bahia) Date of death: Unknown Merchant, banker. Link to BRASILHIS Database: https://brasilhis.usal.es/es/personaje/joao-juan-nunes-saraiva-nunez-saravia New Christian merchant of Portuguese origin. He conducted his business in several areas of the Hispanic Monarchy, such as Brazil, Castile and Asia, and the prosperity of his enterprises made him one of …
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Fray José de Pernambuco (José Ruiz)

Place and date of birth: Olinda (Pernambuco, Brazil), 1609 Place and date of death: Bemba (Congo), 1653 Catholic missionary and teacher of the first religious schools for nobles in the capital San Salvador del Congo. Due to his knowledge of several languages, he participated in the first Kikongo/Spanish/Latin dictionary. Database Brasilhis: http://brasilhis.usal.es/es/personaje/jose-ruiz-jose-de-pernambuco Africa’s connection from …
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Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen

Born in Dillenburg (Germany) in the Holy Roman Empire in 1604, Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen was the firstborn son of the marriage of Johan VII van Nassau-Siegen (1561-1623) to Margaretha van Holstein (1583-1658). In turn, Johan VII was the son of Johan VI van Nassau-Dillenburg (1535-1606), brother of Willem I (1533-1584), of Zwijger (the Silent), Prince of Orange, and one of the main leaders who worked for the formation of the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (Boxer, 2004: 94-95; Mello, 2006: 22-27; Mout, 1979: 14-17).

Jorge de Mascarenhas

The year of Jorge de Mascarenhas’ birth is uncertain, some claim to have been in 1570, others in 1585, or even in 1579, as indicated by the most reliable source (WHITE, 2004), son of the marriage between Francisco Mascarenhas (c. 1530-1608), Portuguese admiral and governor of Hormuz between 1569 and 1572, and Jerônima de Castro Lima e Pereira, niece of Francisco Barreto, governor of India.

Juana Catalina Ramírez de Velasco Ugarte

Date of birth: around 1610 “Creole” wife of Salvador Correá de Sá e Benavides, son of Martim Correa de Sá and grandson of Salvador Correa de Sá, o velho, governors of the captaincy of Rio de Janeiro. Link to BRASILHIS Database: https://brasilhis.usal.es/es/personaje/juana-catalina-ramirez-de-velasco-ugarte Catalina Ramírez de Velasco Ugarte was one of the wealthiest people in the …
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