Branco (João de Freitas)
Biography of João de Freitas Branco (1854–1910), a Funchal-born polyglot, literary critic and translator who introduced the leading Scandinavian and German dramatists to the Portuguese stage.
He was born in this city on 5 August 1854, the son of Councillor (conselheiro, honorary title of the royal council) Silvano de Freitas Branco and Dona Maria Cândida de Sant'Ana Branco. He attended the Funchal lyceum (state secondary school) and enrolled in the faculty of mathematics of the University of Coimbra (Universidade de Coimbra), which he left in order to complete his education abroad and give his studies a new direction. It was in England, France and above all Austria that he acquired a profound knowledge of several foreign languages, and he was considered one of our most distinguished polyglots. He devoted himself particularly to the study of the literatures of northern Europe and wrote several highly regarded works of literary criticism on Ibsen, Rudyord, Kipling, Maeterlinck, etc. In the last years of his life he dedicated himself above all to the theatre, not only writing some original plays but also translating and adapting for the Portuguese stage many of the most acclaimed foreign dramas and comedies. He translated Casa da Boneca and Esteio da Sociedade by Ibsen, Uma Fallencia by Bjornson, Penedos do Inferno by Blumenthal, O Fim de Sodoma by Sudermann, etc. He also translated Aranha d'Ouro, Festa da Inauguração, O Califa Harum Al Rachid, Os Innocentes, O Gatuno, O Homem das Mangas, etc. It was he who made known in Portugal the leading dramatists of northern Europe, chiefly of Sweden, Denmark and Germany, who had been almost unknown among us.
His fondness for the theatre did not lead him to abandon the study of other literary and scientific subjects, and he was regarded as a man of deep learning in many branches of human knowledge. He died in Lisbon on 27 May 1910, aged 55.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02Place
Places mentioned · 06
Abroad
- Austria
Country where he chiefly completed his education.
The empire of which Isabel, who stayed in Madeira, was empress. João de Freitas Branco chiefly completed his education there.
- England
United Kingdom. One of the countries where he studied languages.
England appears in the Elucidário as the first main market for Madeira embroidery and the main importer of Madeiran wicker. It was also the source of most butter consumed in Funchal in the early nineteenth century. It was a chief refuge for liberal emigrants fleeing Miguelist persecution, and several Madeirans studied or served as diplomats there.
- France
One of the countries where he studied languages.
France is a country where several Madeirans fought and died in the First World War, including Gabriel Rocha de Gouveia and João Paulo da Veiga Pestana. It was also a place of study, of exile and of refuge for Madeirans. It was the origin of the expedition behind the Saque dos Franceses and the intended destination of the fugitives in the Machim legend.
- Funchal
Birthplace of João de Freitas Branco, where he attended the lyceum.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Place where he died in 1910.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- University of Coimbra
Portugal. He enrolled in its faculty of mathematics but left.
The University of Coimbra, in mainland Portugal, was supported by Madeira through tithes and attended by many Madeirans. Several of them graduated there, mostly in law, and others, such as António da Gama and Vitúrio Lopes Rocha, also taught there. Júlio Augusto Henriques held its chair of botany.
People
People mentioned · 09- João de Freitas Branco1854–1910
Funchal-born polyglot, critic and translator who popularised northern European drama in Portugal; subject of this entry.
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Norwegian dramatist whose A Bankruptcy Freitas Branco translated.
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Norwegian dramatist whose A Doll's House and Pillars of Society Freitas Branco translated and wrote criticism on.
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German dramatist whose O Fim de Sodoma Freitas Branco translated.
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Mother of João de Freitas Branco.
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Belgian writer on whom Freitas Branco wrote literary criticism.
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German dramatist whose play Freitas Branco translated as Os Penedos do Inferno.
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English writer on whom Freitas Branco wrote literary criticism.
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Councillor and father of João de Freitas Branco.