Freitas (Augusto César de)
Madeiran primary-school teacher and talented journalist who wrote for Funchal and Lisbon newspapers and died destitute in hospital in 1874.
He was a man of rare talent and remarkable literary gifts, whom adversity struck hard, never allowing his intellectual gifts to shine and be appreciated as they truly deserved. We know little of his life, although he was our contemporary. We know that he was a primary-school teacher and that he took up journalism, showing remarkable qualities as a writer. In Funchal he was an editor of O Noticioso and O Paiz, and in Lisbon he contributed to O Parlamento, O Conservador and O Monitor Portuguez, on a par with the leading journalists, according to a witness of the time. On the editorial staff of A Revolução de Setembro he was a colleague of our foremost journalist, António Rodrigues Sampaio, who thought very highly of him. He died abandoned on a straw pallet in a hospital on 21 December 1874.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 02
Abroad
- Funchal
Where Freitas edited local newspapers.
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. Where Freitas wrote for national newspapers.
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.
People
People mentioned · 02-
Teacher and journalist, editor of O Noticioso and O Paiz in Funchal, the subject of this entry.
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Leading Portuguese journalist who worked with Freitas at A Revolução de Setembro and admired him.