Oliveira (João Fortunato de)
Biographical note on João Fortunato de Oliveira (1828–1878), a Funchal-born poet and teacher of French and English at the Funchal lyceum. He is remembered as the author of the poetry volume Flores Agrestes (1860).
He was born in this city on 26 March 1828 and died here on 6 April 1878. He lived abroad for some years, especially in England, where he perfected his knowledge of French and English. In 1863 he was appointed teacher of these languages at the Funchal lyceum (state secondary school), and he taught both subjects there until his death. He contributed prose and verse to several of this city’s newspapers. A volume of poems entitled Flores Agrestes was published in Funchal in 1860. It is the first part of the work and contains the poetic compositions of João Fortunato de Oliveira; the second part, which was to contain the poems of Januário Justiniano de Nóbrega (see that entry), never saw publication.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 04-
João Fortunato de Oliveira was born in Funchal.
-
The first part of the poetry volume Flores Agrestes, containing poems by João Fortunato de Oliveira, was published in Funchal.
-
João Fortunato de Oliveira was appointed teacher of French and English at the Funchal lyceum.
-
João Fortunato de Oliveira died in Funchal.
Place
Places mentioned · 02
Abroad
- England
United Kingdom. Country where Oliveira lived for some years and perfected his English and French.
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.
- Funchal
Oliveira's birthplace and place of death, where he taught and published.
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.
People
People mentioned · 02- João Fortunato de Oliveira1828–1878
Funchal-born poet and teacher of French and English at the Funchal lyceum from 1863 until his death; his verse forms the first part of Flores Agrestes (1860).
- Januário Justiniano de Nóbrega1824–1866
Madeiran poet whose verse was meant to fill the unpublished second part of Flores Agrestes.