Soares (João de Nóbrega)
Biography of João de Nóbrega Soares (1831–1890), Funchal-born teacher, journalist and man of letters who edited several Madeiran periodicals and wrote textbooks, plays and a Chorographia da Madeira.
He was born in this city on 11 June 1831. After attending the Funchal lyceum (state secondary school) for some years, he travelled through Portuguese Africa and North America, returning to his homeland, where he settled, in 1855. He was a primary-school teacher, clerk (escrivão) of the Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericórdia) and finally an employee of the tobacco inspectorate.
He devoted himself actively to letters and contributed very widely to many periodicals, especially on subjects of an essentially literary character. In poetry, drama, short stories, travel narratives, etc., he gave ample proof of his aptitude for these literary genres. He was director and editor of the Revista Semanal, the Semanario Official and the Flor do Oceano, and contributed to many newspapers, such as A Pátria (‘The Homeland’), A Imprensa (‘The Press’) and O Funchalense. When Canon Alfredo César de Oliveira founded O Diário de Noticias in this city in 1876, Nóbrega Soares was invited to be its editor and contributed actively to it for several years.
In separate volumes he published
- Introducção à Geographia, 1859
- Primeiras Noções de Moral, 1861, with another edition in 1862
- Contos e Viagens, 1867
- Scenas e Comedias, 1865
- Scenas e Phantasias, 1868
- Qual dos dois?, 1862
- Um quarto com duas camas, 1862
- Chorographia da Madeira, 1862, of which two further editions were made
- and Grammatica da Lingua Portugueza, 1884.
He was preparing other literary works for the press that were never published, some of which are mentioned in the Diccionario Bibliographico of Inocêncio Francisco da Silva. He died in Funchal on 22 September 1890.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 05-
João de Nóbrega Soares was born in Funchal.
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João de Nóbrega Soares returned to Madeira and settled there.
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The first edition of João de Nóbrega Soares's Chorographia da Madeira was published.
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Canon Alfredo César de Oliveira founded the Diário de Notícias in Funchal, Madeira's first daily newspaper, whose first issue appeared on 11 October 1876.
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João de Nóbrega Soares died in Funchal.
Place
Places mentioned · 03
Abroad
- Funchal
Birthplace and place of death of Nóbrega Soares.
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.
- North America
United States/Canada. Region he travelled through before returning in 1855.
Region named as the origin of plants later found on Madeira, such as Robinia pseudoacacia. It was the main destination of Madeiran embroidery exports and of Madeiran emigrants, including emigrants fleeing persecution. Several Madeiran priests lived or raised funds there.
- Portuguese Africa
multiple. Region he travelled through in his youth.
Portugal's African territories. João de Nóbrega Soares travelled there in his youth, and members of Miss Mary Jane Wilson's congregation served there as missionaries.
People
People mentioned · 03- João de Nóbrega Soares1831–1890
Funchal-born primary teacher, clerk of the Misericórdia and tobacco inspector who wrote widely and edited Madeiran periodicals.
- Canon Alfredo César de Oliveira1840–1908
Canon who founded the Diário de Notícias in Funchal in 1876 and invited Nóbrega Soares to be its editor.
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Bibliographer whose Diccionario Bibliographico mentions Nóbrega Soares's unpublished works.