Silveira (José Marciano da)

He was born in the parish of Camacha in 1826 and died in Funchal on July 8, 1887. He worked as a primary school teacher in Machico and at the time of his death, he was a clerk in the Funchal council administration. For many years, he wrote for the Voz do Povo, where sarcasm and diatribe were sometimes the main arguments of his controversies and journalistic campaigns. He skillfully handled the mocking verse of the gazette, using it to offend and ridicule his opponents and antagonists. He did not spare his own son-in-law, the journalist João Augusto de Ornelas, whom Silveira wanted to offend and embarrass in the Filho do Ferreiro, a pamphlet that has been published several times, especially intended for the Madeiran colonies in Demerara, Trinidad, etc. His journalistic work is extensive, but his writings are generally modeled on the Tripa Virada and the Besta Esfolada, by José Agostinho de Macedo. Some of his poetic compositions can be found in the Flores da Madeira.