Who To Befriend
antônio raposo Tavares
Although he is as much a slave hunter as his fellow bandeirantes, Antônio Raposo Tavares has also done more to expand Brazil’s borders than anyone else. If you are in São Paulo in 1654, you might be able meet him as he returns from his most recent expedition, which has taken seven years. Covering more than 10,000 kilometres, he has pushed inland all the way to the
Andes mountains. But of the 1,200 men who set out with him, only
60 or so remain and Tavares is a changed man. Exhaustion and malnutrition will kill him within a few years, too.
extra tip:
The bandeirantes are an insular group who all know each other. For example, the famous bandeirante Manuel de Borba Gato is the son-in-law of the even more famous Fernão Dias Pais Leme. Tavares has been married twice, both times to the daughters of other bandeirantes.