Paraguaçu e Caramuru

By Assis Brasil

Subjects: Tupinamba Indians, Fiction, History

Description: "Perhaps the most fascinating 'love story' in Brazilian history is the interlude between Diogo Álvares Correia, a Portuguese adventurer, and Paraguaçu, a young indigenous princess of the Tupinambá nation. Using quotes from established historians of the period (1510-86), author depicts the colonization of Bahia and the adventures of Caramuru ('the dragon of the sea', as Correia was named by the indigenous peoples) and Fred Staden, his companion during the Atlantic crossing and after the shipwreck that led to the romance between the European and the native woman. Battles among indigenous peoples and between them and pirates of many origins, acts of piracy, and other epic episodes form part of novel's extended view of the 16th century"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.