Manoel Beckman | |
Birth Date: | 1630 |
Manoel Beckman, also known as Bequimão, was a 17th-century trader, politician and farmer in Saint Louis of France, Maranhão in the North East of Brazil. He was son of a German father and a Portuguese mother, both of Jewish origin.[1] He was investigated by the Portuguese Inquisition. In 1684, together with his brother Tomás and many rich farmers, he started a rebellion against the local colonial authorities and the Company of Commerce because of unfulfilled promises of shipments of African slaves and the abolition of native slavery.[2] He also targeted the Catholic clergy, especially the Crown's Favourites, who protected the Christian natives. The insurrection was eventually put down by Loyalist troops and Beckman was hanged on November 2 1685.