Bernardo Pereira de Berredo

Military officer and historian. Having pursued a military career in the Cavalry arm, where he reached the rank of captain, he participated in the Catalan War, being severely wounded at the Battle of Zaragoza (1710). He was later governor of Maranhão, Brazil, a post he exchanged in 1719 for that of governor and captain-major of the stronghold of Mazagan, Morocco. He belonged to the Council of D. João V. His main work is the Anais Históricos do Estado do Maranhão em que se Dá Notícia do seu Descobrimento, e Tudo o Mais, que Nele Tem Sucedido, Desde o Ano em que Foi Descoberto até o de 1718, published in Lisbon in 1749, which, as the title indicates, provides a detailed account of the entire colonial history of that State up to 1718. Given its importance for the history of Brazil, a second edition of this work was produced in Maranhão in 1850–1851, enhanced by an introduction by the Brazilian poet and researcher Gonçalves Dias.