Fragmentos da recordação

Abstract

For seven decades, I have been an integral part of the history of a branch of the Mendonça family, to which I belong. In this account, I follow the paths taken by my closest relatives: grandparents, parents, siblings, children and grandchildren. With sincerity and fidelity to the facts, I share the political and social events that marked this lineage, without omitting anything, except through involuntary forgetfulness. The solid foundations for these historical fragments were established through the meticulous work of Carlos Eduardo de Almeida Barata and Antônio da Cunha Bueno. These researchers dedicated many years to the careful consultation of available sources, including records in notary offices, books, newspapers and magazines, in addition to the precious testimonies of elderly members of the family. Dating back to Spain in the year 1025, we find D. Sancho Iñigues, Lord of Hatred and of Mendonça, whose surname gave rise to our family. Although they do not aspire to be close descendants of the European nobility that marked an era in Spain and Portugal, even before the discovery of Brazil, several families with the Mendonça surname migrated to the Brazilian colony during the reign of Philip II. These individuals played a variety of roles, such as civil servants, military personnel, settlers, merchants, farmers and members of religious orders, such as the Franciscans, Carmelites and Benedictines. Despite the scarcity of detailed records and the absence of registry offices at that time, the Mendonça families left their mark on Brazil, with some less notable and others more illustrious, contributing to an extensive lineage that connects us to the present day.