Portugal's Forgotten African Empire: The Bandeirantes of São Paulo

The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History · May 30, 2026 · 7m · transcript

While Portugal's maritime empire is well-known, a different kind of expansion was happening inland in South America. This episode explores the Bandeirantes, the mixed-race explorers from São Paulo who pushed deep into the Brazilian interior in the 17th and 18th centuries. Driven by a search for indigenous slaves, gold, and diamonds, these bands of mamelucos, Indians, and a few Portuguese opened up vast territories beyond the Tordesillas line. We trace their origins in the village of São Paulo de Piratininga, their brutal slave-hunting expeditions against Jesuit missions, and their later…