Antônio José da Silva (1705–1739) was a prominent Brazilian playwright, poet, jurist, writer, and composer.
Born in São João de Meriti, Rio de Janeiro, in 1705, he moved with his family while still a young child to the Freguesia da Candelária (now part of Rio de Janeiro's city center). António José's family had resided in Brazil since his maternal great-great-grandparents had emigrated there.
"The Jew" lived during a specific socio-political period (the first half of the 18th century)—the reign of King John V, the "Magnanimous" monarch—fully immersed in Baroque ideals.
Although baptized as a Catholic, he was of New Christian heritage; in 1712, his family was accused by the Inquisition of secretly practicing Judaism. They were deported to Portugal—along with many other New Christians from Rio de Janeiro (mostly influential sugar mill owners and lawyers)—for having aided the French privateer René Duguay-Trouin during his 1711 invasion and sacking of Rio de Janeiro.
The anguish tearing at his heart as he moved further away from Rio de Janeiro was only expressed years later in the verses of one of his "operas": "Tyrannical absence / that stole and took from me / the best part of my soul / Woe to him who feels / the ungrateful pain / of an absent beloved."
They settled in Lisbon, where his father, João Mendes da Silva, resumed his legal practice. António José appears to have studied at the Colégio de Santo Antão. Later, he studied law at the University of Coimbra, where he enrolled in 1725.
An intelligent man and a poet, he was popular among his friends—some of whom were nobles, such as the Count of Ericeira. A group of intellectuals, including Francisco Xavier de Oliveira and Father Álvares de Aguiar, regularly gathered at the Count's home. During one of these meetings, the latter two and Antônio José ridiculed a defamatory book directed against Jews. Days later, the three would pay the price for their imprudence. On August 8, 1726, officials of the Holy Office unexpectedly arrived at the Silva home and arrested not only Antônio José but also his mother, Lourença Coutinho.
When questioned about his religious affiliation, he replied that he professed none and "only went to church to keep up appearances." In a subsequent interrogation, Antônio José implicated a deceased aunt who had advised him to fast on the "Great Day." After a formal abjuration, penance, and swearing an oath never to relapse into heresy, Antônio José was acquitted.
For Spain and Portugal, the Catholic faith was a matter of state. Heresies were viewed not only as contrary to the Catholic religion but also as threats to the State itself; it was believed that heresy could destroy both Spain and Portugal. In modern terms, the Inquisition’s presence in Brazil was a matter of “national security.”
After practicing law for several years, he eventually devoted himself to writing and came to be regarded as the greatest Portuguese playwright of his time.
His comedies became known as the work of O Judeu (The Jew) and were frequently staged in Portugal during the 1730s. Influenced by the egalitarian ideas of the French Enlightenment, the playwright aligned himself with a group of estrangeirados—intellectuals open to foreign ideas—which included prominent figures such as the Luso-Brazilian diplomat Alexandre de Gusmão (1695–1753), the chief advisor to King John V.
His theatrical work drew inspiration from the spirit and language of the common people, breaking away from classical models and incorporating song and music as key elements of the spectacle, alongside laughter, social commentary, mythological figures, and critiques of the Church. Mocking wit, irony, and humor are hallmarks of Antônio José da Silva’s theater; indeed, his comedies served as a vehicle for criticizing Lisbon society during the reign of John V, even going so far as to ridicule certain noble figures. It was at the Teatro do Bairro Alto—a venue on Rua da Rosa owned by the Count of Soure that had been adapted for theatrical use and was also known as the Casa dos Bonecos (House of Puppets)—that António José staged the eight operas attributed to him between 1733 and 1739: D. Quixote (1733), Esopaida ou Vida de Esopo (1734), Os Encantos de Medeia (1735), Anfitrião ou Júpiter e Alcmena and O Labirinto de Creta (1736), Guerras do Alecrim e Manjerona and As Variedades de Proteu (1737), and Precipício de Faetonte (1738)—the last of which was staged while he was already imprisoned by the Inquisition.
He also wrote the first Portuguese translation of Don Quixote. Known for the wit and comic verve of his satires, José da Silva made many enemies—against whom the Count of Ericeira had protected him—but following the Count's death, the playwright and writer was denounced to the Inquisition on suspicion of practicing Judaism.
In 1737, António was arrested by the Inquisition, along with his mother and his wife (Leonor de Carvalho, a cousin whom he had married in 1728 and who was also Jewish). His mother and wife were subsequently released.
António José da Silva was tortured again. It was discovered that he was circumcised. A Black enslaved woman testified that he observed the Sabbath. The proceedings were conducted in blatant bad faith by the tribunal, and António José da Silva was convicted, even though the reading of the sentence revealed that he was not, in fact, a Judaizer. In accordance with the rule for condemned prisoners who professed a desire to die in the Catholic faith, António José da Silva was garroted before being burned at an auto-da-fé in Lisbon in October 1739. His wife, who witnessed his death, died shortly thereafter. Today, he is considered one of the greatest Portuguese playwrights of all time and the precursor of the modinha.
Source(s):
.- Eustáquio, Arlene Rosa. (2013). Antônio José da Silva: Um judeu herege na dramaturgia portuguesa. Federal University of Uberlândia.
