In 1787, the Island of Boa Vista became a fiefdom for Aniceto António Ferreira after he was named Captain-General and Commander [Capitão-Mor e Comandante] of the island, Aniceto António Ferreira was a noble and he was very close to the Royal Court of Portugal. Aniceto António Ferreira was baptized on April 21, 1753, in the town of Nelas, in the Parish of Senhorim, which is part of the County of Nelas, in the district of Viseu, in the country of Portugal. His full name at birth was Aniceto António Álvares Ferreira Mendes. His parents were António Manuel Álvares [b. 4.21.1721] born in the village of Oliveirinha, Oliveira do Conde, county Carregal do Sal, district of Viseu and baptized 2.5 miles away in the church of São Pedro in Oliveira do Conde, and Maria Josefa Ferreira Mendes born and baptized in the town of Melo, in the county of Gouveia, in the district of Guarda, in the church of Santo Isidoro. Aniceto was the paternal grandson of João Gomes Álvares [Died on 5.31.1689] and Maria Fernandes [died a widow, in Fiais, on 9.29.1728], and paternal great-grandson of Simão Gomes and Isabela da Fonseca, maternal grandson of Francisco Ferreira and Josefa Rodriguez Mendes.  

Aniceto António Ferreira was married to Felippa Ignez Ferreira da Graça e Silva a native of the island of Boa Vista, Cabo Verde daughter of João da Silva Soares and Ignez da Graça [both born in Portugal]. Aniceto António Ferreira was the father of Maria Josefa Ferreira; Euphemia Ferreira; Apolónia Ferreira; Júlio Cândido Ferreira and Margarida Ferreira. In 1793, one of his daughters married Manuel António Martins [1771?-1845], a Galician shipmaster who had arrived the previous year with casks of wine from Faial in the Azores.

Aniceto had 7 siblings, an older sister five younger sisters and one younger brother. On May 21st of 1769, at the age of sixteen his father passes away and making him the de facto head of the family. It is believed that the pressure of earning a living for the family will soon after force him to travel to Cabo Verde in order to try to earn a living for his family.

 Aniceto António Ferreira arrived in Boa Vista during the period of domination of the Pará and Maranhão Grain Company, between 1756 and 1770. He was actively interested in the economic development of Cabo Verde but especially the island of Boa Vista. In correspondents with the Portuguese Government he mentions that in 1774 at the age of twenty-one, he travelled from Boa Vista to Sal with over one hundred men in an expedition to collect archil. In a document found in the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino. Cabo Verde, Caixa 42, doc. 59, he describes his voyages around the Islands of Cabo Verde and the agricultural and civil status of the islands.

During this time the Island of Boa Vista had two  parishes; one on the village of  São Roque, located on the Ribeira of Rabil and the other is called São João; the Island exported livestock but the main export was salt.He was attached to whaling activities, he was also a businessman, farmer, cattleman, and he also was a person of great initiative. 

Aniceto António Ferreira was captain of militia, Captain-General, Judge and overseer of the Royal Plantation [Estate] in Boa Vista. He reached the infantry rank of Colonel and retired with the rank of Brigadier of the Royal Army of Portugal by decree of June 12, 1819. In 1803, he became a member of the Cavaleiro da Ordem de Cristo [Order of Christ]; he also received Carta de Brasão de Armas from D. João VI [letter of the Coat of Arms from King John VI].

In 1830, Aniceto António Ferreira dies on the island of Boa Vista and is buried there. One can find descendants of Aniceto António Ferreira in the families Ferreira, Martins, Nobre, Pires Ferreira, Lobo, Neves, Ferro and Vera Cruz of Cabo Verde.

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SOURCES

Rosario Wadie, Maria. “Summary Of My Research on Aniceto Antonio Ferreira’s Paternal Ancestors.” Facebook.com – Cape Verdean Genealogical Society. N.p., 3 July 2015. Web. 19 July 2015. <https://www.facebook.com/CapeVerdeGenealogicalSociety/posts/10153097360173565&gt;.

Faria, Luis António, Suzana Abreu, and Américo C. Araújo. Cabo Verde Terra de Morabeza: Uma Viagem Atraves de Sua Historia e Cultura. Valrico: LAF Enterprises, 2012.

George E. Brooks (2010-12-10). Western Africa and Cabo Verde, 1790s-1830s: Symbiosis of Slave and Legitimate Trades (Kindle Locations 1245-1246). Authorhouse. Kindle Edition.

Geni.com – http://www.geni.com/people/Aniceto-António-Ferreira-Álvares-Mendes/6000000002345179325.

O Investigador portuguez em Inglaterra: ou, Jornal literário, político, &c, Volume 22.Impresso por T. C. Hansard, 1818. Harvard University. Digitized Jun 6, 2007.