Rondon, Celebrated Frontiersman of Brazil

Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon was a marshal and one of the most important military Brazilians. He was born in the state of Mato Grosso. He had Indian origin and was orphaned as a child; his father died before he met him and his mother died early. Because of that, he was raised by an uncle who bore the surname Rondon. After his uncle's death, he went to Rio de Janeiro to start his army career. 

Rondon was an expert communicator and cartographer. His dozens of expeditions across the country, demarcated borders, mapped twelve rivers and corrected the layout of many other rivers. He was responsible for the construction of more than 5,000 meters of telegraph lines, such as the one that linked Cuiabá to Santo Antônio do Madeira - the first to penetrate the Amazon region, later named the Rondon Commission of 1907. The precision of his maps compared to today’s satellite images has proven highly accurate.

Between 1913 and 1917, he participated in the Roosevelt-Rondon scientific expedition, touring the territory of the state of Mato Grosso alongside former American President, Theodore Roosevelt. The expedition had come into contact with numerous indigenous peoples, such as the nhambiquaras, karipunas, macurapes, botocudos, jarus and caingangues. He was one of the articulators and director of the Xingu Indigenous National Service, work fulfilled by the Villas-Bôas brothers who were also notable explorers. The Xingu Indigenous National Service later developed into the National Indigenous Foundation.  

Rondon had rigorously strict habits. He slept less than five hours a night and woke up before four in the morning. Invariably, in his exploration missions, he bathed in a river before sunrise. In 1913, he was struck by a poisoned arrow from the Nhambiquaras Indians. He was struck in the leather of the bandit he wore which luckily protected him. As a result, he was able to retreat, ordering his men not to clash with the Indians and to not react to any aggression.

Marshal Rondon received worldwide recognition for his role as an explorer. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by none other than Albert Einstein in 1925 and the New York Explorers Club in the 1950’s. In February 1956, the Federal Territory of Guaporé, created earlier in 1943 from the dismemberment of areas of the states of Amazonas and Mato Grosso, was renamed Rondônia in his honor.

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