João da Cruz e Sousa

João da Cruz e Sousa was born on 24 November 1861 in Desterro, now Florianópolis, the son of freed slaves. His parents' former master had him taught Latin, Greek and French. An abolitionist journalist, he directed the Tribuna Popular in 1881, but in 1883 was refused a post as prosecutor because he was Black. Settled in Rio in 1890, an archivist for a railway company, he lost his four children, who died young. He died of tuberculosis on 19 March 1898 in Minas Gerais.

In the catalogue 1

• PoetryBroquéisJoão da Cruz e Sousa · 1893not translated into EnglishLiteraturePublic domain