Arariboia

Arariboia (old spelling: Ararigboya; c. 1520 – 1589) was the founder of the city of Niterói, in Brazil.

Son of Temiminó chief Maracajá-guaçu, he was the leader of the Temiminó tribe, which inhabited the territory of the present Espírito Santo state after losing their territories to long-term enemies, the Tamoios, only to come back to Rio de Janeiro in 1564 with Estacio de Sá's fleet. Under his leadership, the tribe assisted the Portuguese in their war with France for total control of the Guanabara Bay, sending an infantry of armed soldiers to retake the Guanabara Bay from the French, as Arariboia had become the leader of the temimiminó, after his father, reinforcing the Bay with about 8,000 Indigenous soldiers, who were quite knowledgeable of the territory, as they once called it home.

The French, meanwhile, had settled in the Guanabara Bay in 1555, occupying the Serigipe Island (current Ilha de Villegagnon), where they built the Coligny Fort. To counter Portuguese forces, the French commander, Nicolas Durand de Villegagnon, formed an alliance with the Tamoios, native indigenous people, allocating about 70,000 people by the coast. The agreement prevented the forces sent from Salvador by Mem de Sá, governor-general of Brazil in 1565, from achieving a definitive victory against the French. With the unity of the colony in danger, Mem de Sá sent his nephew Estácio de Sá in and entrusted him to adopt the same strategy as the French: enlist indigenous support.

The most violent confrontation occurred on January 20, 1567, at Uruçumirim, on the present-day Glória hill, where the French and Tamoios were quartered. Climbing over cliffs, Arariboia was the first to enter the enemy stronghold. He held a torch, with which he blew up the powder and opened the way for the attack.