Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Nina, João Estevam Miguel da Silva

NINA, João Estevam Miguel da Silva (ne-nah), Brazilian author, b. in Pernambuco about 1770; d. there in 1813. He received his early education in Brazil, but finished his studies in the University of Coimbra, was graduated in law, and practised his profession successfully in Pernambuco. His leisure time was devoted to historical researches, and he was elected an associate member of the Historical institute of Rio Janeiro. He published “Memorias de algumas particularedades acerca dos estabelecimentos portuguezes eus Brazil” (2 vols., Pernambuco, 1806); “Descripcão circumstanciada do provincia de São Paulo” (2 vols., 1810); and “Colleção das Vidas dos Portuguezes Celebres,” a cyclopædia of the Portuguese adventurers that participated either in the conquest or in the colonization of Brazil (6 vols., 1809-'12).