Background
José Basílio da Gama was born in 1740, in the city of São José do Rio das Mortes (whose name was later changed to Tiradentes), in Minas Gerais, to Manuel da Costa Villas-Boas and Quitéria Inácia da Gama.
José Basílio da Gama was born in 1740, in the city of São José do Rio das Mortes (whose name was later changed to Tiradentes), in Minas Gerais, to Manuel da Costa Villas-Boas and Quitéria Inácia da Gama.
He wrote under pen name Termindo Sipílio. He is patron of the 4th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. The death of his father, when he was a young child, caused a hard situation in his life.
With the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1759, Basílio went to Europe, where he travelled through many countries, such as Italy and Portugal, between 1760 and 1767.
In Italy, he ingressed at the Roman Arcadia, where he adopted the pen name Termindo Sipílio. During the first months of 1767, he went to Rio de Janeiro, to the inauguration of the ship "Serpente" (mentioned in the third canto of his epic poem O Uraguai).
He died July 31, 1795, in Portugal.
During his last years, Basílio lived happily, becoming a member of the Sciences Academy of Lisbon.