Portuguese ‘Braveheart’ and US Revolution hero honoured with statue

**Pedro Silva** Mon Jun 15, 2015 1:18 pm

My friends, this was taken from The Portugal News newspaper:

http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/portuguese-braveheart-and-us-revolution-hero-honoured-with-statue/35009

**bb1** Mon Jun 15, 2015 2:35 pm

Portuguese ‘Braveheart’ and US Revolution hero honoured with statue
IN NEWS · 11-06-2015 13:39:00 · 0 COMMENTS
Revolutionary War hero Peter Francisco, who was kidnapped from Terceira Island in the Azores in 1765, will be honoured later this month after the US and Portuguese governments have collaborated together to dedicate a statue to the war hero 250 years later.

On 23 June , 2015 - 250 years from the very day Peter Francisco was found in Virginia - a statue will be dedicated
in Porto Judeu close to where Francisco was kidnapped as a five-year-old boy.
In 1765, Peter was kidnapped from Terceira Island on the Day of Pentecost, and was later found on a dock in Virginia on 23 June, 1765.
Peter Francisco’s descendant Travis Bowman, author of the historical novel Hercules of the Revolution, which is based on the life of his famous great-grandfather, has brought the Portuguese and US governments together to dedicate a statue in honour of his famous ancestor.
Five monuments stand in Peter’s honour in the US, including one in Virginia close to where he was found, but this will be the first monument in Portugal.
The oldest US Consulate in the world is based in the Azores, and Consul Daniel Bazan from Ponta Delgada will be the keynote speaker for the statue dedication.
The local Portuguese government is paying for half of the $15,000 statue, and Travis Bowman raised the other half through private and corporate donations.
In comments to The Portugal News this week, Bowman explained that he commissioned Rui Goulart, a famous sculptor in the Azores, to design and build the three-foot bronze statue.
“It is an honour to use my artistic talent,” Goulart says, “to preserve this Luso-American hero’s legacy here in my homeland.”
Travis Bowman founded Bequest Films a couple of years ago with the goal of producing a full-length feature movie based on his novel ‘Hercules of the Revolution’ and the life of George Washington’s “One-Man Army.”
Executive Producer, John Allen, will be joining Bowman for the statue dedication along with 12 other descendants and ‘friends’ of Peter Francisco.
“This film will be a blend of The Patriot, Gladiator, and Braveheart all in one,” says Mr. Allen, “but there is also a true-to-life Romeo and Juliet love story that will have people on the edge of their seats.”

Bowman’s novel has been called “the American Braveheart story,” and he believes the film will bring tourists from all around the world to Portugal similar to the tourism Scotland experienced after the movie Braveheart was released about William Wallace.
Peter Francisco was called the “Hercules of the Revolution” because of his enormous size, massive strength, and unbelievable bravery.
Born in the Azores, Peter was kidnapped and abandoned by pirates when he was five-years-old, then bought as a slave.
He won his personal freedom and, ultimately, that of a nation, by enlisting and serving in the Continental Army.
George Washington had a six-foot broadsword made for him and even made the claim that we would have likely lost the whole Revolutionary War without Peter Francisco.
His legacy continues today with five monuments that stand in his honour and a US bicentennial stamp that enshrined him in 1976, in addition to the five states that observe Peter Francisco Day.

Fascinating piece of history - I knew nothing of this.

**Pedro Silva** Wed Jun 17, 2015 8:33 pm

bb1, your words are mine.

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Portuguese ‘Braveheart’ and US Revolution hero honoured with statue

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