Nísia Floresta

Nísia Floresta Brasileira Augusta, pseudonym of Dionísia Gonçalves Pinto, (October 12, 1810 in Papari, Rio Grande do Norte – April 24, 1885 in Rouen, France) was a Brazilian educator, translator, writer, poet, philosopher, and feminist. She is considered the "first Brazilian feminist," having been the major force behind a foundational text on women’s rights in Latin America: Direitos das mulheres e injustiça dos homens (The rights of women and the injustice of men). She is also possibly the first still in the 19th century to break through public-private boundaries by publishing her works in newspapers, when the local press was just beginning.

However, her influence extends beyond just this text, having coordinated a girls' school in Rio de Janeiro, and writing a book in defense of the rights of women, Native Americans and slaves. Floresta was the only Brazilian writer in the nineteenth century to travel abroad and publish her travel writing.