António Luís de Sousa, 2nd Marquis of Minas
His Lordship The Marquess of Minas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor-General of Brazil | |
| In office 1684–1687 | |
| Monarch | Peter II of Portugal |
| Preceded by | António de Sousa Meneses |
| Succeeded by | Matias da Cunha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1644-04-06)6 April 1644 Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 15 December 1721(1721-12-15) (aged 77) Kingdom of Portugal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Portugal |
| Years of service | 1658–1721 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | Portuguese Restoration War War of the Spanish Succession |
D. António Luís de Sousa, 4th Count of Prado and 2nd Marquess of Minas (6 April 1644 – 25 December 1721) was a Portuguese general[1] and governor-general of the Portuguese colony of Brazil.
He was the son of Dom Francisco, the first Marquês das Minas, and his second wife D. Eufrásia Filipa de Lima.
From a very young age on, he was destined for a military career. At the age of 14, he was present with his father at the Battle of the Lines of Elvas. The following years, he fought the Spanish in the northern Minho province, becoming a general in 1665 after the conquest of the galician town of A Guarda.
After the Peace Treaty of Lisbon he became military governor of Minho in the absence of his father, who was sent as ambassador to Rome. He assumed the title of Marquês das Minas after the death of his father in 1674.
Between 1684 and 1687 he was governor-general of Brazil. He had to restore the peace after the mismanagement of his predecessors, and was confronted with a serious epidemic in the Bahia province.
In 1687 he returned to Portugal and was appointed counsellor of war.
War of the Spanish Succession
At the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession (1702–1715), King Peter II of Portugal initially supported France but on 16 May 1703, Portugal and England signed the Methuen Treaty. This trade accord was followed in December 1703 by a military alliance between Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands and Great Britain against Philip, the French candidate for the Spanish throne.
Minas was sent to the border to prepare the Portuguese army for war, but in 1704 the Franco-Spanish troops attacked first. The Duke of Berwick conquered Salvaterra, Segura and Beira. Tilly invaded Alentejo and took Portalegre, and the Spanish general Villadarias took Castelo de Vide.
The invasion was stopped by lack of support from Madrid, allied invasions of Barcelona and Gibraltar and the resistance organised by Minas (who won a minor battle at Monsanto). Berwick had to withdraw his troops to Spain.
In October 1705 a first invasion of Spain was launched under the command of Henri de Massue, 1st Earl of Galway and the Marquess of Minas. The aim was to conquer Badajoz, thus opening a second front to support Peterborough in Catalonia. But the relationship between the two allied commanders was so bad, and the coordination so poor, that it wasn't too difficult for the experienced French commander de Tessé to repel the invasion.
In 1706 de Tessé was beaten near Barcelona, and it became apparent that the border with Portugal was unprotected. Minas took his chance and marched his army all the way to Madrid, bypassing Badajoz.[1] The stiffest resistance was met at Alcántara, where the garrison of 4200 resisted for 5 days until it had to capitulate. The army of the Duke of Berwick was in the vicinity, but wasn't strong enough to risk a battle.
On 28 June 1706 the Portuguese army entered Madrid and Archduke Charles was acclaimed King of Spain. But very soon it became clear that the allies in Madrid were very isolated. The population was hostile and the Duke of Berwick was cutting off communications with Portugal and Aragon. The decision was made to abandon Madrid and to join the allied troops in Valencia. The Duke of Berwick was waiting for them and inflicted a crushing defeat in the Battle of Almansa.
Minas was replaced as commander of the Portuguese troops in Spain by his nephew Pedro Manuel de Ataíde.
On his return to Portugal he was appointed estribeiro-mor (chief equerry) to the queen, for the rest of his life.
As Marquis of Minas, he was succeeded by his son João de Sousa, 3rd Marquis of Minas.
References
- ^ a b "António Luís de Sousa, marquess of Minas". Britannica. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
Governors-general and Viceroys of Portuguese America
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(1549-1815)
Tomé de Sousa • Duarte da Costa • Mem de Sá • Luís de Brito e Almeida • Lourenço da Veiga • Manuel Teles Barreto • Francisco de Sousa • Diogo Botelho • Diogo de Meneses e Sequeira • Gaspar de Sousa • Luís de Sousa • Diogo de Mendonça Furtado • Matias de Albuquerque • Francisco de Moura Rolim • Diogo Luís de Oliveira • Pedro da Silva • Fernando de Mascarenhas • António Teles da Silva • António Teles de Meneses • João Rodrigues de Vasconcelos e Sousa • Jerónimo de Ataíde • Francisco Barreto de Meneses • Vasco de Mascarenhas • Alexandre de Sousa Freire • Afonso Furtado de Castro de Mendonça • Roque da Costa Barreto • António Luís de Sousa Telo de Meneses • Matias da Cunha •António Luís Coutinho da Câmara • João de Lencastre • Rodrigo da Costa • Luís César de Meneses • Lourenço de Almada • Pedro de Vasconcelos e Sousa • Pedro António de Noronha • Sancho de Faro e Sousa • Vasco Fernandes César de Meneses • André de Melo e Castro • Luís Pedro Peregrino de Carvalho e Ataíde • António de Almeida Soares Portugal • António Álvares da Cunha • António Rolim de Moura Tavares • Luís de Almeida Silva Mascarenhas • Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa • José Luís de Castro • Fernando José de Portugal e Castro • Marcos de Noronha e Brito
(1621-1751)
Domingos da Costa Machado • António Moniz Barreiros Filho • António Coelho de Carvalho • Jácome Raimundo de Noronha • Bento Maciel Parente • Pedro de Albuquerque Melo • Francisco Coelho de Carvalho • Luís de Magalhães • André Vidal de Negreiros • Pedro de Mello • Rui Vaz de Siqueira • António de Albuquerque Velho • Pedro César de Meneses • Inácio Coelho da Silva • Francisco de Sá de Meneses • Gomes Freire de Andrade • Artur de Sá de Meneses • António de Albuquerque Coelho de Carvalho • Manuel Rolim de Moura Tavares • João Velasco de Molina • Cristóvão da Costa Freire • Bernardo Pereira de Berredo • Alexandre de Sousa Freire • José da Serra • João de Abreu Castelo Branco • José da Serra • Francisco Pedro de Mendonça Gorjão •
Maranhão (1751-1772)
Luís de Vasconcelos Lobo • Severino de Faria • Gonçalo Lobato e Sousa • Joaquim de Mello e Póvoas • Joaquim de Mello e Póvoas • António de Sales e Noronha • José Teles da Silva • Fernando Pereira Leite de Foios • Fernando António Soares de Noronha • Diogo de Sousa • António de Saldanha da Gama • Francisco de Mello Câmara • José Tomás de Meneses • Paulo José da Silva Gama •
and Piauí (1772-1775)
Joaquim de Mello e Póvoas
and Rio Negro
(1772-1775)
João Pereira Caldas
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