The House of Sousa(pt. Casa de Sousa) is an ancient Portuguese noble family which originated in the 9th century, It is considered to be one of the eldest and most noble houses in the Kingdom of Portugal.
The House of Sousa(pt. Casa de Sousa) is an ancient Portuguese noble family which originated in the 9th century, It is considered to be one of the eldest and most noble houses in the Kingdom of Portugal.
The Sousa Family originated in the 9th Century, when portuguese nobleman D. Sueiro Belfauger(Born 875 a.D.) founded the house of Sousa, being the first lord of the House of Sousa.
The lineage lasted for a few generations until the first use of the name Sousa as a surname, which was in the year 1035 a.D, when nobleman D. Egas Gomes de Sousa was born in Galicia, he was the captain-general and governor("imperator") of the portuguese military province of Entre-Douro-e-Minho and a key figure in the Portuguese Reconquista. On one ocasion, in a fierce battle near the city of Beja, he defeated the king of Tunis, a muslim military leader, and, in the victory, he captured many of the islamic banners which the muslim fighters were waving, which had crescents embrodied in them, this crescents were subsequently put in the family coat of arms, which consisted of four silver crescents on a dark red background. [1]
After the reconquista, the House of Sousa played a crucial role in the stablishment of the Portuguese Empire and the portuguese trading routes, which were mainly expanded throughout in Asia, Africa, America and Oceania. Furthermore, many descendants of the House of Sousa held very important civilian, military, religious and political titles in mainland Portugal and its colonies, one example of this were Martim Afonso de Sousa, who was the first donatary of the Capitancy of São Vicente and governor of Portuguese India, and Tomé de Sousa, who was the first governor-general of Brazil [2] and personally founded the city of Salvador da Bahía, also, Pedro Lopes de Sousa was the 1st Governor of Portuguese Ceylon and Thome de Sousa-Arronches was a Captain of the Portuguese Navy in the Portuguese India Armadas. [3]
Throughout the following centuries, the House of Sousa continued to play important roles in the development and defence of Portugal and its colonies up until the republican revolution on the 5th October 1910, when the monarchy and all institutions and ranks of nobility ceased to exist in Portugal.
The family motto is "Deus Connosco"(God is with us).[ citation needed ]
Lords(Senhores) of the House of Sousa
The first instance of the ancient coat of arms of the House of Sousa comes from the 11th century, when the victory of D. Egas Gomes de Sousa and his armies against the muslim king of Tunis earned him the coat of arms which included four silver crescents over a field of red. Over time, the coat of arms varied between the three different branches of the family, and, in the 16th century, started being depicted in four quarters (quarterly or party per cross) with the royal arms of Portugal in the first and fourth quarters, and the arms of Sousa, a quartet of silver crescents (Argent) over a field of red (Gules), in the second and third quarters. This grouping known as the Sousa of Arronches (because of the title of Lords of Arronches), is still borne by many of the noble houses of Portugal, like the Dukes of Palmela.[ citation needed ]
Martim Afonso de Sousa was a Portuguese fidalgo, explorer and colonial administrator.
The Camões family were descendants of the 14th-century Portuguese nobleman Vasco Pires de Camões.
Count of Miranda do Corvo was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from 21 March 1611, by King Philip II of Portugal, also known as Philip III of Spain, and granted to Dom Henrique de Sousa Tavares.
The noble title of Marquis de Arronches was created on 27 April 1674 by D. Afonso VI of Portugal for Henrique de Sousa Tavares, 3º conde de Miranda do Corvo. The heir presumptive to the title is the only male descendant of the family, D. Pedro Vasques Milhinhos, who due to primogeniture will be the only one eligible to succeed D. Aires Manuel to the title.
Ferdinand of Portugal, later of Eça or Eza, was the son of Portuguese Infant João, Duke of Valencia de Campos. João, was a son of king Peter I of Portugal with powerful and literary famous for several centuries in several European languages, Galician lady Inês de Castro, "the Queen who ruled after her death".
Fernando de Castro was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman, diplomat and military figure. Fernando de Castro was the 1st Lord of Paúl de Boquilobo. He was a member of the royal council of John I of Portugal, and governor of the household of Prince Henry the Navigator.
D. Lopo de Albuquerque was made First Count of Penamacor by King Afonso V of Portugal on August 24, 1476, by which letter the Count was also given the towns of Penamacor and Abiul.
Fernão Gomes de Lemos was the third and last Captain of Portuguese Ceylon. Lemos succeeded Lopo de Brito and was appointed in 1522 under John III of Portugal, he was Captain until 1524. In 1524 when he left as Captain, the office was left vacant until 1551, where the office was succeeded by Captain-majors of Portuguese Ceylon. He was also Portuguese Ambassador to Persia, appointed by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1515.
Pedro Lopes de Sousa was the 1st Governor of Portuguese Ceylon. The office of Captain-major was abolished in 1594 and de Sousa was appointed in the same year under Philip I of Portugal. He died that year in the Campaign of Danture.
The Maia family was an old and powerful Portuguese noble family with its origins dating back to the 10th century.
Luís de Sousa was Archbishop of Lisbon. He was a major figure of the second half of the seventeenth century, serving as Royal Chaplain and Councillor of State of Portugal, later being created a Cardinal by Pope Innocent XII in 1697.
Martim Afonso Chichorro (1250–1313) was a Portuguese nobleman, who served in the Court of Denis of Portugal.
Lourenço Soares de Valladares, Lord of Valadares and Tangil was a Portuguese nobleman, who served in the Court of Afonso III as Tenente of Ribeira do Minho and Mayor of the Palace.
Martim Afonso Chichorro II or Martin Alfonso de Sousa (1280-?) was a Portuguese nobleman, who served in the Court of Denis of Portugal.
Vasco Martins de Sousa Chichorro (1320s–1387) was Lord of Mortágua, and Chancellor mor under King Peter I of Portugal.
Garcia Moniz de Ribadouro, called the Gascon was a medieval Knight that participated in Reconquista against the Moors. He is credited with founding the Monastery of Travanca. He was the son of Munio Viegas and Válida Trocosendes de Baião, and was married to Elvira.
Lopo Fernandes Pacheco, was the first of his lineage to accede to the highest ranks of the nobility, that of a rico-homem, in the Kingdom of Portugal. He lived during the reign of King Afonso IV of Portugal of whom he was his favorite and loyal vassal. His parents were João Fernandes Pacheco and his wife Estevaínha Lopes de Paiva, daughter of Lope Rodrigues de Paiva and Teresa Martins Xira. His family owned properties in different parts of the kingdom although its area of influence was mainly Beira in the northern part of the country.
Duarte de Lemos, 3rd Lord of Trofa, was a 16th century Portuguese nobleman, soldier and donatary. In Brazil, he was Lord of the island of Santo Antônio, the present-day island of Vitória, where the capital of the state of Espírito Santo was founded.
Lacerda is a Portuguese surname, most probably stemming from the Castilian house of La Cerda, from whence the name came through agglutination. Its presence is attested in Portugal at least from the final decades of the 14th century.
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