Aires de Saldanha (

Santarém, Portugal Santarém () is a city and municipality located in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 58 671,excluding the parish Pombalinho, that changed from the municipality of Santarém to Golegã in 2013 in an area of 552.54&nb ...

, 10 May 1542 -

Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location ...

, 19 August 1605) was a Portuguese military. He was the son of

António de Saldanha António de Saldanha was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th-century captain. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent of Table Mountain.Mary Gunn, L. e. Codd, L. E. W. Co ...

, military and navigator who discovered the bay of Saldanha. He went to

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

in 1558, with the viceroy

Constantino of Braganza Dom Constantino of Braganza ( pt, Constantino de Bragança; 1528–1575) was a Portuguese nobleman, '' conquistador'', and administrator of the Portuguese Empire. Born a member of the powerful House of Braganza, he is best known for having serve ...

, this time serving for twelve years in the region.

Captain and Governor

He returned to Portugal in 1570, where he married Joana de Albuquerque, soon after he returned to India, this time with the Viceroy Rui Lourenço de Távora. He was appointed captain of

Portuguese Malacca Portuguese control of Malacca, a city on the Malay Peninsula, refers to the 130 year period (1511–1641) when it was a possession of the Portuguese East Indies. It was conquered from the Malacca Sultanate as part of Portuguese attempts to ...

, where he built the fort of Tidor. Returning to Portugal, he was appointed governor of

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

, a position he held for 9 years.

Viceroy

In 1600, he was named 17th

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

and 34th Governor of India. During his viceroyalty, in addition to financial difficulties, had to struggle against the Dutch on several fronts, defending Cochim and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, and repel them in the Moluccas.

Death

He died during his return to Portugal, near the island of

, being first buried in

Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the Roma ...

, after his body was moved to Santarém. {{DEFAULTSORT:Saldanha, Aires de Viceroys of Portuguese India Portuguese colonial governors and administrators Portuguese nobility 16th-century Portuguese people 1542 births 1605 deaths People from Santarém, Portugal Governors of Tangier