Count of Vidigueira (in Portuguese ''Conde da Vidigueira'') was a Portuguese comital

title of nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

awarded by King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, a ...

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

, who discovered the maritime route from Europe to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The title was created by a royal decree issued in

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

on 29 December 1519, after an agreement signed in 7 November between Vasco da Gama and Dom

Jaime, Duke of Braganza Jaime of Braganza (1479 – 20 September 1532) was the 4th Duke of Braganza and the 2nd Duke of Guimarães, among other titles. He is known for reviving the wealth and power of the House of Braganza which had been confiscated by King John II of ...

, who ceded him the towns of

Vidigueira Vidigueira ( or ) is a town and a municipality in the District of Beja in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,932, in an area of 316.61 km2. The present Mayor is Manuel Rosa Narra, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalition. The municipa ...

and Vila de Frades, granting Vasco da Gama and his heirs and successors all the revenues and privileges related. Vasco da Gama was then the 1st

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

of the Seas of India and in 1524 would become the 6th Governor of

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 ...

under the title of 2nd

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

. Following the expulsion of the

Philippine Dynasty The Philippine dynasty ( pt, dinastia filipina), also known as the House of Habsburg in Portugal, was the third royal house of Portugal. It was named after the three Habsburg Spanish kings, all named Philip (; , ), who ruled Portugal between 1 ...

from the throne of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in 1640, the new King

John IV of Portugal John IV ( pt, João, ; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer ( pt, João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from H ...

granted this family the new title of

Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

of Nisa (Portuguese: ''Marquês de Nisa'') by a royal decree dated October 18, 1646. When the 8th Marchioness and 8th Countess, Maria Josefa da Gama, married the 3rd Count of Unhão, the three titles were later inherited by their son, Rodrigo Xavier Teles de Castro da Gama (1744–1784), who became 14th Count of Vidigueira, 7th Marquis of Nisa and 5th Count of Unhão.

List of the Counts of Vidigueira (1499) and Marquesses of Nisa (1646)

(1469–1524), 6th

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and 2nd

, 1st Count of Vidigueira, 1st

of the Seas of India; *Francisco da Gama (c.1510-?), 2nd Count of Vidigueira; *Vasco da Gama (c.1530-1578), 3rd Count of Vidigueira; *

Francisco da Gama Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

(1565–1632), 33rd

and 16th

and 42nd

and 22nd

, 4th Count of Vidigueira; *Vasco Luís da Gama (1612–1676), 5th Count of Vidigueira and 1st Marquis of Nisa; *Francisco Luís Baltazar da Gama (1636–1707), 6th Count of Vidigueira and 2nd Marquis of Nisa; *Vasco José Luís da Gama (1662–1735), 7th Count of Vidigueira and 3rd Marquis of Nisa; *Maria Josefa da Gama (1712–1750), 8th Countess of Vidigueira and 4th Marchioness of Nisa; *Vasco José da Gama (1733–1757), 9th Count of Vidigueira and 5th Marquis of Nisa; *Rodrigo Xavier Teles de Castro da Gama (1744–1784), 10th Count of Vidigueira, 6th Marquis of Nisa and 6th Count of Unhão; *Eugénia Maria Teles de Castro da Gama (1776–1839), 11th Countess of Vidigueira, 7th Marchioness of Nisa and 7th Countess of Unhão; her husband was Domingos Xavier de Lima (Marquess consort of Nisa), Rear-Admiral during the Siege of Malta; *Tomás Xavier Teles de Castro da Gama (1796–1820), 12th Count of Vidigueira, 8th Marquis of Niza and 8th Count of Unhão; *Domingos Vasco Teles da Gama (1817–1873), 13th Count of Vidigueira, 9th Marquis of Niza and 9th Count of Unhão; *Tomás Francisco Teles da Gama (1839–1903), 14th Count of Vidigueira; *José Xavier Teles da Gama (1877–1941), 15th Count of Vidigueira, 10th Marquis of Nisa; *Manuel Teles da Gama Soares Cardoso (1904–? ), 11th Marquis of Nisa; *Maria Constança Teles da Gama Soares Cardoso (1926–2010 (aged 91)), 16th Countess of Vidigueira, 12th Marchioness of Nisa and 10th Countess of Unhão.

References

{{reflist, 2

Bibliography

''Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil'' – Vol. III, pages 48/52 and 481/490. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.

External links

Genealogy of the Counts of Vidigueira, in PortugueseGenealogy of the Marquesses of Nisa, in PortugueseGenealogy of the Counts of Unhão, in Portuguese

1519 establishments in Portugal

List of the Counts of Vidigueira (1499) and Marquesses of Nisa (1646)

See also

References

Bibliography

External links