José Maria de Sousa Macedo Almeida e Vasconcelos, 1st Baron of Santa Comba Dão, ComC (

Santa Comba Dão Santa Comba Dão () is a city and a municipality in the Viseu District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 11,597, in an area of 111.95 km2. The city proper has a population of 3,300. The present mayor is Leonel Gouveia, elected in 2013 ...

, 25 June 1787 - Santa Comba Dão, 4 September 1872) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

nobleman 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 ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was the eldest child and son and successor of António de Sousa de Macedo Almeida e Vasconcelos and Maria Hipólita Cassiana da Flor da Rosa da Cunha Gusmão e Figueiredo.

Life

He enlisted as a

Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

in the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

11 and was promoted to Alferes on 22 August 1808. He was elected a

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

for the

circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

of Santa Comba Dão in the Vintism to the Constituent Cortes of 1820, and ascended to

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of Infantry of the extinct

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

s of

Tondela Tondela () is a municipality in the central Portuguese subregion of Dão-Lafões. The population in 2011 was 28,946, in an area of 371.22 km². History Local writer and intellectual Amadeu Ferraz de Carvalho (1876–1951) wrote of the munic ...

on 27 September 1823. He was created a

Fidalgo ''Fidalgo'' (, ), from Galician and Portuguese —equivalent to nobleman, but sometimes literally translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some (important family)"—is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility that refers to a m ...

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the Royal Household by Alvará of 13 July 1825 and a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the Order of Christ. The concession of the title of 1st

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of Santa Comba Dão was by and after his marriage by

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of 8 September 1825 of

John VI of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Peter III of Portugal , mother = Maria I of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal , death_date = , death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal , ...

. His

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was quartered, on the first de Sousa do Prado, on the second de Almeida, on the third de Macedo and on the fourth de Vasconcelos (sometimes the third and fourth appear vice versa) with

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of de Sousa do Prado and a

Coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara does ...

of Baron. He was a partidary and always followed the cause of Miguel of Portugal, who by

of 18 March 1829 appointed him the 55th

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and

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...

of the Province of Angola (with capital at São Paulo de Luanda, where his children were born), where he struggled with the greatest hardships, lack of resources of all kind, which the

Metropole A metropole (from the Greek ''metropolis'' for "mother city") is the homeland, central territory or the state exercising power over a colonial empire. From the 19th century, the English term ''metropole'' was mainly used in the scope of ...

, handling the civil fights (it is not known if he had the chance of taking part in the conflict while at Portugal between 1828 and 1829), could not send him. However, he remained in the hard exercise of his office until the acclamation of

Maria II of Portugal , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

in 1834, when a

Military Junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

took over the office until 1836 and thanks to the

Concession of Evoramonte The Concession of Evoramonte, also known as the Convention of Evoramonte,Smith, p. 398 was a document signed on 26 May 1834, in Evoramonte, in Alentejo, between the Constitutionalists and the Miguelites, that ended the period of civil war (1828� ...

he retired with his family unharmed and without being prosecuted nor deprived of any received honour. Meanwhile, he had become

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of several

Majorat ''Majorat'' () is a French term for an arrangement giving the right of succession to a specific parcel of property associated with a title of nobility to a single heir, based on male primogeniture. A majorat (fideicommis) would be inherited by th ...

s and Lord of the House or Paço of os Arcos, all in Santa Comba Dão, Santa Comba Dão, succeeding in the House to his father on 21 October 1833, and returned to Santa Comba Dão to take over his estates. He was elected Deputy for the circle of Santa Comba Dão to the Legislatura of the

Cortes Gerais The Cortes Gerais ( pre-1911 spelling: Cortes Geraes,https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:574055/PDF/ meaning ''General Courts'' in Portuguese) were the parliament of the Kingdom of Portugal during the Constitutional Monarchy ...

of 1842-1845, in a time when the government of

António José Severim de Noronha, 1st Duke of Terceira D. António José Severim de Noronha, 1st Duke of Terceira, 1st Marquis of Vila Flor (18 March 1792, in Lisbon – 26 April 1860) was a Portuguese military officer, statesman and a leader of the Constitutionalist side in the Liberal Wars, as well ...

that came out of the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

of 1842 also included Miguelists, but he never took seat. He resided in Santa Comba Dão. His Majorats became extinct with the Letter of Law of 19 May 1863 that came to abolish all the Majorats and

Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s, excepting, with Article 13th, the

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...

Family

married by proxy A proxy wedding or proxy marriage is a wedding in which one or both of the individuals being united are not physically present, usually being represented instead by other persons. If both partners are absent a double proxy wedding occurs. Marriage ...

at the Village of Santa Comba Dão, in Santa Comba Dão, on 28 April 1825 with Maria Benta de Miranda e Horta (17 January 1810 - 20 June or July 1855), only daughter and heiress of António José Correia da Franca e Horta and Luísa Catarina Schibbert, who had been granted the special grace, as a reward for her father's services, with the promise of the title of Baron for the person to whom she would marry, by Decree of 7 December 1824 of John VI of Portugal, and had two children: * Miguel António de Sousa Horta Almeida e Vasconcelos, 2nd Baron of Santa Comba Dão (São Paulo de Luanda, Angola, 22 August 1831 – 24 February 1891), named after King Miguel of Portugal and both his paternal grandfather and paternal uncle * Maria Hipólita de Sousa Horta Almeida e VasconcelosSometimes Maria Hipólita de Sousa Horta Almeida Macedo e Vasconcelos. (São Paulo de Luanda, Angola, 26 January 1833 - after 1885), named after her paternal grandmother, unmarried and without issue

Notes

Sources

* Various, ''Resenha das Famílias Titulares do Reino de Portugal'', Lisboa, 1838, pp. 206–207 * Albano da Silveira Pinto and Dom Augusto Romano Sanches de Baena Farinha de Almeida Portugal Silva e Sousa, 1st Viscount of Sanches de Baena, ''Resenha das Famílias Titulares e Grandes de Portugal'', Fernando Santos e Rodrigo Faria de Castro, 2.ª Edição, Braga, 1991, pp. 516–518 * Domingos de Araújo Affonso and Rui Dique Travassos Valdez, ''Livro de Oiro da Nobreza'', J. A. Telles da Sylva, 2.ª edição, Lisboa, 1988, Volume III, pp. 233–234 * Afonso Eduardo Martins Zúquete, ''Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil'', Volume Terceiro, pp. 288–289 * Various, ''Anuário da Nobreza de Portugal'', III, 1985, Tomo I, p. 854, Tomo II, p. 1,047
José Maria de Sousa (de) Macedo Almeida e Vasconcelos, 1st Baron of Santa Comba Dão in a Portuguese Genealogical site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sousa Macedo Almeida E Vasconcelos, Jose Maria De 1787 births 1872 deaths Portuguese military officers Portuguese politicians Portuguese nobility People from Santa Comba Dão 18th-century Portuguese people 19th-century Portuguese people Governors of Portuguese Angola Portuguese military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars