Luís Mendes de Vasconcellos (c. 1542 – March 7, 1623) was a Portuguese nobleman who served as colonial Governor of Angola between 1617 and 1621, and the 55th Grand Master of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was founded in the Crusader states, crusader K ...

between 1622 and 1623. He was also a writer. He was born in

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in around 1542. He was the son of Francisco Mendes de Vasconcelos (brother of Luís da Costa, a servant of Henrique of Portugal) and Isabel Pais de Oliveira; paternal grandson of Cristóvão Nunes da Costa (natural son of Luís Nunes da Costa by Isabel Botelho and brother of Brás Nunes da Costa who had natural issue by Catarina Anes) and Catarina Mendes de Vasconcelos; and maternal grandson of Paio Rodrigues de Vilalobos and Isabel de Oliveira. From 1608 to 1612 he was a writer in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. In 1617 Vasconcellos became

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

of the Portuguese colony of Angola. He suppressed a revolt in 1618. During his three-year term as governor, he enslaved about 50,000 Angolans and shipped them to the Americas. Vasconcellos was also a distinguished member of the

Order of Saint John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

. He was well known for his bravery in various naval expeditions against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He was elected Grandmaster of the Order on 17 September 1622, after the death of

Alof de Wignacourt Fra Alof de Wignacourt (1547 – 14 September 1622) was a French people, French nobleman who was the 54th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 10 February 1601 to ...

. He was the first Portuguese Grandmaster since Afonso of Portugal, and the first one in Malta. Vasconcellos served as Grandmaster for less than six months, dying on 7 March 1623. He was succeeded by

Antoine de Paule Fra' Antoine de Paule (c. 1551 – 9 June 1636) was elected the 56th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (the Order of Malta) on 10 March 1623. He died on Malta thirteen years later, on 9 June 1636, after a long illness and at the age of 85. ...

. He was the father of Joanne Mendes de Vasconcelos, who fought in the

Portuguese Restoration War The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

References

External links

Coins of Grandmaster Luís Mendes de Vasconcellos
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasconcellos, Luis Mendes de Governors of Portuguese Angola 1540s births 1623 deaths People from Évora Grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller Burials at Saint John's Co-Cathedral 16th-century Portuguese writers 16th-century Portuguese male writers 17th-century Portuguese male writers 17th-century Portuguese writers