Manuel António Vassalo e Silva (8 November 1899 – 11 August 1985) was an officer of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

and an overseas administrator. He was the 128th and the last

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

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 ...

Background

He was the only son of Manuel Caetano da Silva (1870–1926) and his wife Maria da Encarnação Vassalo (1869–1922), and was the brother of the feminist author and anti-government campaigner Maria Lamas. He was married, with two daughters, Joana and Aurora.

Governor-General of Portuguese India

In 1958, he was nominated to replace Paulo Bénard Guedes as the 128th Governor-General of the Portuguese State of India. At the same time, he was also appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Armed Forces in India. When the Republic of

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 ...

sought to annex the territories of

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 ...

, Daman (from which had been previously separated in 1954 and annexed by India in 1961 the

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Dadra and Nagar Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is composed of two separate geographical entities: Nagar Haveli, wedged in between Maharashtra and Gujarat states to ...

) and Diu from Portuguese control in December 1961, Manuel Vassalo e Silva, recognizing the futility of facing a superior enemy, disobeyed direct orders from the President of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

(

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

) of Portugal

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...

to fight to the death and surrendered the following day to the Indian invasion, following several losses and the destruction of a battleship. After that he fell into disgrace at the eyes of Salazar, who never accepted the ''fait accompli'' of the annexation. Vassalo e Silva was greeted with a hostile reception when he returned to Portugal. He was subsequently court martialed for failing to follow orders, expelled from the military and was sent into exile. His rank and freedom were restored only in 1974, after the fall of the regime, and he was given back his military status. He was later able to conduct a state visit to Goa, where he was given a warm reception. Recently the Goan-Portuguese politician

Narana Coissoró Narana Sinai Coissoró, GOIP GOC GCIH (born 3 October 1933), is a Portuguese lawyer, professor and retired politician of the right-wing CDS – People's Party ( pt, Centro Democrático e Social/Partido Popular - CDS/PP). Political activity ...

said that Salazar sent him a

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

capsule for use in case of defeat .

Family

He was married to Fernanda Pereira e Silva Monteiro and had a son and two daughters: * Fernando Manuel Pereira Monteiro Vassalo e Silva (

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, 6 December 1925 – Lisbon, 9 June 2006), married to Maria Amélia Franco Veiga (Lisbon, 20 March 1932 – 17 March 2004), daughter of António Veiga and wife Rosa Maria Garcia Franco, and had issue, seven children, two married and had issue * Maria Fernanda Pereira Monteiro Vassalo e Silva, married to Rui António da Cunha Bernardino, and had issue, eight children, eight married and had issue, has now lots of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the first having the name India. * Maria da Luz Pereira Monteiro Vassalo e Silva, married to António Faias Sors Lagrifa, born in

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

, and had issue (their son Jorge Manuel Vassalo Sors Lagrifa (7 May 1948 – 6 February 2005) was the second husband without issue of Ana Cristina da Gama Caeiro da Mota Veiga, born in Lisbon, Santos o Velho, on 4 June 1950, daughter of

António da Mota Veiga António Jorge Martins da Mota Veiga (Cascais, 28 February 1915 – Lisbon, CUF Hospital, 14 November 2005) was a Portuguese politician and former Minister and law professor. Background He was the son of Elisário Eduardo da Mota Veiga (Lisb ...

and wife Maria Emília da Gama Caeiro, formerly married and divorced from

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic. He is the List of presidents of Portugal, 20th and current president of Portugal, since 9 March 2016. He is a member of the Social Democrati ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Manuel Antonio Vassalo e 1899 births 1985 deaths People from Torres Novas Governors-General of Portuguese India Portuguese military officers