Rodrigo (or Rui) Afonso de Melo, 1st Count of Olivença (ca. 1430-25 November 1487) was a Portuguese nobleman, son of

Martim Afonso de Melo {{Infobox noble, type , name = Martim Afonso de Melo , title = Lord , image = File:Armas duques ficalho.png , caption = Coat of Arms of Mello , alt = , CoA = , more ...

, Lord of Ferreira de Aves e ''Chief-Guard'' of king

Edward of Portugal Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the son ...

. He was Lord of Ferreira de Aves, Arega and Quinta de Água de Peixes, he was also king

Afonso V Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...

's ''Chief-Guard'', as well as 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 ...

, escorting the king to his expeditions to north Africa. He also participated in king's

expedition to conquer Arzila. Rodrigo married, in 1457, Isabel de Menezes, and the couple had three daughters: *Philippa de Melo (ca. 1460-1516), his heir, married to

Álvaro of Braganza Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish language, Spanish, Galician language, Galician and Portuguese language, Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, ...

, from whom descends the ''Álvares Pereira de Melo'' family,

Dukes of Cadaval The Dukes of Cadaval have their origins in ''Dom'' Álvaro of Braganza, Lord of Tentúgal, Póvoa, Buarcos and Cadaval, 4th male son of ''Dom'' Ferdinand I, 2nd Duke of Braganza. ''Dom'' Álvaro married ''Dona'' Filipa de Melo, the rich daught ...

; *Margarida de Vilhena (ca. 1450- ? ), married to Pedro de Castro, without issue; *Brianda de Melo. Rodrigo started to build the S. João Evangelista Convent (also known as Lóios Convent), 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 ...

, which was concluded under his daughter Philippa supervision, due to the count's death. The convent is next to the

Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval The Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval is located in Évora historic centre, in Portugal, next-door to the Lóios Convent and Church (today a remarkable ''Pousada'') and facing the Roman Temple of Évora. It belongs to the Duke of Cadaval family, an ...

, Rodrigo's heirs.

External links

Genealogy of Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, in Portuguese

Bibliography

*”Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil” – Vol. III, page 78. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989. {{DEFAULTSORT:Olivenca, Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, Count of 1430 births 1487 deaths Portuguese nobility Portuguese colonial governors and administrators 15th-century Portuguese people Governors of Tangier

See also

External links

Bibliography