Simão Gonçalves da Câmara (1463 – 1530), known as ''the Magnificent'' (''o Magnífico'' ) due to the opulence of his household and the liberality of his character, 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 ...

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 ...

'' and the third Donatary-Captain of

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of ...

. His term as governor of the southwestern half of

Madeira Island Madeira is a Portuguese island, and is the largest and most populous of the Madeira Archipelago. It has an area of , including Ilhéu de Agostinho, Ilhéu de São Lourenço, Ilhéu Mole (northwest). As of 2011, Madeira had a total population of ...

coincided with its period of greatest prosperity. Simão da Câmara is noted for his support of the Portuguese campaigns in

Northern Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

, and for the lavish embassy he sent

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

in thanks for the creation of the

Diocese of Funchal The Diocese of Funchal ( la, Dioecesis Funchalensis) was created originally on 12 June 1514, by bull ''Pro excellenti præeminentia'' of Pope Leo X, following the elevation of Funchal from a village to the status of city, by King Manuel I of Po ...

in 1514.

Biography

Simão Gonçalves da Câmara was born in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

, the son of the second Donatary-Captain, João Gonçalves da Câmara and his wife Maria de Noronha; he was the grandchild of

João Gonçalves Zarco João Gonçalves Zarco ( 1390 – 21 November 1471) was a Portuguese explorer who established settlements and recognition of the Madeira Islands, and was appointed first captain of Funchal by Henry the Navigator. Life Zarco was born in Portugal ...

, who first settled the island. As a second-born son, he initially was called ''Simão de Noronha'', having only after the death of his father changed his name to Simão Gonçalves da Câmara, by express determination of

King Manuel I 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, as ...

that the lineage and surname of the Câmaras was to be kept by those governing the captaincy. His household was the second wealthiest in the country, surpassed only by that of the

Dukes of Braganza The title Duke of Braganza ( pt, Duque de Bragança) in the House of Braganza is one of the most important titles in the peerage of Portugal. Starting in 1640, when the House of Braganza acceded to the throne of Portugal, the male heir of the ...

. He became known as "''the Magnificent''" due to his liberality, opulent life, and generosity with which he repaid services done unto him;

Gaspar Frutuoso Gaspar Frutuoso (c.1522 in Ponta Delgada – 1591 in Ribeira Grande) was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. His major contribution to Portuguese history was hi ...

says, in his nearly contemporary chronicle ''

Saudades da Terra Saudades da Terra is a manuscript that was published by father Gaspar Frutuoso. It forms a reference work on the knowledge of Macaronesia in the late 16th century. The manuscript was written between 1586 and 1590, divided into two volumes, bas ...

'' that "not a single person was ever denied anything from him, as he was of great and singular station, never setting aside what he had, and spending everything with great prudence in the service of his God and of his King."

Papal embassy

Among the many displays of lavishness and greatness of Simão da Câmara, the present he sent

in 1514, thanking him for the creation of the

, is particularly notable for its inventiveness; it was recorded by chronicler

Jerónimo Dias Leite Jerónimo (European Portuguese and Spanish) or Jerônimo (Brazilian Portuguese) may refer to: * Jerónimo (name), a given or surname, Jerome in English ** Jeronimo (singer) (born 1990), Dutch pop singer and actor * Jeronimo (band), German band of ...

. The offer was brought to the Pope by a large delegation of people dressed in dark

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

, in Portuguese fashion, led by Madeiran ''

'' João de Leiria and Vicente Martins, a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Funchal Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption ( pt, Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Assunção) in Sé, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Funchal, which encompasses all of the Autonomous Region of Madei ...

who delivered a speech in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

before the pontiff. The delegation was presented by Manuel de Noronha, a prelate in Rome (later Bishop of Lamego) and the younger son of Simão da Câmara himself. The gift was, along with an expensive

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

n horse and many other products from the island, a miniature

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the V ...

made out of sugar and real-size effigies of the

Sacred College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

made in —at that time,

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

was the primary resource of the island's economy, as sugar from Madeira attracted Genoese and Flemish traders and flooded the major European markets.

Donatary-Captain of Funchal

During his time as Donatary-Captain of Funchal,

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

attained a great level of prosperity as an important trade hub. The growing importance and development of the

, made it so it was raised to the status of

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

by royal charter on 17 August 1508. On 12 June 1514, a papal bull instituted the

. When

appointed ''

corregedor The Corregedor (''Inspector-General'' or ''Magistrate'') was a position established by the Portuguese crown in the 14th-15th century, with the authority to "correct" acts of a local, administrative or judicial nature within the kingdom. Although c ...

'' Diogo Taveira to investigate irregularities in the government of the captaincy, Simão Gonçalves da Câmara felt this constituted an attack on his privileges and exemptions and decided to leave the country and settle instead in Castile in 1516. Midway through the voyage, once having landed in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, he heard that the Portuguese city of

Asilah Asilah (; ar, أزيلا or أصيلة; pt, Arzila; es, Arcila) is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about south of Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact. History The town's history da ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

was under siege by the Wattasid Sultan; he immediately went there with a reinforcement of seven-hundred men and was instrumental in the end of the siege. When he was in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, resuming his interrupted voyage, he received a letter from

, recognising the importance of his assistance in the military victory in Asilah, hoping to repay him with further honours if he were to return to Portugal, which he did. In 1528, he abdicated from the captaincy of Funchal in favour of his son and successor, João Gonçalves da Câmara. He retired to

Matosinhos Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...

, near

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

Mainland Portugal Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in Continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and 9 ...

, where he died in 1530. His will determined that his mortal remains were to be taken to

, to be interred near those of his parents and grandparents in the , in

References

{{Reflist 1463 births 1530 deaths 15th-century Portuguese people 16th-century Portuguese people Donatary-Captains of Madeira Gonçalves da Câmara family