André de Albuquerque Ribafria (1621 – 14 January 1659) was a 17th-century Portuguese nobleman and military leader. Orphaned at a young age, Ribafria won fame as a commander during 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 ...

, fighting in several notable battles before being

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

at the

Battle of the Lines of Elvas The Battle of the Lines of Elvas (), was fought on 14 January 1659, in Elvas, between Portugal and Spain during the Portuguese Restoration War. It ended in a decisive Portuguese victory. Background By 1659, the Portuguese Restoration War which ...

Biography

Ribafria was born in Sintra, Portugal on 30 May 1621. He and his family were part of the Portuguese noble class, and when his remaining parent died in 1636, Ribafria and his three siblings were placed under the care of Antão de Almada, Count of Avranches.Os de Ribafria Alcaides-mores da Vila de Sintra, António de Vasconcelos de Saldanha, Associação de Defesa de Património de Sintra, 1982 URL:http://mwmservices.net/adps/ADPS%20Os%20de%20Ribafria%20-%20Alcaides-Mores%20da%20Vila%20de%20Sintra.pdf In 1638, Ribafria was deployed to the Portuguese colony of Brazil to fight against forces of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

; at the time, Portugal was indirectly ruled (via the

Iberian Union The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the period in which the Habsburg Spain, Monarchy of Spain under Habsburg dynasty, until then the personal union of the crowns of Crown of Castile, Castile and Crown of Aragon, Aragon ...

) by

King Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

, who was engaged in a decades-long war with the Dutch. Ribafria returned to Portugal the following year, and was immersed in the increasingly-prominent calls for the restoration of the

Portuguese monarchy This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...

. On 1 December 1640, a cadre of Portuguese noblemen (later known as the

Forty Conspirators The Forty Conspirators ( Portuguese: ''Os Quarenta Conjurados''), were a Portuguese nationalist group during the Iberian Union. The Conspirators were composed of forty men of the Portuguese nobility, and many clergy and soldiers. Their goal w ...

) revolted against Spanish rule and crowned

John IV of Portugal ''Dom (honorific), Dom'' John IV (; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), also known by the Portuguese as John the Restorer (), was the List of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1640 until his death in 1656. He Portuguese Restoration War, ...

as king of an independent Portugal. His guardian was one of the conspirators, and so Ribafria quickly joined the pro-independence faction inside Portugal, eventually being granted a command in the reformed

Portuguese army The Portuguese Army () is the land component of the Portuguese Armed Forces, 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 ...

. During the Restoration War, Ribafria fought in numerous engagements on the Spanish-Portuguese border. Ribafria was praised for his bravery and leadership abilities, and was commended as a highly effective cavalry commander. During an engagement near the Spanish city of

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

in 1668, Ribafria became ill, and was forced to withdraw to the Portuguese town of

Elvas Elvas (), officially the City of Elvas (), is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and ab ...

. While convalescing there, the town was besieged by a large Spanish army. Though still stricken with illness, Ribafria helped to coordinate the defense of the town. After several weeks of siege, a Portuguese relief force (commanded by

António Luís de Meneses Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...

) arrived and assaulted the Spanish siege works, beginning the

. Limping into battle and wielding a cane, Ribafria encouraged the garrison of Elvas to sally from the town and attack the Spanish besiegers. During this action, he was shot below the arm and mortally wounded. Following his death Ribafria's body was buried in the Chapel of St. Antony in the Church of St. Francis of Capuchos.João de Medeiros Correia, Panegírico de André de Albuquerque Ríbafria, Alcaide-Mor de Sintra, Lisboa, 1661.

References

{{reflist Portuguese soldiers 1621 births 1669 deaths Portuguese nobility People from Sintra