D. António Luís de Sousa, 2nd Marquis of Minas and 4th Count of Prado (6 April 1644 – 25 December 1721) was a Portuguese general and Governor-General of Brazil from 1684 to 1687. He was the son of Francisco, the first Marquis of Minas, and his second wife Eufrásia Filipa de Lima. From a very young age on, he was destined for a military career. At the age of 14, he was present with his father 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 ...

and later he fought the Spanish in the northern

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

province, becoming a general in 1665 after the conquest of the Galician town of

A Guarda A Guarda is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra in the autonomous community of Galicia, in Spain. It is situated in the ''comarca'' of O Baixo Miño. Demography Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) ...

. After the Peace

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states o ...

he became military governor of Minho in the absence of his father, who was sent as ambassador to Rome. He assumed the title of Marquis of Minas after the death of his father in 1674. Between 1684 and 1687 he was governor-general of Brazil, where he was able to restore the peace after the mismanagement of his predecessors, and was confronted with a serious epidemic in the

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

province. In 1687 he returned to

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 ...

and was appointed counsellor of war.

War of the Spanish Succession

At the outbreak of the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

(1702–1715), King

Peter II of Portugal '' Dom'' Pedro II (Peter II; 26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706), nicknamed the Pacific (''Português:'' O Pacífico) was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own ...

initially supported France but on 16 May 1703, Portugal and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

signed the

Methuen Treaty The Methuen Treaty was a military and commercial treaty between England and Portugal signed in 1703 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. Named after John Methuen, it actually refers to two treaties signed that year. The treaty stipulate ...

. This trade accord was followed in December 1703 by a military alliance between Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands and Great Britain against

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

, the French candidate for the Spanish throne. Minas was sent to the border to prepare the Portuguese army for war, but in 1704 the Franco-Spanish troops attacked first, the Duke of Berwick conquering Salvaterra, Segura and Beira. Tilly invaded

Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...

and took Portalegre, and the Spanish general Villadarias took Castelo de Vide. The invasion was stopped by lack of support from Madrid, allied invasions of Barcelona and Gibraltar and the resistance organised by Minas (who won a minor battle at Monsanto). Berwick had to withdraw his troops to Spain. In October 1705 a first invasion of Spain was launched under the command of Henri de Massue, 1st Earl of Galway and the Marquis of Minas. The aim was to conquer

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 ...

, thus opening a second front to support

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

in Catalonia. The relationship between the two allied commanders was so bad, and the coordination so poor, that it was not too difficult for the experienced French commander de Tessé to repel the invasion. In 1706 de Tessé was beaten near Barcelona, and it became apparent that the border with Portugal was unprotected. Minas took his chance and marched his army all the way to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, bypassing Badajoz. The stiffest resistance was met at

Alcántara Alcántara () is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atte ...

, where the garrison of 4,200 resisted for five days until it had to capitulate. Although the army of the Duke of Berwick was in the vicinity, it was not strong enough to risk a battle. On 28 June 1706 the Portuguese army entered Madrid and Archduke Charles was acclaimed King of Spain. It soon became clear that the allies in Madrid were very isolated. The population was hostile and the Duke of Berwick was cutting off communications with Portugal and Aragon. The decision was made to abandon Madrid and to join the allied troops in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. The Duke of Berwick was waiting for them and inflicted a crushing defeat in the Battle of Almansa. Minas was replaced as commander of the Portuguese troops in Spain by his nephew

Pedro Manuel de Ataíde Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meani ...

. On his return to Portugal he was appointed ''estribeiro-mor'' (chief

equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

) to the queen, for the rest of his life. He was succeeded by his son João de Sousa, 3rd Marquis of Minas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minas, Antonio Luis De Sousa, 2nd Marquis 1644 births 1721 deaths Portuguese generals Counts of Prado Margraves das Minas Portuguese army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Portuguese colonial governors and administrators Portuguese nobility Colonial Brazil 18th-century Portuguese people Portuguese military commanders of the Portuguese Restoration War 17th-century Portuguese military personnel 18th-century Portuguese military personnel