João de Andrade Corvo (30 January 182416 February 1890) was a Portuguese statesman, diplomat, writer, and

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

Biography

Early life and education

João de Andrade Corvo was born in

Torres Novas Torres Novas () is a Portugal, Portuguese Concelho, municipality in the district of Santarém (district), Santarém, in the Médio Tejo Subregion, Médio Tejo of the Oeste e Vale do Tejo region. The population of the municipality was approximately ...

, in the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

on 30 January 1824. He graduated from the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

. As a military engineer, he started in the field of

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

.From Slave Trade to Empire: European Colonisation of Black Africa 1780s–1880s. (2004). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.

Writing career

Andrade Corvo began writing and publishing his works by 1849. In 1852 in Lisbon, he released the three-act comedy ''A Tale In The Evening'' (').

Agronomist

João spent 1855 publishing a memoir titled ''Memories on the islands of Madeira and Porto-Santo''. It detailed a disease of the vineyards, in the islands of

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

and Porto-Santo. In 1863, the second edition of ''Um Anno Na Corte'' was published in

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

, Portugal.

Political career

Elected to Parliament in 1865, João de Andrade Corvo joined the Portuguese government in 1866 as Minister of Public Works. During this time, he launched his efforts dedicated to Public Works missions in Africa.

Foreign Affairs

Appointed Portugal's Minister and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1871, he collaborated early on with Sir Charles Murray, the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the King of Portugal under

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. In 1872, they worked on the draft of the

Delagoa Bay Delagoa is a marine ecoregion along the eastern coast of Africa. It extends along the coast of Mozambique and South Africa from the Bazaruto Archipelago (21°14’ S) to Lake St. Lucia in South Africa (28° 10' S) in South Africa's Kwazulu-Nat ...

(now

Maputo Bay Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

) Protocol. By 1873, he was also operating as the provisional Minister and Secretary of the State Office for Marine and Transmarine Affairs.

Marine and Transmarine Affairs

On 20 December 1873 a royal warrant from the State Office abolished the contract emigration of Chinese

colonists A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

through the port of

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. Andrade Corvo's enlightened and philanthropic actions were behind this change, and he shortly thereafter reported on the

Coolie Coolie (also spelled koelie, kouli, khuli, khulie, kuli, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a pejorative term used for low-wage labourers, typically those of Indian people, Indian or Chinese descent. The word ''coolie'' was first used in the 16th cent ...

-slave trade to the

Cortes Generales The (; ) are the Bicameralism, bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate of Spain, Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, ...

. In June 1875, Andrade Corvo was representing Portugal in an agreement with the

Earl of Lytton Earl of Lytton, in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the diplomat and poet Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton. He was Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880 and British Ambassado ...

to not cede or sell the territories on the coast of Southeast Africa granted by

President of the French Republic The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

. He acted as the contracting party for the Portuguese Crown, on 2 August 1875, in a steam navigation agreement for the rivers

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

and

Shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

. On 11 December Andrade Corvo signed the treaty as

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

alongside President

Thomas François Burgers Thomas François Burgers (15 April 1834 – 9 December 1881) was a South African politician and minister who served as the 4th president of the South African Republic from 1872 to 1877. He was the youngest child of Barend and Elizabeth Burger of ...

of the

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

. The

Knight Grand Cross A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

was awarded to João de Andrade Corvo on 24 August 1875. He was responsible for publishing and circulating the

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

of the

Law of Portugal The Law of Portugal is part of the family of what in English-speaking countries are sometimes called the " civil law" legal systems, referring to legal systems that developed at least in conversation or close ties with systems influenced by the ...

respecting the 'Freedom of Libertos' issued by

Luís I of Portugal Dom (title), ''Dom'' Luís I (; 31 October 1838 – 19 October 1889), known as "the Popular" (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''o Popular'') was King of Portugal from 1861 to 1889. Luís was a member of the ruling House of Braganza. The second ...

at the

Palace of Ajuda A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

on 29 April 1875. In 1876, Andrade Corvo and American diplomat

Benjamin Moran Benjamin Moran (b. Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, 1820 – d. Braintree, Essex, Braintree, Essex, on 20 June 1886) was an American diplomat who worked at the United States Legation (later the US Embassy) in London f ...

consulted on the Portuguese Emancipation Act of April 1875, intended to abolish slavery in all ultramarine provinces. Moran forwarded U.S. President

Ulysses Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as commanding general, Grant led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War ...

's recognition of the act addressed to the Congress. Andrade Corvo's role as Minister of the Navy and Overseas in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

was taken over by José Eduardo de Melo Gouveia in 1877. João de Andrade Corvo became a professor at the Lisbon Polytechnic School (). By 1878, he was distinguished as a

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

of the

Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is a Honorific orders of Portugal, Portuguese honorific order. It is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Chr ...

, Companion of the

Military Order of Aviz The Military Order of Aviz (), known previously to 1910 as the Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz (), and before 1789 as the Knights of Saint Benedict of Aviz () or ''Friars of Santa Maria of Évora'', is one of the four former ancien ...

, and the

of the

Order of Saint James of the Sword The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword (), formerly known as the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientific, Literary and Artistic Merit (), is one of the four former ancient Port ...

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose () was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Pedro I of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was cancelled as ...

, Order of the Legion of Honour, Order of Leopold of Austria,

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

, Royal Order of Charles XIII,

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

, and

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

. He also remained in his role as the Minister and Secretary of the State of Foreign Affairs. In Lisbon on 26 December 1878, he agreed to an addition to the Treaty of Commerce and Extradition concerning the manufacture and sale of salt between the British and Portuguese Crowns, signing with British

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of Diplomatic rank#Special envoy, diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an au ...

Robert Morier Sir Robert Burnett David Morier (31 March 1826 – 16 November 1893) was a British diplomat, who most notably served as the British Ambassador to Russia between 1884 and 1893. Early life Born in Paris, Morier was descended from a family of di ...

.Hertslet's Commercial Treaties: A Collection of Treaties and Conventions, Between Great Britain and Foreign Powers, and of the Laws, Decrees, Orders in Council, &c., Concerning the Same, So Far as They Relate to Commerce and Navigation, Slavery, Extradition, Nationality, Copyright, Postal Matters, &c., and to the Privileges and Interests of the Subjects of the High Contracting Parties. (1827). United Kingdom: H.M. Stationery Office. João de Andrade Corvo submitted a report and proposal of law to the Chamber of Deputies on 17 May 1879. João de Andrade Corvo presided over the ninth session of the

International Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology The International Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology () was an international conference and a learned society focused on the study of human origins, prehistoric cultures, and archaeological findings. History The congress wa ...

Lisbon, Portugal Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

in September 1880, with Teixeira de Aragão as treasurer and

Carlos Ribeiro Carlos Ribeiro (21 December 1813, in Lisbon – 13 November 1882, in Lisbon) was a pioneering geologist and archaeologist who inaugurated the concept of fieldwork in Portugal, and was responsible for the discovery and excavation of many Neolithic ...

as secretary of the Organizing Committee. The Foreign Minister welcomed the Fourth

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

João de Castro D. João de Castro (27 February 1500 – 6 June 1548) was a Portuguese nobleman, scientist, writer and colonial administrator, being the fourth Portuguese Viceroy of India from 1545 to 1548. He was called Strong Castro () by the poet Luís de C ...

, in 1882 and prepared an itinerary from

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 bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. He was an active member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon in 1883. During this year, he published a study titled ''Conducting studies on the overseas provinces'' ().Corvo, J. d. A. (1883). Estudos sobre as provincias ultramarinas por João de Andrade Corvo: I. Portugal: Typographia der Academia Real das Sciencias. Between 1883 and 1886, João de Andrade Corvo held the position of ambassador to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France.

Death

João de Andrade Corvo died on 16 February 1890 in

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 buried in

Alto de São João Cemetery Alto de São João Cemetery ( Portuguese: ''Cemitério do Alto de São João'') is the largest cemetery in Lisbon, Portugal, located in the ''freguesia'' (civil parish) of Penha de França, in eastern Lisbon (formerly, within the parish of São J ...

Honors

Praia Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Cape Verde, the avenue of Avenida Andrade Corvo was named in his honor. He also had an avenue in

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, named after him, which was renamed

Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...

Avenue in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Andrade Corvo, João 1824 births 1890 deaths Portuguese writers Portuguese agronomists Portuguese politicians People from Torres Novas Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion University of Coimbra alumni