D. Luís da Cunha (; 25 January 1662 – 9 October 1749) was a Portuguese diplomat who served under King

John V of Portugal ''Dom (title), Dom'' John V (; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (''o Magnânimo'') and the Portuguese Sun King (''o Rei-Sol Português''), was King of Portugal from 9 December 1706 until his death in 1750. His reig ...

as part of His Most Faithful Majesty's Council. He was also Judge of the Royal Household, Envoy Extraordinary of

Portuguese Cortes In the medieval Kingdom of Portugal, the Cortes was an assembly of representatives of the estates of the realm – the nobility, clergy and bourgeoisie. It was called and dismissed by the King of Portugal at will, at a place of his choosing.O' ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Congress of Utrecht, as well as part of the Portuguese Royal Academy of History. D. Luis da Cunha was considered an '' estrangeirado'', a Portuguese that has been influenced greatly by foreign ideas. He was a critic of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

and the

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

New Christians New Christian (; ; ; ; ; ) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction referring to the population of former Jews, Jewish and Muslims, Muslim Conversion to Christianity, converts to Christianity in the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Po ...

Early life

D. Luís da Cunha was born on 23 January 1662, 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 ...

, to D. António Álvares da Cunha, Lord of Tábua, head of the House of Cunha and a member of 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 ...

, and Maria Manuel de Vilhena, of the family of the Counts of Vila Flor. During his childhood, he lived in the Palace of the Counts of Cunha, in the Bairro Alto neighborhood, which was the headquarters of the ''Academia dos Generosos'', founded by his father, where intellectual and influential people met. He studied law at 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 ...

, after which he was appointed as Judge to the Relation of

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, and later to Royal Household the

Career

In 1696, he was appointed envoy extraordinary to London, where he participated in important negotiations related to the Portuguese intervention in the

War of the 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 E ...

, the most complex political event of the time. In 1712, along with the Count of Tarouca, he represented Portuguese interests in the Congress of Utrecht. After the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, 1715, he returned to London as envoy extraordinary, by request of the newly crowned King

George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. ...

. Then he was sent to

, then ruled by

Giulio Alberoni Giulio Alberoni (21 May 1664 OS – 26 June NS 1752) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal and statesman in the service of Philip V of Spain. Early years He was born near Piacenza on May 21, 1664, probably at the village of Fiorenzuola ...

, with whom he had several disputes. Subsequently, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the Congress of Cambray, which ended up not taking place. Cunha remained in Paris, where he was forced to retire due to a disagreement with Ambassador Livry, envoy of France to Lisbon. Cunha went to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where he reached an agreement with the Marquis of Fenelon, French minister to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and returned to Paris, where he remained as envoy extraordinary of Portugal to the French court, until his death.

Ideas

D. Luís da Cunha had early ideas of

pluricontinentalism Pluricontinentalism () was a geopolitical concept, positing that Portugal was a transcontinental country and a unitary nation-state consisting of continental Portugal and its overseas provinces. With origins as early as the 14th century, plu ...

, proposing the idea of moving the capital of the Portuguese monarchy from metropolitan Portugal to Brazil. By establishing himself in the "immense continent of Brazil", the King of Portugal would take the title of "Emperor of the Occident". This idea was already presented by Father

António Vieira António (or Antônio) Vieira (; 6 February 160818 July 1697) was a Portuguese Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest, diplomat, orator, preacher, philosopher, writer, and member of the Royal Council to the King of Portugal. Biogr ...

, during the emergency period of 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 ...

, but was reiterated by D. Luís da Cunha when no imminent threat hung over Portuguese sovereignty. The idea was proposed as a means of affirmation and advancement of 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 ...

, while at the same time guaranteeing its security from European powers.D. Luís da Cunha, Instruções Políticas, 1736, Lisboa, Edição Abílio Diniz Silva, 2001.

Distinctions

Knight 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 ...

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Order of Christ

References

Citations

Bibliography

Theses

External links

GeneAll: Luís da Cunha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunha, Luis da Portuguese nobility Political office-holders in Portugal Diplomats from Lisbon University of Coimbra alumni 18th-century Portuguese people Ambassadors of Portugal to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Portugal to France Ambassadors of Portugal to Spain 1662 births 1749 deaths