Manuel António Vassalo e Silva (8 November 1899 – 11 August 1985) was an officer of the

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 ...

and an overseas administrator. He was the 128th and the last Governor-General of Portuguese India.

Personal life

Silva was the only son of Manuel Caetano da Silva (1870–1926) and his wife Maria da Encarnação Vassalo (1869–1922), and was the brother of the feminist author and anti-government campaigner Maria Lamas. He was married, with two daughters, Joana and Aurora.

Governor-General of Portuguese India

In 1958, Silva was nominated to replace Paulo Bénard Guedes as the 128th Governor-General of Portuguese India. At the same time, he was also appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Armed Forces in India. When the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

sought to annex the territories of

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 ...

, Daman (from which had been previously separated in 1954 and annexed by India in 1961 the

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

Dadra and Nagar Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is composed of two separate geographical entities: Nagar Haveli, wedged in between Maharashtra and Gujarat states; and ...

) and Diu from Portuguese control in December 1961, Silva, recognizing the futility of facing a superior enemy, disobeyed direct orders from the President of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

(

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

) of Portugal,

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...

to fight to the death and surrendered the following day to the 48th Indian Infantry Brigade under Gurbux Singh, following several losses and the destruction of the warship NRP ''Afonso de Albuquerque''. After that he fell into disgrace at the eyes of Salazar, who never accepted the ''fait accompli'' of the annexation. Silva was greeted with a hostile reception when he returned to Portugal. He was subsequently

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

ed for failing to follow orders, expelled from the military and was sent into exile. His rank and freedom were restored only in 1974, after the fall of the authoritarian regime, and he was given back his military status. He was later able to conduct a state visit to Goa, where he was given a warm reception. Portuguese politician Narana Coissoró claimed that Salazar had sent Silva a cyanide capsule for use in case of defeat.

Family

He was married to Fernanda Pereira e Silva Monteiro and had a son and two daughters: * Fernando Manuel Pereira Monteiro Vassalo e Silva (

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 ...

, 6 December 1925 – Lisbon, 9 June 2006), married to Maria Amélia Franco Veiga (Lisbon, 20 March 1932 – 17 March 2004), daughter of António Veiga and wife Rosa Maria Garcia Franco, and had issue, seven children, two married and had issue. * Maria Fernanda Pereira Monteiro Vassalo e Silva, married to Rui António da Cunha Bernardino, and had issue, eight children, eight married and had issue, has now grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the first having the name India. * Maria da Luz Pereira Monteiro Vassalo e Silva, married to António Faias Sors Lagrifa, born in

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

, and had issue (their son Jorge Manuel Vassalo Sors Lagrifa (7 May 1948 – 6 February 2005) was the second husband without issue of Ana Cristina da Gama Caeiro da Mota Veiga, born in Lisbon, Santos o Velho, on 4 June 1950, daughter of António da Mota Veiga and wife Maria Emília da Gama Caeiro, formerly married and divorced from

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic who is the president of Portugal since 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended his party membership for the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vassalo e Silva, Manuel Antonio 1899 births 1985 deaths People from Torres Novas Governors-general of Portuguese India Portuguese military officers