Ataíde is the name of a noble family from the Kingdom of Portugal, many of whose members played important roles in the course of the Portuguese overseas exploration and expansion and in the internal and foreign policies of Portugal and its empire.

House of Ataíde
Família Ataíde
Coat of Arms of the House of Ataíde, in Livro do Armeiro-Mor (1509)
Country
Earlier spellingsAtaide, Taide, Atayde, Athayde
Place of originHonra de Ataíde, Portugal
Founded12th century
FounderEgas Duer (c. 1140 - c. 1180)
Titles

History

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Origin

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The origin of the Ataíde family can be documented since the 12th century, its progenitor being Egas Duer[1] (c. 1140 – c. 1180), a fidalgo of the County of Portugal (and likely a member of the early medieval House of Riba Douro) whose son Martim Viegas was the 1st Lord of the Honra of Ataíde, located in what was then the county of Santa Cruz de Riba Tâmega (near present-day Amarante), in the northern Portuguese region of Entre Douro e Minho.[2]

Martim Viegas' grandson, Gonçalo Viegas de Ataíde, had the lordship of the honra de Ataíde confirmed by King Dinis I, in the year 1290.[3]

14th to 15th century

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Gonçalo Viegas' great-grandson, Martim Gonçalves de Ataíde, constable of the castle of Chaves, sided with Castile in the Portuguese interregnum crisis of 1383-1385. For this reason, he had to go into exile in Castile and his wife and children only returned to Portugal after his death, in 1392.[3]

Two of the sons of Martim Gonçalves stood out in the history of Portugal of the period. Vasco Fernandes de Ataíde, governor of the house of Prince Henry the Navigator, died in the conquest of Ceuta in 1415, thus being the first Portuguese nobleman to fall in combat at the start of the period of Portuguese maritime exploration.[3][4] And the eldest son, Dom Álvaro Gonçalves de Ataíde, was created 1st count of Atouguia, by royal decree of King Afonso V, in December 1448.[3]

Counts of Atouguia and of Castanheira

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The main branches of the Ataide family originate from the 1st Count of Atouguia, including his ten successors as holders of that title and the Counts of Castanheira (created 1532) and Castro Daire (created 1625). The honra of Ataíde, the family's original manor house, would be inherited by a branch of descent through the female line of the 1st Count of Atouguia, who were also lords of the honra of Barbosa, near Penafiel (founded in the 12th century, confirmed by royal decree in 1543).[5]

 
Dom Luís de Ataíde (1516-1581), viceroy at Goa, who successfully defended the Portuguese possessions in Asia, in the War of the League of the Indies

In the year 1485, D. Álvaro de Ataíde, second-born son of the 1st Count of Atouguia, was involved in the Duke of Viseu's conspiracy against King João II, and he and his eldest son were sentenced to death for the crimes of treason and lèse majesté.[6] His son, D. Pedro, was executed in Setúbal,[7] but Dom Álvaro managed to escape to the kingdom of Castile, and years later he was authorized to return to Portugal by King Manuel I, who protected him.

However, the eldest son of the 1st Count of Atouguia, Dom Martinho de Ataíde, was the successor to the title and did not participate in this conspiracy, being a loyal servant of the monarchs Afonso V and João II. Dom Martinho, probably at the behest of Prince Henry the Navigator, also received from the Castilian sovereign Henry IV the lordship of the Canary Islands, whose effective rule would in the end evade the control of the Portuguese crown.[8]

Two other sons of the 1st count of Atouguia, D. João and D. Vasco,[9] held successively, for several decades, the important position of Prior of Crato, that is, of head of the Order of the Knights Hospitalier in Portugal.

Participants in the Portuguese maritime expansion

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Among the grandchildren of the 1st Count of Atouguia, the famous governor of Portuguese India, Afonso de Albuquerque, stood out.[10] Another grandson who played an important role in the political history of Portugal and its colony of Brazil in the first half of the 16th century was D. António de Ataíde, the 1st Count of Castanheira, a childhood friend and protégé of King João III. Two other of the 1st Count of Atouguia's grandchildren, but in an illegitimate line of descent, were the navigators Vasco de Ataíde and Pêro de Ataíde,[11] captains in the 2nd India armada in which Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil.

Also at the beginning of the 16th century, a descendant of another branch of the Ataíde family, Nuno Fernandes de Ataíde, was a notable military commander in Morocco. He daringly led an attack on the city of Marrakesh in 1515, an action that historian A. R. Disney considers to have been “the high point of Portuguese expansion" in Morocco.[12] And Nuno Fernandes' sister, Dona Catarina de Ataíde, was the wife of the explorer Vasco da Gama.[13]

D. Luís de Ataíde, 3rd Count of Atouguia, stood out as viceroy of Portuguese India in the second half of the 16th century, having in his first term (1569 – 1572) successfully defended the Portuguese possessions in Asia from a coordinated attack by several Indian potentates, in the War of the League of the Indies.[14] This conflict was a practical instance of a total war, whose concept would only be formulated by scholars two centuries later, in opposition to the notion of limited war.[15] Due to his military experience, King Sebastian I initially appointed Ataíde to command the expedition to Morocco that would result in the Portuguese defeat at Alcácer Quibir, but in the end it was the king himself who decided to lead it.[16] The new monarch Philip II granted D. Luís the title of marquess of Santarém, with a view to guaranteeing his support, as viceroy in Goa, for the proclamation of the Spanish Habsburg ruler of Portugal as sovereign in the Portuguese empire in Asia.[17]

 
D. Jorge de Ataíde (1535-1611), bishop of Viseu and prominent member of the Council of Portugal, the ruling body of the Portuguese Empire during the Iberian Union. He was a younger son of the 1st Count of Castanheira

1640 and after

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In the 17th century, the 6th Count of Atouguia, Jerónimo de Ataíde and his mother Dona Filipa de Vilhena, Marchioness of Atouguia, were prominent participants in the 1640 revolution, which overthrew the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs and placed the Bragança dynasty on the Portuguese throne. The 6th count would later be nominated governor of colonial Brazil.[18] In the Portuguese war of independence that followed the 1640 revolution, Dom Francisco de Azevedo e Ataíde,[5] lord of the honras of Barbosa and Ataíde, was an important military commander,[19] as was his uncle D. João de Ataíde, who also wrote a notable Treatise on cavalry.[20][21]

The counts of Pontével (created 1665), Povolide (created 1709) and Sintra (created 1823) were descendants of a sister of the viceroy Dom Luís de Ataíde and they inherited several of his estates. Cardinal Dom Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde, a brother of the 1st count of Povolide, was a prominent advisor to King John V.[22]

Other descendants of the counts of Atouguia and Castanheira through a female line, such as the Counts of Atalaia and the Marquesses of Lavradio also sometimes used Ataíde as one of their surnames - as did Manuel de Carvalho e Ataíde, the father of the 1st Marquis of Pombal.[23]

The title of Count of Atouguia was extinguished in 1759, following the participation of the 11th Count, Dom Jerónimo de Ataíde in the Távora conspiracy against king Joseph I.[3] He was sentenced to death and all his property confiscated, but the genealogical representation of the title remained with the counts of Ribeira Grande.

The titles, estates and properties of the Castanheira/Castro Daire line (of which two members, Bishop D. Jorge de Ataíde and his nephew António de Ataíde, 1st Count of Castro Daire and viceroy of Portugal,[24] were renowned politicians of the Iberian Union) would end up passing, through the marriage of the heiress of these titles, after the end of the 17th century, to the counts of Vidigueira and marquesses of Nisa, that is, the family of the descendants and heirs of Vasco da Gama.[3]

 
Tomb of D. Francisco de Azevedo e Ataíde (1616-1669), Lord of the honras of Barbosa and Ataíde, who was a military commander in the Portuguese Restoration War

As for the properties included in the former honra of Ataíde, the ancient manor house where the family originated, they would remain in the possession of the lords of Barbosa until the extinction of the morgadios (the Portuguese equivalent of majorats, or Fee tails) in Portugal, in 1863.[5]

In literature

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  • The play Filipa de Vilhena by Almeida Garrett tells the story of the involvement of D. Jerónimo de Ataíde - encouraged by his mother, the Countess and later Marchioness of Atouguia, Filipa de Vilhena - in the 1640 revolution in Lisbon, which overthrew the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs in Portugal.[29]
  • In The Illustrious House of Ramires, the final novel written by Eça de Queiroz, the central character Gonçalo Mendes Ramires mentions the role of the Ataíde family in the history of Portugal, an "august land, trodden by such heroes as [the] da Gama, Ataíde, Castro and his own ancestors".[30]
     
    Cardinal D. Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde (1664-1750), a brother of the 1st Count of Povolide.He was an influential adviser of king John V

Genealogical summary (1385 – 1581)

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D. Álvaro Gonçalves de Ataíde
(c. 1385–1452)
1st Count of Atouguia
D. Álvaro de Ataíde
(c. 1416–1505)
Lord of Castanheira, conspired against King John II, pardoned by King Manuel I
D. Martinho de Ataíde, 2nd Count of Atouguia
(1415–1499)
Lord of the Canary Islands in 1455
Dona Mécia de Castro
(1420–c. 1480)
married to the Lord of Gouveia and Barbosa
D. António de Ataíde
(1500–1563)
1st Count of Castanheira, founder of the Castanheira and Castro Daire lines
Dom João de Ataíde
(1458-c. 1505?) renounced succession
Dona Joana de Castro
(1460–1532)
Heiress of the Honra de Ataíde
D. Afonso de Ataíde, 3rd Lord of Atouguia
(c.1482-1555)
D. Luís de Ataíde, 3rd Count of Atouguia
(1516–1581)
Viceroy of Portuguese India
Lords of the honras of Barbosa and Ataíde

References

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  1. ^ Duer is likely a corruption of the Portuguese word for the Douro river ("Duero" in Spanish). Egas Duer was married to a lady of the Sousa family and many historians and genealogists have stated that he most likely belonged to the House of Riba Douro, Egas being a common name among the members of said House. Source: Nuno Vila Santa, A Casa de Atouguia, os Últimos Avis e o Império: Dinâmicas entrecruzadas na carreira de D. Luís de Ataíde (1516-1581), p. 35, and footnote 77 where he cites additional sources.
  2. ^ Seixas, Miguel Metelo de; Teles, João Bernardo Galvão (2008-01-01). "Em redor das armas dos Ataídes: a problemática da família heráldica das bandas" [On the coat of arms of the Ataídes - the problems of the heraldic family of bands]. Armas e Troféus (in Portuguese).
  3. ^ a b c d e f Freire, Anselmo Braamcamp (1921). Brasões da Sala de Sintra. Livro Primeiro (in Portuguese). Robarts - University of Toronto. Coimbra: Coimbra : Imprensa da Universidade. pp. 75–84.
  4. ^ Freire, Anselmo Braamcamp (1913). Um aventureiro na empresa de Ceuta (in Portuguese). Robarts - University of Toronto. Lisboa : Livraria Ferin, Baptista, Torres. pp. 27–30. Vasco Fernandes de Ataíde, governor of the House of Infante D. Henrique, was the only Knight who died in the capture of Ceuta
  5. ^ a b c Cardoso, Augusto--Pedro Lopes (2021). D. Francisco de Azevedo e Ataíde: Subsídios para a sua biografia [D. Francisco de Azevedo e Ataíde, contributions to his biography] (in Portuguese). pp. 109–113. ISBN 978-989-26-2104-3.
  6. ^ "Sentença contra D. Álvaro de Ataíde condenando-o à morte por estar implicado na conspiração contra D. João II. August 9, 1485 - Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo - DigitArq" [Sentence against D. Álvaro de Ataíde condemning him to death for being involved in the conspiracy against D. João II]. digitarq.arquivos.pt. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  7. ^ "Sentença contra D. Pedro de Ataíde pela qual foi condenado a ser degolado pela culpa que lhe fora atribuída na conspiração contra D. João II - Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo - DigitArq" [Sentence against D. Pedro de Ataíde by which he was condemned to be beheaded for the guilt attributed to him in the conspiracy against D. João II]. digitarq.arquivos.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  8. ^ Costa, João Paulo de Oliveira e; et al. "História da expansão e do Império português | WorldCat.org" [History of the expansion and the Portuguese Empire]. search.worldcat.org (in Portuguese). p. 42. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  9. ^ Resende, Garcia de (2007). Vida e Feitos d'El-Rey Dom João Segundo" (1545), Texto da Edição Crítica de Evelina Verdelho [Life and deeds of king Dom João II] (in Portuguese). Coimbra: Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Coimbra. p. 6.
  10. ^ Pelúcia, Alexandra (2016). "Afonso de Albuquerque : corte, cruzada e império | WorldCat.org" [Afonso de Albuquerque. Court, Crusade and Empire]. search.worldcat.org (in Portuguese). pp. 339–344. Retrieved 2024-01-14. [Genealogy - Ataídes and Coutinhos, grandparents, uncles and cousins of Afonso de Albuquerque]
  11. ^ Crowley, Roger (2015). "Conquerors : how Portugal forged the first global empire | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. p. 92. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  12. ^ Disney, A. R. "A history of Portugal and the Portuguese empire : from beginnings to 1807. Volume 2, The Portuguese empire | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-01-14. Ataide led a 3,000-man army composed largely of Berber auxiliaries to the gates of that ancient Almoravid city. Ataide's daring attack on Marrakesh marked the high-point of Portugal's intrusion into Morocco.
  13. ^ "A dona Catarina de Ataíde, mulher de D. Vasco da Gama, do conselho d'el-Rei, mercê do ofício de 50.000 rs de tença que seu irmão Nuno Fernandes de Ataíde nela trespassara - Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo - DigitArq" [To Dona Catarina de Ataíde, wife of D. Vasco da Gama of the royal council, granting of a pension of 50.000 reais that her brother Nuno Fernandes de Ataíde transferred to her. 5th October 1501]. digitarq.arquivos.pt. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  14. ^ Braudel, Fernand (1995). "The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean world in the age of Philip II | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. p. 555. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  15. ^ Feio, Gonçalo Maria Duarte Couceiro (2014). O ensino e a aprendizagem militares em Portugal e no Império, de D. João III a D. Sebastião : a arte portuguesa da guerra (doctoralThesis thesis).
  16. ^ Ramos, Rui; Sousa, Bernardo Vasconcelos e; Monteiro, Nuno Gonçalo (2014-07-29). História de Portugal (in Portuguese) (Kindle ed.). A Esfera dos Livros. p. 5556. ISBN 9789896261399. The third Count of Atouguia, with experience in the government of the State of India, was initially appointed to command the expedition, but the king himself took over.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  17. ^ Campos, Nuno Luís de Vila Santa Braga (2013). "A Casa de Atouguia, os Últimos Avis e o Império. Dinâmicas entrecruzadas na carreira de D. Luís de Ataíde (1516-1581)" [The House of Atouguia, the last Aviz kings and the empire - the intersecting dynamics of the career of D. Luís de Ataíde]. pp. 311–312.
  18. ^ "(D.) Jerónimo de Ataíde. Carta Patente. 21.02.1653. Governador e Capitão General do estado do Brasil. - Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo - DigitArq" [D. Jerónimo de Ataíde. Nomination as governor and captain-general of the State of Brazil. 21st February, 1653]. digitarq.arquivos.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  19. ^ Salazar y Castro, Don Luis de (1685). Historia genealogica de la casa de Silva, Parte II [Genealogical History of the House of Silva] (in Spanish). National Central Library of Rome. p. 112.
  20. ^ Freitas, Jorge P. de (2008-04-24). "Postos do exército português (2) – o soldado de cavalaria. Transcrição das pgs. pgs. 17 a 23 de 'Regras militares da cauallaria ligeira compostas per Dom João de Azeuedo e Attayde, Comissario Geral da caualaria, do exercito, e Prouincia do Alentejo'". Guerra da Restauração (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-14. [Transcription of pages 17 to 24 of the "Military rules of light cavalry, by Dom João de Azevedo e Ataíde, General Commissioner of the Cavalry of the Province of Alentejo"]
  21. ^ Ataíde, D. João de Azevedo e (1647). "Regras militares da cauallaria ligeira, [entre 1644 e 1647] - Biblioteca Nacional Digital". purl.pt. Retrieved 2024-01-14. [The Military rules of light cavalry, by Dom João de Azevedo e Ataíde]
  22. ^ Sousa, D. António Caetano de (1745). Historia genealogica da casa real Portugueza, desde sua origem ate' o presente. Voilume XI [Genealogical History of the Royal House of Portugal] (in Portuguese). pp. 272–281.
  23. ^ "Diligência de habilitação para a Ordem de Cristo de Henrique José de Carvalho e Melo - Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo - DigitArq" [Qualification for the Order of Christ of Henrique José de Carvalho e Melo]. digitarq.arquivos.pt. Retrieved 2024-06-23. [Son of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, count of Oeiras, and his wife D. Leonor Ernestina, countess of Daun; paternal grandson of Manuel de Carvalho e Ataíde]
  24. ^ "AIM25 collection description Archives in London. ATAÍDE, António de, 1st Count of Castro-Daire (1567-1647)". aim25.com. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  25. ^ Freire, Anselmo Braamcamp (1913). Um aventureiro na empresa de Ceuta [An adventurer in the conquest of Ceuta]. Robarts - University of Toronto. Lisboa : Livraria Ferin, Baptista, Torres.
  26. ^ Molina, Tirso de (1611). "La gallega Mari-Hernández". Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-11. La gallega Mari-Hernández. Tirso de Molina. Personas Don Juan II de Portugal Don Álvaro de Ataíde ..
  27. ^ "Obras Completas de Luiz de Camões, volume II". www.gutenberg.org (in Portuguese). LXIV, CXCI. Retrieved 2024-07-16. LXIV. Que vençais no Oriente tantos Reis / Que de novo nos deis da India o Estado (...) CXCI. Pois torna por seu Rei e juntamente / Por Christo a governar aquella parte (...) [LXIV. That you defeat so many Kings in the East / That you once again give us the State of India (...) CXCI. For he returns for his King and together / For Christ to rule that part (...)]
  28. ^ "Voyage de Francois Pyrard, de Laval, contenant sa navigation aux Indes Orientales, Maldives, Moluques, & au Bresil...Seconde Partie. (Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin)" [Voyage of Francois Pyrard de Laval, containing his navigation to the East Indies, Maldives, Moluccas, & Brazil]. digital.bbm.usp.br (in French). p. 156. Retrieved 2024-10-10. Le Gouverneur appelé Don Estevan, qui était un brave et gallant Seigneur
  29. ^ Garrett, Almeida (2014-01-06). Filipa de Vilhena (in Portuguese). Edições Vercial. ISBN 978-989-700-140-6.
  30. ^ "The Illustrious House of Ramires (New) by José Maria de Eça de Queirós | New Directions". www.ndbooks.com. Retrieved 2024-07-16. Portugal, torrão augusto, trilhado heroicamente pelos Gamas, os Ataídes, os Castros, os seus próprios avós