Tomás José de Melo
Tomás José de Melo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait by unknown author, 18th century | |
| Governor of Pernambuco | |
| In office 11 December 1787 – 29 December 1798 | |
| Monarch | Maria I |
| Preceded by | José César de Meneses |
| Succeeded by | 2nd Government junta |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 September 1742 Mercês, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Died | 15 August 1805 (aged 62) Lisbon, Portugal |
| Children | D. Mariana Joaquina Rosa do Carmo D. António José de Melo |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Portugal |
| Branch/service | Portuguese Navy |
| Years of service | 1755–1??? |
| Rank | Vice-almirante |
| Battles/wars | |
D. Tomás José de Melo (20 September 1742 – 15 August 1805) was a Portuguese nobleman, naval officer and colonial administrator, Governor of Pernambuco from 1787 to 1798. A descendant of the Marquises of Alegrete, D. Tomás de Melo reached the rank of vice admiral in the Portuguese Navy, participating in the Bombardment of Algiers in 1784. He was also a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Early life and military career
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D. Tomás José de Melo was born in the freguesia of Mercês, Lisbon, on 20 September 1742 to D. António José de Melo and his wife D. Mariana Joaquina de Mendonça, and was baptized four days later, on 24 September. He was a descendant of the Marquises of Alegrete, in other words, of the first nobility of the court.[1]
He began his military career enlisting as soldado at age 14, in 1755. He joined the Order of Malta in 1760,[2] and in 1761, he passed to the post of guarda-marinha, being the first of his class.[1] In the same year, he was nominated capitão-tenente, function who exerted for twenty years, seven of them in India.[1] In 1780, he was promoted to capitão de mar e guerra and participated in the attack on Algiers, captaining the frigate Golfinho.[1] In 1784, he was elevated to the function of coronel do mar.[1]
Governor of Pernambuco and later life
[edit]On 11 August 1786, he was nominated governor and captain general of Pernambuco, of which he took office on 11 December 1787.[1] Ten years later, received his last mercy: he was graced by the regent D. João, with the post of graduated chefe de esquadra.[1] His trajectory in the captaincy was long, just like its predecessor: he was responsible for the administration of the captaincy from 11 December 1787 until 29 December 1798, when he was removed from the government.[1]
D. Tomás de Melo needed to deal with the growth of cotton cultivation, which dismantled the supply of staple foods in the captaincy, and faced a period of three years of severe drought, reducing the production of flour.[3] After the drought, the cultivation of cotton to the profitable external market also did not contribute to the production of food to the population: it was better and easier to sell cotton to Europe than cultivate flour.[3] Thus, the production of cotton duplicated in six years: 9,000 sacks exported in 1792 and 18,000 in 1798.[3] The governor also had to deal with constant incursions of French ships on the northeastern coast, which reinstalled forced recruitment.[3]
In 1798, his government was denounced two times to the Overseas Council.[4] One of the denunciations was made by António de Deus da Paz, a solicitor and accountant, and the other was made by Jerónimo José Gomes, a judge.[5] The governor was accused of nepotism, smuggling, fraud, and selling military ranks.[6] He was dismissed by royal charter of 20 August 1798, and on 29 December 1798, he handed over the government to a junta, composed by the Bishop of Olinda, D. José Joaquim da Cunha de Azeredo Coutinho, chefe de esquadra Pedro Severim, Intendant of the Navy, and desembargador António Luís Pereira da Cunha, ouvidor-geral of the comarca.[7] He was arrested together with his servant, Domingos José Fidélis, and they were sent to Bahia.[8] He was eventually released from prison, acquitted, and returned to Portugal, while Domingos José Fidélis was sent to Lisbon.[9]
He was promoted to vice admiral on 29 October 1801 and died in Lisbon on 15 August 1805.[2]
He had a lover, D. Brites.[10] He did not get married, however he had two children in Pernambuco, when he was governor: D. Mariana Joaquina Rosa do Carmo and D. António José de Melo (1798–1863).[1][2] Both were legitimised by Queen Maria I, the first on 19 July 1794 and the second on 2 April 1801.[2]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Dias, Érika Simone de Almeida Carlos (2020). O que é justo? "dar a cada um o que é seu": Tramas jurídicas no final do século XVIII em Pernambuco (in Portuguese). Belo Horizonte: Federal University of Minas Gerais.
- Costa, Francisco Augusto Pereira da (1984). Anais Pernambucanos (1740–1794) (in Portuguese) (2nd ed.). Recife: Fundação do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico de Pernambuco.
- Costa, Francisco Augusto Pereira da (1983). Anais Pernambucanos (1795–1817) (in Portuguese) (2nd ed.). Recife: Fundação do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico de Pernambuco.