António Luís de Sousa, 2nd Marquis of Minas

Who was António Luís de Sousa, 2nd Marquis of Minas?

António Luís de Sousa, 4th Count of Prado and 2nd Marquess of Minas was a Portuguese general and governor-general of the Portuguese colony of Brazil.

He was the son of Dom Francisco, the first Marquês das Minas, and his second wife D. Eufrásia Filipa de Lima.

From a very young age on, he was destined for a military career. At the age of 14, he was present with his father at the Battle of the Lines of Elvas. The following years, he fought the Spanish in the northern Minho province, becoming a general in 1665 after the conquest of the town of Guardia.

After the Peace Treaty of Lisbon he became military governor of Minho in the absence of his father, who was sent as ambassador to Rome. He assumed the title of Marquês das Minas after the death of his father in 1674.

Between 1684 and 1687 he was governor-general of Brazil. He had to restore the peace after the mismanagement of his predecessors, and was confronted with a serious epidemic in the Bahia province.

In 1687 he returned to Portugal and was appointed counsellor of war.