Francisco Barreto de Meneses

Francisco Barreto de Meneses (1616 – 21 January 1688) was a military officer and a colonial administrator in the Portuguese colonies of São Tomé and Príncipe and Brazil.

Francisco Barreto de Meneses
Governor of São Tomé and Príncipe
In office
1632–1632
MonarchPhilip III of Portugal
Preceded byLourenço Pires de Távora
Succeeded byLourenço Pires de Távora
Governor of Pernambuco
In office
28 January 1654 – 26 May 1657
MonarchJohn IV of Portugal
Preceded byDutch occupation
Succeeded byAndré Vidal de Negreiros
Governor-General of Brazil
In office
18 June 1657 – 21 July 1663
MonarchAfonso VI of Portugal
Preceded byJerónimo de Ataíde
Succeeded byVasco de Mascarenhas
Personal details
Born1616
Viceroyalty of Peru
Died21 January 1688 (1688-01-22) (aged 71)
Portuguese colony of Brazil
Military service
AllegiancePortuguese Empire
Branch/serviceArmy
RankGeneral
Battles/warsDutch-Portuguese War

He was born during the Iberian Union and his Portuguese father was a military officer at Peru. Brave soldier, he was chosen to command the colonial troops in the uprising that took place in Pernambuco which drove out the Dutch from the Northeast of Brazil, finishing the 24-year-long Dutch occupation of Brazil.

He arrived in the colony of Brazil in 1647, was arrested but managed to escape. With the rank of "Master-of-Field-General" (in Portuguese Mestre-de-Campo-General) he commanded the "Patriot Army" of 25,000 men, composed of four Terços, led by Fernandes Vieira, André Vidal de Negreiros, Henrique Dias and Filipe Camarão, beating the Dutch in the First and Second Battle of Guararapes in 1648 and 1649.[1] For such achievement he was awarded with the title of "Restorer of Pernambuco".

He was Governor of Pernambuco and later, from 18 June 1657 to 1663, General-Governor of Brazil,[2] succeeding Dom Jerónimo de Ataíde, 6th Count of Atouguia.

Second Battle of Guararapes, led by Francisco Barreto de Meneses

Notes
  1. "Batalha dos Guararapes" (in Portuguese). História Brasileira. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  2. "Francisco Barreto de Meneses" (in Portuguese). Biblioteca Virtual da FAPESP.
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