Cristóvão de Moura, 1st Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo

Cristóvão de Moura
Viceroy of Portugal
In office
29 January 1600 – 1603
Monarch Philip II of Portugal
Preceded by The Duke of Lerma
Succeeded by Afonso de Castelo Branco
Viceroy of Portugal
In office
1603–1603
Monarch Philip II of Portugal
Preceded by Afonso de Castelo Branco
Succeeded by Afonso de Castelo Branco
Viceroy of Portugal
In office
February 1608 – 1612
Monarch Philipe II of Portugal
Preceded by Pedro de Castilho
Succeeded by Pedro de Castilho
Personal details
Born 1538
Lisbon, Portugal
Died 1613
Madrid, Spain
Spouse(s) Margarida Corte-Real
Signature

D. Cristóvão de Moura e Távora (Lisbon, 1538 - Madrid, 1613) was a Portuguese nobleman who led the Spanish party during the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580.

Biography

He was the son of D. Luís de Moura, Chief Equerry (estribeiro-mor) to Infante Duarte, and his wife, D. Brites de Távora, daughter of Cristóvão de Távora, 2nd Lord of the Majorat of Caparica, and his wife, Francisca de Sousa.[1]

Established in Spain since 1554, and famous for his intelligence, Cristóvão de Moura was put in charge of diplomacy among the Portuguese nobility by Philip II of Spain, fuelling the political rivalry between the Prior of Crato and the Duke of Braganza, and gathering sympathisers to the cause of the Spanish monarch among the crust of Portuguese society and government.[1]

After Philip II's accession to the Portuguese throne, Cristóvão de Moura was made part of the Council of Portugal, a five-member body that advised the sovereign on the government of the Kingdom of Portugal and its colonial empire. Among other privileges, the King rewarded his services with the post of Comptroller of the Exchequer (vedor da Fazenda) and, afterwards, granted him the title of 1st Count of Castelo Rodrigo (1594).[1]

The king's son and successor, Philip III of Spain, made him the first Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo (1600). This king abolished the Council and named Cristóvão de Moura Viceroy of Portugal. He went on to serve as Viceroy in three separate occasions: first from 29 January 1600 to 1603, again in 1603, and from February 1608 to 1612. The government of the Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo was not well-liked by the Portuguese; the higher taxes he introduced were a contributing factor for this.

Cristóvão de Moura married Margarida Corte-Real, heiress of the Captaincy of Angra, in Terceira Island, Azores, in 1581.[1] The marriage contract stipulated that their descendants would adopt the surname Corte-Real.

Descendants

Of his wife, Margarida Corte-Real

Of Ana Afonso:

  • Inês Afonso de Moura

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Martínez Hernández, Santiago (2011). "D. Cristóvão de Moura e a Casa dos Marqueses de Castelo Rodrigo. Proposta de Investigação e Linhas de Análise sobre a Figura do Grande Privado de D. Filipe I". Governo, Política e Representações do Poder no Portugal Habsburgo e nos seus Territórios Ultramarinos (1581-1640) [Government, Politics and Representations of Power in Habsburg Portugal and its Overseas Territories (1581-1640)] (in Portuguese). Centro de História de Além-Mar / Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. pp. 79–93. ISBN 978-989-89491-04-3.

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