João de Fontes Pereira de Melo

João de Fontes Pereira de Melo (25 January 1780 – 28 October 1856) was a Portuguese politician and a general in the 19th century, he was colonial governor of Cape Verde^[1][2] and Minister of the Maritime and Overseas.

Biography

de Fontes Pereira de Melo was born in Elvas in southern Portugal.

He was the 75th and 78th colonial governor of Cape Verde, his first term was from 1839 up to 1842 and was succeeded by Francisco de Paula Bastos and the second was from 28 June 1847 up to 25 June 1851 and was succeeded by Fortunato José Barreiros.^[1][2]

From 22 August to 18 December 1847, he was the Maritime and Overseas minister under the Duke of Saldanha. He succeeded João Gualberto de Oliveira, born in the Madeira Islands who was the Count of Tojal and was shortly succeeded by Agostinho Albano.

He was the father of the Portuguese prime minister António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo.

He died at the age of 76 at 30 Travessa do Pombal in the parish (now neighbourhood) of Santa Isabel, Lisbon. He was buried at Prazeres Cemetery.

Personal life

On May 30, 1808, at the age of 28, he married D. Jacinta Venância Rosa da Cunha Matos (20 April 1781 in Santa Engrácia, Lisbon - year of death unknown but was in the 19th century) at the Parish Church of Nossa Senhora da Pena, Lisbon. da Cunha Matos was the daughter of Alexandre Manuel da Cunha Matos e de D. Isabel Teodora Cecília de Oliveira Fontes. They had six children:

• João de Fontes Pereira de Melo Júnior (1804 - São Paulo, Lisbon, 11 September 1833), later married D. Emília Adelaide Araújo da Costa e Almeida, now buried at Chagas Church, Lisbon;
• Maria Venância de Fontes Pereira de Melo (1805 - 1898), later married Raimundo José da Cunha Matos and had children;
• Alexandre Eduardo de Fontes Pereira de Melo (Luanda, Angola, 1810 - before 1856, later married D. Mariana Francisca Vieira Lúcio, and had children;
• António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo (Santa Isabel, Lisbon, 8 September 1819 - Mercês, Lisboa, 22 January 1887), later married D. Maria Josefa de Sousa, with children;
• Maria Henriqueta de Fontes Pereira de Melo (1820 - before 1856), later married Vicente Rodrigues Ganhado, with children;
• Rodrigo Augusto de Fontes Pereira de Melo (1827 - São Paulo, Lisbon, 1 July 1834), now buried at Prazeres Cemetery.

Honors

A street titled as Fontes P. de Melo is named for him in the Plateau section of Praia, it runs south of the Praia Pro-Cathedral it is about 40 meters long and is one way running east, it links with Rua Serpa Pinto and Avenida Andrade Corvo.

See also

• List of colonial governors of Cape Verde
• History of Cape Verde

Notes

Bibliography

• The Political Thought Studies Centre (in Portuguese)