Nai-Seço (1886 – May 1943), better known under the name of Dom Aleixo, was a Timorese chieftain (''régulo'') who was aligned with the Portuguese during the

East Timorese rebellion of 1911–1912 The East Timorese rebellion of 1911–1912, sometimes called the Great Rebellion or Rebellion of Manufahi, was a response to the efforts of Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonial authorities to collect a tax per head, head tax and enforce the ''c ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He died fighting the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

during the

Battle of Timor The Battle of Timor occurred in Portuguese Timor and West Timor, Dutch Timor during the Second World War. Empire of Japan, Japanese forces invaded the island on 19 February 1942 and were resisted by a small, under-equipped force of Allies of Worl ...

and was posthumously praised by the Portuguese.

Life

Dom Aleixo was born in

Ainaro Ainaro is a town in East Timor, the capital of the Ainaro suco, the Ainaro administrative post and the Ainaro Municipality, and is located in the southwest part of the country. The town of Ainaro is located 78 km south of Dili, the nati ...

, in 1886, under the name Nai-Seço. His cousin Nai-Cau was the leader of Suro and fought for the Portuguese in the

against the bordering areas led by

Liurai Liurai is a ruler's title on Timor. The word is Tetum language, Tetun and literally means "surpassing the earth". It was originally associated with Wehali, a ritually central kingdom situated at the south coast of central Timor (now included in I ...

Boaventura of Manifahi. Aleixo also sided with the Portuguese during the conflict. He married Dona Maria Corte-Real. Maubisse rose up in rebellion against the Portuguese in August 1942, and Aleixo sent 350 men to fight against them. He fought against the Japanese during the

, but his forces were pushed back from Suro to Hatu-Udo. Quei-Bere, chief of Foe-Ai-Lico and now aligned with the Japanese, separated Alexio from his men. On 5 May 1943, Aleixo's men were disarmed and Aleixo was captured. He fought the Japanese while in captivity and was killed by a sword. Those with him, including his children, also fought, but almost all of them were killed. Only three people survived.

Legacy

Governor Manuel de Abreu Ferreira de Carvalho learned about Aleixo's story after

ended. Carvalho praised him as a martyr for Portugal and Aleixo was the first native Timorese that was made Portuguese. Portugal held up Aleixo as a loyal native king and national hero. His image was placed onto banknotes. A grave was created for Aleixo on 7 September 1946. On 30 October, he was made Commander of the Military Order of Torre e Espada, of Valor, Loyalty and Merit posthumously. His widow and children were among the forty people listed by the Portuguese government in a gazette for their loyalty during the war. The first biography of Aleixo was written by José Simões Martinho in 1947.

Life

Legacy

References

Works cited

Books

Journals

Further reading