Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the Norte, Portugal, North region, Portugal. It is also the seat of the Douro (intermunicipal community), Douro Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, intermunicipal comm ...

(in Portuguese ''Conde de Vila Real'') was a Portuguese

title of nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...

created by a royal decree, in 1424, by King

John I of Portugal John I ( WP:IPA for Portuguese, �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in 1383–85 crisi ...

, and granted to ''Dom'' Pedro de Menezes, also known as Peter I of Menezes, 2nd Count of Viana (do Alentejo). The Menezes, a high nobility and influential family, quite close to the first dynasty kings in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, were negatively affected when the new Aviz kings came to power, after the 1383–1385 crisis, but Pedro de Menezes supported the new king John of Aviz and was later rewarded. He was involved in the north African conquests, and became the first governor of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

after the Portuguese conquest (1415). He married four times from which he had three daughters. The eldest was Beatrice of Menezes, married to Fernando of Noronha (grandson of King Fernando I of Portugal through his mother,

Infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

Isabel of Portugal). Their issue used ''Menezes'' as family name and they originated the powerful House of Vila Real (extinct in 1641). Later, in the 19th century, King

John VI of Portugal '' Dom'' John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil ...

, revived the title and granted it by royal decree on July 3, 1823 (second creation), to José Luis de Sousa Botelho Mourão e Vasconcelos (1785–1855), a remarkable military and politician who fought during the Napoleonic invasions and the Liberal wars.

List of counts of Vila Real

First creation (1424 – Menezes family)

# Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real # Brites de Menezes and her husband Fernando of Noronha, 2nd Counts of Vila Real; # Pedro II of Menezes, 3rd Count of Vila Real (1425–1499), who became 1st Marquis of Vila Real in 1489; (for the following counts, see '' Marquis of Vila Real'')

Second creation (1823 – Sousa Botelho family)

#José Luis de Sousa Botelho Mourão e Vasconcelos (1785–1855); #Fernando de Sousa Botelho Mourão e Vasconcelos (1815–1858) #José Luís de Sousa Botelho Mourão e Vasconcelos (1843–1923); #Maria Teresa de Sousa Botelho e Melo (1871–1947), also 3rd Countess of Melo and Countess of Mangualde by marriage to Fernando de Almeida Cardoso de Albuquerque, 2nd count of Mangualde; #Francisco de Sousa Botelho e Albuquerque (1909–1973), also 3rd Count of Mangualde and 4th Count of Melo; #Fernando de Sousa Botelho de Albuquerque (1941–2022), also 4th Count of Mangualde (1973) and 5th Count of Melo (1973).

Bibliography

"Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil" – Vol. III, pages 522/528. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.

1424 establishments in Portugal

List of counts of Vila Real

First creation (1424 – Menezes family)

Second creation (1823 – Sousa Botelho family)

See also

Bibliography