Count of

Linhares Linhares is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, north of the state capital, Vitória, Brazil, Vitória. It is the largest municipality by area in the state, at 9,501.6 km2, and has a population o ...

(in Portuguese ''Conde de Linhares'') 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 of king

John III of Portugal John III ( ; 6 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious ( Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1521 until he died in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of ...

dated from May 13, 1532, and granted to '' Dom''

António de Noronha Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

, 2nd son of

Pedro de Menezes Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

, 1st

Marquis of Vila Real Marquis of Vila Real (in Portuguese ''Marquês de Vila Real'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from 1 March 1489, by King John II of Portugal, and granted to ''Dom'' Pedro de Menezes, also known as Peter II of ...

. This family went to live in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and remained faithful to the Spanish Habsburgs even after the Portuguese revolution of 1 December 1640, so the new dynasty of Braganza no longer recognized them as Counts of Linhares. Later, in the 19th century, Queen

Maria I of Portugal '' Dona'' Maria I (Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antónia Gertrudes Rita Joana; 17 December 1734 – 20 March 1816) also known as Maria the Pious in Portugal and Maria the Mad in Brazil, was Queen of Portugal from 24 February 1777 until her de ...

, granted again the title of count of Linhares (second creation), by a royal decree dated from December 17, 1808, to

Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho, 1st Count of Linhares Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho, 1st Count of Linhares (4 August 1755 – 26 January 1812) was a Portuguese nobleman and politician. Life Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho was born in Chaves on 4 August 1755 to Francisco Inocêncio de Sousa Coutinho, G ...

Governor of

Portuguese Angola In southwestern Africa, Portuguese Angola was a historical Evolution of the Portuguese Empire, colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951), the overseas province Portuguese West Africa of Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo Portugal (1951–1 ...

, Portuguese

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and a remarkable statesman.

List of counts of Linhares

First creation (1532)

#António de Noronha (1464–1551), 1st Count of Linhares; #Francisco de Noronha (1507–1574), 2nd Count of Linhares; #Fernando de Noronha (c. 1540 – 1608), 3rd Count of Linhares; # Miguel de Noronha (c. 1585 – 1647), 4th Count of Linhares; #Fernando de Noronha (c.1600- ? ), 5th Count and 1st Duke of Linhares (not recognized in Portugal); #Miguel de Noronha (1645- ? ), 6th Count and 2nd Duke of Linhares (not recognized in Portugal).

Second creation (1808)

(1755–1812); #

Vitório Maria de Sousa Coutinho, 2nd Count of Linhares D. Vitório Maria Francisco de Sousa Coutinho Teixeira de Andrade Barbosa, second Count of Linhares (25 June 1790 – 29 July 1857) was a Portuguese statesman. Career ''Vitório Maria Francisco de Sousa Coutinho Teixeira de Andrade Barbosa ...

(1790–1857); #Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho (1823–1894), 3rd Count of Linhares; #Fernando de Sousa Coutinho (1850–1897), 4th Count of Linhares; #Nuno de Sousa Coutinho (1854–1929), 5th Count of Linhares; #Carlos de Sousa Coutinho (1880- ? ), 6th Count of Linhares; #Nuno de Sousa Coutinho (1914–2006), 7th Count of Linhares.

Dukes of Linhares/Liñares (Spanish title)

After 1640, to reward Fernando de Noronha, 5th Count of Linhares, fidelity to the

Spanish Habsburgs Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In this period the Spanish Empire was at the zenith of its in ...

, King

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

upgraded the title of Count to Duke of Linhares. However, as he was no longer

King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...

, this title was never recognized in Portugal, but it still exists in Spain as Duke of Liñares once, in 1667, King

Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...

changed it to the Spanish spelling. The title of Duke of Liñares was later inherited by the Spanish Fernando de Lancastre y Noroña,

Marquis of Porto Seguro A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

, Duke of Abrantes and Duke of Liñares (all these three titles were granted by King Philip IV after 1640, to reward the fidelity of some Portuguese aristocrats to the Habsburgs and are not valid in Portugal).

External links

Genealogy of the Counts of Linhares (first creation), in PortugueseGenealogy of the Counts of Linhares (second creation), in PortugueseGenealogy of the Dukes of Linhares, in PortugueseGenealogy of the Spanish Dukes of Linares, in Spanish

Bibliography

"Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil" – Vol. II, pages 688/692. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.