Diogo de Castro (

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

, 1562-Évora, 1639) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and politician, who served as

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

of Portugal between 1633 and 1634. Son of

Fernando de Castro Fernando de Castro ( 1380 – April 1440 or 1441, off Cape St. Vincent) was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman, diplomat and military figure. Fernando de Castro was the 1st Lord of Paúl de Boquilobo. He was a member of the royal council of J ...

, I Count of Basto, Diogo inherited this title from his father. He began his military career at the

Battle of Alcácer Quibir The Battle of Alcácer Quibir (also known as "Battle of Three Kings" () or "Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin" () in Morocco) was fought in northern Morocco, near the town of Ksar-el-Kebir (variant spellings: ''Ksar El Kebir'', ''Alcácer-Quivir'', ...

, where he was captured by the Arabs, but he was subsequently released by the intervention of the

King of spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

, Philip II, whom Castro began to support in the

War of the Portuguese Succession The War of the Portuguese Succession, a result of the extinction of the Portuguese royal line after the Battle of Alcácer Quibir and the ensuing Portuguese succession crisis of 1580, was fought from 1580 to 1583 between the two main claimant ...

. Castro participated in the

Conquest of the Azores The Conquest of the Azores (also known as the Spanish conquest of the Azores), but principally involving the conquest of the island of Terceira, occurred on 2 August 1583, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, between forces loyal to ...

, which meant Philip's victory in the war. He served as president of the courts Casa da Suplicação and Desembargo do Paço. He was a member of the boards of government of the Viceroyalty of Portugal and was elected in 1633 as penultimate

Viceroy of Portugal The Viceroy of Portugal was the political chief of the Kingdom of Portugal and the highest representative of the King of Portugal during the period of the Iberian Union, when a personal union existed between the monarchies of Portugal and Spain ...

. During his rule, an attempt was made to regain Spanish might in Portugal, but Castro resigned quickly after opposing authoritarianism of the Count-Duke of Olivares. After failing in a

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

attempt during the Manuelinho Revolt, Castro died in his hometown as he prepared to travel to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to discuss the future of Portugal. Soon after, the

Portuguese Restoration War The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

broke out.

References

{{reflist 1562 births 1639 deaths Viceroys of Portugal 16th-century Portuguese people 17th-century Portuguese nobility Portuguese politicians People of the War of the Portuguese Succession