Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo (
Estate of Barbosa,
Entre-Douro-e-Minho
Entre Douro e Minho () is one of the historical provinces of Portugal which encompassed the country's northern Atlantic seaboard between the Douro and Minho rivers. Contemporaries often referred to the province as simply "Minho". It was one of s ...
, Portugal, ''circa'' 1560 –
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
,
São Jorge Castle
São Jorge Castle (; ), sometimes known in English as Saint George's Castle, is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, located in the ''freguesia'' of Santa Maria Maior. Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the ...
, 1625) 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 ...
fidalgo
''Fidalgo'' (, ), from Galician and Portuguese —equivalent to a nobleman, but sometimes literally translated into English as "nobleman" —is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility and Brazilian nobility that refers to a member of the ...
,
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
(captain-general) of
Portuguese Ceylon
Portuguese Ceylon (; ; ) is the name given to the territory on Ceylon, modern-day Sri Lanka, controlled by the Portuguese Empire between 1597 and 1658.
Portuguese presence in the island lasted from 1505 to 1658. Their arrival was largely accide ...
and
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
Portuguese India
The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...
. He proclaimed in
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
, in 1597, the King of Portugal,
Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to:
* Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC)
* Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC)
* Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor
* Philip I of France (1052–1108)
* Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) ( ...
, as the legitimate heir to the throne of
Kotte
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (), also known as Jayapura or Kotte, is Capital of Sri Lanka, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is located adjacent to the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judi ...
, thus substantiating the Portuguese claims of sovereignty over the island of Ceylon.
Early life
He was born Jerónimo de Azevedo de Ataíde e Malafaya, one of the thirteen children of Dom
Manuel de Azevedo,
Comenda
In Portugal, a is a benefit that was granted to knights in military orders, but now describes a purely honorary distinction. In the past, could be a piece of land given as a reward for services, together with the duty to defend it from enemies ...
dor of the monastery of
São João de Alpendurada. He was thus a half-brother of the Jesuit martyr,
Blessed
Blessed may refer to:
* The state of having received a blessing
* Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified
* Blessed, a saint title assigned by the Eastern Orthodox Church to various saints, typical ...
Inácio de Azevedo
Inácio de Azevedo, SJ (1526–1570) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Jesuit missionary. He is one of the :pt:Quarenta Mártires do Brasil#targetText=Os Quarenta Mártires do Brasil,liderados por Inácio de Azevedo., Forty Martyrs of Brazil, b ...
.
Not being the firstborn son, he did not inherit his father's estate, that included the lordship of the medieval ''
honras'' of
Barbosa and
Ataíde Ataíde is a Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* António de Ataíde (c.1500–1563), Portuguese nobleman and diplomat
* Elton Junior Melo Ataíde (born 1990), Brazilian footballer
* João Manuel de A ...
, each with an estimated annual income of 100 thousand
reais
The Brazilian real ( pl. '; sign: R$; code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real replaced the cruzeiro real in 1994.
...
,
a considerable sum in 16th century Portugal. Dom Jerónimo was thus compelled to follow the example of many second sons of the Portuguese nobility of that era, by emigrating at a young age to the most important of Portugal's overseas possessions, the
Estado da Índia
The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...
, where he made his career.
He entered royal service on 25 March 1577, as a page (''moço fidalgo'') of
King Sebastian
Sebastian ( ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the House of Aviz.
He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and his wife, Joanna of A ...
's household (this was a posting usually reserved for very young members of the nobility, suggesting he was born sometime around 1560 - and not in 1540 as referred in some sources). The appointment was made with his going to the East already in view and some time later, he sailed to India.
Capture of Maldives
The leader of the Portuguese forces during the capture of the Maldives in 1558 was Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo. He played a significant role in the Portuguese expansion in the Indian Ocean.
Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo led the military expedition to the Maldives, and under his command, the Portuguese captured the Maldivian capital, Malé, in 1558. The Maldivian ruler at that time was Sultan Ali VI, and the Portuguese captured him during their invasion.
However, the Portuguese rule in the Maldives was relatively short-lived, lasting for about 15 years. The Maldivians successfully revolted against Portuguese rule, and in 1573, they managed to drive the Portuguese out of their islands and regain their independence. Maldivians Refer to him as Andhiri Andhirin.
Governorship of Ceylon
Azevedo was Captain-Major of the
Malabar coast for a period of 15 years,
before being nominated Captain-General of Ceylon in the year 1594. He stayed in charge in Ceylon for a period of 18 years (from Christmas 1594 until November 1612), an unusual long period for holding one office in the Estado da Índia.
He was a key figure
in the late 16th-century and early 17th-century Portuguese attempts to take full control over the whole territory of present-day Sri Lanka.
The touchstone of Portuguese ambitions in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
by the end of the 16th century was the bequest by King
Dharmapala
A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...
of
Kotte
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (), also known as Jayapura or Kotte, is Capital of Sri Lanka, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is located adjacent to the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judi ...
in 1580 of his entire realm to the king of Portugal.
Dharmapala
A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...
was a Christian convert and his bequest was unacceptable to many of his Buddhist subjects and to the ruler of the neighboring kingdom of
Kandy
Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...
. The takeover was therefore resisted, and the Portuguese had to subjugate Kotte by force.
Military campaigns in Kotte
Azevedo arrived in Colombo with fresh troops on 24 December 1594,
barely three months after his predecessor,
Pedro Lopes de Sousa
Pedro Lopes de Sousa ( Bordonhos, Portugal, c. 1540 – Danture, present day Sri Lanka, 1594) was the 1st Governor of Portuguese Ceylon. The office of captain-major was abolished in 1594 and de Sousa was appointed in the same year under Philip ...
died at the
battle of Danture (9 October 1594). The Portuguese army had been annihilated by the Kandyan forces in that battle and Azevedo found a kingdom of Kotte in full rebellion. On the first of January 1595 he held a review of the armed forces at his disposal, with king Dharmapala (the source of legitimacy for Portuguese rule in Kotte) at his side. He mustered 900 Portuguese and 2,000
Lascarin soldiers.
He sized up the situation and decided he had to pacify the lowlands of Kotte before he could retaliate against Kandy. A difficult, ruthless and prolonged campaign to crush the revolts in the lowlands was thus started and it would concentrate most of Azevedo's attention until it was successfully concluded in 1602.
By the end of 1601 the king of Portugal was already writing to the viceroy in Goa, promising to remember Azevedo's many services to the crown.
Proclamation of Philip I of Portugal as King of Kotte and the Malvana Convention
His governorship in Kotte is also noted for his dealing with complex political issues, which he tried to address in two steps - first, by convening a ceremony for the proclamation of the Portuguese King as sovereign of Kotte and second, by summoning the
Convention of Malvana, after the death of king Dharmapala in 1597.
On 29 May 1597, just two days after the death of Dharmapala, Azevedo convened a meeting at the ''Igreja da Misericórdia'' of Colombo,
with the presence of several Portuguese dignitaries and an important number of court nobles of Kotte. Among the local nobles were a
mudalyar (a high military official), an ''aratch''i (captain of a company of Lankan soldiers) and a ''patangatim'' (a caste headman among the fishermen). The participants in this Assembly had been chosen "''by the main vassals of the King of Kotte''"
and, at the end, an ''aratchi'' made an announcement in Sinhala to the crowd gathered in front of the Misericórdia Church, stating that the late King Dharmapala had donated the throne to the King of Portugal, it being now necessary to proclaim him as the new monarch. The Assembly then swore allegiance to
Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to:
* Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC)
* Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC)
* Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor
* Philip I of France (1052–1108)
* Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) ( ...
and a procession followed, going through the streets of Colombo, with the participants crying out, in the traditional Portuguese manner:
This Ceremony, quickly decided and organized by Azevedo, was thus equivalent to the acclamation of
Filipe I as King of Portugal in the ''cortes'' of
Almeirim
Almeirim () is a city and a municipality in Santarém District, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 23,376, in an area of 222.12 km2. The city proper had a population of 10,520 in 2001.
History
There are vestiges of mid-Paleolithic to Mesol ...
, with the purpose of dispelling any doubts about the legitimate right of succession of the Portuguese sovereign to the throne of Kotte.

Azevedo then convened the so-called Malvana Convention, a meeting of representatives of all the districts of the kingdom and accepted - after two days of deliberations - that the native inhabitants of Kotte would keep their laws and customs, though they had to pledge allegiance to the king of Portugal. This convention is mentioned (some 40 years after it was allegedly convened) in a letter of grievance written by Sinhalese leaders to the captain-general,
Diogo de Melo e Castro (1636 - 1638).
Opening of Ceylon to the Jesuits
Another issue to which Azevedo dedicated his attention was missionary activity. In 1554, the Portuguese crown had decided that its possessions in Ceylon would be an exclusive preserve of the
Franciscans
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
, and it reaffirmed this decision in 1593.
Under Azevedo, however, this policy changed.
In January 1597 the
Bishop of Cochin
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin () is a Roman Catholic Diocese in Kochi, Kerala, India. A constituent of the Latin Church, the diocese was established in 1557 after the domination of the Portuguese-speaking missionaries. The diocese is a ...
, D.
André de Santa Maria, wrote to the King of Portugal,
suggesting that the crown allow the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
to engage in missionary activity in Ceylon, since the resources available to the Franciscans were allegedly "insufficient" for achieving the evangelizing objectives of Portugal. Later in that year, the Portuguese crown received specific proposals - based on the initial suggestions of the bishop of Cochin, fully supported by Azevedo, whose
brother Inácio was a Jesuit martyr - on how to divide missionary activity in the island between the two
Religious Orders
A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their founders, and have a d ...
. After much debate, these proposals were adopted by the crown and in April 1602 the first four Jesuits arrived in Colombo, backed by a patent issued by Viceroy
Aires de Saldanha
Aires de Saldanha (Santarém, Portugal, 10 May 1542 - Terceira, 19 August 1605) was a Portuguese soldier. He was the son of António de Saldanha, military and navigator who discovered the bay of Saldanha. He went to Portuguese India in 1558, wi ...
, in Goa, on 27 February 1602.
Military campaigns against Kandy
Azevedo was less successful in his attempts to subdue Kandy. He invaded the kingdom in 1603 in a carefully planned operation with a total force of about 1,100 Portuguese and 12,000 Sinhalese,
but despite initial successes he was forced to withdraw after a rebellion erupted among the
Lascarins
Lascarins ('','' or Lascareen, Lascoreen and Lascarine) is a term used in Sri Lanka to identify indigenous soldiers who fought for the Portugal, Portuguese during the Portuguese Ceylon, Portuguese era (1505–1658) and continued to serve as Colo ...
, the indigenous troops who fought alongside the Portuguese forces. In contrast to his predecessor
Pedro Lopes de Sousa
Pedro Lopes de Sousa ( Bordonhos, Portugal, c. 1540 – Danture, present day Sri Lanka, 1594) was the 1st Governor of Portuguese Ceylon. The office of captain-major was abolished in 1594 and de Sousa was appointed in the same year under Philip ...
, who died and his troops in a previous invasion, he did manage to prevent the annihilation of the Portuguese forces and showed exceptional military capabilities
during this retreat that thus came to be known as ''a famosa retirada''
''.''
After this setback, Azevedo brought innovations to the formulation of Portuguese military strategy in Ceylon. He decided to abandon the traditional approach of trying to subdue Kandy with a single, decisive military offensive and adopted instead a new strategy based on
economic warfare
Economic warfare or economic war is an economic strategy used by belligerent states with the goal of weakening the economy of other states. This is primarily achieved by the use of economic blockades. Ravaging the crops of the enemy is a classic ...
. Every year the Portuguese would engage in smaller but highly destructive biannual forays and raids deep inside Kandyan territory, burning crops and villages and driving off the cattle. This greatly weakened Kandy - in the words of a Portuguese chronicler, the Jesuit Fernão de Queiroz, the kingdom "never in our time recovered its former opulence and size". However, this strategy aimed at the economic strangulation of the kingdom of Kandy did not produce all the effects expected by Azevedo, because Portuguese traders in Indian port cities such as
São Tomé de Meliapor, with the support of the Hindu king at
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
, refused to abandon their highly lucrative trades with Kandy.
When he finally left Ceylon for Goa, Azevedo issued directives to his successor, insisting that his new strategy should continue to be followed until Kandy accepted a status of vassalage to the kingdom of Portugal
Viceroy of Portuguese India
Azevedo was appointed 20th viceroy of Portuguese India on 24 November 1611, and left Colombo for
Goa
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
where he assumed his new duties on 16 December 1612.
Resurgent Portuguese expansionism
According to historians such as Luís Filipe Thomaz
and A. R. Disney, at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century there was a period of new Portuguese expansionism in South and Southeast Asia, which reached its peak precisely when Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo took over the government in Goa.
A. R. Disney
A is the first letter of the Latin and English alphabet.
A may also refer to:
Science and technology Quantities and units
* ''a'', a measure for the attraction between particles in the Van der Waals equation
* ''A'' value, a measure of s ...
writes that by the time of Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo's mandate as viceroy the influence of colonials in
Goa
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
, as distinct from metropolitan Portuguese, was steadily growing. These colonials had interests and an outlook that did not necessarily coincide with those of the metropolis. In practice, Azevedo – who had come to Asia as a young man and served for his entire career in the Portuguese
Estado da Índia
The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...
– was a colonial. This influence of colonials coincided with the above-mentioned period of resurgent Portuguese expansionism in the East, that - however - did not last very long and was already receding by the time he terminated his mandate as viceroy in 1617.
In 1615, Dom Jerónimo backed an audacious expedition to
Pegu
Bago (formerly spelled Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon.
Etymology
The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...
to loot the Moon imperial treasures in
Mrauk-U
Mrauk U ( ) is a town in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. It is the capital of Mrauk-U Township, a subregion of the Mrauk-U District.
Mrauk U is culturally significant for the local Rakhine (Arakanese) people and is the location of many impo ...
, an enterprise that ultimately did not succeed. However, the fact that it was supported at such a high official level showed how plunder was considered a legitimate policy objective in 16th-century Portuguese-ruled Asia.
Also in 1615 Azevedo led a huge fleet that tried to drive English
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
ships under the command of
Nicholas Downton
Nicholas Downton (1561-6 August 1615), was a commander in the service of the English East India Company (EIC).
Life and career Early years
Downton was born in the village of Bushley in Worcestshire in early 1561, the son of John and Katherine Do ...
off
Surat
Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...
, but after a series of engagements (including a clash in which the viceroy's brother, Dom Manuel de Azevedo, captain of
Chaul
Chaul is a historic town located in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The Korlai Fort is located nearby.
History
Many foreign writers have mentioned Chaul. Ptolemy in his ''Geography of India'' calls the town Symullla or Timulla. The ...
and
Diu, sank a couple of English merchant vessels) he failed to achieve the strategic objective of dislodging the East India Company from the Indian Ocean trade routes – an incident which demonstrated that Portuguese
Goa
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
had lost the capacity to protect its monopoly of commerce on the Western coast of India.
Geographic explorations
During his government in Goa Azevedo also had to face the serious threat posed by the increasing pressure of Dutch fleets against the Portuguese possessions and trade routes in the Indian Ocean.
His response was not only military, for one surprising byproduct of the Dutch challenge was galvanizing the Portuguese into undertaking new journeys of geographical exploration, seen as a sort of preemptive strike against the movements of Dutch and English fleets. Between 1613 and 1616 Dom Jerónimo ordered two such expeditions to the coasts of
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
- known to the Portuguese as ''ilha de São Lourenço'' since the beginning of the 16th century - with the participation of Jesuit priests (the Jesuits were then very much engaged in such activity, including journeys to the interior of China and to Tibet). One of the aims of this project was evaluating the possibilities for conquest of the island.
The expeditions explored the region, prepared a ''roteiro'' of the coasts of Madagascar, produced new regional maps and compiled many scientific observations, in a concrete demonstration that the spirit of discovery was still present in the
Estado da Índia
The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...
in the first quarter of the seventeenth century.
Fall from favor at the Habsburg court
Towards the end of his tenure, Azevedo began to lose the favor he had previously enjoyed at the court of 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 ...
, who ruled Portugal.
One factor that probably contributed to his downfall was the obstruction he made,
when viceroy in Goa, to the mission of the Castilian national
García de Silva Figueroa, appointed by king
Philip III of Spain (Filipe II of Portugal) as his envoy to the
Shah
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
of Persia. Figueroa left Lisbon in April 1614, headed for a stopover in Goa, where he had strong disagreements with Azevedo, that prevented him from reaching his final destination until the year 1617. Azevedo even ordered Silva Figueroa's detention for a time before finally allowing him to continue his journey to Persia. In this approach, Dom Jerónimo was fully expressing the feelings of the local Portuguese in Goa. They saw with great concern the dispatch of a Spanish national as envoy to a country where Portugal supposedly had exclusive interests, that should be preserved, in the framework of the distribution of powers agreed between Portugal and Spain, since the beginning of the
dynastic union
A dynastic union is a type of union in which different states are governed beneath the same dynasty, with their boundaries, their laws, and their interests remaining distinct from each other.
It is a form of association looser than a personal un ...
between the two countries, in 1580.
On his return to Lisbon, Azevedo was held in custody and put on trial on several accusations, including embezzlement. Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo died on 9 March 1625, in
São Jorge Castle
São Jorge Castle (; ), sometimes known in English as Saint George's Castle, is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, located in the ''freguesia'' of Santa Maria Maior. Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the ...
, before the conclusion of his trial and without the various allegations against him being proven.
He was buried in
São Roque Church in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, which was then the home church of the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in Portugal.
Legacy
Azevedo lived at a time when the Portuguese Empire in the East was already past its heyday and relatively weakened by the arrival to Asian waters of other European powers. But military successes in the 1590s against the Kingdoms of
Sitawaka
Avissawella (, ) is a township in Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council, situated on the A4 route from Colombo to Ratnapura, Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, approximately 40 km air distance and 48.1 km road distance from ...
and
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
presented the Portuguese crown with a unique window of opportunity that led it to decide (in 1594) to attempt the conquest of the entire island of Ceylon.
The martial qualities of the governors were thus paramount, and this is the likely reason that explains Azevedo's long tenure in Colombo, followed by his promotion to viceroy in Goa in 1611.
Azevedo had attempted to resign from captain general of Ceylon in 1597
and later on, in February 1603, he was also the target of an inquiry ("''devassa''") conducted by the
Archbishop of Goa
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman (, , ) encompasses the Goa state and the Damaon territory in the Konkan region, by the west coast of India. The ecclesiastical province of Goa and Damaon includes a suffragan dio ...
, for alleged misappropriation of resources. However, as early as 15 March 1603, the king was already writing to the Archbishop to request the postponement of the inquiry, since in the meantime he had received favorable informations from the
bishop of Cochin
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin () is a Roman Catholic Diocese in Kochi, Kerala, India. A constituent of the Latin Church, the diocese was established in 1557 after the domination of the Portuguese-speaking missionaries. The diocese is a ...
concerning Azevedo's military campaigns on the island. Clearly, the king did not want the good military results of governor to be undermined, and in the end he granted to Dom Jerónimo a reward of 10,000
reais
The Brazilian real ( pl. '; sign: R$; code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real replaced the cruzeiro real in 1994.
...
and a ''comenda'' in the
Order of Christ.
By that time, Azevedo had already acquired in Ceylon the equivalent of the power and mystique of a viceroy.
But Azevedo was more than a military leader, for he undertook important political initiatives (such as the negotiations that led to the Malvana Convention) and missionary reforms (opening of Ceylon to the Jesuits) while in
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
- and he strongly supported geographical exploration and scientific activities during his tenure in Goa. On balance, it is likely that - more than the accusations of embezzlement (a quite common feature of many previous tenures of governors and viceroys of the Portuguese Empire) - it was his politically risky actions against a personal envoy of the king of Spain and Portugal that sealed his final fall from grace in the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
court.
The Fort of São Jerónimo (
Saint Jerome
Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.
He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...
) in Nani
Daman
Daman may refer to:
Places
*Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, a union territory in India
**Daman and Diu (Lok Sabha constituency)
**Daman and Diu, former union territory of India, now part of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
**Goa ...
was started during his term as viceroy and is named in his honor.
Azevedo was also responsible for the rebuilding of the Idalcão or
Adilshahi
The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a ''taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 1490 ...
Palace in
Panaji
Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...
(
Goa
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
).
The Portuguese city of
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
named a street after him.
References
Bibliography
*Tikiri Abeyasinghe, ''Portuguese Rule in Ceylon, 1594 - 1612'' Lake House Investments Ltd. Publishers, 1966 edition, Colombo, ''passim''.
*
Frederick Charles Danvers, ''The Portuguese in India: Being a History of the Rise and Decline of Their Eastern Empire: Volume 2'', 1894 edition by W. H. Allen & Co., London, page 198
* A. R. Disney, ''A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire: From Beginnings to 1807'' (Volume 2) Cambridge University Press; 1st edition (13 April 2009), pages 154, 166–167, 168, 191
*C. Gaston Perera, ''Kandy Fights the Portuguese (A Military History of Kandyan Resistance)'', 2007, Vijith Yapa Publications, Sri Lanka,
*Fernão de Queiroz, ''The temporal and spiritual conquest of Ceylon (Volume 2)'', Colombo : A.C. Richards, 1930. (Originally written and published in Portuguese, 1688)
* John F. Riddick, ''The history of British India: a chronology'', Preager Publishers, 2006.
* Senaka K. Weeraratn
Repression of Buddhism in Sri Lanka by the Portuguese (1505 - 1658)
* Chandra Tilake Edirisuriya
Azevedo -The Cruelest Portuguese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azevedo, Jeronimo
Viceroys of Portuguese India
Portuguese knights
16th-century Portuguese nobility
1560s births
1625 deaths
Governors of Portuguese Ceylon
17th-century Portuguese nobility