Viceroy of Brazil born in Ribaldeira, Portugal, nicknamed the Gravata for his exquisite dress, which, although had as a rule make his resolutions without knowing what the people were saying, he turned out to be a good administrator. Brigadier of the Portuguese Army, appointed governor and captain-general of Bahia (1768) and viceroy of Brazil, residing in Rio de Janeiro (1769).
During his government, he encouraged theater and founded a scientific academy to study the country's natural resources. He built the forts of Pico and Leme and opened new streets, like the one that bears his name. To stimulate trade, he created a large fair in Largo da Glória, the origin of the first market in the same place. He tried to introduce the silk industry in Brazil, for which he sent for the silkworm in China.
Aiming to promote the coffee culture, he exempted from military service the farmers who dedicated themselves to it. He transferred to Valongo the market for new blacks, which until then had been installed in the middle of a commercial center, on Rua Direita, now known as Primeiro de Março. Two years after the death of D. José I was replaced in the government of Brazil (1779) and died in Lisbon.
Source: Biographies - Academic Unit of Civil Engineering / UFCG
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Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
COSTA, Keilla Renata. "Luís de Almeida Soares Portugal Alarcão Eça e Melo"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/gravata.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.