Fundo Almada e Lencastre Bastos
Item
Country
PT
Name of institution (English)
National Library of Portugal
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
por
Contact information: postal address
Campo Grande 83, 1749-081 Lisbon
Contact information: phone number
00351 217982000
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
bn@bnportugal.gov.pt
Reference number
ALB, ANTT
ALB, Encarnação
ALB, Av. Roma
ALB, Encarnação
ALB, Av. Roma
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Almada e Lencastre Bastos Fonds
Title (official language of the state)
Fundo Almada e Lencastre Bastos
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Almada Lencastre Melo Velho and Pereira Forjaz Coutinho families
Date note
14th century/20th century
Language(s)
por
Extent
c. 32,57 linear metres (282 boxes and 9 books)
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Satisfactory
Scope and content
The Almada e Lencastre Bastos fonds comprises a significant number of documents from before the 16th century, which include a few references to the Jewish communities of Porto and Guimarães. Two examples are the following:
ALB, Encarnação, mç. 1, cx. 42, capilha 6: Letter of "escambo" (exchange), in which the Municipality of Porto gave João Giraldes a piece of land near the neighbourhood of Olival, which had been previously negotiated with Master Moisés to become the Jewish burial ground. Porto, December 17, 1401.
ALB, Av. Roma, pac. 101, n.º 153, cx. 101, capilha 5: Abraão de Lamego, a Jewish goldsmith, and his wife Ouro sell a house in the judiaria of Guimarães to João de Andrade, almoxarife (treasurer and receiver general), and his wife Catarina Fernandes. Guimarães, December 30, 1497.
One of the families whose papers were gathered in this collection, the Valadares, had a Jewish origin. Beatriz Eanes de França (1484-1522), who married Fernão de Valadares (1480-1512), and initiated this family branch, was a granddaughter of master Janim Berim, a Jewish "picheleiro" (tin vessel maker and trader) who was a "vereador" (councillor) in Porto between 1429 and 1459. Therefore, there are a few references to properties located in the "judiaria" (Jewish quarter) of Porto among the records of this family. Other records also report houses and lands situated in the judiaria of Guimarães. Here are some examples:
ALB, Encarnação, mç. 1, cx. 42, capilha 6: Deal between João Geraldes' son, João Eanes Machucho, and the Municipality of Porto on the division of properties near the Jewish quarter. Porto, February 6, 1460.
ALB, Av. Roma, pac. 101, n.º 153, cx. 101, capilha 4: Sale of a house in the Jewish quarter of Guimarães. Guimarães, November 23, 1464.
ALB, Av. Roma, pac. 96, n.º 144, cx. 96 A: Evaluation of houses located in the Jewish quarter of Guimarães. Guimarães, May 15, 1508.
ALB, Av. Roma, pac. 114, n.º 187, cx. 114 II, capilha 3: Sale of an oven and a house in the Jewish quarter of Guimarães. October 2, 1478.
ALB, Encarnação, mç. 1, cx. 42, capilha 6: Letter of "escambo" (exchange), in which the Municipality of Porto gave João Giraldes a piece of land near the neighbourhood of Olival, which had been previously negotiated with Master Moisés to become the Jewish burial ground. Porto, December 17, 1401.
ALB, Av. Roma, pac. 101, n.º 153, cx. 101, capilha 5: Abraão de Lamego, a Jewish goldsmith, and his wife Ouro sell a house in the judiaria of Guimarães to João de Andrade, almoxarife (treasurer and receiver general), and his wife Catarina Fernandes. Guimarães, December 30, 1497.
One of the families whose papers were gathered in this collection, the Valadares, had a Jewish origin. Beatriz Eanes de França (1484-1522), who married Fernão de Valadares (1480-1512), and initiated this family branch, was a granddaughter of master Janim Berim, a Jewish "picheleiro" (tin vessel maker and trader) who was a "vereador" (councillor) in Porto between 1429 and 1459. Therefore, there are a few references to properties located in the "judiaria" (Jewish quarter) of Porto among the records of this family. Other records also report houses and lands situated in the judiaria of Guimarães. Here are some examples:
ALB, Encarnação, mç. 1, cx. 42, capilha 6: Deal between João Geraldes' son, João Eanes Machucho, and the Municipality of Porto on the division of properties near the Jewish quarter. Porto, February 6, 1460.
ALB, Av. Roma, pac. 101, n.º 153, cx. 101, capilha 4: Sale of a house in the Jewish quarter of Guimarães. Guimarães, November 23, 1464.
ALB, Av. Roma, pac. 96, n.º 144, cx. 96 A: Evaluation of houses located in the Jewish quarter of Guimarães. Guimarães, May 15, 1508.
ALB, Av. Roma, pac. 114, n.º 187, cx. 114 II, capilha 3: Sale of an oven and a house in the Jewish quarter of Guimarães. October 2, 1478.
Archival history
The Arquivo Almada e Lencastre Bastos is constituted by two family archives: the Viscounts of Vila Nova de Souto del Rei (Almada Lencastre Melo Velho family) and the Pereira Forjaz Coutinho family. Both archives were merged in 1827, after Miguel Pereira Forjaz Coutinho, Count of Feira, died. Without direct heirs, Forjaz Coutinho's assets - including its archive - were inherited by his sister, D. Maria Joana do Monte Forjaz Pereira Coutinho, Viscountess of Vila Nova de Souto del Rei. Her offspring successively inherited the family archive.
In 1957, the archive was in possession of João Almada e Lencastre Bastos, great-grandson of D. Maria Joana. Then, Luís Silveira, the Inspector Superior das Bibliotecas e Arquivos (Senior Inspector of Libraries and Archives), informed the Director Geral do Ensino Superior e das Belas Artes (Director General of Higher Education and Fine Arts) that João Almada de Lencastre Bastos had decided to sell his family archive. Over the following years, the collection was evaluated to determine the interest in its acquisition. Finally, on July 20, 1959, the committee responsible for this evaluation delivered a preliminary report to the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo and the Direcção das Bibliotecas e Arquivos (Directorate of Libraries and Archives). This report informed that the collection was dispersed over three places: Avenida de Roma, Encarnação and the Palacete de Santo Amaro. João Almada de Lencastre Bastos had died in 1958, and the family archive was then in possession of his widow and his cousin Maria José de Almada e Lencastre de Sousa Teles, who owned one-fourth of the collection. In 1961, Maria José de Almada decided to deposit her part in the Torre do Tombo. The documents entered the National Archives on March 25.
In 1973, the Secretary of State for Education and Culture authorised the director of the Biblioteca Nacional to acquire the Almada Lencastre Bastos archive, including the part of the collection deposited in the Torre do Tombo. The other parts of the collection were then in the Convent of Encarnação and in Avenida de Roma, where João de Almada's widow lived. The archive was incorporated in the Reservados fonds of the Biblioteca Nacional.
The references indicating the three provenances of the collection - ANTT, Encarnação, and Roma - were maintained, and the collection was not the subject of proper reorganisation work until very recently. In 2015, Alice João Palma Borges Gago, in the sequence of her PhD dissertation, started a project to organise and catalogue this archive.
In 1957, the archive was in possession of João Almada e Lencastre Bastos, great-grandson of D. Maria Joana. Then, Luís Silveira, the Inspector Superior das Bibliotecas e Arquivos (Senior Inspector of Libraries and Archives), informed the Director Geral do Ensino Superior e das Belas Artes (Director General of Higher Education and Fine Arts) that João Almada de Lencastre Bastos had decided to sell his family archive. Over the following years, the collection was evaluated to determine the interest in its acquisition. Finally, on July 20, 1959, the committee responsible for this evaluation delivered a preliminary report to the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo and the Direcção das Bibliotecas e Arquivos (Directorate of Libraries and Archives). This report informed that the collection was dispersed over three places: Avenida de Roma, Encarnação and the Palacete de Santo Amaro. João Almada de Lencastre Bastos had died in 1958, and the family archive was then in possession of his widow and his cousin Maria José de Almada e Lencastre de Sousa Teles, who owned one-fourth of the collection. In 1961, Maria José de Almada decided to deposit her part in the Torre do Tombo. The documents entered the National Archives on March 25.
In 1973, the Secretary of State for Education and Culture authorised the director of the Biblioteca Nacional to acquire the Almada Lencastre Bastos archive, including the part of the collection deposited in the Torre do Tombo. The other parts of the collection were then in the Convent of Encarnação and in Avenida de Roma, where João de Almada's widow lived. The archive was incorporated in the Reservados fonds of the Biblioteca Nacional.
The references indicating the three provenances of the collection - ANTT, Encarnação, and Roma - were maintained, and the collection was not the subject of proper reorganisation work until very recently. In 2015, Alice João Palma Borges Gago, in the sequence of her PhD dissertation, started a project to organise and catalogue this archive.
Administrative / Biographical history
This collection aggregates documentation from several family groups related by blood, affinity, or inheritance to two Portuguese aristocratic families: the Vila Nova de Souto del Rei and the Forjaz Coutinho. Both families earned social notoriety and fortune through the services of the Crown in Portugal and overseas territories in Africa and India.
In the archival collection of the Viscounts of Vila Nova de Souto del Rei, there were documents from the families Melo, Almada, Lopes de Carvalho and Lencastre, all from Lisbon; Barbosa de Lima and Cunha Velho from Monção; Lobo from Montemor-o-Novo; Faria from Palmela; and the Albuquerques, who were the landlords of the Quinta de Souto del Rei, that gave the name to the title. The title of Viscount of Vila Nova de Souto de El-Rei was attributed to Francisco de Almada e Mendonça, minister plenipotentiary in Rome, on May 17, 1774.
The other part of the collection belonged to the family of D. Miguel Pereira Forjaz Coutinho, who was awarded the title of Count of Feira on May 13, 1820. Besides the papers of the Pereira Forjaz Coutinho family (which originated from Lisbon), the collection also incorporated other family archives, namely: the Magalhães de Meneses, landlords of Barca, who settled in Ponte de Lima in the 19th century; and the Valadares Carneiro, the Machucho and the Ferraz, all from Porto. D. Miguel, Secretary of State for War, died without descendancy. However, his sister, D. Maria Joana, inherited his belongings, including his family archive. D. Maria Joana was married to the third Viscount of Vila Nova de Souto de El-Rei, D. João José Francisco de Almada Velho e Lencastre. Therefore, the Forjaz Coutinho's collection ended up being merged with the family archive of the Viscounts of Vila Nova de Souto de El-Rei.
In the archival collection of the Viscounts of Vila Nova de Souto del Rei, there were documents from the families Melo, Almada, Lopes de Carvalho and Lencastre, all from Lisbon; Barbosa de Lima and Cunha Velho from Monção; Lobo from Montemor-o-Novo; Faria from Palmela; and the Albuquerques, who were the landlords of the Quinta de Souto del Rei, that gave the name to the title. The title of Viscount of Vila Nova de Souto de El-Rei was attributed to Francisco de Almada e Mendonça, minister plenipotentiary in Rome, on May 17, 1774.
The other part of the collection belonged to the family of D. Miguel Pereira Forjaz Coutinho, who was awarded the title of Count of Feira on May 13, 1820. Besides the papers of the Pereira Forjaz Coutinho family (which originated from Lisbon), the collection also incorporated other family archives, namely: the Magalhães de Meneses, landlords of Barca, who settled in Ponte de Lima in the 19th century; and the Valadares Carneiro, the Machucho and the Ferraz, all from Porto. D. Miguel, Secretary of State for War, died without descendancy. However, his sister, D. Maria Joana, inherited his belongings, including his family archive. D. Maria Joana was married to the third Viscount of Vila Nova de Souto de El-Rei, D. João José Francisco de Almada Velho e Lencastre. Therefore, the Forjaz Coutinho's collection ended up being merged with the family archive of the Viscounts of Vila Nova de Souto de El-Rei.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The Almada e Lencastre Bastos fonds is part of the "Colecções em Organização", which gathers fonds and collections that were not the subject of a systematic organisation and, for this reason, their records are not searchable on the Biblioteca Nacional website.
Records are divided into three references - ANTT, Encarnação and Av. Roma - related to the original provenance of the documents. Part of the documents is unnumbered.
Records are divided into three references - ANTT, Encarnação and Av. Roma - related to the original provenance of the documents. Part of the documents is unnumbered.
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2021
Bibliography
Linked resources
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