Count of Torres Vedras

Counts of Torres Vedras
Coat of Arms of the Counts of Torres Vedras
Creation date1637
Created byFilipe III of Portugal
PeeragePeerage of Portugal
First holderD. João Soares de Alarcão
Present holderD. Jaime de Almeida

Count of Torres Vedras is a Portuguese title of nobility created by King Felipe III of Portugal (IV of Spain), possibly in 1626 (but verifiably so from 1637), for D. João Soares de Alarcão, 9th Alcaide-mor[a] of Torres Vedras and Governor General of the then Portuguese enclave of Ceuta.[1][2]

There is some evidence that the title of Count of Torres Vedras had been already in use by his grandfather, D. Martim Soares de Alarcão[3][4][5] who, as 6th Alcaide-mor of Torres Vedras,[6] twice held the town for the king against the armies of the pretender D. António, Prior of Crato, bastard son of D. Luis, Duke of Beja, in 1580 and 1589.[6][7] It is possible that the title had been given to him as a result of this by Felipe I of Portugal (II of Spain), as some authors contest,[3][4][8] but no documentary evidence of this seems to have survived.

Furthermore, a title of Count of Torres Vedras, together with the estates comprising the House of Torres Vedras, and then in the possession of the Alcaide-mor, is reported to have been granted in 1580 by D. António to one of his fiercest advocates, Manuel da Silva Coutinho,[6] Fronteiro-mor,[b] in retaliation for D. Martim's defence of the town and his fealty to the king. Manuel da Silva Coutinho was unable to take possession of either and the grant, if it indeed existed or had any legal basis, was never recognised.[3][6]


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  1. ^ Suarez de Alarcón, D. Antonio (1656). Relaciones Genealógicas de la Casa de los Marqueses de Trocifal, Condes de Torresvedras (in Spanish). Madrid: Diego Diaz de la Carrera. pp. 83–88.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Grande Enciclopédia Portuguesa e Brasileira (in Portuguese). Vol. 32. Lisbon: Editorial Enciclopédia, Limitada. pp. 283–4, 295.
  4. ^ a b Félix., Labrador Arroyo (2007). La Casa Real portuguesa de Felipe II y Felipe III : la articulación del reino a través de la integración de las élites de poder (1580-1621). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-84-8344-077-3. OCLC 1085829587.
  5. ^ Félix., Labrador Arroyo (2007). La Casa Real portuguesa de Felipe II y Felipe III : la articulación del reino a través de la integración de las élites de poder (1580-1621). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. pp. 320, 1209. ISBN 978-84-8344-077-3. OCLC 1085829587.
  6. ^ a b c d Suarez de Alarcón, D. Antonio (1656). Relaciones Genealógicas de la Casa de los Marqueses de Trocifal, Condes de Torresvedras (in Spanish). Madrid: Diego Diaz de la Carrera. p. 345.
  7. ^ Repensar a identidade : o mundo ibérico nas margens da crise da consciência europeia. Pedro Cardim, José María Iñurritegui Rodríguez, David Martín Marcos. Lisboa. 2015. p. 57. ISBN 978-989-8492-28-9. OCLC 922883416.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ^ Félix., Labrador Arroyo (2007). La Casa Real portuguesa de Felipe II y Felipe III : la articulación del reino a través de la integración de las élites de poder (1580-1621). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. p. 249. ISBN 978-84-8344-077-3. OCLC 1085829587.