Sousa family


Sousa is a noble family of Portugal.

History

The descendants are of the marriage of Martim Afonso Chichorro and Inês Lourenço de Sousa.
It is one of the eldest and nobler houses of Portugal. Its origin starts with the Visigoth Kings and the name was first used in the 11th century, by Lord Egas Gomes de Sousa, heir to the house and to several royal lineages. There are three main lineages of this noble house, but we shall only focus on the one represented to left.
The family head is the Duke of Lafões. Some say that there isn't a single noble man in Portugal that does not have the blood of the Sousas. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Garcia Homem de Sousa, which was dated 1420, christened at Funchal, Portugal, during the reign of King John I of Portugal. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. The House of Sousa played a significant role in the creation of the Portuguese Empire. Martim Afonso de Sousa was the first captain - major of Brazil , Tomé de Sousa was the first formal Governor General of Brazil, Pedro Lopes de Sousa was the 1st Governor of Portuguese Ceylon and Thome de Sousa Arronches was a Captain of the Portuguese Navy in the Portuguese India Armadas.
The family motto.
Lords of the House of Sousa
The field of the shield is divided in four quarters with the royal arms of Portugal in the first and fourth quarters, and the arms of Sousa, a quartet of silver crescents over a field of red, in the second and third quarters. This grouping known as the Sousa of Arronches, is still borne by many of the noble houses of Portugal, like the Dukes of Palmela.