D. Francisco de Melo Manuel da Câmara (1626-1678): biography, estate, social status and loyalties

Abstract

D. Francisco Manuel de Melo da Câmara, Portuguese Ambassador in Holland and England, left a will, which is today in the archives of the Public Record Office (London). This document informs us about the contents of the estate and is revealing about the Ambassador’s social position in 17^th century society at the time he drew up the instrument (1674) and subsequently amended it four years later. We use the information in the will to study the social relationships he had with the Portuguese nobility in The Hague and London. There, he acquired extensive holdings in artworks to decorate the best palaces of the most influential nobles, with whom he socialized for nearly two decades.