This nobleman was the first born son of Gonçalo Pires Coelho and of Dona Catarina or Maria de Sousa, the daughter of Pedro Borges de Sousa, chief-alcaide of Bragança. In 1507, he sett off to India as an admiral in Vasco Gomes de Abreu’s fleet, with orders to join the so called «Armada da Índia» [Fleet of India] for three years. In 1509, he died in Saldanha Bay, along with the viceroy D. Francisco de Almeida.

Bibliography:
LACERDA, Teresa, Os Capitães das Armadas da Índia no Reinado de Manuel I – uma avaliação social, Cascais, Câmara de Cascais, 2008, no prelo.

Author: Teresa Lacerda
Translated by: Dominique Faria