Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre [SEP] country of citizenship
Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre
Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre (13 June 1804 – 18 July 1875), nicknamed "the Gloved Centaur", was an army officer, politician, abolitionist and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. Born into a wealthy family of military background, Manuel Marques de Sousa joined the Portuguese Army in Brazil in 1817 when he was little more than a child. His military initiation occurred in the conquest of the Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), which
that became known as the Ragamuffin War erupted in Rio Grande do Sul. The rebels, called Ragamuffins, conquered most of the province, including its capital, Porto Alegre. On 15 June 1836, Major Manuel Marques de Sousa (a loyalist officer, later made Count of Porto Alegre) retook Porto Alegre by surprise. Both soldiers and civilians participated in the town's recapture, and among these was the 18-year-old José Luís. Marques de Sousa handed over the command of the loyalist forces to José Luís' elderly grandfather