Ribeiro Real (Count of)
Original title: Ribeiro Real (Conde do)
João Bettencourt Araújo Carvalhal Esmeraldo (1841–1902), 1st Viscount and Count of Ribeiro Real, president of Funchal Municipal Council and civil governor in 1879, who opened Rua 5 de Junho.
João Bettencourt Araújo Carvalhal Esmeraldo, 1st Viscount and 1st Count of Ribeiro Real, was born in Funchal on 21 December 1841, the son of Francisco António de Bettencourt Araújo de Carvalhal Esmeraldo and Dona Júlia Henriqueta de Freitas Esmeraldo, holders of entailed estates. He held various public offices, among them those of president of the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal) of this city and of civil governor in 1879, taking up the latter post on 15 March of that year. He was granted the title of viscount by decree of 23 March 1882.
As president of the Municipal Council, he was responsible for the demolition of the old alleys between Rua dos Aranhas and the old British cemetery, and for the construction of Rua 5 de Junho. He died on 22 March 1902.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 04Place
Places mentioned · 04
- British Cemetery
Funchal. Boundary of the demolished lanes.
The British (Protestant) cemetery in Funchal dates from a licence of 1761. The first burial ground stood where the Largo do Conde do Ribeiro Real is now, and the present cemetery was built in 1808 and enlarged in 1852 and 1889. It lies on Rua da Carreira, next to the new bishop's palace, and holds a memorial stone to the Reverend R. T. Lowe.
- Funchal
His birthplace and the city whose council he presided over.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Rua 5 de Junho
Funchal. Street built on his initiative.
Rua 5 de Junho is a Funchal street built on the initiative of the Conde do Ribeiro Real, on the site of the Beco do Cemitério. The original British cemetery stood at its end, and the street was extended to meet Rua da Carreira. A foundry stood there in 1921, and the street was hit by a shell in 1917.
- Rua dos Aranhas
Funchal. Old lanes near this street were demolished under his presidency.
Rua dos Aranhas is a Funchal street named after the Aranha family who lived there, and was formerly called Rua do Dr. Chaves. It contains the Casa de Dona Mécia and a surviving Gothic house of the Ornelas family. It was the site of the Anglican church opened in 1848, the Escola Normal and the Teatro Esperança, and the São Lázaro gate stood at its top until 1904.
People
People mentioned · 03-
Funchal-born noble, council president and civil governor of Funchal from 1879.
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Morgado and father of the Count of Ribeiro Real.
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Mother of the Count of Ribeiro Real.