Sousa (Manuel Alexandre de)
Funchal-born infantry major involved in the Monte railway works and the concession for Madeira's levadas, later director of the Limoeiro prison.
This infantry officer was born in Funchal on 2 February 1856 and died in Lisbon on 17 November 1903, then holding the rank of major. He was technical inspector of the Monte Railway Company (Companhia do Caminho de Ferro do Monte). Although some errors in building the line between Pombal and Atalhinho (‘little shortcut’) have been attributed to him, the fact is that his energy and acknowledged zeal did much to drive those works forward. He was also the concessionaire for the construction and operation of the Madeiran levadas (irrigation channels), as was seen on page 248 of this volume, and later director of the Limoeiro prison (Cadeia do Limoeiro). He carried on a lengthy controversy in the press with the engineer Adriano Augusto Trigo, and sought to install a lift between Largo de São Pedro and Caminho da Achada. (See II-248.)
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02Place
Places mentioned · 07
Abroad
- Atalhinho
Funchal. Other end of that section.
Atalhinho is a sítio in the parish of Monte, Funchal. The Monte railway reached it in 1894, and it formed one end of a section of the line.
- Funchal
Birthplace.
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.
- Largo de São Pedro
Funchal. Proposed start of his planned lift.
The Largo de São Pedro is a square in Funchal at the far end of Rua da Mouraria and of Travessa do Surdo. It was the proposed starting point of Manuel Alexandre de Sousa's planned lift.
- Limoeiro Prison
Portugal. Lisbon prison he directed.
The Cadeia do Limoeiro was a prison in Lisbon. Manuel Alexandre de Sousa directed it, and João Agostinho Pereira de Agrela spent a year there.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Place of death.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- Pombal
Funchal. End of the railway section he supervised.
Pombal is a locality in Funchal and the lower terminus of the Monte railway, with the main station and the company's offices. It also marked the end of the railway section supervised by Manuel Alexandre de Sousa and was a terminus of the Caminho de Ferro Americano tramway.
People
People mentioned · 02- Manuel Alexandre de Sousa1856–1903
Infantry major, technical inspector of the Monte Railway Company and concessionary for levada works.
- Adriano Augusto Trigob. 1862
Engineer with whom Sousa held a long press polemic.