Teive (Belchior de)

As we have already mentioned, Belchior de Teive belonged to a distinguished and noble family of the parish (freguesia) of Ribeira Brava (‘wild river’), whose members included several men who achieved real distinction in various fields of human endeavour.

We conjecture that he was born in the first years of the third quarter of the 16th century. He was the son of Gaspar de Teive and Dona Ana de Brito, the brother of Diogo, Pantaleão, Aleixo and Gaspar de Teive, whom we have dealt with in another article of this Elucidário, and the grandson of Diogo de Teive, the founder of the entailed estate (morgadio) of the Teives, which remained entailed in this family. According to a well-known genealogist, his parents had 25 children, and the subject of this biography was the last male of that distinguished and numerous progeny.

We know nothing of the particular circumstances of his life until 1581, by which time we find him a professor at the famous University of Salamanca, holding one of the chairs in the faculty of law. During his university studies he must certainly have given incontestable proof of rare talent and extraordinary learning to have been called, at the age of 26, to join the teaching staff of that famous institution, something quite unusual at the time. He was one of the most illustrious professors in the golden age of that university, then one of the most eminent and most frequented in all Europe. He also taught at the University of Coimbra (Universidade de Coimbra).

His recognised merits and abilities naturally marked him out for other important and high offices. And so we see that in 1607 he gave up university teaching at the invitation of Philip II, in whose service he held posts of great responsibility and the highest trust. He became one of the four judges (ouvidores) of that sovereign’s Chamber (Câmara) and also one of his privy councillors.

We know that Belchior de Teive had a brilliant career in the offices and difficult missions entrusted to him, but we lack the necessary material to give a detailed account of all the posts he held and of how he conducted himself in them, setting out any facts or circumstances that would highlight the faculties of his gifted mind.

Relying on our scant notes, gathered piecemeal from the various printed and manuscript works we have been able to consult, we can say that Belchior de Teive, although he devoted himself to letters and taught at a university, also followed a military career. In those days such a career was considered almost obligatory, and always highly honourable, for all who did not dedicate themselves to the service of the Church. It was as a soldier that Philip appointed him general and adelantado (royal governor of a Castilian province) of Castile, a post equivalent to governor of that province and former kingdom, and one that then carried the widest powers. He was also general of the fleet and superintendent of its officers.

Belchior de Teive held important judicial offices, serving as criminal alcaide (town officer with police and jail duties) of the chancery of Valladolid and later as president of the Casa dos Alcaides.

In 1607 the government of Spain sent him to Portugal as superintendent general of the Public Treasury (Fazenda Pública), which seems to us to have been one of the highest-ranking and most responsible posts of the age.

As we have already noted, Belchior de Teive enjoyed the favour of Philip II, being one of the four ouvidores (judges) of his chamber and one of his privy councillors.

He was a prestigious and prominent figure in his time, owing to his extraordinary talent, the important offices he held and the influence he enjoyed among his fellow citizens. Diogo Barbosa Machado, in his Bibliotheca Lusitana (‘Portuguese library’), says that he was a distinguished genealogist and that he left some unpublished works.

We do not know the year of his death, but in 1621 he was still a privy councillor of Philip II. He was undoubtedly a man of great stature, but his qualities of character leave much to be desired, for he sided with the enemies of his homeland and placed himself entirely at the service of the King of Spain.