Alexis Albuquerque

4.7 Alex Albuquerque is probably the most famous member of the Albuquerque family - because the tile factory he founded in 1868 is the oldest in existence in Mangalore; though his elder brother Pascal founded a factory the same year, it was sold by his descendants who moved to other parts of India. In fact Alex is something of a legend; it is said that he came from Pezar with nothing, learnt the art of tile-manufacturing from Europeans in the business, and then started on his own. This is almost certainly an exaggeration; the fact that Alex married into the Vas Naik family of Falnir well before he founded his tile factory in 1868 implies that he was already reasonably well-to-do. Alex had two children by his first wife Isabella Vas, the first born before he founded his tile factory. He had another 8 children by Joanna Silva.

Business surpassed all expectations and production nearly equalled that of JH Morgan & Sons and of Commonwealth Tile Works, the largest and most successful tile manufacturers on the West Coast