Cristóbal Colón de Toledo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Columbus#Marriage_and_children

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Nieto del Gran Almirante, nacido en el alcázar de Santo Domingo de Guzmán en 1523, donde vivió la mayor parte de su vida. Murió en una travesía marina cerca del Perú, en 1571. Fue Caballero de la Orden de Alcántara en 1540.

Aunque no contrajo matrimonio con todas, tuvo, a saber, cuatro mujeres, todas en Santo Domingo. De la primera tuvo una hija natural, llamada: Marcelina Colón de Toledo. De la segunda, María Leonor Lerma de Zuazo, natural de Santo Domingo, hija de Alonso Zuazo, Oidor interino de la Real Audiencia, no tuvo prole. De la tercera mujer, Ana de Pravia, procreó a: Diego y a Francisca Colón de Toledo y Pravia, que sigue la línea que estudiamos. De la cuarta mujer, María Magdalena de Guzmán y Anaya, natural de Salamanca, tuvo solamente a María Colón de Toledo y Guzmán.

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Don Cristóbal Colón de Toledo, natural de la ciudad de Santo Domingo, fue alguacil mayor casado en terceras nupcias con la Dª Magdalena de Anaya, natural de Salamanca e hija de Francisco Girón Villas Andino y Juana de Guzmán.

The Columbus, Perestrello, and Moniz Families

I. THE COLUMBUS FAMILY: Despite bizarre claims that Christopher Columbus was Scandinavian, Jewish, an American Indian, a Spanish prince, etc., his family origins have been thoroughly documented by records kept in the archives of the city of Genoa. The name was spelled Columbo in Italy, and Colon in Spain. His known ancestors begin with his grandfather, Giovanni Columbo.

(1) Giovanni Columbo of Monconese, a hamlet just outside Genoa, living at Quinto in 1429, d. 1440-44.

(2) Dominic Colombo, b. 1414, d. c.1493. Apprenticed in 1429 at age 11 to a Flemish weaver at Genoa, a weaver in 1440, appointed gatekeeper of the Olivelli gate of Genoa 1447, weaver and tavern keeper of Genoa in 1470, moved to Savona in 1473; married Susanna Fontanarosa, daughter of Giacomo Fontanarosa of Bisagno, she d. c. 1489.

(3) Christopher Columbo/Colon, b. 1451 Genoa, recorded at Genoa 1470-73; to Portugal 1476, to Spain 1485, d. 1506 Valladolid, Spain; married Philipa Moniz Perestrelo 1479 Lisbon, Portugal.

(4) Diego Colon, b. 1479 Porto Santo, to Spain 1485, page at Spanish court 1492; married Maria de Toledo, niece of the Duke of Alba 1508, d. 1526.

(5) Christopher Colon, b. 1508, illegitimate son by Isabel Samba

(5) Philipa Colon

(5) María Colon

(5) Juana Colon

(5) Isabel Colon

(5) Luis Colon

(5) Christopher Colon

(5) Diego Colon

(4) Ferdinand Colon, b. 1488 Cordova, Spain, illegitimate son by Beatrice de Aranha, page at court 1492, accompanied Columbus on his 4th voyage, author of a biography of his father's life, d. 1539 unmarried.

(3) Giovanni Pelegrino Columbo, b.c. 1455, d.c.1473.

(3) Bartholomew Columbo, b.c. 1460, to Portugal c. 1479, in charge of a supply fleet that left Spain in 1493, appointed "Adelante" to govern the garrison at El Espanola, participated in Columbus' 4th voyage, returned to the Indies in 1509, died unmarried 1514 Santo Domingo. (3) Giacomo Columbo, b. 1468, apprenticed as a weaver 1474, became a priest, to Spain 1504 where he was called Diego, accompanied Columbus on his second voyage, d. 1515.

(3) Bianchinetta Columbo; married Giacomo Bavarello.

(2) Antonio Columbo, probably Columbus' uncle, but perhaps a cousin, d.c. 1495.

(3) Giovanni Antonio Columbo, c. 1470-c.1540, appointed Captain on Columbus 3rd voyage.

(3) Andrea Columbo, brother of Giovanni, served as a groom on Columbus' 4th voyage.

(2) Giovanni Columbo. A document dated 1496 says that Giovanni, brother of the late Antonio, was going to Spain to see Christopher, the expenses of the trip to be paid jointly by himself and his brothers, Mateo and Amighetto Columbus.

(2) Matteo Columbo, l. 1496.

(2) Amighetto Columbo, l. 1496.

II. PORTUGUESE NAMES: Christopher Columbus' rise in station and the course of his life was radically changed by his marriage into the Perestrelo and Moniz families of Portugal. Without their aid, it seems unlikely that he would have ever been taken seriously. He might not even have come up with his plans for exploration without them. Surnames had only come into general use in Portugal during the 15th century, and many people still followed the old system of using their father's first name as their last. This was called a "patronome", or patronymic. For example, a man named Vasco might name his son Enrique, who would go by the name Enrique Vaz, meaning Enrique, son of Vasco. Some people used a first name followed by a patronymic, but added on to that a family "sobrenome", or surname. Thus a Vasco Pérez da Silva might be the father of Enrique Vaz da Silva, and grandfather of Martin Enriquez da Silva, each having the first name of their father as their middle name. Some people used their mother's surname instead of their father's, and some other names included both the family surname of the person's father and the surname of the person's mother. Those who didn't like any of these could choose some other patronymic or surname, perhaps the name of a grandparent or other relative. Married women might use one of their parent's names added to their husband's, or either one of these alone. Thus, Columbus's wife might be called Philipa Perestrelo e Moniz, the "e" meaning "and", indicating that she was a daughter of a Perestrelo father and a Moniz mother, or Philipa Perestrelo de Moniz, with the "de" translated as "of", indicating that she was a Perestrelo, but related to the Moniz family. Her name could also be written as Philipa Moniz Perestrelo, with her mother's surname coming before that of her father, or Philipa Perestrelo e Columbus, with her family's name coming before her husband's, to give just some of the possible combinations. Actually, Christopher's son, Ferdinand Columbus always refers to her as either Philipa Moniz or Philipa de Moniz, while his brother, Diego calls her Philipa Moniz e Perestrelo. To further confuse the matter, some people went by nick-names, like Ferdinand de Meneses who went by the name, Narizes (noses) because he lost his nose in battle, or John de Mendoza, who went by the name "Cacao", (the shark). It is common to find people using several of these different possibilities at various times, which often makes it difficult to be sure who are being talked about. Some effort was made, however, to distinguish between two people with the same name living at the same time. The two Diego Moniz who lived in Columbus' time, for example, are generally called, Diego Moniz, treasurer to Prince Ferdinand, and Diego Moniz, military governor of Silves, while Vasco Gil Moniz and Vasco Martins Moniz are usually called by their full names in order to distinguish between them. Here we will use the English equivalents for many common foreign given names; John for Joao and Juan, Peter for Pedro and Pierre, etc. A few less easily recognized names, such as Diego (Portuguese, Diogo; Italian, Giacomo) and Duarte, were not translated into their English equivalents, James and Edward, because it seemed less confusing. The same surname found with different spellings is standardized; thus Péres and Pérez is here both spelled Perez, while Columbo and Colon are both given their common English spelling, Columbus.

In Portugal, males associated with the royal government were divided into four categories. The highest rank were called the "Cavaleiros do Conselho", or Knights of the Council. These men had regular access to the king, and served as his advisors. The classes beneath these were called the "Cavaleiros Fidalgos", or Gentlemen Knights. They were generally expected to serve in the front ranks of the military in time of war. Some held positions as "alcaide mor", or military commander of royal military fortifications, others were "comendadors" in the military orders of the Knights of Santiago, the Knights of Aziz, or the Knights of Christ. Some carried out administrative functions such as treasurers, chamberlains, and captains of the guard in the various royal households. Then there were the "Escudieros Fidalgos", or Gentlemen of the Shield, a rank corresponding roughly to squire. They often assisted the knights and were being trained to assume knightly responsibilities, but some seem to have filled only clerical and secretarial functions and never to have risen above this level. Finally, there were the "Mocos Fidalgos", or Young Gentlemen, who were usually sons of the counselors and knights. These were educated and trained at court, where they served as pages before progressing upward through the other ranks.

III. THE PERESTRELO FAMILY: Philipa Moniz, wife of Christopher Columbus, was the granddaughter of Philip Perestrelo, an Italian man who settled in Portugal. 1. Philip Perestrelo, b.c.1370. He was living in Porto in 1399 when, being an "Italian gentleman", he was exempted from a tax levy. He was living in Lisbon in 1415 with his wife Catherine. Catherine is reported variously to have been a member of the Italian aristocracy, or a member of the Portuguese Melo family. (2) Raphael/Richard, b.c.1390. He was a member of the city council of Lisbon in 1438, a priest and prior of the monastery of Santa Marinho in Lisbon. In 1447 he was vicar general for the archbishop of Lisbon, Peter de Noronha. (3) John Perestrelo, b.c.1420, and his brother, Sebastian Perestrelo, sons of Richarte Perestrelo, Prior of Santa Marinho, and of Beatrice Eanes, a single woman at the time of their births, were legitimized in 1423. John, or perhaps his son, was a knight of the royal household and a resident of Torres Vedras, on 27 August 1488, when John Lopez Perestrelo was given a grant of 10.000 reis for maintenance that was due him by a charter granted by King Alfonso V prior to 1481. That would indicate that he was a member of the royal household when Columbus was in Portugal. (4) John Lopez Perestrelo. On 18 August 1485, a royal letter was sent to the Council of Lisbon to advise them that John Lopes Perestrelo, a squire of the royal household, was being sent to that city as the king's messenger. In 1491 and 1497 he was a member of the royal household, involved in the collection of royal revenues. In 1502, John Lopes Perestrelo was in command of a ship under Vasco da Gama, on that explorer's second voyage to India. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 3, pp. 157, 313; Freitas, pp. 16-8; Serrao, pp. 290, 298; Vignaud, p. 453; Documentos...de Lisboa, p. 166) (3) Sebastian Perestrelo legitimized in 1423. (2) Bartholomew Perestrelo was born c. 1400, and became a member of the household of Prince John, Grand Master of the Knights of Santiago. In 1438, Bartholomew Perestrelo and his brother, Richard, were members of the Council of City of Lisbon. In 1442, designated as a knight, he signed a charter as a representative of the city of Braganza, accepting Prince Peter as regent of the kingdom. In 1442 when Prince John died, Bartholomew became a knight of the household of Prince Henry "the Navigator", under whose authority he went to help colonize the island of Porto Santo. Ferdinand Columbus' claim that Bartholomew was one of the discoverers of Porto Santo in 1418 is contradicted by the historian, Zurara, who says that Perestrelo first went there when the island was being settled in the 1430s. In 1446, he was granted a charter as hereditary governor of the island of Porto Santo, in which document he is called "a gentleman of my house" by Prince Henry. Bartholomew died about 1458. (Marie Montiero Velho Arrudo, Coleccao de Documentos Relativos ao Descubrimento e Provamento dos Acores, Porta Delgado, Portugal, 1932, pp. 107-117; Freitas, pp. 29-34; Agostinho de Ornellas, "Memoria Sobre a Residencia de Christovam Colombo na Ilha da Madeira", p. 4, in Centenario do Descobrimento da América, Typographia Academia Real de Sciencias, 1892; Peragallo, pp. 19-27, 45-51; Silva, Vol. I, p. 244; Documentos do Arquivo Histórico da Cámara Municipal de Lisbon, Oficinas Graficas da Casa da Moeda de Lisbon, 1959) Bartholomew married (1) c. 1430, Margaret (Margarita) Martins, (2) c.1435 Beatrice Furtado de Mendoza, daughter of Alfonso Furtado, and (3) c.1450 Isabel Moniz. (Freitas, pp. 34-5; Silva, Vol. III, pp. 70-71 (3) Catherine Furtado, b.c.1435; married Mem Rodríguez Vasconcelos, lord of Camiso on the island of Madeira, and Governor of Seixo. (3) Isabel Perestrelo married Peter Correa de Cunha, governor of Porto Santo from 1459 to 1473, and in 1485 captain of the island of Terceira in the Azores. Peter died in 1499 at Charneca, near Lisbon, and is buried in the Chapel of St. John in the Convent of Carmo. Archivo dos Acores, Vol. 2,p. 11-13, Vol. 4, p. 20) (3)Beatrice Furtado, apparently d. unmarried.

NOTE: A Philipa Furtado de Mendoza, married to John Teixeira, third son of Tristan Vaz Teixeira, one of the discoverers of Madeira, is sometimes considered another daughter of Perestrelo, but she was probably his wife's sister or niece (3) Bartholomew Perestrelo, son of Isabel Moniz; born 1452. After serving in Africa, he returned to Madeira, and with the advice and assistance of his brother-in-law, Mem Rodríguez de Vasconcelos, initiated legal proceedings against his other brother-in-law, Peter Correa, to regain the captaincy of Porto Santo, which his mother had sold to Peter. He was appointed Governor of Porto Santo in 1473, and married Guiomar Vaz, daughter, or possibly a granddaughter of, Tristan Vaz Teixeira, first governor of Machico on the island of Madeira. (Silva, Vol. III, p. 71). (4) Bartholomew Perestrello (3) Brigolanda Moniz called Violante in Spain, born c. 1455; married Michael Moliart. In 1485 they resided at Huelva, in Spain, and in 1493 near Seville. Michael Moliart accompanied Columbus on his second voyage to America. Violante was a legatee in Christopher Columbus' will. (Peragallo, pp. 37-43. Taviani pp.437-8) (3) Philipa Moniz y Perestrelo; born c. 1455, married Christopher Columbus c. 1479; d. c.1484. Ferdinand Columbus says that Philipa's father was "Pedro Moniz Perestrelo", but adds that he was captain of Porto Santo, a post only held by Bartholomew Perestrelo, his son-in-law Peter Correa, and Bartholomew's son Bartholomew. (4) Diego Columbus, son of Christopher Columbus and Philipa Moniz; born c. 1479 at Porto Santo, died 1526 in Spain. See Columbus family, above. (2) Isabel Perestrelo, b.c.1410. She and her sister, Bianca, were both mistresses of Peter de Noronha who was Archbishop of Lisbon from 1424 until his death in 1452. It the acts of legitimization of four of the archbishop's children, John, Diego (or Rodrigo), Peter, and Isabel Noronha, dated 1444, the children's mothers are called respectively Isabel Diaz and Bianca Diaz, single women, but several 17th century writers attributed to them the surname of Perestrelo. All four of these children of the archbishop held prominent positions among the Portuguese aristocracy. (Braamcamp Freire, Brazoes, Vol. 2, p. 152; Faria, p. 221; Freitas, pp. 19-27; Peragallo, pp. 11-17; Vignaud, pp. 451-67; Documentos do Arquivo Histórico da Cámara Municipal de Lisboa, Vol. 2, p. 281; Vol. 3, p. 166) (3) John de Noronha, b.c. 1435, military governor of Obidos, married Philippa de Ataide, daughter of the Count of Atougia. His wife's brother and nephew were two of the key conspirators in the second Braganza plot of 1484. (2) Bianca Perestrelo, b.c. 1410, mistress of Peter de Noranha, Archbishop of Lisbon. (3) Isabel de Noranha, b.1435. Married the Marquis of Montemor, brother of the Duke of Braganza, who was involved in Braganza conspiracies of 1483-4. (3) Diego de Noranha, b.c. 1435. Entered the church and became Bishop of Lamego. (3) Peter de Noranha, b.c.1440; became head steward to Prince John some time before 1475, and retained that position after John became king. Peter was also a knight of the Order of Santiago, and remained a trusted retainer until the king's death in 1492

IV. THE MONIZ FAMILY: Christopher's mother-in-law, Isabel Moniz, is sometimes said to have been the daughter of Gil Ayres Moniz, and sometimes the daughter of Vasco Martins Moniz, but both of these assumptions appear to be incorrect. One of the most widely quoted genealogies of the Moniz families is the work of an Antonio Maria de Freitas who published his ideas in the 1890s. He held that Columbus' mother-in-law was the daughter of Vasco Martins Moniz and the granddaughter of Henry Moniz, military governor of Silves. There appears no foundation for this belief, however, for all three of these had children born at about the same time, and appear to belong to the same generation.

One clue to Christopher's wife's family is found in the will of her son, Diego Columbus. Diego speaks of "Dª Felipa Muniz, my mother, who is in the monastery of Carmo in Lisbon, in a chapel that is called of Piety, because of her lineage from the Munizes". At this time Diego was a wealthy man, married to a duke's niece, a man who had never been in Portugal. There seems little reason for him to mention this if it were not true. This seems sufficient evidence of her descent from a Gil Ayres for whose descendant's burial in the Chapel of Piety in the monastery of St. Mary of Carmo was reserved.

Gil Ayres was born about 1370, and Philipa about 1455, so Philipa would probably have been Gil's great-granddaughter, and her mother, Isabel Moniz, therefore, his granddaughter. All that should be necessary, then, is to find which of Gil Ayres' children the missing generation was.

(1) Gil Ayres, b. c. 1370, d. 1437. In 1398 and 1404, Gil Ayres was the personal secretary of the Constable of Portugal, Nuño Álvarez Pereira, one of the most famous warriors of his time. Nuño was made Constable of Portugal in 1385 by King John I, and was given huge land grants in the north of Portugal. Nuño's only child, Beatrice, married King John's illegitimate son, Alfonso, and the Constable gave the young couple many of his lands and titles. Alfonso and Beatrice founded the great Braganza family that would eventually rule Portugal. In 1386, the Constable obtained papal permission to establish a new monastery dedicated to Saint Mary. When its' construction was finished, the Constable turned it over to the Carmelite monks of the monastery of St. Mary at Moura, and they sent members of their order to establish a new congregation at the monastery, called the Convent of St. Mary of Carmo. Although it was called a convent, it was actually a monastery, for men. It was recorded that in 1404 the Constable visited the monastery with his secretary, Gil Ayres, beside him. Gil was then said to be younger than the Constable, who was born in 1360. Nuño, himself, entered the monastery as a lay brother in 1422, giving his remaining worldly goods to his grandchildren and close friends. In 1423, at the first provincial chapter meeting at the monastery, the Constable made an additional donation of gifts to the monastery and was named its perpetual patron and overseer, and Friar Diego Gil was installed as prior of the monastery. The Constable remained there as a simple monk, known as Friar Nuño de Santa Maria, until his death in 1431, after which he was buried in the church of the monastery. He was considered by many as a saint, and was beatified by the Roman church. (Gustavo de Matos Siquiera, O Carmo e a Trindade, Publicacoes Culturais da Cámara Municipal de Lisboa, Lisbon, 1939, Vol. I, pp. 100, 126-136, 366; Méndez dos Remedios, Crónica do Condestabre de Portugal, D. Nuño Álvaro Pereira, Coímbra, Portugal, 1911, pp. 192, 171-4).

Gil Ayres is referred to as a knight in a document dated 1406. In 1416, Gil Ayres drew up for the Constable a document giving property at Sacavem to Gil Ayres, and land to two others, "for their great and loyal services which they gave while putting their lives in great danger in honor of me and in the service of the King, my lord". His donation to Gil Ayres read: "To Gil Ayres, my servant, and his wife, to have for life, the Barco de Sambenca". The same document gives the Constable's squire, Stephen Añés, and his wife, Grace Martins, property at "Alvoella" in Santarem, property which was later held for life by Gil Ayres, according to a charter dated 1460. In 1422, when the Constable entered the monastery Carmo, Gil Ayres also received from him rights to land called Morfacem, in the district of Almada. Also in 1422, Gil Ayres drew up for the Constable another deed giving "the rents and rights of the city of Almada" and other properties to Nuño's granddaughter, Isabel, "except for the rights and revenues of the land and residence that belonged to Lorenzo Añés Fogara in the said Almada which was granted to Gil Ayres, my servant, for his lifetime." (Antonio, Conde de Sao Payo, "A Capela da Piedad na Antiga Igreja do Carmo de Lisboa" in Trabalhos da Associacao dos Arqueólogos Portugueses, Lisbon, 1934, Vol. I, pp. 147-174; Siquiera, Vol. I, pp. 126-9; Antonio Caetano de Sousa, Historia Genealógica da Casa Real Portuguesa, and Provas, Adlantida Livraria Editora, Ltd., Coímbra, 1955, Vol. III. p. 90) Gil is called a knight and overseer of things pertaining to Ceuta by the Constable, in a document of 1423, quoted in another document of King Duarte's reign. "Gil Airas" was also the writer of a charter granting lands to Eirea Gonzálvez, the Constable's mother, drawn up at Lisbon in 1428. (Anselmo Braamcamp Freire, ed., Archivo Histórico Portugués, Libanio da Silva, Lisbon, 1903- 14, Vol. 1, p. 57; Sao Payo, p. 152.) Gil died in 1437, and was buried in the Chapel of our Lady of Pranto, one of the four chapels of the church of the monastery of Saint Mary of Carmo which the Constable had founded. The Moniz burial chapel was commonly known as the Chapel of Piety because of a large statue of the Pieta placed there. Gil was given the exclusive right of burial in this chapel for himself and his descendants. His tomb bore the inscription, "Here lies Gil Ayres Moniz, clerk of Purity of the very virtuous Holy Constable". Clerk of Purity was an official title given to an intimate assistant of royal or highly placed persons, somewhat analogous to an executive secretary. The tomb bore three identical coats of arms, each with five stars on it. This coat of arms is similar to arms borne by a Mem Moniz, who was a famous Portuguese warrior of the 12th century.

There may not be any relationship between Gil and Mem, however, for in Mem's case, Moniz was a patronymic, not a surname. Gil's tomb was nearly identical to that of his son, Vasco Gil Moniz, which is located near it. The chapel and the church were destroyed in an earthquake in 1755, and the ruins are now part of a museum. (Sao Payo, p. 152; Siquiero, Vol. I, pp. 152-3, Vol. III, p. 161) Gil Ayres origins are obscure. Some historians have thought that Gil was related to Diego Gil de Ayrao, a knight who was the Constable's chief lieutenant. Ayrao was probably a place name, possibly the Ayrao located near the city of Guimarais that became part of the entailed estate of Castro-Ayrao. Before 1385, this land belonged to a Gonzalo Nunez de Ayrao, but in that year King John gave it to his chamberlain, John Rodríguez de Saa. In the assault on Viana in April of 1385, Diego Gil de Ayrao, the Constable's lieutenant, was knocked from his horse and wounded, but he was well enough to participate in the great battle of Valverde that October. The Constable granted him the important fortress of Montalegre with land in Barroso, in 1393. It is recorded in the 15th century Chronica de Constabre, that Gil Ayres was younger than the Constable, hence born after 1360, so it is impossible that Diego Gil, the Constable's lieutenant in 1385, could be his son. Diego Gil de Ayrao may have entered the Carmelites like the Constable, for someone named Diego Gil was chosen as second prior of the Convent de Carmo in 1423 at the time Constable Nuño Pereira became patron of the monastery. This Diego Gil served as second Provincial of the Carmelite order in the 1430s. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 3, p. 117; Sequiera, Vol. I, pp. 132, 146-7; Sao Payo, p. 151; Mario Gonzálves Viana, Nuño Alvares, Educacao Nacional, Porto, 1938, p. 48; J.P. Oliveira Martins, A Vida de Nuño Álvarez, Parceria Antonio María Pereira, Lisbon, 1944, pp. 334, 349, 398)

Gil Ayres is sometimes said to have been the son of a man from the town of Alegrete and a lady named Maria Trabuca, a relative of the constable, but the author finds no source for this supposition. Gil is always called "Gil Ayres" in the contemporary records and may have been simply the son of a man with the given name of Ayres, possibly the Father Ayres, Prior of the Carmelite Monastery of Moura, who was present, together with Gil Ayres and Father Diego Gil, when the Constable was inducted into the Carmelite order in 1423. It appears, however, that whomever Gil's father was, he did not use the surname, Moniz. In the recorded pedigrees of the Portuguese nobility, Moniz is found during this period only as a patronymic, used by children of fathers having the given name of Nuño, or its' variant, Moninho. Although the name "Gil Ayres Moniz" is found on his tomb, that tomb was probably carved some thirty years after Gil's death, when his son's tomb was carved.

Gil Ayres descendants appear to have adopted this patronymic as a surname, possibly out of respect for Gil's patron, the saintly Constable Nuño. Most, if not all, of those using the Moniz surname in Columbus' time seem to be Gil Ayres' descendants. (Sao Payo, p. 151) Gil Ayres is said to have married a Leonore Rodríguez. There seems no basis for the Freitas' idea that Leonore may have been a sister of Garcia Moniz, Prince Henry's guardian, and brought the name, Moniz, to Gil Ayres' family. A document of 1469 concerning burial rights in the Chapel of Piety is said to mention Diego Gil, Vasco Gil Moniz, and Guiomar Gil, and their brothers and sisters, children of Gil Ayres, the Constable's secretary. This seems to indicate that Diego, Vasco, and Guiomar were alive in that year. The order of the names suggests that Diego was older than Vasco, and that Vasco used the surname, Moniz, while the others did not.

Gil's other children seem to have been Leonore Moniz, "the younger", who is specifically described as being the daughter of Gil Ayres, the Constable's secretary, and a Martin Gil, who appears to have been the ancestor of Columbus' wife. (Sao Payo, pp. 150, 153; Sequiera, Vol. 1; Henry Vignaud, Etudes Critique sur la Vie de Colombo, H. Welter Editeur, Paris, 1905, pp. 447-51)

(2) Diego Gil, Diogo in Portuguese, born c. 1400. He seems too young to have been the Diego Gil who was the prior of the Convent of St. Mary of Carmo in 1423. Because his father was the overseer of things pertaining to Ceuta, the Portuguese stronghold in North Africa, in 1423, he is more likely to have been the Diego Gil who was a squire in the service of Peter de Meneses, Count of Vila Real, fighting in north Africa in 1425, and the Diego Gil who in 1444 was a servant of Prince Henry, serving as administrator of ports. In 1447, Diego Gil, squire, who "had been of good service against the Moors, both on sea and land", was in command of a caravel which sailed to the Rio del Oro, on the west coast of Africa. In 1449, Prince Henry gave Diego Gil goods that had been confiscated from John de Azambuja and Peter de Azambuja, holders of lands at Montemor Velho, who had fought with Prince Peter against the king at Alfarrobeira. Diego Gil was apparently living at the time when the 1469 agreement concerning the Moniz burials in the Chapel of Piety was drawn up, and was probably the Diego Gil whose sentence of exile for an unspecified offence was pardoned by King Alfonso in April of 1470, in exchange for the payment of a sizable fine. In August of 1470, Diego Gil, a vassal of the king, was residing in Évora. (Christovao Rodríguez Acenhiero, Coronyqua dos Senhores Reis de Portugal, Academia Real das Sciencias, Lisbon, 1821, pp. 412, 432, 493, 526-7; Sao Payo; Vol. I, p. 153; María Gonzálves Viana, Nuño Alvares, Editoria Educacao Nacional, Porto, 1938; Gomes Eannes de Zurara, Crónica de Guine, Vol. III, pp. 215, 219, 526)

(3) Henry Moniz, Henrique in Portuguese, military governor of Silves, born c. 1430. Silves was an important city that had been the Moorish capital of the Algarve, in the southernmost part of Portugal facing North Africa. Henry is sometimes said to be "son of Vasco Martins Moniz who was with King John in Ceuta in 1415, where he was knighted", but is placed here as a son of Diego Gil as these dates seem wrong and Diego Gil was in North Africa in 1425. Diego seems the son of Gil Ayres most likely to have formed a marriage alliance with the Corte Real family, and the name Diego is often used in this branch of the family. Henry married (1) Isabel da Costa, daughter of Vasco Eanes Corte Real, military governor of Tavira and Silves, and by this marriage obtained the hereditary governorship of Silves. He also owned a house at Tavira, which, in 1483, was occupied by a Peter Lorenzo. Isabel's brother, John Vaz Corte Real, had a daughter who married Henry's son, William. (Archivo dos Acores, Vol. 4, p. 390-1) Henry Moniz married (2) Inez Pereira, also called Inéz Barreto de Meneses, daughter of Gonzalo Nunez Barreto, military commander of Faro and a member of the king's council. This Gonzalo Barreto wed Isabel Pereira de Resende in 1433, and, in 1445 was in charge of all the fortresses of the Algarve, which would have included Silves. Henry seems to have died in 1470, for in June of that year a Henry Moniz paid 20 reis into the treasury, yet that September a license was granted to the guardian of Diego, the son of Henry Moniz, to take arms as the king's vassal. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo Vol. 3, p. 408, Vol. 4, pp. 29-30, 46-7; Damio Pérez, O Livro de Recebimentos de 1470 de Chancelaria da Cámara, Academia Portuguesa da Historia, Lisbon 1974, pp. 59, 86, 87)

(4) Diego Moniz, Diogo in Portuguese, born c. 1455, son of Henry Moniz. Diego Moniz served as a page in the royal household in 1469. In September, 1470, a payment of 20 reis was made to the crown by the guardian of Diego Moniz, son of Henry Moniz, for the taking of arms and obtaining investiture at Lisbon as the king's vassal, with maintenance to be provided by the crown. This Diego was probably the Diego Moniz who was a knight of the royal household in 1484, and a member of the King John's Council in 1485. On 22 June 1482, a royal charter was issued to Diego Moniz, gentleman of the royal household, stating that on 1 January of the past year he was granted 20.000 reis which was due to Martin de Melo, a member of the king's council and father-in-law of the said Diego Moniz. On 1 June 1485, a royal charter was issued in favor of Diego Moniz of the king's council and military governor of Silves, granting him the rights of gatekeeper and captain of the said city. On 3 February 1486, a royal letter was issued to Diego Moniz, gentleman of the royal household and military governor of Silves, confirming a grant made to Henry Moniz, his father, of the right to construct a bakery in the village of Lagoa in the district of Silves. On 3 February 1487, a charter was issued reconfirming another charter of Alfonso V, dated 15 May 1478, granting to Diego Moniz, gentleman of the royal household, the tolls of the city of Silves. On 5 March 1488, a royal letter was issued, reducing the penalty of Diego Moniz, gentleman and military governor of the castle of Silves, condemned to two years of banishment to Africa because of an altercation with the royal bailiff of that city. The bailiff was replaced nine days later. The grant to Diego Moniz of the captaincy of Silves, dated 1 June 1485, was reconfirmed on 21 February 1492. (Peres, pp. 84, 86; Serrao, pp. 61, 170, 194, 236, 280-1; Sousa, Vol. XII, Pt. I, pp. 256, 259; Sousa, Provas, Vol. IV, Pt. I, pp. 52, 219) Diego's father-in-law, Martin de Melo, was the 7th lord of Melo, whose eldest daughter, Maria, was married to "Diego Gomez, military governor of Silves". This was a position that only Diego Moniz held, so the two must have been the same person, and Gomez either a mistranslation of Moniz or a patronymic. Maria's cousin, Maria, daughter of Peter de Melo, is also said to have married a Diego Moniz, so she may be another wife. (Faria, p. 157; Sousa, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 256). Diego Moniz, military governor of Silves, also married a daughter of Alvaro de Ataide. Diego's second wife was a sister of the wife of the famous explorer, Vasco de Gama. Diego Moniz's wife may have been named Beatrice, for there was a royal grant issued in 1513 to Beatrice, wife of Diego Moniz. Diego may have died in that year, for in 1514 Henry Moniz, apparently Diego's son, was granted taxes from the city of Silves. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 7, p. 479; Faria, pp. 213, 220)

(5) Inez de Melo, born c. 1480, daughter of Diego Moniz, military governor of Silves, married Gonzalo Gómez de Azevido, military governor of Alenquer. (Faria, p. 210)

(5) Isabel de Sousa, born c. 1480, daughter of Diego Moniz, military governor of Silves, married Christopher de Brito, a first cousin of King John II's mistress, Anna Mendoza. Isabel had no children. (Faria, p. 360

(4) Henry Moniz, Comendador of Porto Carriero, born c. 1465. Henry Moniz of Porto Carriero married Branqua Coutinho, sister-in-law of John de Castro, Viceroy of India, and daughter of Lionel Coutinho. He also married Branqua's cousin, Maria Mendoza, daughter of John de Mendoza, called "Cacao" (the shark), an uncle of Anna Mendoza, King John II's mistress. In 1518, Henry Moniz of Porto Carriero was a member of the king's council. It was apparently this Henry Moniz who sold the hereditary military governorship of Silves to Ferdinand Coutinho da Silva, Bishop of Silves, to his mother's uncle. (Braamcamp Freire, Brazoes, Vol. I, p. 59)

(4) William Moniz, Guilherme in Portuguese, born c. 1465; son of Henry Moniz, military governor of Silves, by his second wife, Inez Barreto de Meneses. William married his cousin, Joan Corte Real, daughter of John Vaz Corte Real, head doorkeeper for Prince Ferdinand, a position previously held by Diego Gil Moniz. John was appointed governor of Angra, the capital of the Azores, in 1474, and captain of the island of St. George, also in the Azores, in 1483. captain of Angra on the island of Terceira in the Azores. William lived on Terciera, where his children, Sebastian Moniz Barreto, Francisca, and Joan Corte Real, were born. Archivo dos Acores, Vol. 4. p. 400)

(4) Grimaneza Pereira, sibling of William Moniz, is said to be a grandparent of Antonio Moniz Barreto, Viceroy of India. (Archivo dos Acores, Vol. 4, p. 400)

(2) Vasco Gil Moniz, born. c. 1410. Vasco is the second child of Gil Ayres mentioned in the document of 1469 confirming burial rights in the church of St. Mary of Carmo. Like his father, he was a clerk in the royal household. He was probably the Vasco Gil, "Escrivao dos Livros" or Clerk of the Books, mentioned in the will of King Duarte's brother, Prince Ferdinand, in 1436. In March 1438, Vasco Gil Moniz, "the king's servant", was sent to Rome as a messenger to Gomez Ferreira, a Portuguese member of the Papal Curia. Although Vasco Gil was only a squire, he was sent as an emissary to the papal court because of his diplomatic skills. His mission was to carry the king's request for Papal aid against the Moors of Tangier who had taken Prince Ferdinand prisoner. This is the second earliest reference to the name Moniz being used as a surname in this family. (Vitorio de Magalhaes Godinho, ed., Documentos Sobre a Expansao Portuguesa, Editorial Glebe, Ltd. Lisbon. Undated; Vol. 2, p. 152; Sao Payo, p. 157; Sousa, Provas, Vol. I, Pt. III, p. 216) Vasco Gil Moniz was also a gentleman of the royal household at the court of King Alfonso V, who succeeded to the throne on his father's death in 1438. Vasco Gil served as an overseer of the royal household in 1442 as an aide to Prince Peter, who served as regent during Alfonso's minority. He was probably also the Vasco Gil, scholar of the law, who witnessed a royal document in 1443, and the Vasco Gil who was conservator of the University of Lisbon and a judge of the civil court in 1449. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 4, p. 8; Braamcamp Freire, Brazos, Vol. 1, p. 228; Sousa, Vol. III, p. 29; Documentos do Arquivo Histórico da Cámara Municipal de Lisboa, Lisbon, 1957, Vol. I, p. 15) Due to political intrigues, Prince Peter became alienated from his nephew, and lost his life in a battle against the king's army at Alfarrobeira in 1449. Vasco Gil was a partisan of Prince Peter in 1449, for which he was exiled and his goods confiscated. Among these was a house in Lisbon in the Rue Morraz, which was granted to Ruy Moniz, in 1450, by King Alfonso. Excluded from the confiscation were goods belonging to Vasco's wife, Catherine Fernandez, daughter of Ferdinand Rodríguez Alardo, knight, who Vasco had married during King Duarte's reign (1433-8). Vasco Gil went to Cyprus in 1456 with Prince Peter's son, Prince John, where he married (2) Leonore de Lusignan of Cyprus, a close relative of the queen of Cyprus, Charlotte de Lusignan, who married Prince John in that year. Some historians say that Leonore had been a lady-in-waiting to Prince Peter's wife, Princess Isabel of Aragon. Leonore de Lusignan was the mother of Febus Moniz; described as Vasco's only child in 1492 Vasco Moniz and Leonore de Lusignan were buried together in a tomb similar to Gil Ayres, his father, and located across from it. The inscription on Vasco's tomb, if there had once been one, was illegible, but there were four coats of arms carved on it. Two of them were identical to those with five stars carved on Gil's tomb. Another was divided "per pale" with the arms that appeared on Gil Ayres Moniz' tomb on the left, and a coat of arms with crosses and rampant lions on the right, the arms of the Lusignans of Cyprus, representing Vasco's wife. The fourth coat of arms was quartered, with the Moniz arms and the Lusignan arms each filling two diagonal quarters. (Sao Payo, pp. 150-2, 157-161; Sequiera, Vol. 1, pp. 152, 253, Vol. 3, p. 161) Following Prince John's assassination in Cyprus in 1458, it's probable that Vasco Gil left that troubled island and returned to Portugal, where the order banishing those who supported Prince Peter at Alfarrobeira had been revoked in 1455. He may have been given a position in Africa, for the name of a Vasco Gil of Ceuta, knight, is found on the royal subsidy rolls of 1462. He may then have gone to Madeira, where a Vasco Gil is listed as an early settler in the parish of St. Anthony, and is said to have been one of the "good men" of the government of the city of Funchal in 1472. In 1472, Vasco Gil Moniz, "gentleman and servant of my lord and father who God has taken", received a license from King Alfonso to travel by mule, apparently rather than by horse and probably due to poor health. (J.D. Biddle, The Madeira Islands, Hurst & Blackett, Ltd., London, 1902, Vol. 2, p. 77; Silva, Vol. II, p. 91) In 1469, Vasco Gil Moniz and Lopo de Lemos, husband of Guiomar Gil, raised objection to a John de Barril having his wife buried in the Moniz chapel of the Carmo monastery. Vasco complained of this to the vicar, and it was agreed that, as an exception, Juan and his wife might stay there, but in the future no one but the Moniz family would be allowed to be buried there. An agreement was signed on 23 December of that year, stating that Diego Gil, Vasco Gil Moniz, and Guiomar Gil, and their brothers and sisters and their descendants, and no others but those whom the descendants of Gil Ayres Moniz approved, would be allowed to be buried there. In the future the Moniz family would control the chapel and its' decoration, and the services held there. (Barreto, p. 410; Sao Payo, pp. 150-1, 157-8; Sequiera, pp. 152, 253) Vasco seems to have lived to the age of 80, and was probably still living when Columbus was in Portugal. A document dated 1482 confirmed to Vasco Gil Moniz, a gentleman of the royal household, a royal pension of 10.000 reis, for an account of his services which he previously had presented to King Alfonso V when he was king, and which was approved prior to 1 Jan 1482. In April of 1492, Vasco Gil Moniz transferred to his "only son", Febus, his royal subsidy of 10.000 reis. The name of Vasco Gil Moniz is found on an attachment to the will of Prince Peter's daughter, Philippa, who died in 1497, as having due from her 50.000 reis. (Sao Payo, p. 158; Sequiera, Vol. I, p. 153; Sousa, Provas, Vol. I, Pt. III, p. 128).

(3) Febus Moniz, Phoebus in Portuguese, born c. 1465, was the only child of Vasco Gil Moniz and Leonore de Lusignan. He was a page in the household of King John in 1484. In 1487, Febus Moniz was granted certain goods in the town of Viana de Caminha, and in 1492 a royal subsidy of 10.000 reis was transferred to him from his father, Vasco Gil Moniz. Febus was a member of the household of Prince Manuel, cousin and heir of King John II, and was present at his entrance into Évora in 1495, where with three other gentlemen; he was Master of the Hall and Overseer of the Palace. In 1499, Febus Moniz obtained a piece of ground next to the church where his father and grandfather were buried, where he apparently built a residence. Febus Moniz received a royal grant of 20.000 reis in 1503, and grants totaling 60.000 reis in 1504 (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 6, p. 235, Vol. 10, p. 167; Garcia de Resende, Chronica Don Joao II & Miscellanea, Imprensa National, Casa de Moeda, Lisbon, 1973; Sao Payo, p. 161; Sequiera, p. 253; Sousa, Provas, Vol. I, p. 223) In 1486, Febus Moniz married Catherine Cunha, one of the ladies-in-waiting to Manuel's wife, Isabel, Duchess of Braganza. Catherine was the daughter of Gonzalo Correa, lord of Farelaes, a relative of Columbus' brother-in-law, Peter Correa. Prince Manuel promised the young couple a grant of 6.000 crowns, which was later changed to a grant of 60.000 reis to be paid out of the revenues of the Order of Christ. Febus also was given an annual pension of 30.000 reis from this order, presumably as a knight of the order. In 1490, a Confraternity of the Mother of God, whose members were all knights, was established in the Chapel of Piedad where the Moniz were buried, by license of the Moniz family. It seems likely that Febus was one of the originators of this confraternity, and that he had the tombs of his father and grandfather constructed there. In 1492, Febus Moniz, a gentleman of the royal household, was granted lands near Arrailos that had belonged to Peter Jusarte, and, in 1496, lands in the city of Barelos. James, eldest son of the executed Duke of Braganza, appointed Febus military governor of Arrailos, but in 1499, Febus gave up this position to take service with Queen Isabel. His name is also found on a document of 1502 as a councilman of the city council of Lisbon. Between 1498 and 1506 he served King Manuel as Chamberlain, after which he was replaced in that role by his relative, Peter Moniz. In 1509, Febus Moniz made his will, naming as his overseer, Alvaro de Castro, and having as witness Father Garcia Moniz, his cousin. He was buried near his parents in the Chapel of Piety, in the middle of the pavement, next to the steps leading to the altar. His tomb bears the inscription "The tomb of Phebos Moniz, Chamberlain of King Manuel, gentleman of his household, and of his Council". Febus' children, Jerome, Anthony, and Laurence Moniz, all served as pages at King Manuel's court in 1518. Another son, Gil Ayres Moniz, died in infancy. A number of Febus' descendants held positions at court, and many were buried in the Chapel of Piety of the monastery of Carmo. (Sao Payo, pp. 161-173; Sousa, Provas, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 459; Documentos do Arquivo Histórico da Cámara Municipal de Lisbon, Oficinas Graficas da Cámara Municipal de Lisbon, Lisbon, 1959) (2) Guiomar Gil, daughter of Gil Ayres Moniz, the Constable's secretary, born c. 1410; married Lopo Diaz de Lemos. She and her husband were living in 1469 when the Moniz rights to the Chapel of Piety were negotiated. (Barreto, p. 410; Sao Payo, p. 153) (2) Leonore Moniz, born c. 1415; "daughter of Gil Aires Moniz, secretary to the Constable, Nuño Álvarez Pereira, and lord of the Reguendo de Odivellas", was the second wife of Ferdinand de Sousa, lord of Lambruha. In another account she is called "Leonore Moniz, the younger", apparently a reference to the fact that her mother, too, was named Leonore. Ferdinand de Sousa was first married to Maria Rodríguez, daughter of Ruy Gonzálves de Castelo Branco, treasurer of the Lisbon Mint during King Duarte's reign. This position was later held by Leonore's nephew, Ruy Gil Moniz. Ferdinand de Sousa and Leonore Moniz had children: Ferdinand Alvarez de Sousa; Philipa de Sousa who married Simon de Feria, Master of the Horse for King John II; and Maria de Sousa who married Francisco Palha, military governor of the frontier and Comendador of Baros of the Order of Christ. (Faria, p. 23; Sousa, Provas, Vol. III, Pt. II, p. 40) (2) Martin Gil, born c. 1400, d.c. 1465. There has long been questions about the place of a Vasco Martins Moniz in this family because of his residence on the island of Madeira where Columbus lived during part of the time he was in Portugal. Some historians have held that he was the father of Columbus' mother-in-law, Isabel Moniz, but this is unlikely, for Vasco seems to have been about her age. From his name, the most logical guess would be that Martins was a patronymic, and Vasco Martins Moniz the son of someone named Martin. Vasco Martins Moniz' name is first found in a chancery document of King John I's reign, sometime before 1433. This document mentions a "Martin Fagundes", his wife, Leonore Lorenzo, and their sons, Vasco Martins Moniz and Garcia Moniz. The source of "Fagundes" is uncertain. It probably refers to his birth on the day of St. Fagundo, whose saint day is in November. This Chancery document seems to be the earliest recorded use of Moniz as a surname, and shortly predates usage of the name by Vasco Gil Moniz in 1438. As Moniz was not used by the father, it may have been added to the boy's names because the Constable was their father' mentor and possibly their godfather. It seems to have been some 30 years later that it was adopted as a surname by the rest of the family. If Vasco Martins Moniz' father, Martin, was a son of Gil Ayres, he would probably been called Martin Gil. There was, indeed, a man called Martin Gil, who served as a secretary at court, a position similar to that held by both Gil Ayres and his son, Vasco Gil Moniz. Martin Gil held this position between 1432 and 1448, during the period when Prince Peter served as regent for his nephew, the young King Alfonso V. In 1439, Martin Gil, as notary for King Alfonso, issued a public document of great importance, setting forth the terms of agreement between the queen mother and the regent concerning how the kingdom was to be governed during the young king's minority. Martin Gil also drafted a royal document dated 1443 which was signed by Prince Peter as regent. Unlike Gil Ayres' son, Vasco Gil Moniz, who was a partisan of the regent and left the kingdom after the regent's overthrow, Martin Gil continued in King Alfonso's service. He drafted many documents issued by the royal chancery between 1448 and 1453, and is named as a trustee in a grant made in 1452 by Alfonso's wife, Queen Isabel, to her sister. In 1450, a royal document was issued excusing a worker of Martin Gil, Clerk of the Treasury, to care for his houses in Salvaterra, a town near the city of Santarem, and to work on his property at the said place. Another document, dated 1453, records recent service to the crown given by the Jews of Santarem to a servant of Martin Gil, Clerk of the Treasury. Yet another royal document of the same year grants a military position to the husband of a niece of Martin Gil, Clerk of the Treasury. It's possible that Martin Gil was living as late as 1462, for there is a document of King Alfonso's dated that year that was drawn up by a Martin Gil. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 3, pp. 141, 144, 146, 154, 218, 220, 403, 410, 433; Augusto Romano Sanches de Baena, Archivo Heráldico-Genealógico, Typographia Universal, Lisbon, 1872, pp. XXIV, XXVII; A. J. Días Dinis, Documentos do Arquivo Histórico da Cámara Municipal de Lisboa, Oficinas Gráficas do Casa Moeda de Lisboa, Lisbon, 1959, Vol. 2, pp. 136, 278, 288, 295; Sousa, Provas, Vol. I, Pt. III, pp. 110-6, 128, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 64; Archivo dos Acores, Universidade dos Acores, Porta Delgada, San Miguel, the Azores, 1983, Vol. 4, p. 545; Estudios Henriquinos, Vol. I, Acta Univesitatis Coimbrigensis, Coimbra, 1960, pp. 427, 441) Salvaterra, where Martin Gil held property, was granted by King Ferdinand to a Lorenzo Gonzálves in 1372. Martin's wife, Leonore Lorenzo, may have been his daughter. Lorenzo Gonçalves was probably the son of Gonçalves Lorenzo de Gomide, lord of Villa Verde, b.c. 1360. In 1393, King John granted him a fifth of the taxes from Antougia. In 1393 he was given another grant at the time of his marriage to Inez Leitoa. In 1401 the couple received another royal grant of certain houses in Santarem. He was Escrivao de Puridad for King John I from 1393 to 1421, the period in which Gil Ayres was serving the Constable in the same position. He was placed in charge of the conquest of Ceuta in 1415, and participated in this with several thousand men under his command. He died in 1422. Nuño Álvarez Pereira considered him his model. John Gonçalves, b.c. 1395, eldest son of Gonçalves Lorenzo, served as Escrivao de Puridad for King John I from 1427 to 1433. John killed his wife, Isabel de Albuquerque, for which he was imprisoned, and his children took their mother's name. One of his descendants was Alfonso de Albuquerque, Viceroy of India. Estudos Históricos, Academia Portugal da Historia, Vol. 6, Tomo I. If Martin Gil was the father of Vasco Martins Moniz of Madeira, and his brother, Garcia Moniz, and the 1717 genealogy of the Perestrelo family is correct in saying that Bartholomew Perestrelo's wife was the sister of Garcia Moniz and Father Christopher Moniz, and if both were the same Garcia, then we have identified the place of Columbus' wife in the family. (Barreto, p. 412; Braamcamp Freire, Brazoes, Vol. II, p 287; Sanches de Baena, p. LXV; Vignaud, p. 448)

(3) Vasco Martins Moniz, born c. 1425, was one of the early settlers at Canico on the isle of Madeira, probably arriving about 1450. He is sometimes said to have served in the household of Prince Henry and seen military service in Africa. There is no record of his having been at the Battle of Ceuta, however, as is sometimes claimed. He is said to have had a large house in the port of Machico on Madeira, which has caused historians to associate him with Columbus' stay on that island and to believe that he may have been Isabel Moniz' father. He appears, rather, to have been her older brother. He is thought to have married Beatrice Pereira, daughter of Payo Pereira and Leonore Fermosa, which would account for his daughter being called Joan Pereira. Vasco may have had other wives; possibly one from the Almeida family, for his son went by the name, Garcia Moniz de Almeida. He was also the father of another Vasco Martins Moniz, Comendador of Panoias, with whom he is often confused. He may have died before Columbus married into the family, for records of that time make no differentiation between the elder Vasco Martins Moniz and his son, Vasco Martins Moniz. (Augusto Mascareñas Barreto, O Portugués Cristovao Colombo, Agente Secreto do Rei Dom Joao, Edicoes Referendo, Lda., Lisbon, 1988, pp. 403-18; Antonio Carvalho da Costa, Corografía Portuguesa, Braga, 1869, Vol. II, p. 264; Fr. Fernando Augusto de Silva and Carlos Azevido de Meneses, Elucidario Madeirense, Vol. I, p 239, Vol. II, p. 181; Sousa, Vol. X, p. 101).

(4) Joan Pereira, born c. 1455. Joan Pereira, daughter of Vasco Martins Moniz, was second wife of Francisco de Almeida, 1st Viceroy of India. Francisco was born about 1450. They had two children, Leonore de Almeida, and Lorenzo de Almeida who died in 1505. (Sousa, Vol. X, pp. 99, 101)

(4) Vasco Martins Moniz, Comendador of Panoias and Garvao, son of Vasco Martins Moniz of Madeira, was born c. 1455. He is sometimes said to be son of Henry Moniz, military governor of Silves, apparently in error. Vasco Martins Moniz was a page in King Alfonso's household in 1474, the year when the Toscanelli letter arrived in Portugal. He was a squire of the royal household in 1475, and a knight in 1484. In 1484, Vasco Martins Moniz owned a house in the city of Santarem, a city where the king often resided. It was during 1483 and 1484 that Columbus met with King John, who was in residence at Santarem from November of 1482 to the first of February 1483, from 20 April 1483 to 12 May 1483, from 1 March 1484 to 7 July 1484, and from 13 November 1484 to 29 November 1484. It seems likely that Christopher may have stayed at Vasco's house during his meetings with the king, and that Vasco was his sponsor at court. In 1498, Vasco Martins Moniz established an entail of his property at Canical, on the island of Madeira, in favor of his eldest son, Garcia Moniz. Vasco is said to have died in 1510 at Torrao, after which his comendadoria of Panoias was given to Tristan da Cunha. (Serrao, p. 15; Silva, Vol. I, p. 237, Vol. II, pp. 356, 381, Sousa, Provas, Vol. II, Pt. I, pp. 46, 53, 221) Vasco Martins Moniz, Comendador of Panoias and Garvao of the Order of Santiago, married Aldonza Cabral. Aldonza is sometimes said to be the daughter of Ferdinand Alvarez Cabral, who had been Captain of the Guard of Prince Henry the Navigator, and sometimes said to be a member of the Melo family. The former seems most likely, for Ferdinand Cabral's son, Diego Cabral, was married to Beatrice Gonzálves de Cámara, a daughter of John Gonzálves Zarco, discoverer of Madeira. Vasco married (2) Brites Vaz Ferrira, and (3) Joana Teixeira, daughter of Tristao Vaz, who with John Gonzálves Zarco, discovered Madeira.(Sousa, Vol. X, p. 101; Documentacao Ultramarina Portuguesa, Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, Lisbon, 1960, Vol. VI, p. 84)

(5) Garcia Moniz, eldest son of Vasco Martins Moniz, the younger; born c. 1480. In 1498, Vasco Martins Moniz established an entailed estate at Canical on Madeira for his eldest son, Garcia Moniz. Garcia founded the church of St. Sebastian there in the first quarter of the 16th century, and either he or his successors established a chapel of Our Lady of Piety in the parish of Canical. Garcia married Catherine Teixeira, daughter of Lancelot Teixeira and granddaughter of Tristan Vaz, the discoverer of Madeira. A Peter Moniz was later lord of Canical. (Augusto Mascarenhas Barreto, Portuguese Cristovao Colombo, Agente Secreto do Rei Dom Joao II, Edicoes Referendo, Lda., Lisbon, 1988; p. 478; Silva, Vol. II, p. 181)

(5) Leonore Moniz, born c. 1490, daughter of Vasco Martins Moniz, Comendador of Panoias. She was the 2nd wife of Diego de Castro, lord of Lanhoso and the Castle of Lanhoso and of Santa Cruz and Cinfanes, and military governor of Sabugal and Alfayates. They had no children. She may be the Leonore Moniz who was given a grant of 40.000 reis in 1514 as half of her wedding portion (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 8, p. 71; Antonio Machado de Faria, Livro de Linhagens do Seculo XVI, Academia Portuguesa da Historia, Lisbon, 1956, p. 89; Sousa, Vol. XII, Pt. II, p. 771).

(5) Vasco Martins Moniz, born c. 1490, was apparently another son of the Comendador of Panoias. He married Joan Teixeira, sister of the wife of Garcia Moniz, above, and had children which included Francis, Lancelot, Henry, Philip, and Egas Moniz. (Barreto, pp. 278-9; Freitas, p. 10)

(5) Egas Moniz Barreto, son of Joana Teixeira, lived on the Island of Terceira; married Maria Rodrígues, daughter of Alfonso Rodríguez

(4) Garcia Moniz, born c. 1460, was probably a son of Vasco Martins Moniz, the elder. He was a page at the court of King Alfonso V in 1477. He may have been the Garcia Moniz de Almeida who was a squire in the royal household in 1479. (Sousa, Provas, Vol. II, Pt. I, pp. 48, 55) (4) George (Jorge) Moniz, Comendador of Panoias, another son of Vasco Martins Moniz, the elder, born c. 1465. In 1492, George Moniz, gentleman of the household of Manuel, Duke of Beja, was given a gift of 2.000 crowns as a wedding portion. George Moniz, son of Vasco Martins Moniz, and Captain of the Guard of Don Manuel married Leonore Pereira. Manuel succeeded John II as king in 1495, and George Moniz continued serving him as a gentleman of the royal household. George Moniz was named captain of the king's guard by a charter dated 1496, and served in this office until 1508. In 1496, King Manual gave George the lands of Angeha and Pinhiero, lands that were available through the death of Henry de Albuquerque, and the Reguego de Figueiredo and the village de Sequis in the district of Aviero. The lands of Angeha and Pinhiero may have come to George through his wife, as Henry de Albuquerque's aunt, Isabel de Albuquerque, was married to a Ferdinand Pereira. George Moniz was among those who swore allegiance to Manuel's son, Prince Miguel, as heir to the throne on 7 March 1499. George resigned his office as Captain of the Guard in 1508, and died on 31 January 1509. (Anselmo Braamcamp Freire, Brazoes da Sala de Sintra, Imprensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda, Lisbon, Portugal, 1973, Vol. 2, p. 75; Braamcamp Freire, Provas, Vol. II, Pt. I, pp. 153, 496; Vol. XI, p. 131; Sousa, Vol. III, p. 124)

(5) Diego Moniz, Comendador of Pinhiero, son of George Moniz, born c. 1500. A charter of confirmation of the rights to the land of Figueiredo and other lands was issued to Diego Moniz, son of George Moniz of King Manuel's council and captain of his guard, just about the time that George died. Registers of the church of Pinhiero da Bemposa mention that Bishop Diego Lopez Moniz, Abbot of Pedroso Monastery, was prior of the monastery of Pinhiero in 1508, and that "this prelate was apparently father of the lord of Pinhiero, Diego Moniz, a gentleman of the royal household at the beginning of the 16th century, according to a grant of exclusion that Manuel I gave the town of Pinhiero in 1514." It seems more likely that Diego, the abbot, was an uncle and guardian of Diego during his minority. Records of 1527 show that Diego Moniz held Angeha and Pinhiero. Diego Moniz, lord of Angeha, married Brites, or Beatrice, daughter of Henry Enriquez, lord of Alcazovas and captain of the hunt for King Manuel, and his wife, a daughter of John Gonzálves de Cámara, 2nd captain of Funchal, and son of John Zarco, discoverer of Porto Santo and Madeira. Diego's son, named Vasco Martins Moniz after his grandfather, was born c. 1550, and succeeded his father as lord of Angeha. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 8, p. 275; Braamcamp Freire, Brazoes, Vol. 2, p. 77; Faria, p. 157) (5) Anthony (Antonio) Moniz, born c. 1500, another son of George, served as a page at court in 1515.

(4) Diego López Moniz, born c. 1465. Diego Lopez Moniz, Abbot of Pedroso Monastery, was prior of the monastery of Pinhiero in 1508, and was apparently guardian of his nephew, Diego, according to a grant of exclusion that Manuel I gave the town of Pinhiero in 1514. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 8, p. 275)

(4) Gil Vaz Moniz, perhaps another son of Vasco, was granted a royal charter on 10 January 1482 assigning to him the office of Clerk of Inquiries of the city of Évora, as previously granted by charter of King Alfonso V.

(4) Christopher Moniz, Christovao in Portuguese, Comendador of Garvao, a comendadoria also held by his brother, the younger Vasco Martin Moniz, was born c. 1470. Christopher Moniz was a page at court in 1484. Christopher Moniz, Comendador of Garvao, brother of George Moniz, lord of Angeha, married Isabel d'Eca, daughter of Peter d'Eca, military governor of Moura. Later, she married Christopher Correa, Treasurer of King Manuel. Their son, Vasco Martins Moniz, son of Christopher Moniz, was born 1500 and died unmarried. Their daughter, Aldonza d'Eca, married Peter Lobo. Garvao seems to have then gone to his brother, Vasco Martins Moniz, probably after Christopher's death without male heirs. (Faria, p. 234; Sousa, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 223; Provas, Vol. XI, pt. 2, pp. 429, 499) (3) Garcia Moniz, second son of Martin Gil, born c. 1430. In the 1717 biography of the Perestrelo family, Isabel Moniz Perestrelo is said to be the "sister of Don Garcia Moniz and Don Christopher Moniz Bishop of Annel of the Carmelite order." There is no punctuation, and no way to be certain whether one of both were Carmelite monks, but probably both were. In 1509, Father Garcia Moniz was a witness to the will of Febus Moniz, Garcia Moniz' first cousin. Although he would have been 80 years old then, he may be the Father Garcia Moniz who went to India as secretary to Alfonso Albuquerque, Viceroy of India, and was the writer of several letters that Alfonso sent to the king in 1514 and 1515. In 1514 Albuquerque wrote to the king about the unsuccessful attempt made by Garcia Moniz to convert the King of Cochin to Christianity. (Sao Payo, p. 163)

(3) Ruy Gil Moniz, Rui on Portuguese, born c. 1430, was probably another son of Martin Gil. In 1450 Ruy Gil was granted a house in the Rue de Morraz (Rue Moraise in Lisbon?) that had been confiscated from Vasco Gil Moniz a year earlier when Vasco was exiled. Ruy Moniz was a knight of the royal household in 1464, and served as treasurer of the Lisbon Mint. He was succeeded in the latter position by Garcia Moniz, sometime between 1472 and 1480. He was apparently not a son of Gil Ayres, as has been suggested, for he seems to have been living in 1469, yet was not mentioned in the document of that date in which the Moniz rights to burial in the Chapel of Piety was renegotiated. Ruy Gil Moniz married Philipa (or Isabel) de Almada, daughter of John Vaz de Almada and niece of the Count of Avrances. (Barreto, pp. 410, 413; Braamcamp Freire, Brazoes, Vol. I, pp. 231, 386; Braamcamp Freire, Vida; Sao Payo, pp. 153, 157; Sousa, Provas, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 34)

(4) Lenore, born c. 1460, daughter of Ruy Moniz, Treasurer of the Lisbon Mint, was the second wife of George de Sousa, a knight of the royal household. (Braamcamp Freire, Brazoes, Vol. I, p. 231)

(4) Garcia Moniz, born c. 1450, was apparently the son of Ruy Moniz, whom he replaced as Treasurer of the Lisbon Mint between 1472 and 1480. Garcia Moniz, Treasurer of the Lisbon Mint, was granted 1,400 doubles at the time of his marriage in 1480. This allowance is mentioned in another document of 1524 in which this amount was given to his widow, Genebra. He was dismissed from his position with the Lisbon mint in 1517, apparently for maladministration or misappropriation, but was pardoned, assigned to the treasury for Guinea, and granted an allowance of 15.000 reis "in regard for his services and also for something of interest that he told us about the office of treasurer of the said mint by ancient usage that his ancestors had." In 1523, Garcia Moniz, Treasurer for Guinea, received a royal grant of 32.000 reis. Genebra, "former wife of Garcia Moniz", received in 1527 a royal grant of 10.000 reis not paid for Alvaro da Silva. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 2. , p. 129; Vol. 3, pp. 99, 129, 314, 478; Vol. 10, p. 104; Braamcamp Freire, Vida, pp. 118-9) (3) Isabel Moniz, said to be a sister of Garcia Moniz and Christopher Moniz, was born c. 1430. She was the third wife of Bartholomew Perestrelo, who she married c. 1450. See Perestrell family, above. (3) Diego Gil Moniz, born c. 1430, was the Diego Gil Moniz who served as "tutor" for Columbus' brother-in-law, Bartholomew Perestrelo in 1458. He may also have been the namesake for Columbus' son, Diego. As Prince Ferdinand's head doorkeeper in 1452, Diego Gil Moniz was granted the goods of a Juan Gomez of Lisbon, who had fled to Granada and renounced his religion. In 1457, Diego Gil Moniz, head doorkeeper for Prince Ferdinand, witnessed an addendum to the wedding contract of the Prince. Diego Gil Moniz, overseer of the treasury of Prince Ferdinand, married Leonore de Sousa, daughter of Ruy Gomez da Silva, lord of Chamusca and Ulme and Treasurer for King John I and King Duarte. Leonore's mother was Branqua de Almeida, daughter of Diego de Almeida, treasurer for John I, and sister of Lopo de Almeida, Count of Abrantes, treasurer for King Alfonso V. Diego Gil Moniz, a gentleman of the household of Prince Ferdinand, was one of the witnesses to the wedding contract of Ferdinand's daughter, Isabel, to Ferdinand, Duke of Braganza, in 1470. (Sao Payo, p. 154; Serrao, p. 37; Sousa, Vol. II, p. 285; Sousa, Provas, Vol. III, Pt. 2, p. 214) Historians have wondered whether Columbus' departure from Portugal in 1484 had anything to do with the execution of the Duke of Viseu in that year, the culmination of the Braganza conspiracies that rocked the nation in 1483 and 1484. If anyone in the Moniz family was involved, it is most likely to have been Diego Gil Moniz, who probably continued as a member of the household of Prince Ferdinand, serving his widow, Princess Beatrice, and her son, Diego, Duke of Viseu. He may even have gone into exile when the young Duke was executed for treason. Diego's daughter married the Duke of Braganza's nephew, Sancho de Noronha, who went into exile the previous year due to the Braganza conspiracies. (Faria, p. 130; Sao Payo, p. 153; Sousa, Vol. 3, p. 285; Sousa, Provas, Vol. 1, Pt. III, p. 288, T.III, Pt. 2, p. 214) In 1498, Leonore de Sousa, "wife that was of Diego Gil Moniz", represented by her son, Peter Moniz, requested the king's permission to sell some property. She presented to the king a charter of confirmation of her rights to certain properties, including two fourths of the revenues from Lumiar and a fifth of the revenues of Carnide. These lands had belonged to Maria Eanes, widow of Gonzalo Perez, when they were granted to Prince Henry "the Navigator" in 1446, and were part of the estate that Prince Ferdinand inherited from Henry. This charter was dated 13 February 1492, and appear to represent her claim to the property of her husband, who may have died at that time. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivio, Vol. 3, p. 433; Braamcamp Freire, Brazoes, Vol. 2, p. 386; Anselmo Braamcamp Freire, Critica e Historia, Antigua Casa Bertrand, Lisbon, 1910, Vol. I, p. 247; Peres, pp. 35, 72; Sousa, Provas, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 83)

(4) Peter Moniz da Silva, Pedro in Portuguese, Comendador of Torres and Cascais, born c. 1465, a son of Diego Moniz and Leonore da Silva. On 1 February 1487, a charter was issued at Santarem, reconfirming a charter of 21 August 1486 naming Peter Moniz, squire, to the office of Clerk of Weights and Measures of the city of Lisbon, at the request of the Count of Monsanto, lord of Cascais. John de Castro, 2nd Count of Monsanto, died in 1496. In 1494, a gift was made on the departure from court of Peter Moniz, when he went to Castile with the Portuguese ambassador, John de Sousa. Peter also represented his mother in the sale of land in 1498. He was probably the Peter Moniz, a resident of Lisbon and secretary of the Council, who was awarded the position of collector of taxes of the island of St. George in the Azores in 1503. Peter Moniz da Silva was made Comendador of Torres and Cascais of the Order of Christ and head doorkeeper by a royal charter granted in 1504, succeeding his relative, Febus Moniz, as the king's head doorkeeper. Peter Moniz da Silva was also a member of the royal council of King John III, who came to the throne in 1521, and was given royal grants in 1523. He accompanied Princess Beatrice to Savoy, when she went there to marry the Duke of Savoy. He also served as head doorkeeper for the Cardinal Prince Henry. In 1527, a royal grant of 20.000 reis or 2.000 crowns was given to the heirs of John Alvarez de Cunha that was owed to Violante da Cunha, by the account of Peter Moniz. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 2, pp. 41, 111; Vol. 3, pp. 51, 101, 390; Vol. 7, p. 480; Antonio dos Santos Pereira, A Ilha S. Jorge, Universidade dos Acores, 1987, p. 87; Sao Payo, p. 155; Joaquín Verissimo Serrao, ed., Itinerario D. Joao II, Academia Portuguesa da Historia, Lisbon, Portugal, 1975, p. 236; Sousa, Vol. III, p. 128) Peter first married Beatrice Botelho, daughter of Peter Botelho, judge of the Customs of Lisbon, and his wife Isabel Añés. The couple had no children. He then married Henríquez de Miranda, daughter of Francisco Henríquez de Miranda, Comendador of Pedras Alvas, and his wife, Cecilia de Azambuja. A royal grant was given to Isabel Enriquez, wife of Peter Moniz in 1527. Peter is buried in the Convent of St. Iria, in Tomar where the inscription reads: "This chapel was ordered made by Peter Moniz da Silva, who is buried here with his wife, Isabel Henríquez, and his son Bernard Moniz da Silva with his wife, Lourenza da Silva, and his daughter, Victoria da Silva". (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo Vol. 3, p. 125; Sao Payo, p. 155) The Portuguese historian, Braamcamp Freire, say that this Peter Moniz da Silva was a cousin of Columbus' wife, and a poet whose poems were included in the Cancioneiro of Garcia de Resende, yet says that he was not the Peter Moniz da Silva who was a singer for King John II. This latter was a secretary for the Civil Court of Lisbon in 1492, and clerk of appeals for the same court. In 1527, King Manuel, calling him a squire of the royal household, authorized him to give his position with the court of Lisbon to his son, Nicholas, a page then serving in the army in India, effective in 1528. Peter was also called "my singer" by King John III, who came to the throne in 1521. They may have been one and the same person. (Braamcamp Freire, Vida, p. 186)

(4) Francisca da Silva, born c. 1470. Francisca da Silva, daughter of Diego Gil Moniz, Treasurer for Prince Ferdinand, married Sancho de Noronha, 3rd Count of Faro and Count of Odemira, lord of Mortagoa and other lands, military governor of Estremoz, and eldest son of Alfonso, 1st Count of Faro and Mary de Noronha, Countess of Odemira. Francisca died after bearing three children, and, in 1502, Sancho remarried. Sancho's father was the son of Ferdinand, 2nd Duke of Braganza and brother of Ferdinand, the 3rd Duke, executed for treason in June 1483. Sancho's family fled to Spain in May of 1483, where his father died later the same year. (Faria, pp. 7, 8) (4) Anthony (Antonio) Moniz da Silva, also called Fr. Anthony of Lisbon, is said to have been an illegitimate son of Diego Gil Moniz, Treasurer of Prince Ferdinand, and a descendant of Gil Ayres. He appears to have been born in 1484, for his age is given as 35 and his birthplace as Lisbon when he took vows in the Franciscan monastery of Berlenga in 1520, and his age is given as 67 at the time of his death in 1551. He was elected Prior of Belen and provincial of his order, and, in 1529, took possession of the convent of Costa in Guimarais. As Prior of the Order of Christ from 1529 to 1551, he was assigned by Cardinal Prince Alfonso to reform that Order. The monasteries he supervised included the monasteries of Alcobaca, Tomar, and Santarem. He was at Tomar in 1535, and in 1543 he presided over a session of the Inquisition there. He is said to have been buried in the Moniz burial chapel in the monastery of Carmo. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, Vol. 1, p. 384, Vol. 5, p. 97, Vol. 6, p. 327; Sao Payo, p. 154)

(3) Gil Ayres Moniz, born c. 1435, may have been another son of Martin Gil. Considering that Martin named one son, Vasco, and another, Diego Gil, after his brothers, it would not be surprising if he named another son after his father. In 1462, Gil Aires Moniz was a knight of the household of King Alfonso V. There seems to be no record of Gil after this date, which suggests that he probably died before Columbus arrived in Portugal, possibly in the war with Castile that began in 1465. (Sousa, Provas, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 32)

(3) Christopher Moniz, Cristovao in Portuguese, was born c. 1440 at Lisbon. In the 1717 account of the Perestrelo family he is described as a brother of Garcia Moniz and Isabel Moniz Perestrelo, and Bishop of "Annel" of the Carmelite order. In 1510, Christopher was prior of the Convent of Carmo in Lisbon, where the Moniz family had their tombs and where Columbus' wife was buried. He was Provincial of his order in 1522, and in that year, presided over the moving of the remains of the Constable to a new and more elaborate tomb. Christopher administered the bishopric of Évora on behalf of Cardinal Alfonso, a son of King Manuel who was named Archbishop of Lisbon at the age of 12, and Bishop of Évora two years later. As the little prince was obviously too young to administer these bishoprics, the actual work was done by Christopher Moniz, who was given the title of Bishop of Riona. Christopher Moniz died on a pastoral visit to Moura in 1531. (Sequiera, Vol. I, pp. 362, 364-5; Alberto Gonzálves, O Beato Frei Nuño da Santa María, Livraria Editora Andrade, Terceira, 1932; Historia da Igreja em Portugal, Academia das Ciencias de Lisboa, Portucalense Editoria, Porto, 1967, Vol. II, p. 572; Costa, Vol. III, p. 131) (3) Gonzalo Moniz, born c. 1440, probably another son of Martin Gil. He was vicar of the parish of Cámara de Lobos on the island of Madeira prior to 1473, and in that year exchanged parishes with Stephen Vaz, vicar of San Miguel in Azores. He is probably the same Father Gonzalo who was appointed chaplain of the island of Terciera in the Azores by Prince Ferdinand in 1470 (Archivo dos Acores, Vol. XIV, pp. 6-9)

NOTE: Garcia Moniz, born c. 1380. was contemporary of Gil Ayres, but apparently used Moniz as a patronymic and was probably not related to Gil. At the battle of Ceuta, in 1415, Prince Henry, son of King John I, was fighting nearly alone and in great danger, when he was joined by Garcia Moniz, "a gentleman that was guardian of the Prince when he was young, who the Prince knew well. Garcia Moniz was a strong man and a good knight who knew how to protect himself well, and he took his place at his side." Prince Henry was born in 1394, and was given his own household in 1408, so it is probable that Garcia Moniz joined the prince's household at about that time, and went with him Ceuta and Algarve. In 1433, during King Duarte's reign, Garcia Moniz served as procurator of the treasury of the Algarve, the southern part of Portugal which Prince Henry governed. Garcia must have been alive in 1442 when a Gil Eanes, servant of Garcia Moniz, signed a document as a representative of the city of Faro, the capital of the Algarve. (Braamcamp Freire, Archivo, p. 401; Dinis, p. 401; Gómez Eanes de Zurara, Crónica da Tomada de Ceuta, Academia das Sciencias de Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, 1915, pp. 114, 223-4; Documentos do Lisbon, p. 281) Alvaro Moniz, like Garcia Moniz, may have used Moniz as a patronymic rather than a surname, and could have been a brother of Garcia Moniz. Alvaro Moniz was one of those who accompanied Prince Ferdinand to Africa in 1437. In his will, Prince Ferdinand left 10.000 reis to Alvaro Moniz, his clerk of expenditures. This will was drafted by Vasco Gil in 1436, prior to Ferdinand's embarking for Africa. If this was Vasco Gil Moniz, he was not yet using Moniz as a surname. The Prince died in Africa after a long captivity, and Alvaro may have died there also, for he is not heard of after this. (Domingos Mauricio Gómez dos Santos, S.J., D. Duarte e as Responsabilidades de Tánger, Comissao Executiva do V Centenario da Morte do Infante D. Henrique, Lisbon, 1960, pp. 14, 57, 66, 67).

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