Domingos da Costa

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Domingos da Costa (disambiguation) .

Domingos da Costa († 1722 ) led the Topasse on the Lesser Sunda Islands as Capitão-Mor and replaced the governor of the Portuguese possessions there from 1715 to 1718.

Life

Domingos da Costa's family competed with the Hornay family for power within the mixed Portuguese-Southeast Asian population of the Topasse. The Portuguese tried to exploit the rivalry between the two clans. The Portuguese viceroy in Goa sent the same letter to both António da Hornay and Mateus da Costa , in which he declared them to be his representative and Capitão-Mor, provided that they were in power. At the time, this was with António, but Mateus did not accept this and relied on an earlier appointment.

Mateus da Costa subjugated several kingdoms of the Tetum in the coastal area of Belus for Portugal between 1668 and 1670 and was able to claim the title of Capitão-Mor between 1671 and 1673. But when Mateus died in 1973, António da Hornay took him over again and ruled de facto as prince over Larantuka , Solor and parts of Timor . When António da Hornay died in 1693, he was followed a year later by his brother Francisco da Hornay . He ended the feud with the Costas by marrying a daughter of Domingos da Costa, the son of Mateus. In 1695 António de Mesquita Pimentel (1696 to 1697) was appointed the first governor of Solor and Timor. But it quickly drew the anger of the locals. He shamelessly plundered them and murdered two of Francisco da Hornay's children. In 1697 Domingos da Costa became the new Capitão-Mor and in the same year put Pimentel in chains and had him sent back to Goa. Pimentel's successor André Coelho Vieira was captured by Domingos da Costa in Larantuka in 1698 and sent back to Macau .

Domingos da Costa was still threatened by rivals. When the West Timorese Empire of Amanuban sided with the Portuguese against the Topasse in 1702, it was destroyed by Domingos da Costa. António Coelho Guerreiro (1702 to 1705), with the support of Bishop Manuel de Santo António , was able to establish himself as the new governor sent by Goa in the colonial capital of Lifau , even if the Costas were constantly besieging him. The governor was supported by Lourenço Lopes , Domingos' brother-in-law. Lopes became governor himself between 1705 and 1706. Finally, Manuel de Santo António succeeded in getting Domingos da Costa to recognize the new Portuguese governor Jácome de Morais Sarmento (1708 to 1709). But then in 1708 Morais Sarmento had Mateus da Costa, the Liurai of Viqueque , arrested against all rights and humiliated him. Domingos da Costa then besieged Lifau. Manuel de Santo António saved the situation by going to the camp of Domingos da Costa and persuaded the Topasse ruler to put himself back under the Portuguese crown. The subsequent governor Manuel de Souto-Maior (1709 to 1714) rehabilitated Dom Mateus.

When a rebellion by Amakono failed and its leaders and thousands of supporters sought refuge with the allies of the Dutch around Kupang , Domingos da Costa devastated the region. Demonstratively he even camped within range of the cannons of the Dutch Fort Concordia to reveal its weakness.

In 1714 one of Domingo's rivals, Manuel Ferreira de Almeida , was able to usurp the administration of the Portuguese possessions for the second time. But Domingos da Costa prevailed as the governor in charge a year later after his death until the new governor from Portugal Francisco de Melo e Castro (1718 to 1719) arrived. When Melo e Castro had to flee due to the Cailaco rebellion , Bishop Manuel de Santo António took over the official business.

Domingos da Costa died in 1722 as a bitter enemy of the bishop. Rumors quickly spread that a cross had stuck in the neck of Domingos. Allegedly, his widow could hear the screams of the tortured souls in Hell while she mourned his coffin. Bishop Manuel de Santo António was soon banished by the new Governor António de Albuquerque Coelho of Timor.

It is possible that the later Capitão-Mor Gaspar da Costa was the son of Domingos da Costa.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} James J. Fox, “The Paradox of Powerlessness: Timor in Historical Perspective,” December 9, 1996, Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University ( Memento July 6, 2007 im Internet Archive ) (PDF; 70 kB)
2. ^ Artur Teodoro de Matos: D. Frei Manuel de Santo António: missionário e primeiro bispo residente em Timor. Elementos para a sua biografia (1660-1733) ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Portuguese)  
3. ↑ ^{a b} Chronologie de l'histoire du Timor (1512-1945) suivie des événements récents (1975-1999) (French; PDF; 887 kB)
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Hans Hägerdal: Rebellions or factionalism? Timorese forms of resistance in an early colonial context, 1650-1769 ( Memento of the original dated December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ ^{a b} History of Timor ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Lisbon Technical University (PDF file; 805 kB) 
6. ↑ History of Timor, page 31 ( Memento of the original of March 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 824 kB) 
7. ↑ Instituto Camões ( Memento of the original dated August 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ History of Timor, page 32 ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 824 kB) 

predecessor	Office	successor
Francisco da Hornay	Captain General of Solor and Timor 1697–1722	Francisco da Hornay II
Manuel Ferreira de Almeida	Governor of Portuguese Timor 1715–1718	Francisco de Melo e Castro