Maria Ursula Lancastro y Abreu
Maria Ursula Lancastro y Abreu (also known as Maria Ursula de Abreu e Lencastro ; * 1682 in Rio de Janeiro , † 1730 in Goa , East India ) was a Portuguese - South American adventurer.
biography
The only daughter of a wealthy Brazilian family secretly left her parents' home in 1700 and, dressed as a man, went as a sailor on a ship to Portugal under the name Balthazar do Conto Cardoso . In Lisbon she volunteered for an expedition to India and shortly afterwards took part in the attack on Amboina and the conquest of the islands of Corjuem and Panelem, for which she was promoted to captain . In 1703 she was appointed governor of an important castle and in 1704 commander of the fortress Madre de Deus. In this position she undertook several adventure trips that made her pretended name "Balthazar do Conto Cardoso" known.
In 1714, she fell in love with the governor of São João Baptista Castle, Captain Alfonso Teixeira Arras de Mello, and after her true gender was revealed, she received permission to marry from King John V of Portugal. On March 8, 1718, King John V also granted her a pension for her services, with the permission to bequeath it to her descendants.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lancastro y Abreu, Maria Ursula |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cardoso, Balthazar do Conto (pseudonym) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Portuguese-South American adventurer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1682 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rio de Janeiro |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1730 |
| Place of death | Goa , East India |