José Joaquim Champalimaud de Nussane de Sousa Lira e Castro de Barbosa (Valença

Valença

Valença , also known as Valença do Minho, is a municipality and a town in Portugal with a total area of 117.1 km² and a total population of 14,324 inhabitants...

, Fontoura

Fontoura

Fontoura is a parish in the municipality of Valença, Portugal, with 9.13 km² and 737 inhabitants . Density: 80.7 inhabitants / km².Patron: St. MichaelPopulation: 735 inhabitants and 668 voters at 31-12-2003...

  04.10.1771 — Portalegre, Elvas 05.05.1825) was a Portuguese

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

 marshal

Marshal

Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...

.

History

He was son of a lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 Paulo José Champalimaud de Nussane (engineer of Praça de Valença) and Clara Maria de Sousa Lyra e Castra, originated from the parish Ferreira, the municipality of Paredes de Coura

Paredes de Coura

Paredes de Coura is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 138.2 km² and a total population of 9,367 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 21 parishes and is located in the district of Viana do Castelo....

.

Born in 1771, José Joaquim enlisted, still a child, in the 21st Infantry Regiment, who manned Valença.
At nineteen years he became a cadet

Cadet

A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...

 in Porto

Porto

Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

.
In 1791 he was already an officer

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

, and the following year he was promoted to second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 and assigned to the Companhia de Brulotes da Marinha.

He fought Moroccan Buccaneer

Buccaneer

The buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...

s in the Strait of Gibraltar

Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...

, when he belonged to the crew of the frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 "Dom João - Príncipe do Brasil".

Promoted to captain (1797), was placed again in the 21st Infantry Regiment.
He directed the works of fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 in Minha and made the campaign of 1801, resigning in 1807, when Junot entered the country, not wanting to serve in foreign armed forces.

When the revolution against the French broke out, he had the rank of major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

.
He took an active part in the fight, and was soon promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

, in 1808.

In 1812, after a brilliant record of service in the military, is appointed governor of the presidio

Presidio

A presidio is a fortified base established by the Spanish in North America between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fortresses were built to protect against pirates, hostile native Americans and enemy colonists. Other presidios were held by Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth...

 of Valença, and later of Elvas.
In 1815 he was promoted to marshal

Marshal

Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...

.