António Luís de Sousa , 2nd Marquis of Minas António Luís de Sousa , 4th Count of Prado and 2nd Marquess of Minas ( April 6 , 1644 – December 25 , 1721 ) was a Portuguese general and governor - general of the Portuguese colony of Brazil . He was the son of Dom Francisco , the first Marquês das Minas , and his second wife D . Eufrásia Filipa de Lima . From a very young age on , he was destined for a military career . At the age of 14 , he was present with his father at the Battle of the Lines of Elvas . The following years , he fought the Spanish in the northern Minho province , becoming a general in 1665 after the conquest of the town of Guardia . After the Peace Treaty of Lisbon he became military governor of Minho in the absence of his father , who was sent as ambassador to Rome . He assumed the title of Marquês das Minas after the death of his father in 1674 . Between 1684 and 1687 he was governor - general of Brazil . He had to restore the peace after the mismanagement of his predecessors , and was confronted with a serious epidemic in the Bahia province . In 1687 he returned to Portugal and was appointed counsellor of war . War of the Spanish Succession . At the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession ( 1702 – 1715 ) , King Peter II of Portugal initially supported France but on May 16 , 1703 , Portugal and Britain signed the Methuen Treaty . This trade accord was followed in December 1703 by a military alliance between Portugal , Austria , the Netherlands and Great Britain against Philip , the French candidate for the Spanish throne . Minas was sent to the border to prepare the Portuguese army for war , but in 1704 the Franco - Spanish troops attacked first . The Duke of Berwick conquered Salvaterra , Segura and Beira . Tilly invaded Alentejo and took Portalegre , and the Spanish general Villadarias took Castelo de Vide . The invasion was stopped by lack of support from Madrid , allied invasions of Barcelona and Gibraltar and the resistance organised by Minas ( who won a minor battle at Monsanto ) . Berwick had to withdraw his troops to Spain . In October 1705 a first invasion of Spain was launched under the command of Henri de Massue , 1st Earl of Galway and the Marquess of Minas . The aim was to conquer Badajoz , thus opening a second front to support Peterborough in Catalonia . But the relationship between the two allied commanders was so bad , and the coordination so poor , that it wasn ' t too difficult for the experienced French commander de Tessé to repel the invasion . In 1706 de Tessé was beaten near Barcelona , and it became apparent that the border with Portugal was unprotected . Minas took his chance and marched his army all the way to Madrid , bypassing Badajoz . The stiffest resistance was met at Alcántara , where the garrison of 4200 resisted for 5 days until it had to capitulate . The army of the Duke of Berwick was in the vicinity , but wasn ' t strong enough to risk a battle . On June 28 , 1706 the Portuguese army entered Madrid and Archduke Charles was acclaimed King of Spain . But very soon it became clear that the allies in Madrid were very isolated . The population was hostile and the Duke of Berwick was cutting off communications with Portugal and Aragon . The decision was made to abandon Madrid and to join the allied troops in Valencia . The Duke of Berwick was waiting for them and inflicted a crushing defeat in the Battle of Almansa . < br > Minas was replaced as commander of the Portuguese troops in Spain by his nephew Pedro Manuel de Ataíde . On his return to Portugal he was appointed estribeiro - mor ( chief equerry ) to the queen , for the rest of his life . < br > As Marquis of Minas , he was succeeded by his son João de Sousa , 3rd Marquis of Minas .