Matias de Albuquerque

His Lordship The Count of Alegrete
The Count of Alegrete by Feliciano de Almeida (1673-5), in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Lieutenant-Governor of Pernambuco
In office 1620–1627
Monarch	Philip II of Portugal Philip III of Portugal
Preceded by	Diogo de Mendonça Furtado
Succeeded by	Diogo Luís de Oliveira
Personal details
Born	c. 1580 Olinda, Portuguese colony of Brazil
Died	1647 Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Military service
Allegiance	Portuguese Empire
Service/branch	Army
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Dutch-Portuguese War Portuguese Restoration War

Matias de Albuquerque (Olinda, colony of Brazil, 1580s – Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal, 9 June 1647), the first and only Count of Alegrete, was a Portuguese colonial administrator and soldier. He was nicknamed "Hero of Two Continents" for his performance, beginning in 1624, against the Dutch invaders of colonial Brazil (Captaincy of Pernambuco) and for his role, beginning in 1641, as a general in Portugal, fighting for João IV during the Portuguese Restoration War.

The youngest son of Jorge de Albuquerque Coelho, Matias was baptized as Paulo de Albuquerque, but he changed his name to Matias to honor his relative and godfather, Matias de Albuquerque, Viceroy of India.

The colony of Pernambuco in Brazil had been granted, in trust, to Matias's brother, Duarte de Albuquerque Coelho, under the system of hereditary captaincies (capitanias) established by the Portuguese crown as a device for administering their overseas possessions. Olinda, a town in Pernambuco colony, was Matias’s birthplace, but, as a young man, he left Olinda for Rio de Janeiro, where he trained for a military career.

He served three years in North Africa, and, in 1620, his brother, Duarte, asked him to serve as his agent in governing Pernambuco. There, he restored the personal authority of his family after almost fifty years of involvement in colonial administration only as absentees. He assumed the position of lieutenant-governor on 20 May 1620, and he went straight to work preparing the defenses of Pernambuco. (He remained in the post until November 1627.)

The following year, the huge size of Brazil led to the Portuguese colonies being divided into two estados (states); King Philip II created the State of Brazil, the most important colony, with Salvador (Bahia) as its capital, and, to its north, the State of Maranhão, with its capital at São Luís. Pernambuco was a captaincy within the State of Brazil.