Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Mello, Francisco Manoel

MELLO, Francisco Manoel, Portuguese author, b. in Lisbon, 23 Nov., 1611; d. there, 13 Oct., 1665. He served as a soldier in the Netherlands, and became brigadier-general in 1635. Returning to Spain in the same year he served till 1640, when he entered the service of the Duke of Braganca. Having killed one of his adjutants in a fit of passion he was imprisoned till 1652, when he was liberated on condition that he should emigrate to Brazil. He remained ten years in the latter country, over which he travelled extensively, and devoted his time to literary studies. Mello wrote over one hundred volumes both in Spanish and Portuguese. His works include “Relação dos successes da Armada que a companhia geral do commercio expeden ão Estado do Brazil a anno de 1549” (Lisbon, 1650); “Historia dos movimientos en el Brazil el anno 1650” (1651); “Ephemerides de varia historia Portugueza, em cinco relãçóes dos successos pertencentes a este reino” (1660-'6). Mello was also a poet, and composed tragedies and comedies, some of which are deposited in manuscript in the Royal library of Lisbon.