Filipa Moniz Perestrelo
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| Filipa Moniz Perestrelo | |
|---|---|
| Born | ca. 1455 |
| Died | ca. 1484 |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Known for | Being the wife of Christopher Columbus |
| Spouse | Christopher Columbus (1479) |
| Children | Diego Columbus |
| Parents | Bartolomeu Perestrelo Isabel Moniz |
Filipa Moniz Perestrelo (ca. 1455 – ca. 1484) was a Portuguese noblewoman who became the wife of Christopher Columbus in 1479. She was the daughter of Isabel Moniz and Bartolomeu Perestrelo.[1] Prior to marrying Christopher Columbus, Filipa was one of the twelve elite Comendadoras of the Monastery of All Saints in Lisbon of the Military Order of St. James which means she had a comendary.[2] Both Columbus's son Ferdinand and Bartolomé de las Casas describe Filipa as a "noble Comendadora" residing in the Monastery of All Saints in Lisbon.[3] A document from the All-Saints Monastery, (TT, Convento de Santos-o-Novo, Doc. 477. Convento de Santos-o-Velho, 4-1-1475) [4][unreliable source?] shows that Filipa Moniz is listed as one of the twelve Donas Comendadoras, as well as being involved in the management of the Monastery's properties and rental contracts overseen by the lead Dona, Violante Nogueira, sister-in-law of Filipa's father through a previous marriage.
Some writers[who?] question how Christopher Columbus, if he was the son of a Genoese wool weaver, could marry the daughter of a Portuguese Knight of Santiago, member of the household of Prince John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz (Master of Santiago,) and of Prince Henry the Navigator's household. However, Samuel Eliot Morison[5] wrote that this is "no great mystery." Filipa was "already about 25 years old," her mother was a widow "with slender means," and "her mother was glad enough to have no more convent bills to pay, and a son-in-law [...] who asked for no dowry."
Another view is presented by Portuguese Professor Joel Silva Ferreira Mata, from Porto University, who researched All-Saints and its residents,[6] showed that as "member" of the Order of Santiago, in order for Filipa to marry the future Admiral Columbus, she, like all members, required authorization from Santiago's Master,[7] because, like all other religious and military orders, the Order of Santiago had its established rules and protocols by which it was governed.[8] The Master of Santiago from 1470 to 1492, thus governing at the time of Filipa's marriage, was King John II of Portugal. From this marriage was born Diego Columbus in 1479 or 1480 who went on to become 2nd Admiral of the Indies, 2nd Viceroy of the Indies and 3rd Governor of the Indies and who married King Fernando's cousin, María de Toledo y Rojas. Thus Filipa Moniz was daughter of a King's Captain, wife of a Viceroy and mother of another Viceroy.
Filipa was buried in the Capela da Piedade (Chapel of Piety), which is the first chapel to the right of the main chapel in the Carmo Convent (Lisbon) along with her sister, Izeu Perestrelo and her brother-in-law, Pedro Correia da Cunha. The date of her death is not known.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Freitas, Antonio Maria de (1893). The Wife of Columbus: With Genealogical Tree of the Perestrello and Moniz Families. New York: Stettinger, Lambert & Co. http://www.archive.org/details/wifeofcolumbus00frei.
- ^ A district or a manor with lands and tenements appertaining thereto, under the control of a member of an order of knights who was called a commander; - called also a preceptory. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Commandery
- ^ Historie del S. D. Fernando Colombo; nelle quali s'ha particolare, & vera relatione della vita, & de fatti dell'Ammiraglio D. Cristoforo Colombo, suo padre: Et dello scoprimento ch'egli fece dell'Indie Occidentali, dette Mondo Nuovo (The life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand)
- ^ Manuel Rosa, Colón. La Historia Nunca Contada. Badajoz: Esquilo Ediciones, 2010. ISBN 978-989-8092-66-3, page 144
- ^ Samuel Eliot Morison, Admiral of the Ocean Sea pp. 37-39
- ^ A Comunidade Feminina da Ordem de Santiago: A comenda de Santos na Idade Média, Prof. Joel Silva Ferreira Mata, Universidad Lusíada, Oporto, 1992.
- ^ http://www.cepese.pt/portal/investigacao/publicacoes/Militarium_9.pdf
- ^ MATA, Joel Silva Ferreira – A comunidade feminina da Ordem de Santiago: a comenda de Santos em finais do século XV e no século XVI. Um estudo religioso, económico e social. In Militarium Ordinum Analecta. Porto, No. 9, Fundação Engenheiro António de Almeida, 2007.
