The House of Cámara (also known in Spanish as de la Cámara or in Portuguese as da Câmara or Gonçalves da Câmara) is an Iberian aristocratic family that originates from the early 13th Century Kingdom of Castile. The family was originally knighted after fighting under King Ferdinand III of Castile during the Battle of Baeza (1227). In the following centuries, they would serve the Spanish Crown fighting in many of the battles of the Reconquista. [1]
A cadet branch of the family established itself in the Kingdom of Portugal. The Portuguese branch are direct descendants of João Gonçalves Zarco (Zarco), who discovered and conquered the island of Madeira. [2] From the 15th century until the end of the donataries' regime, they maintained the hereditary title of Captain-Major (Capitães dos Donatários) on the island of São Miguel in the Azores. Serving the Portuguese crown, the family received various noble titles[3], including: Counts of Calheta (1576), Count of Vila Franca (1583 ), Count of Ribeira Grande (1662), Marquis of Castelo Melhor (1766), Count of Taipa (1823), Count of Ribeira Grande (1855), Count of Canavial (1880), among others.[4]
In the sixteenth century, Juan de la Cámara was one of the main Spanish conquistadores responsible for the Spanish conquest of Yucatán and was one of the founders of the city of Mérida [5] [6]. His descendants live there to this day and are one of the principal families of the Mexican nobility. [7]
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