Sancho Manuel de Vilhena explained

Honorific Prefix:	His Lordship
The Count of Vila Flor
Birth Date:	1610
Birth Place:	Lisbon, Portugal
Death Place:	Lisbon, Portugal
Allegiance:	Kingdom of Portugal
Rank:	General
Battles:	Dutch–Portuguese War Portuguese Restoration War Battle of the Lines of Elvas Battle of Ameixial

D. Sancho Manuel de Vilhena, 1st Count of Vila Flor (1610 – 3 February 1677), was a Portuguese nobleman and military leader, of royal background.

He participated in several battles in Central Europe and fought the Dutch in Brazil between 1638 and 1640. During the Portuguese Restoration War, he was appointed general, and participated in the defence of Beira. His greatest victories were the Battle of the Lines of Elvas in 1659 and the Battle of Ameixial in 1663.António Manuel de Vilhena, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John and ruler of Malta, was his fifth son.

He was memorialized in a prominent azulejo of the Room of the Battles (Portuguese: Sala das Batalhas) in the Palace of the Marquises of Fronteira, created in 1671–1672 and depicting the Battle of Ameixial.^[1]

Notes and References

The inscription in Portuguese reads as follows: Portuguese: Altissimo enseaimaimportante memoravel batalha Domingial q' ganharão asenvensiveis armas portuguezas asitidas da direcção do Conde Devillaflor eosmais cabos e pessoas notaveis [damaged section] em seus ostos aonumeroso vetereno easis formidavel exercito deCastela que governava Dom ião de Austria oprimeiro Castelhano que por suas virtudes fama nasimento heomais natural filho de Felippe 4 idisputada econseguida aos 8 deiunho de 663 com total rota detodo o exercito eperda universal do trem de bagagens eartilharia epessoas degrande conta e grandes deespanha e dous mil cavallos q' se tomarão vivos for a os mortos eferidos que ficarão no campo. Web site: Academia.edu . Os painéis de azulejos da Sala das batalhas do Palácio Fronteira de um ponto de vista militar . Nuno Lemos Pires . 2000.