Francisco Affonso Da Costa Chaves E Mello

Francisco Afonso de Chaves e Melo was a Portuguese writer and landowner from Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel in the Azores. Sources describe him as a member of an old and prominent local family, and as a man who held public roles including captain of ordnance, customs judge, and contador of the royal treasury in São Miguel and Santa Maria.

He is best known as the author of A Margarita Animada, first published in 1723. The book centers on the life of the venerable Margarida de Chaves, but it also opens out into moral reflection, local history, and a description of São Miguel, which gives it lasting value beyond devotional writing.

Although not widely known today outside Azorean history, his work remains an important window into the culture and memory of the islands in the 18th century. I couldn’t confirm a suitable modern portrait photo from reliable page images, so no profile image is included.