[1] Established in Spain since 1554, and famous for his intelligence, Cristóvão de Moura was put in charge of diplomacy among the Portuguese nobility by Philip II of Spain, fuelling the political rivalry between the Prior of Crato and the Duke of Braganza, and gathering sympathisers to the cause of the Spanish monarch among the crust of Portuguese society and government.

Among other privileges, the King rewarded his services with the post of Comptroller of the Exchequer (vedor da Fazenda) and, afterwards, granted him the title of 1st Count of Castelo Rodrigo (1594).

The government of the Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo was not well-liked by the Portuguese; the higher taxes he introduced were a contributing factor for this.

Cristóvão de Moura married Margarida Corte-Real, heiress of the Captaincy of Angra, in Terceira Island, Azores, in 1581.

Of his wife, Margarida Corte-Real Of Ana Afonso: Media related to Cristóvão de Moura, 1st Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo at Wikimedia Commons