He was born to José Joaquim de Paiva Cabral Couceiro, a notable engineer in the Portuguese Army and Helena Isabel Teresa Mitchell, an Irish Protestant who converted to Catholicism (after being educated in a convent in France).

[2] Destined by family-upbringing to join the military, after concluding his preparatory studies in Lisbon (January 14, 1879), at 17 years of age, he volunteered for service in the 2nd Cavalry's Royal Lancers Regiment, a position that he served in until 1880.

In a unanimous decision, the council did not find attempted murder charges had been proven, but yet sentenced him to two years in a military prison, later (on April 7, 1882) to be commuted to six months in addition to time served.

He did not remain at this outpost for long; apparently he was unsatisfied with his subordinates, their methods and inferior level of discipline, but was able to utilize them in a campaign to retrieve missing cattle, instead of hiring local Boer mercenaries, which had been the custom.

For the chief's recognition of Portuguese sovereignty over his territories, Paiva Couceiro brought with him a colonels tunic and sword, textiles, gold, velvet, boxes of Porto wine and arms, which were to be delivered in 300 crates when the Governor of Angola canceled the project.

But his personal failure to resolve the conflict, and suffering from a loss of dignity and honor from the confrontation with the chief, and from a general pessimism associated with the British Ultimatum, caused Silva Porto to wrap himself in a Portuguese flag and attempt suicide by lighting several barrels of explosives.

His caravan began its journey on April 30, 1890, and included an interpreter (Joaquim Guilherme Gonçalves), ten Mozambican soldiers, three quartermasters and 90 attendants, who traveled into areas occupied by 16 chiefs with different cultures and in environments[6] that had, until then, not been visited by Europeans.

On terminating this operation he was charged with subjugation of the region of Caranganja and to explore the deposits of salt along the eastern margin of the Cuanza River (wherein he produced detailed reports on the 12-day 453-kilometer expedition).

Generally unhappy with life in Lisbon,[9] he requested a temporary assignment transfer to the Spanish Foreign Legion, which was in service in Melilla during the Battle of the Riff mountains, in Morocco.

Upon arriving the contingent encountered a majority of local tribes (that included the Tongas, Batongas, Machopes and the Vátuas) against the Portuguese, encircling Lourenço Marques, and occupying the island of Xefina.

A month later, while attempting to rendezvous with the "friendly" Matola and Moamba tribes[10] (which never appeared), Paiva Coucerio's detachment of 37 officers and 791 soldiers (that included 300 Angolans) were attacked on the morning of February 2.

Near the former fort of Stokolo, about 12 kilometers from the main road, Paiva Couceiro and Freire de Andrade built an outpost (Ponto X) and bridges without any conflict from the Cossine or Vátua tribes.

[4] Paiva Couceiro's contingent, once again, became separated from his colleague Freire de Andrade's column, and finding the tribes of Cossine exhorted an ultimatum to surrender the rebel Matibejana within three days.

Although he demonstrated extraordinary physical courage, he placed his forces in unnecessary harm, but was to become a celebrity and feted with local honors, particularly after the imprisonment of Gungunhana: At the conclusion of these operations, Paiva Couceiro left Lourenço Marques (December 18, 1895).

Arriving in Lisbon in February 1896, he was proclaimed Benemérito da Pátria ("Honored of the Fatherland"), by unanimity of the Royal Court, recognized for his contribution to Gungunhana's later imprisonment he was made Commander of the Order of the Tower and Sword,[15] and provided with an annual pension of 500$000 réis.

In 1898, Paiva Couceiro was transferred into a bureaucratic and administrative role within the armed forces hierarchy; he took part in discussions on Law 14, that dealt with the provisional creation of a 2nd Captain in Artillery, and also debated, with conviction, rapid promotions and better salaries for officers.

His position was galvanized by the suicide of Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque, a compatriot and hero of the Mozambique campaigns responsible for the surrender of Gungunhana, who was slowly destroyed by political intrigue.

His political thoughts, imbued with nationalism and Catholicism, preceded in many ways the Integralismo Lusitano, which included the philosophies of Joaquim Pedro de Oliveira Martins and Guerra Junqueiro (who wrote Finis Patriae).

Assuming a moral stance, on April 1, 1902, he sent a "respectful petition" to the Royal Court, to decry the imposition of customs taxes on the state's creditors, to recommend a balanced budget and suggested reforms to the political system that guided the "nobleness and traditions" of the Portuguese populous.

It was not long after his petition that a new scandal surfaced: in December 1902 António Teixeira de Sousa, the Minister of the Marines and Colonies in the Hintze Ribeiro government, negotiated a contract with Robert Williams (a Breton who the press referred to as the "disciple of Cecil Rhodes") to construct a rail-line to link Lobito and Benguela (in Mozambique) to the Congolese border, which guaranteed a 99-year transport monopoly and access to mineral exploration along an area 240 kilometers wide by 1,347 kilometres in length.

Under the suggestion of King Carlos, the new Minister of the Navy, Aires de Ornelas, one of Paiva Couveiro's Africanist comrades, invited him to accept the prestigious colonial position; being a supporter of João Franco had helped his nomination.

His objectives were clear: occupy, explore and garrison the territory until the most remote frontiers, to guarantee security and prevent external interference; promote economic development in the colony, creating cheap, rapid communication to fix Portuguese colonists, providing local work for the indigenous and reducing the weight of protectionism and urban monopolies; and allow the local provincial government to resolve issues autonomously, without the interference of the central government.

After João Franco's government fell in 1908 (a victim of the events around the assassination of King D. Carlos and his heir Prince Luís Filipe), Paiva Couceiro maintained his position until July 22, 1909, after realizing many public works.

While Portuguese politics was embroiled in constant scandals, in particular the allegations of fraud in the Crédito Predial Português, Paiva Couceiro remained relatively separated from these conflicts, occupied with his aspirations of obtaining a promotion to Major.

His sentence was formalized on November 19, 1912, by a military tribunal, officially exiling the Captain in 1915; in article 2 of the Amnesty Decree issued February 22, 1915, signed by Bernardino Luíz Machado Guimarães and Manuel Joaquim Rodrigues Monteiro it is made clear that the leaders and instigators, who included Paiva Couceiro specifically, were expelled from the territory of the Portuguese Republic for a period of ten years.

With the help of expatriates, he was able to subvert the institutions in the northern territories from Moinho along the Vouga River, and in the name of D. Manuel II of Portugal, exiled in Great Britain, attempted to restore the 1826 Constitution.

The Army, above all, is the highest expression of the Fatherland and, for this, it must support and guard the nation in the most difficult circumstances, aiding in the appropriate hour against risks, be them external or internal, that threatens its existence...And to abandon your history is an error that kills!

On February 13, Paiva Couceiro was once again brought before a military tribunal, convened to sentence the participants of the Northern Monarchy; along with António Solari Alegro, he was condemned to exile on December 3, 1920, this time for 25 years (Diário do Minho, Braga 4/12/1920).

During the Estado Novo Paiva Couceiro was yet again banished, this time for six months, following a public criticism which he had made of the colonial politics employed by António de Oliveira Salazar's administration.

Two years later, he was permitted to return to Portugal, and there to the last he declared his imperial aspirations: On November 21, 1896, he married Júlia Maria de Noronha, only daughter of the 3rd Count of Parati in the parish of Encarnação, with King D. Carlos acting as best-man.