His paternal grandfather was Bernardino António Gomes, a recognized medic and specialist in Brazilian botany, who helped introduce vaccination techniques into Portugal.

In his first intervention (on 10 July 1869), on land contributions, he caused a sensation for his knowledge and breadth of investigation: his discourse was important for launching a career that concentrated on fiscal matters and public finance, that would eventually place in the directorship at the Bank of Portugal.

During this session, he sat on the 1870-71 Comissão da Fazenda (English: Finance Commission) and the 1870 Comissão dos Expostos (English: Oversight Commission), developing that policies that would serve him later during debates on the question of contributions to house rentals, the discussions on the national budget (1870), reports on fiscal reform, including the abolition of exemptions to financial institutions and the accounts of the Junta de Crédito Público.

Consequently, he was sent to Funchal during a similar commercial crisis on the island in order to consolidate the Bank of Portugal's interests within the local business bureaus.

Later, when the Progressive Party was called on by the King to form a government (on 29 May 1879) he was appointed Ministério dos Negócios da Fazenda (English: Minister of Finances and Public Administration) to the Cortes on 1 June 1879, ultimately resigning from the Bank of Portugal.

In addition to reorganizing the customs-houses and established policies on industrial contributions, he defended the Treaty of Zaire (1885) and the creation of a District of Congo, in Angola.

Barro Gomes promoted the editing and sale of Portuguese pamphlets, in order to reduce the dependency on foreign publications, which were seen as contrary to the interests of Portugal.

He was a defender of the Companhia de Moçambique and the maintenance of capital in the Mala Real Portuguesa in the hands of Portuguese, in order to eliminate the possibility of African links being lost to foreign merchants.

Barros Gomes also opposed the alteration of the tobacco monopoly, a factor that would continue to spoil the Portuguese political system for decades to come, provoking the fall of many ministers and governments.

During the government of José Luciano de Castro, Barros Gomes assumed the portfolio of the Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (English: Ministry of Foreign Affairs) between 20 February 1886 and 14 January 1890, then later the Ministério da Marinha e Ultramar (English: Ministry of the Navy and Overseas Territories) between 8 May – 15 September 1887, and finally returning to the finance portfolio as Minister of Finance and Public Administration between 23 February – 9 November 1889.

At the Berlin Conference, which essentially discussed issues of European occupation, Barros Gomes was successful in deliberations with Germany,[2] that would permit the establishment of "spheres of influence" of the signatory powers in the continent of Africa.