Manuel was the son of Rodrigo da Câmara and D. Maria Coutinho, dame in the court of Queen Elizabeth of Bourbon.
He was 21 years old when he testified against his father in front of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, for alleged practices of sodomy and supposed incestuous relations.
These crimes, at the time, resulted in the forfeiture of family possessions and loss of honour at Corte: his father eventually died in miserable conditions in the convent of Cape St. Vicent.
[1] By royal letter, dated 15 September 1662, the monarch named D. Manuel Luís Baltazar da Câmara, the first Count of Ribeira Grande, returned his familial interests and provided an inheritance for him and his descendants.
Shortly later, on 28 September, the King re-instituted all the possessions confiscated from his father, including the Captaincy of São Miguel.