Her mother was a wealthy Brazilian, Catarina de Orta, and her father was Portuguese, José Ramos da Silva, knight of the Order of Christ, purveyor of the Lisbon Mint.
At the time of their marriage, José was already one of the richest men in São Paulo, owner of properties in the city as well as gold and diamond lands in Minas Gerais.
Upon the family's return to Lisbon, Silva e Orta and her sister studied at Convento das Trinas,[2] in preparation for joining a religious order.
After her husband died, when she was just 42 years old, Silva e Orta was accused of lying to King José about her youngest son's secret relationship with a wealthy woman.
[1] In the book Obra Reunida, from the Revisões Series, published in 1993, in addition to Maxims of Virtue and Formosura (1752), there are also the texts she wrote in the cloister of the Monastery of Ferreira de Aves.