Afonso I, Duke of Braganza Afonso I, Duke of Braganza Dom Afonso I of Braganza (; 10 August 1377 – 15 December 1461) was the first Duke of Braganza and the eighth Count of Barcelos. He would start a dynasty, the House of Braganza, that would end up being the most powerful and wealthy in all of Portugal. His descendants would go on to become high-ranking nobles, imperial officials, and even the Kings of Portugal and the Emperors of Brazil. Historians believe he was born in Veiros, Estremoz, Alentejo, as a natural son of Portuguese King John I and Inês Peres. He married the heiress
House of Braganza Eugénia of Braganza, married Francisco de Melo, 2nd Marquis of Ferreira. Jaime I's only other son, other than Teodósio I, to not enter into the church, Constantino of Braganza, married Maria de Melo, daughter of D. Rodrigo de Melo, 1st Marquis of Ferreira, but had no children. Constantino was famed as a great officer of the Portuguese Empire, having served as the Viceroy of Portuguese India and Captain of Ribeira Grande, among other positions. The fifth Duke, Teodósio I, is remembered for being the personification of the Portuguese Renaissance. A patron of the arts and scholarly noble, Teodósio I maintained