He produced his first play or opera in 1733, and the next year he married his cousin, D. Leonor Maria de Carvalho, whose parents had been burnt by the Inquisition, while she herself had gone through an "auto-da-fé" in Spain and been exiled on account of her religion. They had their first daughter in 1734, but the years of their marriage and of Silva's dramatic career were few, for on October 5, 1737, husband and wife were both imprisoned on the charge of "judaizing." A slave of theirs had denounced them to the Holy Office. Though the details of the accusation against them seemed trivial and contradictory, and some of his friends testified about his Catholic piety and observation, António was condemned to death. On October 18, like those who wanted to die in the Catholic faith, he was first strangled and after had his body burnt in an "auto-da-fé". His wife, who witnessed his death, did not long survive him.