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 for 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 miserable conditions in the convent of Cape Saint Vicent. The remainder of the family, consequently, suffered a period of financial chaos and became social outcasts at court. Manuel Luís married late, and remained with his mother at the convent where his father was incarcerated, until his father"s death.
Donatário
She, therefore, sought from King Afonso VI to resuscitate the Captaincy and the incomes associated with this patronage.
By royal letter, dated 15 September 1662, the monarch named Doctorate. Manuel Luís Baltazar da Câmara, the first Count of Ribeira Grande, returning his familial interests and providing an inheritance for him and his descendents. Shortly later, on 28 September, the King re-instituted all the possessions confiscated from his father, including the Captaincy of São Miguel.
Later life
Manuel served in the Restoration Wars in the province of Alentejo, as master-of-camp in Setubal. He was believed to have gone mad before dying.
