Welcome to
The Camara Connection!

This is a page for and about persons all over the world who share the Portuguese surname Camara. If you are one of them and would like to be a part of this page, just drop me some email.

Origins of the Surname Camara

João Gonçalves Zarco

The surname Camara (Câmara in Portuguese) has its origin in the 14th century, beginning with a Portuguese sailor named João Gonçalves Zarco who lived circa 1380-1460.

Probably the son of Gonçalo Esteves Arco, Zarco had lived, or had been born in the manor of Matosinhos, which was the residence of the Coutinhos, Lords of the Leomil Estate. The Arcos were a destinguished Jewish family from Tomar, where a large number of Jews had settled and built the Synagogue of the Arch (Arco), which still stands today in Rua Nova. Tomar was also the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal, which later became the Order of Christ.

Zarco had a distinguished career; As a squire, he fought alongside Prince Henry the Navigator and Dom Vasco Fernandes Coutinho in the conquest of Ceuta in 1415. He was a member of the Order of Christ and held the title of Admiral of the Galleys. He was also a pioneer of naval artillery, being the first to place cannon in the prow of his ships. After his discovery of Madeira, he was appointed Captain-Donatary of Funchal.

Perhaps his greatest known accomplishment was the discovery of the Archipelago of Madeira. In 1418, he and Tristão Vaz Teixeira were ordered by Prince Henry to explore the land of Guinea in Africa, south of Morocco. Carried off course by a storm out into the Atlantic Ocean, they came upon an uninhabited island which they named Porto Santo. In 1419, they discovered a larger island to the southwest, which became known as Madeira. On Madeira, Zarco named a certain area "Câmara de Lobos" due to a number of sea lions found in a cave there. (Note: In Portuguese, sea lion is lobo marinho, which translates literally as sea wolf.)

On 4 July 1460, King Dom Afonso V of Portugal issued a decree changing his name to João Gonçalves Zarco da Câmara de Lobos. Usage then shortened his family name to Gonçalves da Câmara, which was subsequently passed on to his descendants.

Zarco married Constança Rodrigues de Sá and had seven children; João, Rui, Helena, Garcia, Beatriz, Isabel and Catarina Gonçalves da Câmara

His original surname Zarco, was shrouded in mystery. There have been many contradicting suggestions about its origin due to intentional distortions that may have been perpetrated during the Portuguese Inquisition. Even though Zarco and his descendants were Christians, their Jewish ancestry put them at risk. It was suggested that Zarco derived from a nickname meaning "the squinter" or from the Arabic "zarca" meaning light blue eyes. Other versions suggest that he had lost any eye in battle, or that he took the name from a Moor that he had killed in battle. Mascarenhas Barreto suggests that Gonçalves Zarco was derived from his father's name, Gonçalo Esteves Arco

References:
Barreto, Mascarenhas, The Portuguese Columbus: Secret Agent of King John II
Câmara, Rubens R., Cyber-Inn
Guill, James H., A History of the Azores Islands, Volume 5

Pais Incognitos (Unknown Parents)

The Camara surname was also given to persons with pais incognitos (unknown parents.) These children were given the status of wards of the town council (câmara municipal) and subsequently the surname Câmara.

The Camara Coat of Arms

The Camara coat of arms depicts a silver tower between two golden wolves rampant, all on top of a hill of green and silver. The background is a field of black.

If anyone out there has a color version of the coat of arms, email me. It would make a great addition to this website.

Thanks to Francisco Antônio Doria for allowing me to use his drawing of the Camara coat of arms.

Was Christopher Columbus Related to the Camaras?

Historical research undertaken by Mascarenhas Barreto and Dr. Manuel Luciano da Silva has shed new light on the life of the historical figure we know as Christopher Columbus. According to Barreto's book and Dr. da Silva's articles, the true identity of Christopher Columbus (or more properly, Cristovão Colón) was Salvador Fernandes Zarco, the illegitimate son of Prince Fernando (Master of the Order of Christ, Duke of Viseu and Beja and son of King Duarte) and Isabel da Câmara (daughter of João Gonçalves Zarco). Therefore, it seems that Cristovão Colón was indeed related to the Camaras, being the grandson of João Gonçalves Zarco.

Furthermore, it seems that Cristovão Colón was a Portuguese spy in the court of the Spanish monarchs, in the employ of his cousin, King João II of Portugal. His mission: To divert Spain from the true sea route to India by misleading them into the Caribbean in search of a passage which he knew did not exist. This allowed King João II to secure the true route to the East, claiming the lucrative spice trade for Portugal.

Consider these questions: If Columbus was Italian, why did he never speak or write Italian? How could a Genoese wool carder and peasant marry a Portuguese woman of noble birth? Why did he never sign his name? What was the meaning of his cabalistic sigla? Why did he first sail to Lisbon rather than Spain upon his return from his voyage of 1492? What did he discuss when meeting with King João II at that time? How could he have gained his knowledge of navigation and cosmology if he had only studied at the University of Pavia where these subjects were not taught?

References:
Barreto, Mascarenhas, The Portuguese Columbus: Secret Agent of King John II
da Silva, Manuel Luciano, M.D., Columbus Was 100% Portuguese!

For more information on this subject, see Dr. da Silva's homepage or read this article from the New Bedford Standard Times.

The Top 10 Camara States

After seeing the list of the Top 10 Medeiros States on The Medeiros Web I became curious about which states had the most Camaras. So I used American Directory Assistance to look up the number of Camaras listed in the white pages in each state. Following is the list of the Top 10 Camara States:

1) Massachusetts (367)
2) California (192)
3) New York (120)
4) Rhode Island (119)
5) Florida (82)
6) Hawaii (57)
7) Texas (29)
8) Maryland (26)
9) New Jersey (22)
10) Connecticut (17)

Camaras in Canada

Along the same lines as The Top 10 Camara States, this is a listing of the number of Camaras found in the white pages of each of the Canadian provinces and territories. To determine this, I used Canada411. Unfortunately, Canada411 does not have information for Alberta and Saskatchewan, so I have no data for those two provinces.

1) Ontario (200)
2) Quebec (72)
3) British Columbia (18)
4) Manitoba (17)
5) New Brunswick,Northwest Territories,Nova Scotia,Prince Edward Island,Yukon Territory (0)

Do You Know Any of These People?

This picture was given to me by Lisa Camara. The gentleman third from the right in the back row is her grandfather, Antonio Camara. Lisa would appreciate any help in identifying the other people in the picture.

A Few People Named Camara

• Aura Camara is 16 years old and lives in Oakville, Ontario. She is Paula's sister. Aura is wondering if anyone has heard of any other Camaras with the name "Aura" or "Aurita"; She was always told that it was a family name.
• Bob Camara is a resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut. He works as a Research Chemist and Environmental and Safety Manager with a company in Fairfield, Connecticut. Bob serves as Flotilla Commander of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 24-2 of Stratford, Connecticut. He is also the owner of this website.
• Lisa Camara is a Veterinary Technician who has been in the field for about 12 years. She lives in Massachusetts and is currently back at school working on her BS in Biology. Lisa has been climbing her family tree since 1993. Her other hobbies include pets, respecting nature, canoing, bird watching, photography and learning more and more about computers. Lisa has been at a standstill for a while on Camara research, but is willing to share any information she has. She is also co-owner of At Net's End.
• Liz Camara is Bob's wife. She works as Office Manager for an insurance agency in Shelton, Connecticut. She's the greatest!
• Luis Camara is Paula's uncle and the youngest son of her Grandpa Carlos. He is 23 and also lives in Oakville, Ontario. He loves music and geology. Luis will be getting married in September to Darlene Silveira. Paula gets to be a bridesmaid!
• Paul D. Camara lives in Providence, Rhode Island but was born and bred in Fall River, Massachusetts. He is the Administrator of Diagnostic and Outpatient Services at a teaching hospital in Providence. He is also the Director of Chemistry and Toxicology. Paul also teaches in the University of Rhode Island Graduate Program in Clinical Laboratory Sciences and is an avid guitar player and singer. He's working on learning Portuguese fados.
• Paula Alexandra Camara is 18 years old and lives in Oakville, Ontario. Paula and her family moved to Canada from the small village of Maia, on São Miguel in the Azores. Paula's grandfather's name is Carlos Camara.
• Rubens R. Câmara is a lawyer in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. He is also the owner of Cyber-Inn.

People With Camaras in Their Family Trees

Rufina Bernardetti Silva Mausenbaum of South Africa writes that her great grandmother and great-great grandmother, both from Madeira, shared the name Antonia de Franca da Camara. You can find some of Rufina's writings relating to the Portuguese Jewish experience on Lusaweb's Saudades page.

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