King Luís I (Luís Mendez de Pinto)

Luís Mendez de Pinto (1517-1573) was the founder and first king of Amargo. He was a commander in the Portuguese colony Lian Po, south of Shanghai. When the Chinese attacked Lian Po, the Portuguese tried to defend the colony, but they were too weak, because there were not enough troops and money from Portugal. One of the Portuguese commanders was Luís Mendez de Pinto. He found a sparsely inhabited island and founded Amargo. In 1546, Mendez de Pinto declared himself king of Amargo.

See also: History of Amargo