Joaquim Manoel de Mello e Mendonça was a descendant of Europe, He was the son of the noble knight of the royal household and lieutenant colonel of the Indian army António Pedro de Mello e Mendonça Silva Sa e Almeida, a European; — born in Goa in the province of Pondá da nova Conquista* on June 18, 1812; aged 16, he enlisted as a soldier in the 2nd infantry regiment stationed in the said province on June 24, 1827; he became a cadet on July 29 of the same year and an ensign on January 30, 1833. He completed his studies and obtained a letter from the old military academy of Goa on August 14, 1938; he was acting troop paying commissioner on 1 March 1837 and served in this commission until 4 April 1839; director of the gunpowder factory on January 21, 1840, appointed by the governor of India and confirmed by royal decree on July 21 of the same year; In 1842 he went, at his own expense and without pay, to Lisbon, where he studied at the Polytechnic School for three years, studying chemistry, physics and political economy; he was made lieutenant on June 20, 1842 and after completing the aforementioned qualifications at the Polytechnic School and studying the theory and practice of gunpowder manufacturing in Lisbon, he was appointed director of the Goa gunpowder factory for the second time by decree of July 3, 1845 and promoted to captain on October 15 of the same year.
He returned to Goa in 1846 and introduced many improvements in the refining of gunpowder and in the administration of the establishment, which in 1860 was awarded the gold medal for the good quality of its gunpowder, awarded at the industrial exhibition. He was 3 times attorney to the general district council in 1844 and 1859- and 2-times member of the government council, in addition to several other important commissions of the public service he served. When the governor general, Viscount of Villa Nova D Ourem, reorganized the arsenal by dividing it into 4 depots, he appointed Mr. Mendonça director of the 4th depot, which was the gunpowder store, by order of 9 February 1855. On 17 October 1859 he was promoted to the rank of major of artillery. He was elected deputy to the Cortes of Bardez on 11 August 1861 and as such, he left for Lisbon, took his seat in the decisive assembly on 7 February 1868 and continued to reside even after not being a deputy, until November 1864, when he returned to Goa with José Ferrara Pestana, who became governor of India for the 2nd time, was appointed acting director of the military department of the government’s administration on July 14, 1865; and left the post of inspector of the arsenal on May 5, 1866 to take up the post of inspector of the arsenal. He was the governor of Praça d’Aguada since February 5, 1870; In the 3 years from 1867 to 1869 he was successively appointed provider of the Caza de Mizercordia after having years before served in the lower positions of the administrative board of that very important institution of its kind in Goa*. He was a knight of the military order of S. Bento d’Âviz by decree of 31 August 1850 and commander of the same order by decree of 10 November 1864 – he has the silver medal for good service.