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History of Portugal (1834-1910)
Encyclopedia
The history of Portugal
from the end of the Liberal Civil War in 1834 to the republican revolution of 1910 was marked by several events that made way for the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in the 5 October 1910 revolution
.
The initial turmoil of coups d'état perpetrated by the victorious generals of the Civil War was followed by a parliamentary unstable system of governmental "rotation" marked by the growth of the Portuguese Republican Party
. This was caused mainly by the inefficiency of the monarchic governments as well as the monarchs' apparent lack of interest for the country, aggravated by the British ultimatum for the abandonment of the Portuguese "pink map" project that united Portuguese East
and West Africa
(today's Angola and Mozambique).
The situation culminated in a dictatorship-like government imposed by King Carlos I
, in the person of João Franco
, followed by the king's assassination in the Lisbon regicide
of 1908 and the revolution of 1910.
grew from competitng manifestations of the liberal ideology and their adherents. It was seen by Gastão Pereira de Sande, Count of Taipa, then an oppositionist (commonly referred to as radicals), who saw the government as a "gang made up to devour the country under the shadow of a child" (wherein the child was represented by the young Queen, Maria II of Portugal).
The post-Civil War period was characterized by a precarious executive, a lack of ideological definition, by the marginalization of popular movements, indiscipline and intervention of military chiefs in politics. The death of the Regent
, former King Pedro, after successfully installing his daughter as Queen thrust the inexperienced Maria da Glória into a role that, at the age of 15 years, she was unprepared to handle.
Her counselors, many aristocrats and nobles, still used the royalty as a counter to the liberal revolution. There were two political currents: the moderates that defended the Constitutional Charter of 1828, and those who re-promoted the democratic Constitution of 1822. Both parties were disorganized, neither felt solidarity with the monarch, and their ideologies were not clearly defined; politicians regularly swung between Vintista and Constitutional politics. Meanwhile the majority of the population were disenfranchised: illiterate and/or culturally unrefined, they merely supported whichever wind blew in their favor. Education was limited to the cities, whose local merchants and apparatchik
s had some sense of political mobility. Economically, Portugal was no better: in the post-War era, it continued to make its (diminishing) wealth from the cultivation of the land, the taxes and land-rents, while the machines, capital and entrepreneurs necessary to sustain industry were neglected. The economy stagnated.
s, abolishing seigniorial fees, reducing export taxes to 1%, terminating inter-community commerce regulation, the intervention of the government in the municipality, the separation of the judiciary and administration, liberated commerce and prohibited some monopolies (such as soap and the sale of Porto wines). In general his initiatives, were legislated by the post-War
regimes to eliminate privilege, establish equality, the liberalization of the economy and smooth the performance of the government.
), Aguiar's government took control of the convents, churches, manor homes and holdings of various sects, that had been sustained by donations of the religious faithful and placed them for sale. Unfortunately, although they hoped to place land and goods in the hands of the more disadvantaged, most of the poor did not have the capital to purchase. In fact, total sales were ten times less than expected, and most holdings were purchased by speculators or existing landowners.
finally extinguished 466 municipalities in 1836, because many of those localities could not provide functional government. But this only lasted six years: in 1842 Costa Cabral
's regime instituted another process of centralization, which were quickly challenged by the legislative projects of Almeida Garrett
, Anselmo Braamcamp, Mártens Ferrão, and Dias Ferreira
. An economic revitalization in 1878 finally resulted in a new program of decentralization by Rodrigues Sampaio, which included exaggerated local responsibilities and the ability to raise taxes. But, by 1886 there was a new centralizing tendency. Consequently, over time (even extending into the Republican era) local authorities began to be supported by subsidy and co-financed projects.
For the first two years, the Constitutional Charter was the law of the land, but the government and opposition could not agree: the Queen substituted the government four times, then called fresh elections to bridge the impasse. The opposition saw in the governmental inertia and the political deterioration, as a consequence of the Charter, and wanted to return to the 1822 Liberal Constitution. These liberals were motivated by the movements in Spain, where in August 1836, a revolt by military officers (the Motín de La Granja de San Ildefonso) forced the reinstatement of the 1812 Cadiz Constitution
. Ultimately, on 9 September 1836 a revolution by the politicized population and National Guard in Lisbon to drive the Cartistas (Chartists) from power, forced the Queen to re-instate the 1822 Constitution in Portugal. The government installed after the revolution were known as Setembristas, their short-lived movement, Setembrismo, for having occurred in September. Although a popular manifestation, and later supported by the military and burgher politicians, it was a reactionary movement against the instability, and suffered from constant popular demands which paralyzed activity in government.
But, from the Palace of Belem, the Queen initiated her own counter-revolution to restore the Charter. It was supported by England and Belgium, which traded their support for territorial concession in Africa. Although Queen Maria II announced the resignation of the government and troops were garrisoned, Septembrist forces threatened to march on Belem. The Belenzada, as it was known (which meant the event in Belem0), failed.
In 1837, Marshals Saladanha and Terceira proclaimed the Charter in many of the garrisons of the provinces. The Revolta dos Marechais (Revolt of the Marshals) was provoked by the English, whom supported Saladanha and Terceira, and lasted briefly between July and September, but resulted in many deaths. But, even after these events, Soares Caldeira, the civil leader of the original Setembristas organized a militant group of paramilitary Guarda Nacional based in the Lisbon Arsenal, later known as the Arsenalistas. They terrorized Lisbon, wearing their beards long, and camped out in the Rossio. Eventually, government forces massacred these extremists in the Rossio on the night of 13 March 1838.
During its short reign, the Setemberist legislated the creation of public lyceums; the foundation of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lisbon and Oporto, the Medical-Surgical School in Oporto and the Poly-technical School of Lisbon; in Africa they expanded the overseas colonies, colonizing the plateaus in Angola and in 1836 prohibited slavery; and finally these liberal revolutionaries attempted to reconcile the various political currents by establishing a revised Constitution (1838) to find a compromise between Chartists and Setemberists. Parliament, would continue to be formed by two chambers, but the Upper Chamber was constituted by (temporary) elected and appointed senators.
But in 1842, in a coup d'etat
led by one-time radical Costa Cabral
(who influenced by French doctrinaire politics) began in Oporto, with royal approval. Queen Maria II ordered the reinstatement of the 1826 Charter, but little was made of reconciling the moderate or radical left, nor recognition of constituent power of the Nation. The 1844 Torres Novas/Almeida declaration was easily crushed, but ultimately Costa Cabrals' firm and disciplined majority could not contain an undisciplined popular revolt.
, Póvoa de Lanhoso
. Although the revolt included both men and women, it was known as Maria da Fonte
, because women had a salient involvement in the revolt, that was a rural uprising: armed with Carabiniers, pistols, torches, and stakes, the peasantry assaulted the municipal buildings, burned land records, stole property and even attacked a garrison from Braga. Some even declared themselves Miguelistas, but rather for being in opposition to the invasions of the State and taxes, then rather politically affirmed.
Failed Septemberist politicians, realized the political power that cholera-infected peasantry could have on the government, and used this fact to attack Cabral's government. They succeeded in Cabral's removal and exile, but the Queen assembled a larger, more loyal cadre of Cabralist politicians around her new government, headed by the Duke of Saldanha
.
Between 1847 and 1851 nothing happened: nothing was legislated, there were few conflicts and parliament was routine. Costa Cabral's return from exile, marked the only scandal of note, when he received a carriage in exchange for a purchase. But, the last true conflict occurred of this period was less a revolution, and more a personal conflict. Marshal Saladanha
, commander of the Liberal Wars and leader against the Patuleia forces, sidelined in the new politics, began a revolt in the quartel in Sintra
. Unfortunately, few supported him, and worse, in successive centers (Mafra
, Coimbra
, Viseu
, and Oporto) he only found deceptions. Finally, refugee in Galicia, the former-commander was acclaimed by regiments in Oporto, and returned to a enthusiastic support at the São João Theatre. His movement, was a self-styled Regeneração (Regeneration) of the political order, the monarch worried that Saladanha would attract new adherents (and thus plunge the nation once again into a Civil War), decided to bring him into the fold, and the Queen installed him in government.
Generally, the a wave of enthusiasm for national reconciliation swept the country: Cabral went again into exile and the country embarked on a program of material development directed by Minister Fontes Pereira de Melo
.
Chartists and non-Chartist transformed into Partido Regenerador (Regenerator Party) and the Partido Histórico (Historic Party), respectively, while later the reinvented Septemberists formed the Partido Progressista (Progressive Party). These two parties (Regenerator and Historic) were centrist, dedicated to the monarchy, liberal (centre-left and centre-right) politicians, and interested in economic reconstruction and solving the financial crisis that had deepened. Yet, the years following 1868 were marked by continuous political disorder, even as alliances were possible, and the preference for material progress and extensive public works damaged the State's fianances: it was a false Regenerationist peace.
This coalition against radicalism lasted until 1868, when insurmountable financial difficulties, turmoil in the streets and Parliament, and a succession of incompetent governments forced the Saldanha
, once again, to impose his will. Along with the army, he established a supra-party dictatorship in 1870 in order to impose political reforms, but he was never able to see their failure.
On 1 February 1908 the King Carlos I
and Royal Family returned to Lisbon from Vila Viçosa
. After leaving the train in Almada
and traveling by boat to Lisbon, they were met in the city center by members of the court
, Franco government
(including the Prime Minister) and some royalist citizens. Returning to the royal palace, their landau
passed through the Terreiro do Paço, where two republican activists Alfredo Costa and Manuel Buíça
fired on the open carriage in which they were traveling. Five bullets were fired from a rifle carried by Buíça (a former army sergeant), hidden under his long overcoat: three of these struck and killed the King, while another fatally wounded the heir to the throne Luis Filipe. During the turmoil the police killed the two assassins, as well as an unfortunate bystander. The royal carriage escaped to the nearby Naval Arsenal, where both the King and Prince Royal were declared dead. Manuel
, the King's youngest son, was quickly acclaimed as King of Portugal.
Manuel II would reign for only a short time, as republican forces continued to attack the monarchy and its institutions, even though the young king was considered a popular monarch. His unexpected accession to the throne (18 years of age), was marked by the brutal murder of his father and brother, yet his reign was pragmatic and respected the principles of the constitutional monarchy. Despite threats from the ultra-militant members of the Republican Party
and the Carbonária
, King Manuel courageously took responsibility for upholding the institutions of the State and Rule of Law.
Although Manuel II
was concerned with the Questão Social () of the day (the working class, social reform, and social security programs) he would have little time to enact many new initiatives.
But, militant Republicans and their allies in the Carbonária
, were not willing to remain in the shadows of the constitutional monarchy. Between 4–5 October 1910, members of the Carbonária, republican youth, and elements of the Army instigate a coup d'état against the already weak constitutional monarchy. The young King and his family, after a few mis-ques, escape from the Palace in Mafra for exile to England. On the morning of 5 October 1910, the Republic is declared from the balcony of Lisbon City Hall, ending several centuries of monarchy in Portugal.
History of Portugal
The history of Portugal, a European and an Atlantic nation, dates back to the Early Middle Ages. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it ascended to the status of a world power during Europe's "Age of Discovery" as it built up a vast empire including possessions in South America, Africa, Asia and...
from the end of the Liberal Civil War in 1834 to the republican revolution of 1910 was marked by several events that made way for the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in the 5 October 1910 revolution
5 October 1910 revolution
The revolution of 1910 was a republican coup d'état that occurred in Portugal on 5 October 1910, which deposed King Manuel II and established the Portuguese First Republic....
.
The initial turmoil of coups d'état perpetrated by the victorious generals of the Civil War was followed by a parliamentary unstable system of governmental "rotation" marked by the growth of the Portuguese Republican Party
Portuguese Republican Party
The Portuguese Republican Party was a Portuguese political party formed during the late years of monarchy that proposed and conducted the substitution of the Constitutional Monarchy by the Portuguese First Republic....
. This was caused mainly by the inefficiency of the monarchic governments as well as the monarchs' apparent lack of interest for the country, aggravated by the British ultimatum for the abandonment of the Portuguese "pink map" project that united Portuguese East
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and West Africa
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
(today's Angola and Mozambique).
The situation culminated in a dictatorship-like government imposed by King Carlos I
Carlos I of Portugal
-Assassination:On 1 February 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Barreiro and, from there, they took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked at Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open...
, in the person of João Franco
João Franco
João Franco Ferreira Pinto Castelo-Branco, GCTE was a Portuguese politician, Minister, 43rd Minister for Treasury Affairs and 73rd Prime Minister in the last years of the Portuguese monarchy...
, followed by the king's assassination in the Lisbon regicide
Lisbon Regicide
The Lisbon Regicide was the name given for the assassinations of King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Luis Filipe, the Prince Royal by assassins sympathetic to republican interests...
of 1908 and the revolution of 1910.
Devourism
Referred to as Devourism, this period of the constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
grew from competitng manifestations of the liberal ideology and their adherents. It was seen by Gastão Pereira de Sande, Count of Taipa, then an oppositionist (commonly referred to as radicals), who saw the government as a "gang made up to devour the country under the shadow of a child" (wherein the child was represented by the young Queen, Maria II of Portugal).
The post-Civil War period was characterized by a precarious executive, a lack of ideological definition, by the marginalization of popular movements, indiscipline and intervention of military chiefs in politics. The death of the Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
, former King Pedro, after successfully installing his daughter as Queen thrust the inexperienced Maria da Glória into a role that, at the age of 15 years, she was unprepared to handle.
Her counselors, many aristocrats and nobles, still used the royalty as a counter to the liberal revolution. There were two political currents: the moderates that defended the Constitutional Charter of 1828, and those who re-promoted the democratic Constitution of 1822. Both parties were disorganized, neither felt solidarity with the monarch, and their ideologies were not clearly defined; politicians regularly swung between Vintista and Constitutional politics. Meanwhile the majority of the population were disenfranchised: illiterate and/or culturally unrefined, they merely supported whichever wind blew in their favor. Education was limited to the cities, whose local merchants and apparatchik
Apparatchik
Apparatchik is a Russian colloquial term for a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party or government; i.e., an agent of the governmental or party "apparat" that held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management...
s had some sense of political mobility. Economically, Portugal was no better: in the post-War era, it continued to make its (diminishing) wealth from the cultivation of the land, the taxes and land-rents, while the machines, capital and entrepreneurs necessary to sustain industry were neglected. The economy stagnated.
Innovation
The constitutional monarchy was marked by a series of legislation proposed by the government of the day, which had in its base in the idealism of Mouzinho da Silveira. Silveira had promoted, during his terms in government revolutionary legislation, for both the absolutist and liberal governments of the time (1823–1833). Payments to the State, the relations between the people and the Church, and the municipal government had remained medieval. Silveira realized, to the regret of politicians at the time, that politics was an instrument of the socio-economic conditions of the time. Marginalized by both absolutists and liberals, his ideas and solutions were later adopted by the new generation of liberal politicians in the post-War era. Among many of his proposals, successive governments adopted: a policy of disengaging the economy from social conditions, limiting taxes to 5%, ending titheTithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s, abolishing seigniorial fees, reducing export taxes to 1%, terminating inter-community commerce regulation, the intervention of the government in the municipality, the separation of the judiciary and administration, liberated commerce and prohibited some monopolies (such as soap and the sale of Porto wines). In general his initiatives, were legislated by the post-War
Liberal Wars
The Liberal Wars, also known as the Portuguese Civil War, the War of the Two Brothers, or Miguelite War, was a war between progressive constitutionalists and authoritarian absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1828 to 1834...
regimes to eliminate privilege, establish equality, the liberalization of the economy and smooth the performance of the government.
Secularization
In 1834, Joaquim António de Aguiar terminated the State sanction of religious orders, and nationalized their lands and possessions. Later referred to as Mata-Fradas (Killer of BrothersFriar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
), Aguiar's government took control of the convents, churches, manor homes and holdings of various sects, that had been sustained by donations of the religious faithful and placed them for sale. Unfortunately, although they hoped to place land and goods in the hands of the more disadvantaged, most of the poor did not have the capital to purchase. In fact, total sales were ten times less than expected, and most holdings were purchased by speculators or existing landowners.
Municipalization
Another part of the post-War era was the reorganization of existing administrative units, in order to centralize, decentralize and then re-concentrate power in the national government. The debate began in 1832, when Mouzinha de Sousa's administration oversaw a system of appointed regional administrators that governed the municipalities, imposing central government programs and ideology: it was accused of being Napoleonic in its organization. The issue of centralization or de-centralization was a ongoing debate in the post-War era, resulting in successive legislation. The government of Manuel PassosManuel Passos
Manuel Passos Fernandes , was Portuguese footballer who played as defender.- International career :...
finally extinguished 466 municipalities in 1836, because many of those localities could not provide functional government. But this only lasted six years: in 1842 Costa Cabral
António Bernardo da Costa Cabral, 1st Marquess of Tomar
António Bernardo da Costa Cabral, 1st Count and 1st Marquess of Tomar was a Portuguese 19th century statesman.Born in Fornos de Algodres he trained as a lawyer in Coimbra and was later appointed as a judge...
's regime instituted another process of centralization, which were quickly challenged by the legislative projects of Almeida Garrett
Almeida Garrett
João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, Viscount of Almeida Garrett was a Portuguese poet, playwright, novelist and politician. He is considered to be the introducer of the Romanticism in Portugal, with the epic poem Camões, based on the life of Luís de Camões...
, Anselmo Braamcamp, Mártens Ferrão, and Dias Ferreira
José Dias Ferreira
José Dias Ferreira, GCTE was a Portuguese lawyer, politician and jurist, son of António Ferreira Dias and wife Bernarda Pereira de Vasconcelos José Dias Ferreira, GCTE (Arganil, Pombeiro da Beira, 30 November 1837 – Vidago, 8 September 1909) was a Portuguese lawyer, politician and jurist,...
. An economic revitalization in 1878 finally resulted in a new program of decentralization by Rodrigues Sampaio, which included exaggerated local responsibilities and the ability to raise taxes. But, by 1886 there was a new centralizing tendency. Consequently, over time (even extending into the Republican era) local authorities began to be supported by subsidy and co-financed projects.
Civil Code
Since 1820 the Philippine Dynasty, Portugal's civil code had been a chaotic and uncompiled system of laws, which many had realized required reform. But, after early attempts failed to rationalize these laws, and a unified code based on the French Civil Code was disavowed, the Portuguese courts continued to function using the Ordenações Filipinas (1603), which simple reforms of the Manualino codes (1521). But by 1850, judge António Luís de Seabra wrote A Propreiedade: Filosofia do Direto (Property: Philosophy of Law) which was adapted in 1867 as the new Portuguese Civil Code. It was unique for European civil codes, in its characterization of laws in terms of the person and property; it was divided into four sections: the person, the acquisition of goods, goods, and the defense of those goods or rights. Seabra's rationalization would be long lasting (1867–1967), and would be the basis for, in the terminology of the Code: the judicial person, acquisition of laws, property, crimes and judgments.Setembrismo and Cartismo
Spanish Constitution of 1812
The Spanish Constitution of 1812 was promulgated 19 March 1812 by the Cádiz Cortes, the national legislative assembly of Spain, while in refuge from the Peninsular War...
. Ultimately, on 9 September 1836 a revolution by the politicized population and National Guard in Lisbon to drive the Cartistas (Chartists) from power, forced the Queen to re-instate the 1822 Constitution in Portugal. The government installed after the revolution were known as Setembristas, their short-lived movement, Setembrismo, for having occurred in September. Although a popular manifestation, and later supported by the military and burgher politicians, it was a reactionary movement against the instability, and suffered from constant popular demands which paralyzed activity in government.
But, from the Palace of Belem, the Queen initiated her own counter-revolution to restore the Charter. It was supported by England and Belgium, which traded their support for territorial concession in Africa. Although Queen Maria II announced the resignation of the government and troops were garrisoned, Septembrist forces threatened to march on Belem. The Belenzada, as it was known (which meant the event in Belem0), failed.
In 1837, Marshals Saladanha and Terceira proclaimed the Charter in many of the garrisons of the provinces. The Revolta dos Marechais (Revolt of the Marshals) was provoked by the English, whom supported Saladanha and Terceira, and lasted briefly between July and September, but resulted in many deaths. But, even after these events, Soares Caldeira, the civil leader of the original Setembristas organized a militant group of paramilitary Guarda Nacional based in the Lisbon Arsenal, later known as the Arsenalistas. They terrorized Lisbon, wearing their beards long, and camped out in the Rossio. Eventually, government forces massacred these extremists in the Rossio on the night of 13 March 1838.
During its short reign, the Setemberist legislated the creation of public lyceums; the foundation of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lisbon and Oporto, the Medical-Surgical School in Oporto and the Poly-technical School of Lisbon; in Africa they expanded the overseas colonies, colonizing the plateaus in Angola and in 1836 prohibited slavery; and finally these liberal revolutionaries attempted to reconcile the various political currents by establishing a revised Constitution (1838) to find a compromise between Chartists and Setemberists. Parliament, would continue to be formed by two chambers, but the Upper Chamber was constituted by (temporary) elected and appointed senators.
But in 1842, in a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
led by one-time radical Costa Cabral
António Bernardo da Costa Cabral, 1st Marquess of Tomar
António Bernardo da Costa Cabral, 1st Count and 1st Marquess of Tomar was a Portuguese 19th century statesman.Born in Fornos de Algodres he trained as a lawyer in Coimbra and was later appointed as a judge...
(who influenced by French doctrinaire politics) began in Oporto, with royal approval. Queen Maria II ordered the reinstatement of the 1826 Charter, but little was made of reconciling the moderate or radical left, nor recognition of constituent power of the Nation. The 1844 Torres Novas/Almeida declaration was easily crushed, but ultimately Costa Cabrals' firm and disciplined majority could not contain an undisciplined popular revolt.
Maria da Fonte
Unlike Septemberist initiatives that were centered on the district capitals, many of Cabral's program affected the peoples directly in the interior. Cabral's moves once again decentralized government, placing the costs of health care, public finances and other sectors onto the tributary network, re-invoking the medieval system and subordinating local government authority. Two other initiatives, the forbidding of church burials and land assessment were directly worrisome to the rural population, who were fearful of the government taking their land-rights. The revolt that occurred around the middle of April 1846, was similar to one that had occurred in Galicia, and involved a popular uprising in the parish of FontarcadaFontarcada
Fontarcada or Fonte Arcada is a parish in Portugal, in the municipality of Póvoa de Lanhoso. It is 5.6 km² and had 1,083 inhabitants in 1801 and 1,362 inhabitants in 2001 . It was the birthplace of Maria da Fonte, leader of the Revolution of Maria da Fonte...
, Póvoa de Lanhoso
Póvoa de Lanhoso
Póvoa de Lanhoso is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 132.5 km² and a total population of 23,657 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 29 parishes, and is located in the district of Braga....
. Although the revolt included both men and women, it was known as Maria da Fonte
Revolution of Maria da Fonte
The Revolution of Maria da Fonte, or Revolution of the Minho, is the name given to a popular revolt in the spring of 1846 against the Cartista government of Portugal...
, because women had a salient involvement in the revolt, that was a rural uprising: armed with Carabiniers, pistols, torches, and stakes, the peasantry assaulted the municipal buildings, burned land records, stole property and even attacked a garrison from Braga. Some even declared themselves Miguelistas, but rather for being in opposition to the invasions of the State and taxes, then rather politically affirmed.
Failed Septemberist politicians, realized the political power that cholera-infected peasantry could have on the government, and used this fact to attack Cabral's government. They succeeded in Cabral's removal and exile, but the Queen assembled a larger, more loyal cadre of Cabralist politicians around her new government, headed by the Duke of Saldanha
João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha
Dom João Carlos Gregório Domingos Vicente Francisco de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, , 1st Count , 1st Marquis and 1st Duke of Saldanha ; , was a Portuguese marshal and statesman, a grandson of Pombal, born at Azinhaga. He studied at Coimbra, served against the French, and was made a prisoner in 1810...
.
Patuleia
Meanwhile the peasant uprising was soon the initiative for an undisciplined band of political and military elements, influenced by the small merchant classes, to coopt the lower class struggle, similar to what influenced the French 1848 Revolution and Second Republic. Although the physically the conditions were different, the Patuleia (as they were known) was a reaction to the doctrinaire liberalism and neo-aristocratic devourism of Cabralist politicians. Patuleia forces installed themselves in Oporto, declaring a provisional government and attempted to march on Lisbon. The "soldiers", without strong ideological convictions, wavered from political ideology, sometimes trading sides. Miguelista sympathizers and politicians supported the Patuleia. Regardless, both the competing armies spread their civil war to all parts of the country, and only foreign intervention could stop the bloodletting. Eventually, the popular uprising was brutally suppressed with support from Great Britain. Patuleia ships and troops were imprisoned and a peace treaty signed in Oporto that included amnesty (Gramido Convention, 24 June 1847).Regeneration
João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha
Dom João Carlos Gregório Domingos Vicente Francisco de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, , 1st Count , 1st Marquis and 1st Duke of Saldanha ; , was a Portuguese marshal and statesman, a grandson of Pombal, born at Azinhaga. He studied at Coimbra, served against the French, and was made a prisoner in 1810...
, commander of the Liberal Wars and leader against the Patuleia forces, sidelined in the new politics, began a revolt in the quartel in Sintra
Sintra
Sintra is a town within the municipality of Sintra in the Grande Lisboa subregion of Portugal. Owing to its 19th century Romantic architecture and landscapes, becoming a major tourist centre, visited by many day-trippers who travel from the urbanized suburbs and capital of Lisbon.In addition to...
. Unfortunately, few supported him, and worse, in successive centers (Mafra
Mafra
Mafra is a municipality in the district of Lisbon, on the west coast of Portugal, and part of the urban agglomeration of the Greater Lisbon subregion, with its seat in the city of the same name...
, Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
, Viseu
Viseu
Viseu is both a city and a municipality in the Dão-Lafões Subregion of Centro Region, Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 99,593 , and the city proper has 47,250...
, and Oporto) he only found deceptions. Finally, refugee in Galicia, the former-commander was acclaimed by regiments in Oporto, and returned to a enthusiastic support at the São João Theatre. His movement, was a self-styled Regeneração (Regeneration) of the political order, the monarch worried that Saladanha would attract new adherents (and thus plunge the nation once again into a Civil War), decided to bring him into the fold, and the Queen installed him in government.
Rotativism
Consequently, Portuguese politics entered a period of tacit coexistence between the parties. While the Constitutional Charter did not change, the processes of government were modified: elections were made by direct suffrage , while Parliament could appoint commissions of inquiry into governmental acts.Generally, the a wave of enthusiasm for national reconciliation swept the country: Cabral went again into exile and the country embarked on a program of material development directed by Minister Fontes Pereira de Melo
Fontes Pereira de Melo
António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo GCTE KGF was a Portuguese statesman, politician, and engineer. He was the son of João de Fontes Pereira de Melo and wife and first cousin Jacinta Venância Rosa da Cunha Matos...
.
Chartists and non-Chartist transformed into Partido Regenerador (Regenerator Party) and the Partido Histórico (Historic Party), respectively, while later the reinvented Septemberists formed the Partido Progressista (Progressive Party). These two parties (Regenerator and Historic) were centrist, dedicated to the monarchy, liberal (centre-left and centre-right) politicians, and interested in economic reconstruction and solving the financial crisis that had deepened. Yet, the years following 1868 were marked by continuous political disorder, even as alliances were possible, and the preference for material progress and extensive public works damaged the State's fianances: it was a false Regenerationist peace.
This coalition against radicalism lasted until 1868, when insurmountable financial difficulties, turmoil in the streets and Parliament, and a succession of incompetent governments forced the Saldanha
João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha
Dom João Carlos Gregório Domingos Vicente Francisco de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, , 1st Count , 1st Marquis and 1st Duke of Saldanha ; , was a Portuguese marshal and statesman, a grandson of Pombal, born at Azinhaga. He studied at Coimbra, served against the French, and was made a prisoner in 1810...
, once again, to impose his will. Along with the army, he established a supra-party dictatorship in 1870 in order to impose political reforms, but he was never able to see their failure.
Regicide of King Carlos I
On 1 February 1908 the King Carlos I
Carlos I of Portugal
-Assassination:On 1 February 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Barreiro and, from there, they took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked at Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open...
and Royal Family returned to Lisbon from Vila Viçosa
Vila Viçosa
Vila Viçosa is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 195.0 km² and a total population of 8,745 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora....
. After leaving the train in Almada
Almada
Almada is a municipality in Portugal, covering an area of 70.2 km² located on the southern margin of the Tagus River. Its municipal population in 2008 was 164,844 inhabitants; the urbanized center had a population of 102,357.The seat is the city of Almada....
and traveling by boat to Lisbon, they were met in the city center by members of the court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
, Franco government
João Franco
João Franco Ferreira Pinto Castelo-Branco, GCTE was a Portuguese politician, Minister, 43rd Minister for Treasury Affairs and 73rd Prime Minister in the last years of the Portuguese monarchy...
(including the Prime Minister) and some royalist citizens. Returning to the royal palace, their landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
passed through the Terreiro do Paço, where two republican activists Alfredo Costa and Manuel Buíça
Manuel Buiça
Manuel dos Reis da Silva Buíça , was Portuguese schoolteacher, former cavalry Sergeant, and excellent marksman involved with Alfredo Costa in the regicide of King Carlos I of Portugal and the Prince Royal, Luis Filipe, during the events that became known as the 1908 Lisbon Regicide .-Biography:Son of...
fired on the open carriage in which they were traveling. Five bullets were fired from a rifle carried by Buíça (a former army sergeant), hidden under his long overcoat: three of these struck and killed the King, while another fatally wounded the heir to the throne Luis Filipe. During the turmoil the police killed the two assassins, as well as an unfortunate bystander. The royal carriage escaped to the nearby Naval Arsenal, where both the King and Prince Royal were declared dead. Manuel
Manuel II of Portugal
Manuel II , named Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Bragança Orleães Sabóia e Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha — , was the last King of Portugal from 1908 to 1910, ascending the throne after the assassination of his father and elder brother Manuel...
, the King's youngest son, was quickly acclaimed as King of Portugal.
Manuel II would reign for only a short time, as republican forces continued to attack the monarchy and its institutions, even though the young king was considered a popular monarch. His unexpected accession to the throne (18 years of age), was marked by the brutal murder of his father and brother, yet his reign was pragmatic and respected the principles of the constitutional monarchy. Despite threats from the ultra-militant members of the Republican Party
Portuguese Republican Party
The Portuguese Republican Party was a Portuguese political party formed during the late years of monarchy that proposed and conducted the substitution of the Constitutional Monarchy by the Portuguese First Republic....
and the Carbonária
Carbonária
The Carbonária was originally an anti-clerical, revolutionary, conspiratorial society, originally established in Portugal in 1822 but soon disbanded. It was allied with the Italian Carbonari. A new organization of the same name and claiming to be its continuation was founded in 1896 by Artur...
, King Manuel courageously took responsibility for upholding the institutions of the State and Rule of Law.
Although Manuel II
Manuel II of Portugal
Manuel II , named Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Bragança Orleães Sabóia e Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha — , was the last King of Portugal from 1908 to 1910, ascending the throne after the assassination of his father and elder brother Manuel...
was concerned with the Questão Social () of the day (the working class, social reform, and social security programs) he would have little time to enact many new initiatives.
5 October Revolution
After general elections on 28 August 1910, Republican party representation had only grown to 14 deputies in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes. Even with support from other pro-republican parties, the Republicans were only able to muster closer to 40 seats in the Chamber, in comparison to the 120 pro-monarchist deputies. Nevertheless, these governments tended to be unstable, and during his reign Manuel II changed the government seven times.But, militant Republicans and their allies in the Carbonária
Carbonária
The Carbonária was originally an anti-clerical, revolutionary, conspiratorial society, originally established in Portugal in 1822 but soon disbanded. It was allied with the Italian Carbonari. A new organization of the same name and claiming to be its continuation was founded in 1896 by Artur...
, were not willing to remain in the shadows of the constitutional monarchy. Between 4–5 October 1910, members of the Carbonária, republican youth, and elements of the Army instigate a coup d'état against the already weak constitutional monarchy. The young King and his family, after a few mis-ques, escape from the Palace in Mafra for exile to England. On the morning of 5 October 1910, the Republic is declared from the balcony of Lisbon City Hall, ending several centuries of monarchy in Portugal.