Manuel de Arriaga
Encyclopedia
Manuel José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira e Peyrelongue (mɐnuˈɛɫ dɨ ɐˈʁiaɡɐ) (Horta
, July 8, 1840 - Santos-o-Velho, Lisbon
, March 5, 1917) was a Portuguese
lawyer
, the first Attorney-General and the first elected President of the First Portuguese Republic
, following the abdication of King Manuel II of Portugal
and a Republican Provisional Government headed by Teófilo Braga
(who would succeed him in the post following his resignation).
, 18 October 1881) and wife (m. 24 December 1834) Maria Cristina Pardal Ramos Caldeira (c. 1815 - ?). Arriaga's father was a rich merchant in the city, only son, and property-owner, whose heritage traced his lineage to the Fleming
Joss van Aard, one of the original settlers of the island of Faial
(of the male line to a Basque
family of small nobility) and whose second cousin was Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, 1st Marquess of Sá da Bandeira. The young Manuel was also the grandson of General Sebastião José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira, who distinguished himself in the Peninsular Wars, and grand-nephew of the Judge of the Supreme Court, who between 1821 and 1822 was also a representative for the Azores in the Constituent Courts.
The Arriaga family included six children, of these the following siblings: Maria Cristina, the oldest (a poet, referred by Vitorino Nemésio
in his obra-prima Mau Tempo no Canal); José de Arriaga, a historian (known for História da Revolução Portuguesa de 1820, published in 1889 and Os Últimos 60 anos da Monarquia , published in 1911); Sebastião Arriaga Brum da Silveira Júnior, agricultural engineer (after studying abroad, he worked on land recuperation projects in the Alentejo); and Manuel, the fourth in line of succession (who decided early on to concentrate on politics).
to study at the University of Coimbra in the Faculty of Law (from 1860 to 1865), where he distinguished himself for his brilliant mind and notable oratory. During this time he adhered to philosophical positivism
and republican democracy
, where he frequently joined others is discussions on philosophy and politics, showing a capacity for argument and imagination. His republican idealism, considered subversive, caused a rift between him and his conservative monarchist-leaning father (a supporter of the traditionalist King D. Miguel
); his father would break-off ties with his sons (for those subverse ideals), forcing the older Manuel to work to support his and his brother's studies. He taught English classes at the local secondary school. His brother wrote in various newspapers in Coimbra and Lisbon, showing himself a proficient writer of science and philosophy.
In 1866, he competed for the 10th chair at the Escola Politécnica (Polytechnical school), as well as the chair in History in the department of Letters. Unsuccessful, he continued in Lisbon as an English teacher. Later, he established a legal practice, and quickly developed a clientele, which permitted him the financial security to assist his brother in completing his studies. Between many of the causes he defended while a lawyer, in 1890, he was the advocate for António José de Almeida
, after he wrote "Bragança, o último" a treasties against King D. Carlos
in the academic journal O Ultimatum.
Ten years later, on August 26, 1876, he joined the Comissão para a Reforma da Instrução Secundária ("Commission on the Reform on Secondary School Instruction").
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A member of the Portuguese Republican Party
(before January 31, 1891), alongside Jacinto Nunes, Azevedo e Silva, Bernardino Pinheiro, Teófilo Braga
and Francisco Homem Cristo, he was an active parliamentarian during the constitutional monarchy of King Luís I
; he was involved in the debates on the reform of education, the penal code and prisons, in addition to electoral reform. By this time doctrinaire republicans had, by that time, been replaced by others in the party affiliated with masonry
or the nascente Carbonari
associations. He was also elected deputy for Funchal (1883–84) in the minority Republican government and later Lisbon (1890–92). A pragmatist, he actively promoted the Republican cause, while maintaining good relations with the Roman Catholic Church
, unlike some of his contemporaries in the Republican movement. But, at the same time, he was combative and critical of what he saw as the "lethargy of monarchical governments, the [general] wastes and luxuries of the royal family. Yet, he ardently denounced irregularities in his own government, especially when some Ministers transferred funds from the government coffers into private hands.
Following the establishment of the Republic (October 5, 1910), young Republican students in Coimbra entered the installations of the Senate, and vandalized the Hall and furniture used in Doctoral ceremonies and damaged paintings of the last Portuguese kings. In order "to impede other depravities Dr. António José de Almeida (Republican from the first hour) invited Dr. Manuel de Arriaga to be rector of the old University and gave him leave on 17 October of 1910 in a ceremony without academic ceremonies, which was enough to curb student enthusiasm".
During the period of the Provisional Government, he became the Attorney-General of the Republic premièring in that way a paladin of Republican propaganda and as one of the more caustic Portuguese.
As one of the older figures of the Republican regime (he was 71), he was elected President on August 24, 1911; he did not campaign for the position, and noted that it was a heavy burden, which he believed he was personally incapable of fulfilling its duties, but accepted it "for the good of the Republic". The other candidate was Dr. Bernardino Machado (who would also become President later), but it was António José de Almeida
who had suggested Manuel Arriaga at the end of Teófilo Braga
's Provisional Government. As Almeida had believed Arriaga "was one of the few, if not the only man in the Party who worked well with everyone and whom the Lord Christ didn't speak ill"
The Presidency was itself not an enviable or prestigious position; although the elected person, for a time, occupied a large home in Horta Seca, they were required to furnish the home at their own cost, pay rent and had no transport budget, nor personal secretary (Arriaga would ask his own son to help him in this role). Later, the first President lived in the Palace of Belém, but not in the main building, but rather an annex off of the Pátio das Damas. This occurred in a period when personal divisions between different factions had splintered the Republican cause; António José de Almeida
would form the Evolutionist Party, Brito Camacho
the Republican Union, while Afonso Costa
would continue to front the main Republican Party (renamed the Democratic Party). Manuel de Arriaga, for his part, would select the politician and journalist João Chagas
to head his first government. In his personal autobiography, Arriaga recounted how he hoped that he would not be another factor to divide Republicans, especially in a time where there existed a need to work together; it was a difficult period historically, due to the exasperation of the "religious question", constant social agitation and political party instability (associated with "Machiavellian strategies" of some politicians) that fermented during the infancy of the First Republic. Frequently, Arriaga was unable to contain these tensions and often had to deal with counter-revolutionary revolts, such as the Royalist attack on Chaves
led by Captain Paiva Couceiro
. During his mandate, several governments fell; there were eight changes in the Prime Minister's office, disorder in the streets, violent reactions against the church, as well as counter-revolutionary monarchist movements. Finally, he invited Dr. António José de Almeida to lead the government, but he refused, and opted for the Republican Afonso Costa
, who would govern off-and-on until 1917. Hated, but feared, he governed and even sought to restore some order and economy to the public accounts. Although Afonso Costa was able to reduce the deficit, the instability and conflict between Parties persisted, made more critical by internal politics and growing international tensions in 1914 (that would eventually begin the Great War).
Arriaga deplored the circumstances, going so far as to announcing his intent to resign unless a coalition or non-party government could be installed that resolved the outstanding issues of amnesty and separation of church and state. But, subsequent governments would not resolve the issue immediately; on February 22, 1914 an amnesty was conceded for those not accused of violent actions, and eleven leaders of subversive groups were released, but the Law of Separation remained unrevised.
The new Republic was now increasingly unmanageable, and further, there were divergences developing between the government and the army. At one point, a military contingent in Oporto attempted a coup d'état in Lisbon, which was suppressed. The government suggested disbanding the regiments involved, but their leaders appealed to General Pimenta de Castro. In an attempt to mitigate these problems, Manuel de Arriaga wrote to the three party leaders (Camacho, Afonso Costa and António José de Almeida) in order to come to an accord and form a unity government, but Afonso Costa
did not react well to the proposal. The President then withdrew his support for the government, then-presided by Vítor Hugo de Azevedo, and to calm the Army called on General Joaquim Pimenta de Castro
(who had been the Minister of War under João Chagas) to form a government. Arriaga had known and placed his confidence in Castro. But, Joaquim Pereira Pimenta de Castro selected for his ministers, seven military officers, who did not permit the re-opening of Parliament, and provided an amnesty for convicted monarchists involved in the Attack on Chaves He made changes to electoral law and began governing as a dictator, which was only supported by the Evolutionist Party (Portugal) and the group led by Machado dos Santos on the political right of the Republicans.
What had started as an attempt to eliminate an inevitable conflict between the armed forces and the political class, eventually resulted in a bloody conflict. The parliamentarians, meeting secretly on May 4, 1915 in the Palácio da Mitra, declared Arriaga and Pimenta de Castro outside the law, their acts undemocratic and essentially void. Then, on May 14, in a revolt
instigated by members of the Democratic Party, elements of civil reactionary groups and supported by elements of the Navy began what was essentially a civil war
; there were many deaths and injuries on both sides. The well-intentioned and pacifist Arriaga had only one option; twelve days following the start of the uprising, he resigned from the Presidency. In his resignation letter, he stated that the deaths during the revolt were needless, that Pimenta de Castro's regime was less a dictatorship then earlier governments and that 1914-15 laws had given future governments unusual war powers.
He paid heavily for his political naivety; as the author Raul Brandão
noted the man although profoundly altruistic and magnanimous, good-natured and honorable had rapidly turned into a political criminal and accused of duplicity with the dictatorial and violent Pimenta de Castro. In his resignation (to his ministers and Party) he defended himself against these unjust accusations and declared his well-intentioned loyalty to the Republican cause, which he had supported throughout his life (but which had abandoned him disillusioned). The parliamentarian, writer and journalist, Augusto de Castro later recounted a conversation with the former President, shortly before his death (in 1917):
But August de Castro ended his story by noting that upon leaving the ex-President's home he purchased a newspaper that referred to Arriaga as a renegade and traitor, and thought, "never, like that afternoon, did politics seem so cruel and a sinister thing".
Manuel de Arriaga was replaced as President by Professor Teófilo Braga
in 1915, who had led the provisional government following the abdication and exile of King Emanuel II.
, Porto
, November 13, 1844 - Parede
, Oeiras, October 14, 1927), from a family friendly to the Arriagas (from the island of Pico
). The ceremony occurred in a chapel near Valença do Minho, where her father was General and Governor. For a few years the couple lived in Coimbra, where Manuel de Arriaga flourished in his law practice. Six children were born, two boys and four girls, and the family regularly spent their holidays in Buarcos.
Following his resignation, Manuel de Arriaga died in Lisbon two years later. His home in Lisbon, near Rua da Janelas Verdes, overlooked the boats in the Tejo
, and in the room where he died there were photographs of the two men he most admired, Victor Hugo
and Alexandre Herculano
while above his bed, an image of Christ. In the end, former-President Arriaga's image was rehabilitated by the Portuguese media for his intelligence, patriotism, benevolence and his honor for the manner in which he exercised his functions. This was further enhanced by the his public papers and documents, as well as the work of several intellectuals.
Horta (Azores)
Horta is a single municipality and city in the western part of the Archipealgo of the Azores, encompassing the island of Faial. Horta has a population of about approximately 15,038 people and an area of 173.1 square kilometers. The population density is about 88 persons per square kilometer...
, July 8, 1840 - Santos-o-Velho, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, March 5, 1917) was a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, the first Attorney-General and the first elected President of the First Portuguese Republic
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, following the abdication of King Manuel II of Portugal
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...
and a Republican Provisional Government headed by Teófilo Braga
Teófilo Braga
Joaquim Teófilo Fernandes Braga ]] 24 February 1843 – 28 January 1924) was a Portuguese writer, playwright, politician and the leader of the Republican Provisional Government after the abdication of King Manuel II, as well as the second elected President of the First Portuguese Republic, following...
(who would succeed him in the post following his resignation).
Biography
Of his early life details are brief: Arriaga was born to an aristocratic family; son of Sebastião José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira (c. 1810 - SetúbalSetúbal
Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....
, 18 October 1881) and wife (m. 24 December 1834) Maria Cristina Pardal Ramos Caldeira (c. 1815 - ?). Arriaga's father was a rich merchant in the city, only son, and property-owner, whose heritage traced his lineage to the Fleming
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
Joss van Aard, one of the original settlers of the island of Faial
Faial Island
Faial Island , also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group of the Azores....
(of the male line to a Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
family of small nobility) and whose second cousin was Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, 1st Marquess of Sá da Bandeira. The young Manuel was also the grandson of General Sebastião José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira, who distinguished himself in the Peninsular Wars, and grand-nephew of the Judge of the Supreme Court, who between 1821 and 1822 was also a representative for the Azores in the Constituent Courts.
The Arriaga family included six children, of these the following siblings: Maria Cristina, the oldest (a poet, referred by Vitorino Nemésio
Vitorino Nemésio
Vitorino Nemésio Mendes Pinheiro da Silva was a poet, author and intellectual from Terceira, Azores, best known for his romance Mau Tempo No Canal, as well as being a professor in the Faculty of Letters at the University of Lisbon and member of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon...
in his obra-prima Mau Tempo no Canal); José de Arriaga, a historian (known for História da Revolução Portuguesa de 1820, published in 1889 and Os Últimos 60 anos da Monarquia , published in 1911); Sebastião Arriaga Brum da Silveira Júnior, agricultural engineer (after studying abroad, he worked on land recuperation projects in the Alentejo); and Manuel, the fourth in line of succession (who decided early on to concentrate on politics).
Education
Around the age of 18, he moved with his younger brother (José de Arriaga) to CoimbraCoimbra
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...
to study at the University of Coimbra in the Faculty of Law (from 1860 to 1865), where he distinguished himself for his brilliant mind and notable oratory. During this time he adhered to philosophical positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
and republican democracy
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
, where he frequently joined others is discussions on philosophy and politics, showing a capacity for argument and imagination. His republican idealism, considered subversive, caused a rift between him and his conservative monarchist-leaning father (a supporter of the traditionalist King D. Miguel
Miguel of Portugal
Dom Miguel I, sometimes Michael , was the King of Portugal between 1828 and 1834, the seventh child and second son of King John VI and his queen, Charlotte of Spain....
); his father would break-off ties with his sons (for those subverse ideals), forcing the older Manuel to work to support his and his brother's studies. He taught English classes at the local secondary school. His brother wrote in various newspapers in Coimbra and Lisbon, showing himself a proficient writer of science and philosophy.
In 1866, he competed for the 10th chair at the Escola Politécnica (Polytechnical school), as well as the chair in History in the department of Letters. Unsuccessful, he continued in Lisbon as an English teacher. Later, he established a legal practice, and quickly developed a clientele, which permitted him the financial security to assist his brother in completing his studies. Between many of the causes he defended while a lawyer, in 1890, he was the advocate for António José de Almeida
António José de Almeida
António José de Almeida, GCTE, GCA, GCC, GCSE, , son of José António de Almeida and wife Maria Rita das Neves, was a Portuguese political figure...
, after he wrote "Bragança, o último" a treasties against King D. Carlos
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 academic journal O Ultimatum.
Ten years later, on August 26, 1876, he joined the Comissão para a Reforma da Instrução Secundária ("Commission on the Reform on Secondary School Instruction").
Politics
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....
(before January 31, 1891), alongside Jacinto Nunes, Azevedo e Silva, Bernardino Pinheiro, Teófilo Braga
Teófilo Braga
Joaquim Teófilo Fernandes Braga ]] 24 February 1843 – 28 January 1924) was a Portuguese writer, playwright, politician and the leader of the Republican Provisional Government after the abdication of King Manuel II, as well as the second elected President of the First Portuguese Republic, following...
and Francisco Homem Cristo, he was an active parliamentarian during the constitutional monarchy of King Luís I
Luís I of Portugal
|-...
; he was involved in the debates on the reform of education, the penal code and prisons, in addition to electoral reform. By this time doctrinaire republicans had, by that time, been replaced by others in the party affiliated with masonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
or the nascente Carbonari
Carbonari
The Carbonari were groups of secret revolutionary societies founded in early 19th-century Italy. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in Spain, France, Portugal and possibly Russia. Although their goals often had a patriotic and liberal focus, they lacked a...
associations. He was also elected deputy for Funchal (1883–84) in the minority Republican government and later Lisbon (1890–92). A pragmatist, he actively promoted the Republican cause, while maintaining good relations with the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, unlike some of his contemporaries in the Republican movement. But, at the same time, he was combative and critical of what he saw as the "lethargy of monarchical governments, the [general] wastes and luxuries of the royal family. Yet, he ardently denounced irregularities in his own government, especially when some Ministers transferred funds from the government coffers into private hands.
Following the establishment of the Republic (October 5, 1910), young Republican students in Coimbra entered the installations of the Senate, and vandalized the Hall and furniture used in Doctoral ceremonies and damaged paintings of the last Portuguese kings. In order "to impede other depravities Dr. António José de Almeida (Republican from the first hour) invited Dr. Manuel de Arriaga to be rector of the old University and gave him leave on 17 October of 1910 in a ceremony without academic ceremonies, which was enough to curb student enthusiasm".
During the period of the Provisional Government, he became the Attorney-General of the Republic premièring in that way a paladin of Republican propaganda and as one of the more caustic Portuguese.
As one of the older figures of the Republican regime (he was 71), he was elected President on August 24, 1911; he did not campaign for the position, and noted that it was a heavy burden, which he believed he was personally incapable of fulfilling its duties, but accepted it "for the good of the Republic". The other candidate was Dr. Bernardino Machado (who would also become President later), but it was António José de Almeida
António José de Almeida
António José de Almeida, GCTE, GCA, GCC, GCSE, , son of José António de Almeida and wife Maria Rita das Neves, was a Portuguese political figure...
who had suggested Manuel Arriaga at the end of Teófilo Braga
Teófilo Braga
Joaquim Teófilo Fernandes Braga ]] 24 February 1843 – 28 January 1924) was a Portuguese writer, playwright, politician and the leader of the Republican Provisional Government after the abdication of King Manuel II, as well as the second elected President of the First Portuguese Republic, following...
's Provisional Government. As Almeida had believed Arriaga "was one of the few, if not the only man in the Party who worked well with everyone and whom the Lord Christ didn't speak ill"
The Presidency was itself not an enviable or prestigious position; although the elected person, for a time, occupied a large home in Horta Seca, they were required to furnish the home at their own cost, pay rent and had no transport budget, nor personal secretary (Arriaga would ask his own son to help him in this role). Later, the first President lived in the Palace of Belém, but not in the main building, but rather an annex off of the Pátio das Damas. This occurred in a period when personal divisions between different factions had splintered the Republican cause; António José de Almeida
António José de Almeida
António José de Almeida, GCTE, GCA, GCC, GCSE, , son of José António de Almeida and wife Maria Rita das Neves, was a Portuguese political figure...
would form the Evolutionist Party, Brito Camacho
Manuel de Brito Camacho
Manuel de Brito Camacho a military officer, writer, publicist and politician, who among other positions, was Minister of Public Works, Commerce and Industry and Republican High Commissioner to Mozambique...
the Republican Union, while Afonso Costa
Afonso Costa
Afonso Augusto da Costa, GCTE, GCL was a Portuguese lawyer, professor, and republican politician.-Political career:Costa was the leader of the Portuguese Republican Party, and he was one of the major figures of the Portuguese First Republic. He was a republican deputy in the Chamber of Deputies...
would continue to front the main Republican Party (renamed the Democratic Party). Manuel de Arriaga, for his part, would select the politician and journalist João Chagas
João Chagas
João Pinheiro Chagas was a Portuguese journalist and politician. He was born in Brazil, from Portuguese parents who soon moved back to Portugal. He was an editor at the newspapers "O Primeiro de Janeiro", "Correio do Norte", "O Tempo" and "O Dia"...
to head his first government. In his personal autobiography, Arriaga recounted how he hoped that he would not be another factor to divide Republicans, especially in a time where there existed a need to work together; it was a difficult period historically, due to the exasperation of the "religious question", constant social agitation and political party instability (associated with "Machiavellian strategies" of some politicians) that fermented during the infancy of the First Republic. Frequently, Arriaga was unable to contain these tensions and often had to deal with counter-revolutionary revolts, such as the Royalist attack on Chaves
Royalist attack on Chaves
The attack on Chaves, Portugal, which occurred on July 8, 1912, was a military action performed by supporters of the monarchy of Portugal in opposition to the Portuguese First Republic, which had been proclaimed two years prior....
led by Captain Paiva Couceiro
Paiva Couceiro
Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Cabral Couceiro , son of a Portuguese father and an Irish mother, was a Portuguese soldier, colonial governor, monarchist politician and counter-revolutionary; he was notable for his role during the colonial occupation of Angola and Mozambique and for his dedication to...
. During his mandate, several governments fell; there were eight changes in the Prime Minister's office, disorder in the streets, violent reactions against the church, as well as counter-revolutionary monarchist movements. Finally, he invited Dr. António José de Almeida to lead the government, but he refused, and opted for the Republican Afonso Costa
Afonso Costa
Afonso Augusto da Costa, GCTE, GCL was a Portuguese lawyer, professor, and republican politician.-Political career:Costa was the leader of the Portuguese Republican Party, and he was one of the major figures of the Portuguese First Republic. He was a republican deputy in the Chamber of Deputies...
, who would govern off-and-on until 1917. Hated, but feared, he governed and even sought to restore some order and economy to the public accounts. Although Afonso Costa was able to reduce the deficit, the instability and conflict between Parties persisted, made more critical by internal politics and growing international tensions in 1914 (that would eventually begin the Great War).
Arriaga deplored the circumstances, going so far as to announcing his intent to resign unless a coalition or non-party government could be installed that resolved the outstanding issues of amnesty and separation of church and state. But, subsequent governments would not resolve the issue immediately; on February 22, 1914 an amnesty was conceded for those not accused of violent actions, and eleven leaders of subversive groups were released, but the Law of Separation remained unrevised.
Revolt to resignation
Continuing political intrigues inevitably forced the first Republic down the path towards dictatorship. At the onset of the First World War, there was also pressure from the Portuguese colonies in Africa, principally Angola and Mozambique and the National Assembly had decided, while remaining initially neutral in the conflict, to send troops to those colonies which fronted German possessions.The new Republic was now increasingly unmanageable, and further, there were divergences developing between the government and the army. At one point, a military contingent in Oporto attempted a coup d'état in Lisbon, which was suppressed. The government suggested disbanding the regiments involved, but their leaders appealed to General Pimenta de Castro. In an attempt to mitigate these problems, Manuel de Arriaga wrote to the three party leaders (Camacho, Afonso Costa and António José de Almeida) in order to come to an accord and form a unity government, but Afonso Costa
Afonso Costa
Afonso Augusto da Costa, GCTE, GCL was a Portuguese lawyer, professor, and republican politician.-Political career:Costa was the leader of the Portuguese Republican Party, and he was one of the major figures of the Portuguese First Republic. He was a republican deputy in the Chamber of Deputies...
did not react well to the proposal. The President then withdrew his support for the government, then-presided by Vítor Hugo de Azevedo, and to calm the Army called on General Joaquim Pimenta de Castro
Joaquim Pimenta de Castro
Joaquim Pereira Pimenta de Castro, 10th Count of Pimenta de Castro was a Portuguese army officer and politician. He was a career military officer reaching the position of General, also graduated in Mathematics by the University of Coimbra. In 1908, he was nominated commander of the 3rd Military...
(who had been the Minister of War under João Chagas) to form a government. Arriaga had known and placed his confidence in Castro. But, Joaquim Pereira Pimenta de Castro selected for his ministers, seven military officers, who did not permit the re-opening of Parliament, and provided an amnesty for convicted monarchists involved in the Attack on Chaves He made changes to electoral law and began governing as a dictator, which was only supported by the Evolutionist Party (Portugal) and the group led by Machado dos Santos on the political right of the Republicans.
What had started as an attempt to eliminate an inevitable conflict between the armed forces and the political class, eventually resulted in a bloody conflict. The parliamentarians, meeting secretly on May 4, 1915 in the Palácio da Mitra, declared Arriaga and Pimenta de Castro outside the law, their acts undemocratic and essentially void. Then, on May 14, in a revolt
May 14 Revolt
The May 14 Revolt was a politico-military uprising led by Álvaro de Castro and General Sá Cardoso which started in Lisbon, Portugal, with the objective of taking power from the dictatorship of General Pimenta de Castro during the Portuguese First Republic and returning the government to the...
instigated by members of the Democratic Party, elements of civil reactionary groups and supported by elements of the Navy began what was essentially a civil war
May 14 Revolt
The May 14 Revolt was a politico-military uprising led by Álvaro de Castro and General Sá Cardoso which started in Lisbon, Portugal, with the objective of taking power from the dictatorship of General Pimenta de Castro during the Portuguese First Republic and returning the government to the...
; there were many deaths and injuries on both sides. The well-intentioned and pacifist Arriaga had only one option; twelve days following the start of the uprising, he resigned from the Presidency. In his resignation letter, he stated that the deaths during the revolt were needless, that Pimenta de Castro's regime was less a dictatorship then earlier governments and that 1914-15 laws had given future governments unusual war powers.
He paid heavily for his political naivety; as the author Raul Brandão
Raul Brandão
Raul Germano Brandão was a Portuguese writer, journalist and military officer, notable for the realism of his literary descriptions and by the lyricism of his speech. Brandão was born in Foz do Douro, a parish of Porto, where he spent the majority of his youth...
noted the man although profoundly altruistic and magnanimous, good-natured and honorable had rapidly turned into a political criminal and accused of duplicity with the dictatorial and violent Pimenta de Castro. In his resignation (to his ministers and Party) he defended himself against these unjust accusations and declared his well-intentioned loyalty to the Republican cause, which he had supported throughout his life (but which had abandoned him disillusioned). The parliamentarian, writer and journalist, Augusto de Castro later recounted a conversation with the former President, shortly before his death (in 1917):
- "The man, an admirable magistrate, with an aristocratic comportment and a romantic look, who once was one of the most handsome boys of his time, had transformed himself, in half-a-dozen months, into an old, curved and pathetic man...Arriaga recounted to me one of his unique pleasures during his exile...his flowers, garden and poetry...in that afternoon, seated in his garden, seated in the warmth of the sun's rays, I told the old man my predictions. That politics was not made for idealists nor poets, like him...Arriaga listened silently, forcing a smile respectively. Eventually, tears covered his eyes...And while making small patterns in the carpet with his cane, he told me, with an irony...'I am a political criminal, my friend'...I wanted to comfort him, and remembered his sense of pride in popular sentiment and justice, that yet remained in his soul...the people that you had esteemed, continue to respect and love you. That much is true. There are few in the theater, in public, who caricature you..."
But August de Castro ended his story by noting that upon leaving the ex-President's home he purchased a newspaper that referred to Arriaga as a renegade and traitor, and thought, "never, like that afternoon, did politics seem so cruel and a sinister thing".
Manuel de Arriaga was replaced as President by Professor Teófilo Braga
Teófilo Braga
Joaquim Teófilo Fernandes Braga ]] 24 February 1843 – 28 January 1924) was a Portuguese writer, playwright, politician and the leader of the Republican Provisional Government after the abdication of King Manuel II, as well as the second elected President of the First Portuguese Republic, following...
in 1915, who had led the provisional government following the abdication and exile of King Emanuel II.
Later life
At the age of 30, Arriaga had married Lucrécia Augusta de Brito de Berredo Furtado de Melo (Foz do DouroFoz do Douro
Foz do Douro is a Portuguese parish of the city and of Porto municipality. It has 12,235 inhabitants and is 3.00 km² in area. It became a parish in 1836...
, Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, November 13, 1844 - Parede
Parede
Parede is a civil parish in the Portuguese municipality of Cascais. In 2001 its resident population was approximately 17,830 inhabitants, covering an area of 3.6 km², along the southern coast, near the mouth of the Tagus estuary...
, Oeiras, October 14, 1927), from a family friendly to the Arriagas (from the island of Pico
Pico Island
Pico Island , is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores noted for its eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge...
). The ceremony occurred in a chapel near Valença do Minho, where her father was General and Governor. For a few years the couple lived in Coimbra, where Manuel de Arriaga flourished in his law practice. Six children were born, two boys and four girls, and the family regularly spent their holidays in Buarcos.
Following his resignation, Manuel de Arriaga died in Lisbon two years later. His home in Lisbon, near Rua da Janelas Verdes, overlooked the boats in the Tejo
Tagus
The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...
, and in the room where he died there were photographs of the two men he most admired, Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
and Alexandre Herculano
Alexandre Herculano
Alexandre Herculano de Carvalho e Araújo , was a Portuguese novelist and historian.-Early life:...
while above his bed, an image of Christ. In the end, former-President Arriaga's image was rehabilitated by the Portuguese media for his intelligence, patriotism, benevolence and his honor for the manner in which he exercised his functions. This was further enhanced by the his public papers and documents, as well as the work of several intellectuals.
Published works
Although a distinguished lawyer and orator, most of Arraiga's works were presented to the public, but also included published:- O Partido Republicano e o Congresso (English: The Republican Party and the Congress), presented at the Clube Henriques Nogueira (December 11, 1887);
- A Questão da Lunda (English: A Question of Lunda), represented in the Chamber of Deputies (1891);
- Descaracterização da Nacionalidade Portuguesa no regime monárquico (English: The De-characterization of Portuguese Nationality in the Monarchical Regime) presented in the Chamber of Deputies (1897);
- Começo de liquidação final (English: Beginning the Final Liquidation)
- Sobre a Unidade da Família Humana debaixo do Ponto de Vista Económico (English: About the Unity of the Human Family under the Economic View)
- A irresponsabilidade do poder executivo no regime monárquico liberal (English: The Irresponsibility of Executive Power in the Liberal Monarchical Regime)
- Contos Sagrados (English: Sacred Stories)
- Irradiações (English: Diffusion)
- Harmonia Social (English: Social Harmony)