Part 69

"A spirit of dissatisfaction had long been growing amongst the Portugueze. Their colonies were neglected; a great part of Brazil, and a yet larger portion of their Indian empire, had fallen into the hands of the Dutch; Ormus, and their other possessions in the Persian Gulph, had been conquered by the Persians; their intercourse with their remaining colonies was harassed and intercepted; their commerce with the independent Indian states, with China and with Japan, was here injured and there partially destroyed, by the enterprising merchants and mariners of Holland; whilst at home the privileges secured to them as the price of their submission, were hourly, if not flagrantly, violated by their Spanish masters. The illegal imposition of a new tax by the king's sole authority, in 1637, had provoked a partial revolt in the southern provinces, where the duke of Braganza, grandson of Catherine [whose right to the throne was forcibly put aside by Philip II. of Spain in 1580,—see, PORTUGAL: A. D. 1579-1580], was proclaimed king. He refused the proffered dignity, and assisted in quelling the rebellion. He was thanked by Philip and at once recompensed, and, as it was hoped, ensnared, by an appointment to be general–in-chief of Portugal. But the flame was smothered, not extinguished. … The vice-queen, Margaret, duchess-dowager of Mantua, a daughter of Philip II.'s youngest daughter, Catherine, saw the gathering tempest, and forewarned the court of Madrid of the impending danger. Her information was treated, like herself, with contempt by Olivarez. One measure, however, he took, probably in consequence; and that one finally decided the hesitating conspirators to delay no longer. He ordered a large body of troops to be raised in Portugal, the nobles to arm their vassals, and all, under the conduct of the duke of Braganza, to hasten into Spain, in order to attend the king, who was about to march in person against the rebellious Catalans. {2575} Olivarez hoped thus at once to overwhelm Catalonia and Roussillon, and to take from Portugal the power of revolting, by securing the intended leader, and draining the country of the warlike portion of its population. The nobles perceived the object of this command, and resolved to avoid compliance by precipitating their measures. Upon the 12th of October, 1640, they assembled to the number of 40 at the house of Don Antonio d' Almeida. At this meeting they determined to recover their independence, and dispatched Don Pedro de Mendoza as their deputy, to offer the crown and their allegiance to the duke of Braganza, who had remained quietly upon his principal estate at Villa Viçosa. The duke hesitated, alarmed, perhaps, at the importance of the irrevocable step he was called upon to take. But his high-spirited duchess, a daughter of the Spanish duke of Medina-Sidonia, observing to him, that a wretched and dishonourable death certainly awaited him at Madrid; at Lisbon, as certainly glory, whether in life or death, decided his acceptance. Partisans were gained on all sides, especially in the municipality of Lisbon; and the secret was faithfully kept, for several weeks, by at least 500 persons of both sexes, and all ranks. During this interval, the duke of Braganza remained at Villa Viçosa, lest his appearance at Lisbon should excite suspicion; and it seems that, however clearly the vice-queen had perceived the threatening aspect of affairs, neither she nor her ministers entertained any apprehension of the plot actually organized. The 1st of December was the day appointed for the insurrection. Early in the morning the conspirators approached the palace in four well-armed bands," and easily mastered the guard. From the windows of the palace they "proclaimed liberty and John IV." to a great concourse of people who had speedily assembled. Finding Vasconcellos, the obnoxious secretary to 'the vice–queen, hidden in a closet, they slew him and flung his body into the street. The vice-queen, seeing herself helpless, submitted to the popular will and signed mandates addressed to the Spanish governors and other officers commanding castles and fortifications in Portugal, requiring their surrender. "The archbishop of Lisbon was next appointed royal-lieutenant. He immediately dispatched intelligence of the event to the new king, and sent messengers to every part of Portugal with orders for the proclamation of John IV., and the seizure of all Spaniards. … Obedience was prompt and general. … John was crowned on the 15th of December, and immediately abolished the heavy taxes imposed by the king of Spain, declaring that, for his own private expenses, he required nothing beyond his patrimonial estates. He summoned the Cortes to assemble in January, when the three estates of the kingdom solemnly confirmed his proclamation as king, or 'acclamation,' as the Portugueze term it. … In the islands, in the African settlements, with the single exception of Ceuta, which adhered to Spain, and in what remained of Brazil and India, King John was proclaimed, the moment intelligence of the revolution arrived, the Spaniards scarcely any where attempting to resist. … In Europe, the new king was readily acknowledged by all the states at war with the house of Austria." The first attempts made by the Spanish court to regain its lost authority in Portugal took chiefly the form of base conspiracies for the assassination of the new king. War ensued, but the "languid and desultory hostilities produced little effect beyond harassing the frontiers. Portugal was weak, and thought only of self-defence; Spain was chiefly intent upon chastizing the Catalans." The war was prolonged, in fact, until 1668, when it was terminated by a treaty which recognized the independence of Portugal, but ceded Ceuta to Spain. The only considerable battles of the long war were those of Estremos, or Ameixal, in 1663, and Villa Viçosa, 1665, in which the Portuguese were victors, and which were practically decisive of the war.

_M. M. Busk, History of Spain and Portugal, book 2, chapters 10-12._

ALSO IN: _J. Dunlap, Memoirs of Spain, 1621-1700, volume 1, chapter 12._

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1702. Joins the Grand Alliance against France and Spain.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1701-1702.

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1703. The Methuen Treaty with England.

Portugal joined the Grand Alliance against France and Spain, in the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1703, and entered at that time into an important treaty with England. This is known as the Methuen Treaty—"called after the name of the ambassador who negotiated it—and that treaty, and its effect upon the commerce of England and the habits of her people lasted through five generations, even to the present time. The wines of Portugal were to be admitted upon the payment of a duty 33½ per cent. less than the duty paid upon French wines; and the woolen cloths of England, which had been prohibited in Portugal for twenty years, were to be admitted upon terms of proportionate advantage. Up to that time the Claret of France had been the beverage of the wine-drinkers of England. From 1703 Port established itself as what Defoe calls 'our general draught.' In all commercial negotiations with France the Methuen Treaty stood in the way; for the preferential duty was continued till 1831. France invariably pursued a system of retaliation. It was a point of patriotism for the Englishman to hold firm to his Port."

_C. Knight, Popular History of England, volume 5, chapter 17._

See, also, SPAIN: A. D. 1703-1704.

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1713. Possessions in South America confirmed.

See UTRECHT: A. D. 1712-1714.

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1757-1759. Expulsion of the Jesuits and suppression of the order.

See JESUITS: A. D. 1757-1773.

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1793. Joined in the coalition against Revolutionary France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1807. Napoleon's designs against the kingdom. His delusive treaty for its partition with Spain. French invasion and flight of the royal family to Brazil.

"One of the first steps taken by Napoleon, after his return to Paris, … [after the Peace of Tilsit-see GERMANY: A. D. 1807 (JUNE-JULY)] was, in the month of August, to order the French and Spanish ambassadors conjointly, to declare to the prince–regent of Portugal, that he must concur in the continental system, viz. shut his ports against English commerce, confiscate all English property, and imprison all English subjects to be found within his dominions, or they were instructed immediately to leave Lisbon. {2576} The prince and his ministers dared not openly resist the French emperor's will, even whilst the wiser part of the cabinet were convinced that the very existence of the country depended upon British commerce. In this extremity, and relying upon the friendly forbearance of England, they strove to pursue a middle course. Don John professed his readiness to exclude British ships of all descriptions from his ports, but declared that his religious principles would not allow him to seize the subjects and property of a friendly state in the midst of peace, and that prudence forbade his offending England until a Portugueze squadron, then at sea, should have returned safely home. … Napoleon punished this imperfect obedience, by seizing all Portugueze vessels in ports under his control, and ordering the French and Spanish legations to leave Lisbon. The Portugueze ambassadors were, at the same time, dismissed from Paris and Madrid. A French army was, by this time, assembled near the foot of the Pyrenees, bearing the singular title of army of observation of the Gironde; and General Junot … was appointed to its command. … Spain was endeavouring to share in the spoil, not to protect the victim. A treaty, the shameless iniquity of which can be paralleled only by the treaties between Austria, Russia, and Prussia for the partition of Poland, had been signed at Fontainebleau, on the 27th of October. … By this treaty Charles surrendered to Napoleon his infant grandson's kingdom of Etruria (King Louis I. had been dead some years), over which he had no right whatever, and bargained to receive for him in its stead the small northern provinces of Portugal, Entre Minho e Douro and Tras os Montes, under the name of the kingdom of Northern Lusitania, which kingdom the young monarch was to hold in vassalage of the crown of Spain. The much larger southern provinces, Alemtejo and Algarve, were to constitute the principality of the Algarves, for Godoy, under a similar tenure. And the middle provinces were to be occupied by Napoleon until a general peace, when, in exchange for Gibraltar, Trinidad, and any other Spanish possession conquered by England, they might be restored to the family of Braganza, upon like terms of dependence. The Portugueze colonies were to be equally divided between France and Spain. In execution of this nefarious treaty, 10,000 Spanish troops were to seize upon the northern, and 6,000 upon the southern state. … On the 18th of October, Junot, in obedience to his master's orders, crossed the Pyrenees, and, being kindly received by the Spaniards, began his march towards the Portugueze frontiers, whilst the Spanish troops were equally put in motion towards their respective destinations. … The object of so much haste was, to secure the persons of the royal family, whose removal to Brazil had not only been talked of from the beginning of these hostile discussions, but was now in preparation, and matter of public notoriety. … The reckless haste enjoined by the emperor, and which cost almost as many lives as a pitched battle, was very near attaining its end. … The resolution to abandon the contest being adopted, the prince and his ministers took every measure requisite to prevent a useless effusion of blood. A regency, consisting of five persons, the marquess of Abrantes being president, was appointed to conduct the government, and negotiate with Junot. On the 26th a proclamation was put forth, explaining to the people that, as Napoleon's enmity was rather to the sovereign than the nation, the prince-regent, in order to avert the calamities of war from his faithful subjects, would transfer the seat of government to Brazil, till the existing troubles should subside, and strictly charging the Portugueze, more especially the Lisbonians, to receive the French as friends. On the 27th the whole royal family proceeded to Belem, to embark for flight, on the spot whence, about three centuries back, Vasco de Gama had sailed upon his glorious enterprise. … The ships set sail and crossed the bar, almost as the French advance guard was entering Lisbon. Sir Sidney Smith escorted the royal family, with four men-of-war, safely to Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, leaving the remainder of his squadron to blockade the mouth of the Tagus."

_M. M. Busk, History of Spain and Portugal, book 4, chapter 7._

ALSO IN: _C. A. Fyffe, History of Modern Europe, volume 1, chapter 7._

_Sir A. Alison, History of Europe, 1800-1815, chapter 52._

_H. Martineau, History of England, 1800-1815, book 2, chapter 1._

_R. Southey, History of the Peninsular War, chapter 2 (volume l)._

See, also, BRAZIL: A. D. 1808-1822.

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1808. Rising against the French. Arrival of British forces.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1808 (MAY-SEPTEMBER).

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1808. Wellington's first campaign in the Peninsula. The Convention of Cintra. French evacuation of Portugal.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1808-1809 (AUGUST-JANUARY).

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1809 (February-December). Wellington's retreat and fresh advance. The French checked. Passage of the Douro. Battle of Talavera.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1809 (FEBRUARY-JULY); and (AUGUST-DECEMBER).

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1809-1812. Wellington's Lines of Torres Vedras. French invasion and retreat. English advance into Spain.

See SPAIN: A.D. 1809-1810 (OCTOBER-SEPTEMBER); and 1810-1812.

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1814. End of the Peninsular War.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1812-1814.

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1820-1824. Revolution and Absolutist reaction. Separation and independence of Brazil.

"Ever since 1807 Portugal had not known a court. On the first threat of French invasion the Regent had emigrated to the Brazils, and he had since lived and ruled entirely in the great Transatlantic colony. The ordinary conditions of other countries had been reversed. Portugal had virtually become a dependency of her own colony. The absence of the court was a sore trial to the pride of the Portuguese. An absent court had few supporters. It happened, too, that its ablest defender had lately left the country. … In April 1820 [Marshal] Beresford sailed for the Brazils. He did not return till the following October; and the revolution had been completed before his return. On the 24th of August the troops at Oporto determined on establishing a constitutional government, and appointed a provisional Junta with this object. The Regency which conducted the affairs of the country at Lisbon denounced the movement as a nefarious conspiracy. But, however nefarious the conspiracy might be, the defection of the army was so general that resistance became impossible. On the 1st of September the Regency issued a proclamation promising to convene the Cortes. {2577} The promise, however, did not stop the progress of the insurrection. The Junta which had been constituted at Oporto marched at the head of the troops upon Lisbon. The troops at Lisbon and in the south of Portugal threw off their allegiance, and established a Junta of their own. The Junta at Lisbon were, for the moment, in favour of milder measures than the Junta of Oporto. But the advocates of the more extreme course won their ends. The Oporto troops, surrounding the two Juntas, which had been blended together, compelled them to adopt the Spanish constitution; in other words, to sanction the election of one deputy to the Cortes for every 30,000 persons inhabiting the country. … When the revolution of 1820 had occurred John VI., King of Portugal, was quietly ruling in his transatlantic dominions of Brazil. Portugal had been governed for thirteen years from Rio de Janeiro; and the absence of the Court from Lisbon had offended the Portuguese and prepared them for change. After the mischief had been done John VI. was persuaded to return to his native country, leaving his eldest son, Dom Pedro, Regent of Brazil in his absence. Before setting out on his journey he gave the prince public instructions for his guidance, which practically made Brazil independent of Portugal; and he added private directions to the prince, in case any emergency should arise which should make it impracticable to preserve Brazil for Portugal, to place the crown on his own head, and thus save the great Transatlantic territory for the House of Braganza. Leaving these parting injunctions with his son, John VI. returned to the old kingdom which he had deserted nearly fourteen years before. He reached Lisbon, and found the Constitutionalists in undisputed possession of power. He found also that the action of the Constitutionalists in Portugal was calculated to induce Brazil to throw off the authority of the mother country. The Cortes in Portugal insisted on the suppression of the supreme tribunals in Brazil, on the establishment of Provincial Juntas, and on the return of the Regent to Portugal. The Brazilians declined to adopt measures which they considered ruinous to their dignity, and persuaded the Regent to disobey the orders of the Cortes. A small body of Portuguese troops quartered in Brazil endeavoured to overawe the prince, but proved powerless to do so. In May 1822 the prince was persuaded to declare himself Perpetual Defender of the Brazils. In the following September the Brazilians induced him to raise their country to the dignity of an empire, and to declare himself its constitutional emperor. The news that the Brazilians had declared themselves an independent empire reached Europe at a critical period. Monarchs and diplomatists were busily deliberating at Verona on the affairs of Spain and of the Spanish colonies. No one, however, could avoid comparing the position of Portugal and Brazil with that of Spain and her dependencies. … The evident determination of France to interfere in Spain created anxiety in Portugal. The Portuguese Cortes apprehended that the logical consequence of French interference in the one country was French interference in the other. … The position of a French army on the Spanish frontier roused the dormant spirits of the Portuguese Absolutists. In February 1823 a vast insurrection against the Constitution broke out in Northern Portugal. The insurgents, who in the first instance obtained considerable success, were with difficulty defeated. But the revolt had been hardly quelled before the Absolutists recovered their flagging spirits. Every step taken by the Duc d' Angoulême in his progress from the Bidassoa to Madrid [see SPAIN: A. D. 1814-1827] raised their hopes of ultimate success. The king's second son, the notorious Dom Miguel, fled from his father's palace and threw in his lot with the insurgents. For a moment the king stood firm and denounced his son's proceedings. But the reaction which had set in was too strong to be resisted. The Cortes was closed, a new Ministry appointed, and autocracy re-established in Portugal. The re-establishment of autocracy in Portugal marked the commencement of a series of intrigues in which this country [England] was deeply interested. One party in the new Government, with M. de Palmella at its head, was disposed to incline to moderate measures and to listen to the advice which it received from the British Ministry and from the British Ambassador, Sir Edward Thornton. Another party, of which M. de Subsérra was the representative, was in favour of an intimate union with France, and ready to listen to the contrary counsels of M. de Neuville, the French Minister at Lisbon. M. de Palmella, despairing of founding a settled form of government amidst the disorders which surrounded him on every side, applied to the British Ministry for troops to give stability to the Administration. The demand arrived in London in July 1823. … The demand for troops was refused, but a British squadron was sent to the Tagus, with a view of affording the King of Portugal the moral support of the British nation and a secure asylum in the event of any danger to his person. Many months elapsed before the King of Portugal had occasion to avail himself of the possible asylum which was thus afforded to him. … The evident leanings of M. de Palmella towards moderate measures, however, alarmed the Portuguese Absolutists. Ever since the revolution of 1823 Dom Miguel had held the command of the army; and, on the night of the 29th of April, 1824, the prince suddenly ordered the arrest of the leading personages of the Government, and, under the pretext of suppressing an alleged conspiracy of Freemasons, called on the army to liberate their king, and to complete the triumph of the previous year. For nine days the king was a mere puppet in the hands of his son, and Dom Miguel was virtually master of Lisbon. On the 9th of May the king was persuaded by the foreign ministers in his capital to resume his authority; to retire on board the 'Windsor Castle,' a British man-of-war; to dismiss Dom Miguel from his command, and to order his attendance upon him. The prince, 'stricken with a sudden futuity,' obeyed his father's commands, and was prevailed upon to go into voluntary exile. The revolution of 1824 terminated with his departure, and Portugal again enjoyed comparative tranquillity."

_S. Walpole, History of England from 1815, chapter 9 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN: _H. M. Stephens, The Story of Portugal, chapter 18._

See, also, BRAZIL: A.D. 1808-1822.

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1822. The independence of Brazil proclaimed and established.

See BRAZIL: A. D. 1808-1822.

{2578}

PORTUGAL: A. D. 1824-1889. Return of John VI. to Brazil. Abdication of the Portuguese throne by Dom Pedro, after granting a constitution. Usurpation of Dom Miguel. Civil war and factious conflicts. Establishment of Parliamentary government, and Peace.