Agostinho José Freire

ComTE ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

, CvA, GCNSC (

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

, 28 August 1780 -

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, 4 November 1836 ) was an major of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

, minister and state councilor, a distinguished statesman and advocate of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

cause.

Early life

He was born in Évora on August 28, 1780, son of captain Agostinho José Freire, from

Vidais Vidais is one of twelve civil parishes (''freguesias'') in the municipality of Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Leir ...

and of an unknown mother. While still young, he went to live in

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

, accompanied by his father. Having completed his early studies there, he went to Lisbon to pursue his education and eventually enrolled at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...

. He graduated in Mathematics in 1807, having also studied Philosophy. Although he seemed destined for a teaching career, the French invasion in the year of his graduation saw him dedicate himself to the resistance. He fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

and played a role during the Vintismo period and in the early years of the Portuguese Constitutional Monarchy. He was also a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. As a result of the

Vilafrancada Vilafrancada was an uprising led by prince Miguel I of Portugal in Vila Franca de Xira on 27 May 1823. Origins The liberal regime established in Portugal by the Liberal Revolution of 1820 did not enjoy the confidence of more traditional elements o ...

uprising, Freire went into exile on June 15, 1822. He went first to

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

, then to Paris and elsewhere in Europe. He returned to Portugal following the

Constitutional Charter of 1826 The Charter of 1826 or ''Carta Constitucional'', often simply referred to as the ''Carta'', was the second constitution in Portuguese history. It was given to the country in 1826 by King Dom Pedro IV. The constitution remained in force, with the ...

. He served in the army throughout the

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 liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 18 ...

. When Miguel I of Portugal landed in Portugal in 1828 as regent, Freire once again left the country and went to join Pedro IV in Belle-Isle, leaving with him for the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. Pedro named him Minister of War and acting Navy. After having rendered Pedro very important services in organizing the liberal army and preparing the fleet that was to transport him to the Portugal, Freire returned with Pedro and distinguished himself in the military action that followed.

Ministerial career

In the regency cabinet of Don Pedro he was

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

(3 March 1832 - 24 September 1834) and Interim Minister of the Marine (3 March - 29 June 1832, 26 July - 15 October 1833) as well as interim

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

(29 July 1832 - 25 September 1832 and 18 November 1832 - 12 January 1833); Minister of the Marine for a third time (24 September 1834 - 16 February 1835) and then

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(16 February - 27 May 1835) in the

Palmela Palmela () is a town and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 62,831, in an area of 465.12 km². The municipality is located in the Lisboa Region and Setúbal District, about south of Lisbon. The municipal holiday is 1 Ju ...

cabinet and again (20 April - 10 September 1836) in the

Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location ...

cabinet.

Honours and distinctions

He was awarded the 36th Grand Cross of the Order of Our Lady of the Conception of Vila Viçosa (December 1, 1834); the Grand Cross of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

of Spain (28th August 1834): Knight of the Military Order of Avis, Commander of the

Military Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...

(31 January 1835), President of the Constituent Cortes, peer of the realm and director of the Royal Military College.

Death

Freire was murdered during the

Belenzada The Belenzada (“Belém Affair”) was an attempted coup in November 1836 by Queen Maria II of Portugal and her husband Ferdinand II to remove the liberal government established by the September Revolution and reinstate the Constitutional Charte ...

, after leaving the house of :pt:João Baptista Felgueiras, where he had gone to dinner, and was making his way to the

Belém Palace The Belém Palace ( pt, Palácio de Belém), formally the National Palace of Belém, ( pt, Palácio Nacional de Belém), is the current official residence of the President of the Portuguese Republic, the head of state of Portugal. Located in the ...

. Various former devorist ministers had been called to Belém to assist the new government and Freire was in a carriage, wearing his full regalia. On his way, at Calçada da Pampulha in Santos he ran into a group of the National Guard. He stepped out of his carriage and was shot by a guardsman. The furious mob tore off his decorations, robbed his valuables, and dumped his body in a common grave at a cemetery. His body was mutilated and stolen, being taken to

Prazeres Cemetery Prazeres Cemetery ( pt, Cemitério dos Prazeres) is one of the largest cemeteries in Lisbon, Portugal; it is located in the ''freguesia'' (civil parish) of Estrela, in western Lisbon (formerly, within the parish of Prazeres). It is considered to ...

. Even after he was buried, his remains were twice dug up by his enemies, so in the end his daughter had a mausoleum built to keep his remains secure.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freire, Agostinho Jose 1780 births 1836 deaths People from Caldas da Rainha Government ministers of Portugal 19th-century Portuguese politicians Assassinated Portuguese politicians Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword Knights of the Order of Aviz