The April Revolt ( pt, Abrilada), in the

history of Portugal The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis. The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provin ...

, was an absolutist political revolt that took place in April 1824. It succeeded the Vilafrancada (1823) and foreshadowed the

Portuguese Civil War 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 1 ...

(1828–1834).

History

On 30 April 1824, Infante Miguel, who had been appointed

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

of the Portuguese Army, had top civilian and military people of the country arrested and placed in the dungeons of the

Castle of São Jorge Saint George's Castle ( pt, Castelo de São Jorge; ) is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, located in the ''freguesia'' of Santa Maria Maior. Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the 8th century BC while the ...

and the Tower of Belém. Among them stood out the figures of the Quartermaster-General of Police, Baron Rendufe, the Duke of Palmela (then in government in coalition with the Earl of Subserra) and the Viscount of Santa Marta. D. Miguel, who had the support of his mother

Carlota Joaquina Doña Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana of Spain (25 April 1775 – 7 January 1830) was Queen of Portugal and Brazil as the wife of King Dom John VI. She was the daughter of King Don Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. ...

, considered them guilty of being supporters of

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

and of his father, D. John VI. Miguel's stated intention was to end what he called "pestilential bevy of free-masons", a reference to

Freemasonry 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 ...

liberal and constitutional. Various military corps were then sent to the former Palace of the Inquisition, (where the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II stands today), in Rossio, Lisbon, then installing its headquarters. He then gave orders to besiege the Palace of Bemposta, where the king was accompanied by his English adviser, General William Carr Beresford. The support of John by the diplomatic corps in Portugal was decisive to solve this conflict, in particular the action of the French ambassador Hyde de Neuville. In an attempt at appeasement, one diplomat managed to enter the palace and convince the king to call his son. He achieved, thereby, an agreement that brought back the troops to barracks, but that the detainees remain imprisoned, with the exception of Palmela, who took refuge in a British ship, continuing the political and military instability. In May, diplomats helped D. John VI to take refuge in the British ship ''

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

'', where he took a series of measures: he deposed D. Miguel from his position as head of the Army, ordered the release of political prisoners and the capture of the supporters of his son, who was summoned to come aboard. Once retained, D. Miguel was forced to embark for France in the frigate Pearl, putting an end to the uprising of miguelistas. The infante was deported from there to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and Dona Carlota Joaquina, was placed under house arrest in the

Palace of Queluz The Palace of Queluz ( pt, Palácio de Queluz, ) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europ ...

. Revolutions in Portugal 19th-century revolutions 1824 in Portugal Conflicts in 1824 {{Portugal-hist-stub