Belfastada is the name given to the military uprising against the Miguelist regime in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

as part of the Liberal Wars, that was triggered off in June and July 1828 in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, with the landing of a group of liberal exiles coming in from England aboard the ''Belfast'' ship (hence the name given to the event). The leaders of the expedition were

Pedro de Sousa Holstein D. Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Duke of Faial and Palmela (8 May 1781–12 October 1850) was one of the most important Portuguese diplomats and statesmen in the first half of the 19th century. He also served as the country's first modern Prime M ...

and João Carlos de Saldanha.
This liberal offensive was unsuccessful, so the Liberals were forced to take refuge on the ship and go back to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Background

After the Napoleonic War, the British ruled

in the name of the absent king who was in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, with Beresford as the de facto Regent, until the Liberal Revolution of 1820 when they were driven out and the king was forced to return as a constitutional monarch. Over the next 25 years the fledgling Portuguese democracy experienced several military upheavals, especially the Liberal Wars fought between the brothers Dom Pedro, ex- Emperor of Brazil and King Dom Miguel. Dom Miguel controlled the Portuguese mainland from 1828 until 1832. To assert the cause of his daughter

Maria da Glória , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

, Pedro sailed in 1832 from Terceira in 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 ...

with an expeditionary force consisting of 60 vessels and 7500 men, mostly mercenaries. Meanwhile, Miguel's fleet was comprehensively defeated by Pedro's much smaller squadron, commanded by Charles Napier, in the fourth Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1833). The Miguelites were driven out of

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 ...

but returned and attacked the city in force, unsuccessfully. Miguel was finally defeated at the

Battle of Asseiceira The Battle of Asseiceira, fought on 16 May, 1834, was the last and decisive engagement of the Portuguese Civil War, or "War of the Two Brothers", between Dom Pedro, ex-Emperor of Brazil (fighting to restore his daughter Dona Maria da Glória a ...

, on 16 May 1834, and capitulated a few days later with the

Concession of Evoramonte The Concession of Evoramonte, also known as the Convention of Evoramonte,Smith, p. 398 was a document signed on 26 May 1834, in Evoramonte, in Alentejo, between the Constitutionalists and the Miguelites, that ended the period of civil war (1828� ...

. Despite his forced exile, many Portuguese continued to fight for his cause up until the 1850s.

Timeline

* Liberal revolt in Porto (1828) * ''Belfastada'' (1828) * Revolt of the Royal Navy Brigade (1829) * Revolt of Lisbon (1831) * Revolt of the 2nd Infantry Regiment (1831) *

Siege of Porto The siege of Porto is considered the period between July 1832 and August 1833 in which the troops of Dom Pedro remained besieged by the forces of Dom Miguel I of Portugal. The resistance of the city of Porto and the troops of Dom Pedro made t ...

and civil war (1832–33)

References

{{reflist 1828 in Portugal History of Porto Battles of the Liberal Wars Conflicts in 1828