Francisco Xavier da Silva Pereira, 1st Count of Antas (14 March 1793 in Valença – 20 May 1852 in

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 ...

) was a Portuguese nobleman and a leading soldier of the period of the Liberal Wars.

Life

The son of a military family, he served 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 ...

against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

as an officer in the first battalion of the '' Leal Legião Lusitana'', serving in the battles of

Albuera La Albuera is a village southeast of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. it had a population of c. 2,000 inhabitants. History It was scene of the Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) between Spanish, Portuguese and British troops under William Carr Beresf ...

, Bussaco,

Nive The Nive (; eu, Errobi; oc, Niva) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by th ...

Nivelle Nivelle () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department * Nivelle Offensive The Nivelle offensive (16 April – 9 May 1917) was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front i ...

, Salamanca,

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

, Orthez and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, for several of which he was decorated. He was prominent among those who opposed the absolutist government of the usurper Dom Miguel. He took part in the Chartist rebellion against Miguel at

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 ...

in May 1828, and subsequently escaped to England to place himself under the authority of

Dom Pedro Dom Pedro (''Lord Peter'') is the traditional Portuguese appellation of several kings of Portugal: * Peter I of Portugal * Peter II of Portugal * Peter III of Portugal * Pedro IV of Portugal * Pedro V of Portugal and of the two 19th-century Emperors ...

, the ex-Emperor of

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 ...

, who was organizing resistance on behalf of his daughter, the legitimate Queen

Maria II , 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 ...

. In August, Silva Pereira sailed to

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

as part of a contingent sent to strengthen the forces of the governor,

José Travassos Valdez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, who was holding out for the Queen, but Madeira was almost immediately captured by Miguel's forces and Silva Pereira joined Travassos Valdez in the evacuation of the Queen's supporters to England. He then served in Dom Pedro's forces in the recapture of 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 ...

and the Portuguese Civil War of 1832–34 in which the Miguelites were defeated. In 1835 he was named Baron das Antas, becoming Viscount in 1836 and Count in 1838. In 1836 he was the General in command of the Portuguese Expeditionary Force that was sent to aid the Queen of Spain during the

Carlist Wars The Carlist Wars () were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 187 ...

. Recalled in September 1837 because of the revolt of the Chartist Marshals, he held the balance of military power but adhered to the legitimate government of

and defeated the insurrection at the Battle of Ruivães on 20 September 1837. During the

Patuleia The Patuleia, Guerra da Patuleia, or Little Civil War was a civil war in Portugal, so called to distinguish it from the 'great' civil war between Dom Pedro and Dom Miguel that ended in 1834. The Patuleia occurred after the Revolution of Maria ...

or Little Civil War of 1846–47 he was head of the revolutionary Junta of Porto. {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva Pereira, Francisco Xavier da 1793 births 1852 deaths Portuguese politicians Portuguese soldiers Portuguese nobility People from Valença, Portugal Military personnel of the Liberal Wars Military personnel of the First Carlist War 19th-century Portuguese people Portuguese military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars