Jorge de Avilez Zuzarte de Sousa Tavares (28 March 1785 – 15 February 1845) was a Portuguese military officer and statesman. 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 in the Portuguese conquest of the Banda Oriental.

Early career

Jorge de Alviez entered the Royal College of Nobles in 1797 with his two older brothers. He studied arts until 1801, when he returned to Portalegre. He went to Lisbon with his family in 1801, due to the

War of the Oranges The War of the Oranges ( pt, Guerra das Laranjas; french: Guerre des Oranges; es, Guerra de las Naranjas) was a brief conflict in 1801 in which Spanish forces, instigated by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French mil ...

. Having finished in the Army as Cadet, he was appointed Colonel of the Militia Regiment of Crato on 24 June 1804. In 1807 he was chosen to be Superintendent of stud farms of Portalegre, the same function his father had. The Militia Regiment of Crato was discharged, because of the Militia Reform of October 1807, in 1808 he was put in charge the Volunteer Regiment of Portalegre, created by the Junta of Portalegre, so they could help fight the French. With the transfer of the Volunteer Regiment to the Army in 1809, he was appointed commander of the 1st Battalion of Caçadores with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Peninsular War

He led the battalion through all their battles in the 2nd Brigade of the

Light Division The Light Division was a light infantry division of the British Army. Its origins lay in "Light Companies" formed during the late 18th century, to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect a main force with skirmishing tactics. These ...

until the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro. In February 1812 he was promoted to Colonel and given command of the 2nd Regiment of Infantry which was part of the renowned

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

Brigade of the Portuguese Division, which was a division organised in the

Anglo-Portuguese Army The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and Portugal, Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesl ...

. He fought at the Siege of Badajoz to the Battle of Toulouse the last big battle of the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

. His wife followed him from Badajoz to Toulouse. In 1816 he was promoted to Brigadier.

In Brazil

In 1817, due to the organisation of the Division of Volunteers of the Prince, being transferred to

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 ...

to help with the Conquest of Montevideo he was given the rank of Field Marshal. In 1818, he was Governor of

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. He did the whole Campaign of Banda Oriental, distinguishing himself in the Battle of Paço de Arenas in September 1819. In 1821, in Brazil, he was given the rank of Lieutenant-General, due to his appointment as Governor of Arms of the Court and Province of Rio de Janeiro, controlling the riots which had been occurring because of the departure of King John VI and the court. On 5 June 1821, as commander of the soldiers in Rio de Janeiro, he directed the ultimatum to Prince Pedro that he had to swear the foundations of the Constitution, dismissed the Count of Arcos and nominated a governing junta. In October he demanded again that Prince Pedro publicly announce his adherence to the decisions of the Cortes gathered in Lisbon. Prince Pedro obeyed and decided, on a first impulse, to return to Europe. But in January 1822 he publicly declared that he had decided to stay in Brazil, a fact known as Dia do Fico (Day of Stay). Jorge de Avilez resigned from the Government of Arms and, fearing an attack by Brazilian troops, he retreated to Praia Grande, in Niterói, which he fortified but was later expelled by the Prince Regent. The Portuguese Division embarked in February, arriving at Lisbon in May 1822.

Liberal Wars

Jorge de Avilez was elected deputy in 1822. In 1823, he was nominated by the Cortes as Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Army, to counter the movements of Prince Miguel. He could not prevent the coup d'état known as 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 ...

, which ended the first liberal period, reestablishing the absolutist regime. A prisoner in the Castle of São Jorge, he was transferred to the

Tower of Belém A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

. Judged, he was dismissed from his rank of Lieutenant-General and condemned to a year of imprisonment in Castelo de Vide. In June 1827, during the regency of the Infanta Isabel Maria of Portugal, he was exonerated and returned to his post. With the return of Prince Miguel, he asked permission to go to Portalegre, but was arrested again in June 1828 and sent to São Julião da Barra Fortress. In 1832 he was transferred to Almeida and later to Bragança, from where he managed to escape to Spain. His wife was arrested and held in the Tower of Belém, in the Limoeiro and in the

Cadeia do Aljube Cadeia do Aljube is a former prison in Lisbon, Portugal, now serving as a museum. Situated near the Sé Cathedral in the parish of Santa Maria Maior, the prison housed those convicted through the Ecclesiastical Forum until 1820, then women accu ...

. The diplomatic corps in Lisbon demanded his release and succeeded. King Pedro IV reconciled with Jorge de Avilez at the end of the civil war, and appointed him to Military Governor of the Court and Province of Extremadura, with the rank of Lieutenant-General. With the reorganisation of the Army he was given the command of the 1st Military Division, being later transferred to the 7th, for political reasons. Named Peer of the realm in 1835, he was given the title of Viscount of Reguengo. He joined the Setembrismo movement in 1836. He was appointed senator, according to the Constitution of 1838. In April 1838 he was awarded the title of Count of Avilez.

Promotions and Units

Sources