HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jorge de Avilez Zuzarte de Sousa Tavares (28 March 1785 – 15 February 1845) was a
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
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 Spai ...
and in the
Portuguese conquest of the Banda Oriental The Portuguese conquest of the Banda Oriental was the armed-conflict that took place between 1816 and 1820 in the Banda Oriental, for control of what today comprises the whole of the Republic of Uruguay, the northern part of the Argentine Meso ...
.


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 mi ...
. 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. Thes ...
until the
Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalema ...
. 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 British and Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the ''Ex ...
. 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 and 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 . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...
. 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, which ended the first liberal period, reestablishing the absolutist regime. A prisoner in 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 ...
, he was transferred to the
Tower of Belém A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifica ...
. Judged, he was dismissed from his rank of Lieutenant-General and condemned to a year of imprisonment in
Castelo de Vide Castelo de Vide () is a municipality in Portugal, with a population of 3,407 inhabitants in 2011, in an area of . History It is unclear when humans settled Castelo de Vide, although archaeologists suggest the decision came from the morphology of ...
. In June 1827, during the regency of the
Infanta Isabel Maria of Portugal Infanta Isabel Maria of Braganza (); Queluz, 4 July 1801 – Benfica, then Belém, 22 April 1876 was a Portuguese ''infanta'' (princess) and fourth daughter of King John VI of Portugal and his wife Carlota Joaquina of Spain. She acted as reg ...
, 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 acc ...
. 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 A peer of the realm is a member of the highest aristocratic social order outside the ruling dynasty of the kingdom. Notable examples are: * a member of the peerages in the United Kingdom, who is a hereditary peer or a life peer * a member of the ...
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


See also

*
Rossio massacre The Rossio Massacre ( pt, ‘massacre do Rossio’) took place on the evening of 13 March 1838, when forces loyal to the Portuguese government of Prime Minister Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, 1st Marquis of Sá da Bandeira, Sá da Bandeira ...


Sources

Jorge de Avilez, oficial português
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tavares, Jorge de Avilez Zuzarte de Sousa 1785 births 1845 deaths People from Portalegre, Portugal Field marshals of Portugal Portuguese Roman Catholics 19th-century Portuguese people Portuguese nobility Portuguese military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars