Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa , commonly known as Manuel Gomes da Costa () or just Gomes da Costa (14 January 1863 – 17 December 1929), was a
Portuguese army officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
, the
tenth president of Portugal
The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal.
The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...
and the second of the
National Dictatorship.
Gomes da Costa had a distinguished military career in the country's
colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
, from 1893 to 1915, in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
,
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, and
São Tomé
São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities.
History
Álvar ...
, having served under the command of
Mouzinho de Albuquerque. After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, in which he rose to greater prominence in the command of the
1st Division of the
Portuguese Expeditionary Corps
The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main military force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front, during World War I. Portuguese neutrality ended in 1916 after the Portuguese ...
, he became actively engaged in politics, in staunch opposition to the
dominant Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
In 1926, he was involved in the military and political movement that resulted in the
28 May 1926 coup d'état that inaugurated a new
conservative, authoritarian regime. Following the military coup, Gomes da Costa deposed moderate
José Mendes Cabeçadas
José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior, OTE, ComA (), commonly known as Mendes Cabeçadas (19 August 1883 in Loulé – 11 June 1965 in Lisbon), was a Portuguese Navy officer, Freemason and republican, having a major role in the preparation of the ...
, who had received executive and presidential power from the removed Prime Minister
António Maria da Silva
António Maria da Silva, GCTE (; 26 May 1872 in Lisbon – 14 October 1950 in Lisbon) was a Portuguese politician. An engineer, he was a prominent member of the Portuguese Republican Party. He was Prime Minister (President of the Council of ...
and President
Bernardino Machado
Bernardino Luís Machado Guimarães, GCTE, GCL (; 28 March 1851, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 29 April 1944, Porto, Portugal), was a Portuguese political figure, the third and eighth president of Portugal (1915–17, 1925–26).
In 191 ...
, briefly holding the headship of government and of state in the summer of that year, until he was himself removed by another coup, to be replaced by
Óscar Carmona
António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona (; 24 November 1869 – 18 April 1951) was a Portuguese Army officer and politician who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1926 to 1928 and as the 11th president of Portugal from 1926 until his death i ...
.
Early life
Gomes da Costa was born to Carlos Dias da Costa and Madalena de Oliveira; he grew up with two younger siblings, Lucrécia and Amália. He began his military career at the
Colégio Militar
''Colégio Militar'' ( Portuguese for "Military College") is a military secondary school in Lisbon, Portugal. It was founded by Marechal António Teixeira Rebello in 1803.
History
Its initial location was S. Julião da Barra Fort, in Oeiras. It ...
at age 10.
Military career
As a soldier, he stood out in colonial campaigns in the
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n and
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
colonies. After Portugal had entered the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(''See:
Portugal in the Great War'') on the Allied side in early 1917, he commanded the Second Division of the
Portuguese Expeditionary Corps
The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main military force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front, during World War I. Portuguese neutrality ended in 1916 after the Portuguese ...
. During the
Battle of the Lys on 9 April 1918, the CEP lost 400 dead and around 6,500 prisoners, a third of its forces in the front line. Gomes da Costa's division was hit particularly hard and was all but wiped out.
For his command in the war, he was made a
general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
and a Grand Officer of the Military Order of Avis. Two years later, on 5 October 1921, he received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Avis.
Revolution
A convinced monarchist, Gomes da Costa had consorted with people of various political convictions. That, and his reputation as a soldier, led to his choice by right-wing revolutionaries to lead the
28 May 1926 coup d'état in
Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
that overthrew the
Portuguese First Republic
The First Portuguese Republic ( pt, Primeira República Portuguesa; officially: ''República Portuguesa'', Portuguese Republic) spans a complex 16-year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the period of constitutional monarchy ...
, after General
Alves Roçadas, their original choice, had fallen fatally ill.
After the success of the revolution he did not assume power at first, entrusting the posts of President of the Republic and President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) to
José Mendes Cabeçadas
José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior, OTE, ComA (), commonly known as Mendes Cabeçadas (19 August 1883 in Loulé – 11 June 1965 in Lisbon), was a Portuguese Navy officer, Freemason and republican, having a major role in the preparation of the ...
, the leader of the revolution in
Lisbon. Soon the coup leaders disliked the attitude of Mendes Cabeçadas, a choice of the previous president
Bernardino Machado
Bernardino Luís Machado Guimarães, GCTE, GCL (; 28 March 1851, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 29 April 1944, Porto, Portugal), was a Portuguese political figure, the third and eighth president of Portugal (1915–17, 1925–26).
In 191 ...
and still sympathetic towards the old republic. He was replaced by Gomes da Costa in both posts in a meeting in
Sacavém on 17 June 1926. The new government was the first to include the later prime minister and dictator of Portugal,
Antonio de Oliveira Salazar
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
, as finance minister.
Overthrow and exile
Gomes da Costa's government lasted about as long as Cabeçadas', because it was overthrown by a new coup on 9 July the same year. This attempt was initiated by
João José Sinel de Cordes and
Óscar Carmona
António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona (; 24 November 1869 – 18 April 1951) was a Portuguese Army officer and politician who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1926 to 1928 and as the 11th president of Portugal from 1926 until his death i ...
, after Gomes da Costa attempted to have Carmona removed as minister for foreign affairs. Although more conservative than Cabeçadas, Gomes da Costa had no desire to institute a long-term military regime, which brought him into conflict with Carmona and others in the most conservative and authoritarian faction of the military leadership.
Carmona succeeded Gomes da Costa as President of the Republic and of the Council of Ministers under the pretext that Gomes da Costa was "unfit for office." Gomes da Costa was
exiled to the
Azores Islands
)
, 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 ...
, but also promoted to
Marshal of the
Portuguese Army.
Gomes da Costa in Artigos de apoio Infopédia [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2016. Accessed 28 December 2016.
/ref> In September 1927, he returned to mainland 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 ...
, already very ill; he died a few months later.
Personal life
On 15 May 1885 in Penamacor Gomes da Costa married Henriqueta Júlia de Mira Godinho (Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
, Santa Maria, 1863–1936), by whom he had three children. Gomes da Costa was the father-in-law of Pedro Francisco Massano de Amorim, Governor of Gaza, Angola, Mozambique and India.
Honours
*
Grand Officer of the Order of Aviz, 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 ...
(15 February 1919)
*
Grand Officer of the Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit, Portugal (14 September 1920)
*
Grand Cross of the Order of Aviz, Portugal (5 October 1921)
References
See also
* List of presidents of Portugal
* List of prime ministers of Portugal
The prime minister of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, primeiro-ministro da República Portuguesa) is the head of the Government of Portugal. They coordinate the actions of all ministers, represent the Government as a whole, report their actions ...
* Portuguese First Republic
The First Portuguese Republic ( pt, Primeira República Portuguesa; officially: ''República Portuguesa'', Portuguese Republic) spans a complex 16-year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the period of constitutional monarchy ...
* Ditadura Nacional
The ''Ditadura Nacional'' (, National Dictatorship) was the name given to the regime that governed Portugal from 1926, after the re-election of General Óscar Carmona to the post of President, until 1933. The preceding period of military dicta ...
* Estado Novo (Portugal)
The ''Estado Novo'' (, lit. "New State") was the corporatist Portuguese state installed in 1933. It evolved from the '' Ditadura Nacional'' ("National Dictatorship") formed after the ''coup d'état'' of 28 May 1926 against the democratic b ...
* 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 ...
* Timeline of Portuguese history
__NOTOC__
This is a timeline of Portuguese history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Portugal and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Portugal.
Centuri ...
* Politics of Portugal
Politics in Portugal operates as a unitary multi-party semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Portugal is the head of government, and the President of Portugal is the non-executive head of state wit ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomes da Costa, Manuel
1863 births
1929 deaths
People from Lisbon
Presidents of Portugal
Prime Ministers of Portugal
Government ministers of Portugal
Portuguese military personnel of World War I
Field marshals of Portugal
19th-century Portuguese people
20th-century Portuguese politicians
Portuguese revolutionaries
Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword
Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz
Grand Officers of the Order of Aviz