The Revolution of Maria da Fonte, or Revolution of the Minho, is the name given to a popular revolt in the spring of 1846 against the

Cartista Cartista was a Portuguese form of Chartism which arose after the Portuguese Liberal Revolution of 1820. Members supported the Constitutional Charter of 1826 granted by Peter IV of Portugal, which was an attempt to reduce the conflicts created by ...

government of

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 ...

(presided over by

António Bernardo da Costa Cabral, 1st Marquess of Tomar 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 ...

). The revolt resulted from social tensions remaining from the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 18 ...

, exacerbated by great popular discontent generated by new military recruitment laws, fiscal alterations and the prohibition on burials inside churches. It began in the area of

Póvoa de Lanhoso Póvoa de Lanhoso (, ) is a municipality in the district of Braga, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 21,886, in an area of 134.65 km². The present Mayor is Avelino Silva, elected by the Social Democratic Party. The municipal holiday is Ma ...

( Minho) by a popular uprising that little by little extended to the whole north of Portugal. The instigator of the initial riots was a woman called Maria, native of the

freguesia ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...

of Fontarcada, who would become known by the nickname of Maria da Fonte. As the initial phase of the insurrection had a strong female element, she ended up giving her name to the revolt. The uprising afterwards spread to the remainder of the country and provoked the replacement of the government of Costa Cabral by one presided over by

Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Duke of Palmela 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 ...

. When 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 ...

dismissed that government in a palace coup, known as the Emboscada (Ambush), on October 6 that year, and instead nominated marshal

João Francisco de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * ...

to form a new one, the insurrection was reignited. The result was a civil war of 8 months, known as 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 ...

, that was only ended by the signing of the

Convention of Gramido The Convention of Gramido was an agreement signed on 29 June 1847, in Casa Branca on the town square of Gramido, in Valbom, Gondomar, Portugal, to end the civil war of the Septembrists against the Cartistas known as the Patuleia. The Convention ...

on 30 June 1847, after the intervention of foreign military forces from the

Quadruple Alliance Quadruple Alliance may refer to: * The October 1673 alliance between the Dutch Republic, Emperor Leopold, Spain, and Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, during the Franco-Dutch War. * The 1718 alliance between Austria, France, the Netherlands, and Great ...

References

*Bonifácio, Maria de Fátima, ''História da Guerra Civil da Patuleia 1846-1847'', ''Editorial Estampa'', Lisbon, 1993 () *Capela, José Viriato; Borralheiro, Rogério, ''A Revolução do Minho de 1846 e as reformas da administração''. In: CONGRESSO DA MARIA DA FONTE, 150 ANOS, Póvoa de Lanhoso, 1996, ''História da Coragem Feita com Coração: Actas''. Póvoa de Lanhoso, City Hall, 1996, pp. 169–184. * Castelo Branco, Camilo, ''Maria da Fonte'', Lisbon, ''Ulmeiro'', 1986 (Preface by Hélia Correia. There are multiple editions of this work). *Coelho, José Abílio, ''Algumas notas sobre a revolução das mulheres de Fontarcada''. In: CONGRESSO DA MARIA DA FONTE, 150 ANOS, Póvoa de Lanhoso, 1996, ''História da Coragem Feita com Coração: Actas''. Póvoa de Lanhoso, City Hall, 1996, pp. 263–269. * Gomes, João Augusto Marques, ''História da Revolução da Maria da Fonte'', in collection Biblioteca do Povo e das Escolas, (n.º 167), Lisbon. * Vieira, Casimiro José, ''Apontamentos para a história da Revolução do Minho em 1846 ou da Maria da Fonte'', Braga, ''Typographia Lusitana'', 1883; Lisbon, ''Rolim'', 1987 (fac-simile edition of the 1883 edition with preface by José Manuel Sobral). {{Authority control 19th century in Portugal 1846 in Portugal Póvoa de Lanhoso 19th-century revolutions Revolutions in Portugal Conflicts in 1846