History of Portugal (1640–1777)
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From the restoration of the
House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...
in 1640 until the end of the reign of the
Marquis of Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roy ...
in 1777, the
Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kno ...
was in a period of transition. Having been near its height at the start of the
Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...
, the
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...
continued to enjoy the widespread influence in the world during this period that had characterized the period of the Discoveries. By the end of this period, however, the fortunes of Portugal and its empire had declined, culminating with the
Távora affair The Távoras affair was a political scandal of the 18th century Portugal, Portuguese court. The events triggered by the attempted assassination of King Joseph I of Portugal in 1758 ended with the public execution of the entire Távora family and ...
, the catastrophic 1755 Lisbon earthquake, and the accession of
Maria I , succession = Queen of Portugal , image = Maria I, Queen of Portugal - Giuseppe Troni, atribuído (Turim, 1739-Lisboa, 1810) - Google Cultural Institute.jpg , caption = Portrait attributed to Giuseppe Troni, , reign ...
, the first ruling Queen of Portugal. The opulent use 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 ...
ian gold, the absolutist regime, the movement toward the independence of Brazil, the
Methuen Treaty The Methuen Treaty was a military and commercial treaty between England and Portugal that was signed in 1703 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. The treaty stipulated that no tax higher than the tax charged for an equal amount of Frenc ...
and the Lisbon earthquake contributed to the collapse of Portugal's position in Europe and the world. These events, those at the end of
Aviz dynasty The House of Aviz (Portuguese: ''Casa de Avis''), also known as the Joanine Dynasty (''Dinastia Joanina''), was a dynasty of Portuguese origin which flourished during the Renaissance and the period of the Portuguese discoveries, when Portugal ex ...
, and the period of
Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...
forced Portugal to depend more on its colonies, first India and then Brazil. This shift from India to Brazil was a natural consequence of the rise of the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
as well as the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. A similar shift occurred after Brazil gained its independence, which led Portugal to focus more on its possessions in Africa. The early 18th century, known as the Pombaline Era after
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal Sebastião is Portuguese for ''Sebastian''. This name may refer to: People * Sebastião (given name) Places * Sebastião Barros, a town in the state of Piauí, Brazil * Sebastião Laranjeiras, a city in the state of Bahia, Brazil * Sebastião ...
, was a period of dictatorship and wide-ranging reforms. The Marquis of Pombal was appointed by
Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 * Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...
, who had little inclination to rule. He initiated many reforms intended to modernize the country and attacked the power of the privileged nobility and clergy, notably in the case of the Távora affair and the expulsion of the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
. He was also the leader of the reconstruction of
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 ...
after the earthquake in 1755. However, historians also argue that Pombal's "enlightenment," while far-reaching, was primarily a mechanism for enhancing autocracy at the expense of individual liberty and especially an apparatus for crushing opposition, suppressing criticism, and furthering colonial economic exploitation as well as intensifying book censorship and consolidating personal control and profit. Soon after the death of Joseph in 1777, his daughter Maria I dismissed Pombal, and prohibited him from coming within 20 miles of her.


Background

The
Battle of Alcácer Quibir The Battle of Alcácer Quibir (also known as "Battle of Three Kings" ( ar, معركة الملوك الثلاثة) or "Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin" ( ar, معركة وادي المخازن) in Morocco) was fought in northern Morocco, near the t ...
in 1578 saw both the death of the young king Sebastian and the end of the House of Aviz. Sebastian's successor, the Cardinal Henry of Portugal, was 70 years old. Henry's death was followed by a dynastic crisis, with three grandchildren of
Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: * Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), wa ...
claiming the throne:
Catherine, Duchess of Braganza Infanta Catherine of Portugal, Duchess of Braganza by marriage ( pt, Catarina; , 18 January 1540 – 15 November 1614) was a Portuguese '' infanta'' (princess) claimant to the throne following the death of King Henry of Portugal in 1580. L ...
, who was married to John, 6th Duke of Braganza;
António, Prior of Crato António, Prior of Crato (; 153126 August 1595; sometimes called ''The Determined'', ''The Fighter'', ''The Independentist'' or ''The Resistant''), was a grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal who claimed the Portuguese throne during the 1580 d ...
; and Philip II of Spain. António had been acclaimed
King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the n ...
by the people of Santarém on July 24, 1580, followed by many other cities and towns throughout the country. However, Philip II marched into Portugal and defeated the troops loyal to the Prior of Crato in the Battle of Alcântara. Philip II was crowned Philip I of Portugal in 1580 (he was subsequently recognized as official king by the Portuguese Cortes of
Tomar Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a city and a municipality in the Santarém district of Portugal. The town proper has a population of about 20,000. The municipality population in 2011 was 40,677, in an a ...
in 1581) and the
Philippine Dynasty The Philippine dynasty ( pt, dinastia filipina), also known as the House of Habsburg in Portugal, was the third royal house of Portugal. It was named after the three Habsburg Spanish kings, all named Philip (; , ), who ruled Portugal between 1 ...
began. Portugal's status was maintained under the first two kings of the
Philippine Dynasty The Philippine dynasty ( pt, dinastia filipina), also known as the House of Habsburg in Portugal, was the third royal house of Portugal. It was named after the three Habsburg Spanish kings, all named Philip (; , ), who ruled Portugal between 1 ...
, Philip I and his son Philip II of Portugal and III of Spain. Both monarchs gave excellent positions to Portuguese nobles in the Spanish
courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...
, and Portugal maintained independent laws, currency, and government. However, the joining of the two crowns deprived Portugal of a separate foreign policy, and Spain's enemies became Portugal's. The war with England led to a deterioration of relations with Portugal's oldest ally (since the Treaty of Windsor in 1386) and the loss of Hormuz. Being united with Spain involved Portugal in the
Eighty Years War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
, Spain's war with the emerging
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
- which began with the Dutch rebelling against Spanish rule in their own north European territory, but soon developed into the Dutch Republic becoming a major new maritime power and attacking the Spanish colonies. This campaign directly impacted Portuguese colonies as well, many of which were invaded by the Dutch - leading to the Dutch–Portuguese War. In Asia,
Portuguese Ceylon Portuguese Ceylon ( pt, Ceilão Português, Sinhala: පෘතුගීසි ලංකාව ''Puruthugisi Lankawa'', Tamil: போர்த்துக்கேய இலங்கை ''Porthukeya Ilankai'') is the name given to the territory ...
(modern
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
) - where the Portuguese had long controlled the coastal regions (though not the whole island) - was lost to the Dutch, as were Portuguese colonies in the East Indies (today's
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
), and commercial interests in Japan. Portuguese colonies in Africa ( Mina) and South America were also attacked by the Dutch. Brazil was partially conquered by both France and the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
. The Dutch intrusion into Brazil was longer lasting and more troublesome to Portugal. The Dutch captured a large portion of the Brazilian coast including
Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
, Salvador,
Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
,
Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
, Paraíba,
Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", re ...
, Ceará, and
Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...
, while Dutch privateers captured Portuguese ships in both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. When Philip II died, he was succeeded by Philip III (and IV of Spain) who took a different approach to Portuguese issues. He raised
tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
es, which mainly affected Portuguese merchants (Carmo Reis 1987). The Portuguese nobility began to lose its importance at the Spanish ''
Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
'', and government posts in Portugal were occupied by Spaniards. Ultimately, Philip III tried to make Portugal a Spanish province and Portuguese nobles lost all of their power. This situation culminated in a revolution by the Portuguese nobility and high bourgeoisie on 1 December 1640, 60 years after the crowning of Philip I. The revolution was planned by Antão Vaz de Almada, Miguel de Almeida and João Pinto Ribeiro. They, together with several associates, killed Secretary of State
Miguel de Vasconcelos Miguel de Vasconcelos (or Vasconcellos) e Brito (; – 1 December 1640) was the last Secretary of State (Prime Minister) of the Kingdom of Portugal, during the Philippine Dynasty, in which both kingdoms of Portugal and Spain remained separated ...
and imprisoned the king's cousin, the
Duchess of Mantua Lady of Mantua House of Gonzaga, 1328–1433 Marchioness of Mantua House of Gonzaga, 1433–1530 Duchess of Mantua House of Gonzaga, 1530–1627 House of Gonzaga ) , type = Noble house , country = , estates ...
, who had governed Portugal in his name. The moment was well chosen, as Spain was fighting the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
and also facing the Catalan Revolt at the time. The support of the people became apparent almost immediately and soon John, 8th Duke of Braganza, was acclaimed King of Portugal throughout the country as John IV. By December 2, 1640, John was already sending a letter as sovereign of the country to the Town Hall of
Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...
.


Restoration War

The subsequent war with Spain, named the Restoration War, consisted mainly of periodic skirmishes near the border and five significant battles, being the
Battle of Montijo The Battle of Montijo was fought on 26 May 1644, in Montijo, Spain, between Portuguese and Spanish forces. Although the battle ended with a Portuguese victory, the Spanish saw it as a strategic success as they claimed to have prevented Matias ...
on 26 May 1644, the
Battle of the Lines of Elvas The Battle of the Lines of Elvas (), was fought on 14 January 1659, in Elvas, between Portugal and Spain during the Portuguese Restoration War. It ended in a decisive Portuguese victory. Background By 1659, the Portuguese Restoration War whic ...
on 14 January 1659, the
Battle of Ameixial The Battle of Ameixial, was fought on 8 June 1663, near the village of Santa Vitória do Ameixial, some north-west of Estremoz, between Spain, Spanish and Portugal, Portuguese as part of the Portuguese Restoration War. In Spain, the battle is b ...
on 8 June 1663, the
Battle of Castelo Rodrigo The Battle of Castelo Rodrigo, also known as the Battle of Salgadela, was fought on 7 July 1664, near Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, between Spanish and Portuguese as part of the Portuguese Restoration War. After a number of skirmishes, the Duke o ...
7 July 1664, and the
Battle of Montes Claros The Battle of Montes Claros was fought on 17 June 1665, near Vila Viçosa, between Spanish and a combined Anglo-Portuguese force as the last major battle in the Portuguese Restoration War. The battle resulted in a decisive Portuguese victory an ...
17 June 1665; the Portuguese were victorious in all of these battles. The victories were possible because John IV made several decisions that strengthened the Portuguese forces. On December 11, 1640, he created the Council of War to organize the operations (Mattoso Vol. VIII 1993). Next, the king created the Junta of the Frontiers, to take care of the fortresses near the border, the hypothetical defense of
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 ...
, and the garrisons and sea ports. In December 1641, he created a tenancy to assure upgrades on all Portuguese
fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
es, paid for with regional taxes. John IV also organized the army, establishing the Military Laws of King Sebastian, and developed an intense diplomatic activity that restored good relations with England. After several decisive victories, John quickly tried to make peace with Spain. His demand that Spain recognize the legitimacy of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza, was not fulfilled until the reign of his son Afonso VI during the regency of Peter of Braganza (another son of John and future King Peter II of Portugal).


John IV to John V

The Portuguese Royal
House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...
began with John IV. The Dukes of the House of Braganza were a branch of the House of Aviz created by
Afonso V Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa ...
for his half-uncle Afonso, Count of Barcelos, illegitimate son of John I, first monarch of the House of Aviz. The Braganzas soon became one of the most powerful families of the kingdom, and for the next decades married many Portuguese royal family members. In 1565, John, 6th Duke of Braganza married Princess Catherine, granddaughter of King
Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: * Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), wa ...
. This connection with the Royal Family proved determinant in the rise of the House of Braganza to a Royal House. Catherine was one of the strongest claimants of the throne during the dynastical crisis of 1580 but lost the struggle to her cousin Philip II of Spain. Eventually Catherine's grandson became John IV of Portugal as he was held to be the legitimate heir. John IV was a beloved monarch, a patron of fine art and music, and a proficient composer and writer on musical subjects. He collected one of the largest libraries in the world (Madeira & Aguiar, 2003). Among his writings is a defense of
Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...
and a Defense of Modern Music (Lisbon, 1649). Abroad, the Dutch took
Portuguese Malacca Portuguese control of Malacca, a city on the Malay Peninsula, refers to the 130 year period (1511–1641) when it was a possession of the Portuguese East Indies. It was conquered from the Malacca Sultanate as part of Portuguese attempts to ...
(January 1641) and the Sultan of Oman captured
Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...
(1648). By 1654, however, most of Brazil was back in Portuguese hands and had effectively ceased to be a viable Dutch colony. John married his daughter
Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...
to Charles II of England, offering
Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...
and
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
as a dowry. John IV died in 1656 and was succeeded by his son Afonso VI. Afonso VI became King of Portugal when he was thirteen years old. The young king suffered from an illness that
paralyzed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 5 ...
the left side of his body and left him mentally unstable. After a six-year
regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of Luísa de Guzman, the Queen Mother, Afonso assumed the control of the country. His reign was short due to a conspiracy of his wife, Queen Marie Françoise of Savoy, who joined with Afonso's brother, Prince Peter, to secure an
annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning al ...
of her marriage to the king in 1667 based on his
impotence Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of mal ...
. Peter later married Marie Françoise. In the same year, Peter managed to gain enough support to force the king to relinquish control of the government and to name him Prince Regent. Peter continued as Prince Regent but ''de facto'' ruler of Portugal for the next 16 years. When Afonso died in 1683, Peter succeeded him as Peter II of Portugal. Peter II is considered the first absolutist monarch of Portugal. He dismissed the historic
legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
'' Portuguese Cortes'' in 1697 and ruled alone. He encouraged the focusing of Portuguese exploration of Brazil after
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
was found in the territory. Peter's reign also saw the signing of the
Methuen Treaty The Methuen Treaty was a military and commercial treaty between England and Portugal that was signed in 1703 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. The treaty stipulated that no tax higher than the tax charged for an equal amount of Frenc ...
of trade with England. Peter was succeeded by his son John V in 1706. An admirer of
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...
, John maintained a lavish court paid for by the riches of Brazil and ruled as an absolutist king, ignoring the Cortes (which had only convened sporadically since 1640) and personally appointing ministers. His
cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...
s were "the Magnanimous", "the Magnificent" or "the Portuguese Sun-King" and he is perhaps the best example of an absolutist monarch in Portugal. His long reign was characterized by a strengthening of the king's powers, made possible by the large revenues flowing to Portugal from Brazil. John V used the crown's treasure to develop Portugal's weakened economy by creating new manufactures across the country; however, the majority of the investment was used to patronize the arts and intellectuals and regain Portugal's lost prestige among its European neighbors (Carmo Reis 1987). His foreign policy followed two simple rules: political neutrality in European conflicts, and attempts to increase his prestige in Rome. The title " Most Faithful Majesty" was eventually bestowed upon John V and his successors by a papal bull. John V's last years of life were dedicated to devout acts and to subservience to the clergy (Madeira & Aguiar 2003). His early economic measures, which were unpopular among the upper nobility (Mattoso Vol. IV 1993), became ineffective and public affairs were so dependent on the monarch's rule that they became almost inoperative (Carmo Reis 1987). In his later years, Portugal lapsed into stagnation. John V died on July 31, 1750 and was succeeded by his son
Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 * Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...
.


Empire in Brazil

A consequence of the
personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
with Spain was the loss of the Portuguese monopoly of the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. English, French and Dutch conquered Portuguese possessions in Asia. Of the huge Empire of
Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: * Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), wa ...
and John III, the Portuguese were reduced to the stronghold of
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
, several small strongholds in India,
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
on the coast of China, and the island of
Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the ...
. Trade posts in Africa were lost to the English (
Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...
) and Dutch (
Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
and
Portuguese Gold Coast The Portuguese Gold Coast was a Portuguese colony on the West African Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) along the Gulf of Guinea. Established in 1482, the colony was officially incorporated into Dutch territory in 1642 following Portugal’s defe ...
). Faced with this situation, the Portuguese focused their commercial interests on Brazil, which was partially under Dutch control. After several years of open warfare, the Dutch formally withdrew in 1654 after an English mediation.
Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
cultivation was introduced in Brazil at the beginning of the 17th century, and proved to be a great success. The colony's economy was based on
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
agriculture and powered by slave labor. In the late 17th century, colonial Brazilian explorers known as '' bandeirantes'' found gold in what is today the state of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
(General Mines). The Portuguese colonists began an exploration of Brazil's interior beyond the line of the
Treaty of Tordesillas The Treaty of Tordesillas, ; pt, Tratado de Tordesilhas . signed in Tordesillas, Spain on 7 June 1494, and authenticated in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Emp ...
(later according with Spain the Treaty of Madrid). Settlements in southeastern Brazil, nearer the gold regions, grew at a rapid pace, eventually eclipsing the older settlements of the northeastern coast. The world's first great
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
began with thousands of colonists and slaves pouring into the rugged mountains north of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. The rush eventually spread to many other regions of Brazil. In the 1720s, the rush suffered another stimulus with the discovery of diamonds and the two mining industries grew fast. By the 18th century, perhaps 80 percent of the gold in Europe originated in Brazil. In Lisbon, gold from Brazil had an enormous impact on Portuguese society. The Royal Family had the right to collecting one-fifth of the gold mined in Brazil, growing rich and recovering the prestige of the previous centuries. The gold rush also caused
emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...
to Brazil and deprived Portugal of a large part of its population. The population was denuded to such an extent that John V prohibited emigration in 1709 (Mattoso Vol. IV 1993). It was also during this period that the
Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...
s gained total freedom, a decision that contrasted with the growing
slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. The conditions for the Brazilian independence started to form. As the Portuguese elites received most of the profits from gold mining in Brazil, the plantations and mine owners started to protest the reassertion of imperial control and the constant imposition of new taxes. The first sign of Brazilian
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
, the
Minas Conspiracy Minas or MINAS may refer to: People with the given name Minas * Menas of Ethiopia (died 1563) * Saint Menas (Minas, 285–309) * Minias of Florence (Minas, Miniato, died 250) * Minas Alozidis (born 1984), Greek hurdler * Minas Avetisyan (1928 ...
, was felt during the rule of the
Marquis of Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roy ...
. A revolt led by prominent figures as well as military officers failed and Royal courts sentenced most of the conspirators to prison or exile. This situation was aggravated when the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
started. During the reign of
Maria I , succession = Queen of Portugal , image = Maria I, Queen of Portugal - Giuseppe Troni, atribuído (Turim, 1739-Lisboa, 1810) - Google Cultural Institute.jpg , caption = Portrait attributed to Giuseppe Troni, , reign ...
and regency of her son Prince John, the isolation of Spain's colonies in relation to mainland Spain led to a series of independence wars throughout
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, creating a tense situation between the colony and Lisbon. With the transfer of the Royal court to Rio de Janeiro in 1807, the tense situation was attenuated as Prince Regent John declared Brazil a Vice-Kingdom and Portugal's official name became the ''
United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil ...
''. The
Methuen Treaty The Methuen Treaty was a military and commercial treaty between England and Portugal that was signed in 1703 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. The treaty stipulated that no tax higher than the tax charged for an equal amount of Frenc ...
was signed between
Peter II of Portugal '' Dom'' Pedro II (Peter II; 26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706), nicknamed "the Pacific", was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own accession. He was the fifth ...
and
Queen Anne of England Queen Anne of England may refer to: *Anne of Bohemia (1366–1394), queen consort of England 1382–1394 *Anne Neville (1456–1485), queen consort of England 1483–1485 *Anne Boleyn (c.1501–1536), queen consort of England 1533–1536 *Anne of C ...
in 1703. It was named for John Methuen, the British Ambassador Extraordinary to Portugal where he negotiated the treaty. The Methuen Treaty cemented allegiances in the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
and created favorable trading terms for both nations, especially regarding
port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...
. The commercial part of the treaty established that English textiles would be preferred in Portugal, and that Portuguese wines (mainly port) would be preferred in England by paying only two thirds of the rates settled with France. The Methuen Treaty played a major part in the development of the port wine industry as the decisions provided great stimulus to wine production in the hinterland of
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 the alliance with England in the War of the Spanish Succession, the Portuguese gained the protection of both English and Dutch. Portugal suffered French attacks in Rio de Janeiro and
Portuguese Cape Verde Cape Verde was a colony of the Portuguese Empire from the initial settlement of the Cape Verde Islands in 1462 until the independence of Cape Verde in 1975. History 15th century The islands of Cape Verde was discovered in 1444 by Dom Prin ...
but managed to secure the colonies. In Europe, the Portuguese stood by the Grand Alliance and, led by the Portuguese General Marquis of Minas and English Count Galway, advanced into Spanish Castile, capturing Madrid on 28 June, but sustained defeat in the
Battle of Almansa The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain, Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his Habsburg rival, Archduke Charl ...
on April 14, 1707 against Spain and France led by the
Duke of Berwick Duke of Berwick () ''()'' is a title that was created in the Peerage of England on 19 March 1687 for James FitzJames, the illegitimate son of James II and VII, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland and Arabella Churchill. The title's name ...
and the Duke of Popoli. The joint forces of the Portuguese and English suffered 5,000 casualties and 8,000 soldiers were made prisoners. An
armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
was signed with France in 1713 and peace was made with Spain in 1715.


Marquis of Pombal

When John V died in 1750, he was succeeded by his son Prince Joseph Emmanuel, who reigned as Joseph I. He loved the palatial life,
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
, and was devoted to the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
(Mattoso Vol. IV 1993). He enjoyed the Royal Family's riches of the Brazilian gold and decided, instead of ruling, to delegate all his powers to
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo Sebastião is Portuguese for ''Sebastian''. This name may refer to: People * Sebastião (given name) Sebastião is a Portuguese male given name, descending from the Latin Sebastianus and equivalent to the English name Sebastian. Notable peop ...
(), future Count of Oeiras and
Marquis of Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roy ...
Melo sought to replace Portugal's stagnant absolutism with an enlightened despotism and overhaul all aspects of economic, social and colonial policy to make Portugal a more efficient contender with the other great powers of Europe, and thus secure its own power status as a result. Impressed by the English economic success, which he had witnessed while serving as ambassador in London, he successfully implemented similar economic policies in Portugal. He was responsible for the abolition of slavery in continental Portugal and in Portuguese India in 1769, development of the
port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...
industry, and the end of discrimination against non-Catholic Christians in Portugal. He also reorganized the army and navy, bringing the total Portuguese military strength to around 90,000 troops. The reformed Portuguese army was put to the test in 1762 when Spain invaded aided by France, during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. Britain invoked its alliance with Portugal and sent troops. Several months later, the conflict was settled with comparatively little fighting. In 1777, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of San Ildefonso, which mainly resolved a number of border disputes between their South American colonies. During the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
, Portugal was considered one of Europe's unenlightened backwaters; it was a country of three million with 200,000 people in 538
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in 1750. Melo seems to have been deeply embarrassed by Portugal's much lamented backwardness. Having lived in two major centers of European enlightenment as his country's ambassador to both Vienna and London, he increasingly identified the
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
s with their alleged doctrinaire grip on science and education as an inherent drag on an independent, Portuguese style illuminism. Especially in England, he came in contact with the anti-Jesuit tradition of that country and in Vienna he made friends with
Gerhard van Swieten Gerard van Swieten (7 May 1700 – 18 June 1772) was a Dutch physician who from 1745 was the personal physician of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and transformed the Austrian health service and medical university education. He was the fat ...
, a staunch adversary of the Austrian Jesuits and their influence. As
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Melo engaged the Jesuits in a dirty
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
war, which was watched closely by the rest of Europe, and he launched some conspiracy theories about the order's desire for power. The Marquis did not confront only the Jesuits. In the course of the
Távora affair The Távoras affair was a political scandal of the 18th century Portugal, Portuguese court. The events triggered by the attempted assassination of King Joseph I of Portugal in 1758 ended with the public execution of the entire Távora family and ...
he accused both the
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
and a series of powerful noble families surrounding the Távora family of
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
and attempted
regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
. Melo was an important precursor for the
suppression of the Jesuits The suppression of the Jesuits was the removal of all members of the Society of Jesus from most of the countries of Western Europe and their colonies beginning in 1759, and the abolishment of the order by the Holy See in 1773. The Jesuits we ...
throughout Europe and its colonies, which culminated in 1773, when
Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV ( la, Clemens XIV; it, Clemente XIV; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in Sep ...
abolished the order. Further reforms were carried out in education. He created the basis for secular public primary and
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
s, introduced vocational training, created hundreds of new teaching posts, added departments of mathematics and natural sciences to the
University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...
, and introduced new taxes to pay for these reforms. But Melo's greatest reforms were economic and financial, with the creation of several companies and
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s to regulate every commercial activity. He demarcated the region for production of
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
, the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe. He ruled with a strong hand by imposing strict laws upon all classes of Portuguese society from the nobility to the
working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
, and through his widespread review of the country's tax system. These reforms gained him enemies in the upper classes, especially among the high nobility, who despised him as a social upstart. The reform of the wine industry in 1757 provoked riots that were suppressed with considerable bloodshed. When the appatic King Joseph died on February 24, 1777, he was succeeded by the first Queen of Portugal,
Maria I , succession = Queen of Portugal , image = Maria I, Queen of Portugal - Giuseppe Troni, atribuído (Turim, 1739-Lisboa, 1810) - Google Cultural Institute.jpg , caption = Portrait attributed to Giuseppe Troni, , reign ...
. The Queen disliked the Marquis and the Marquis was not fond of the new Queen (Madeira & Aguiar 2003), so she dismissed him from his post and prohibited him of leaving his
Marquessate A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...
of Pombal.


1755 Lisbon earthquake

On November 1, 1755, at 9:20 AM, a massive
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
(estimated at 8.5–9.0 on the
moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...
) struck Lisbon, followed by a
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
and a fire, resulting in the near-total destruction of the city. The earthquake accentuated political tensions in Portugal and profoundly disrupted the country's 18th century colonial ambitions. Of a Lisbon population of 275,000, up to 90,000 were killed and eighty-five percent of Lisbon's buildings were destroyed, including famous palaces and libraries, as well as most examples of Portugal's distinctive 16th century
Manueline The Manueline ( pt, estilo manuelino, ), occasionally known as Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese architectural style originating in the 16th century, during the Portuguese Renaissance and Age of Discoveries. Manuel ...
architecture. Owing to a stroke of luck, the Royal Family escaped unharmed from the catastrophe. King
Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 * Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...
and the court had left the city, after attending
mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
at sunrise, fulfilling the wish of one of the King's daughters to spend the holiday away from Lisbon. After the catastrophe, Joseph developed a fear of living within walls, and the court was accommodated in a huge complex of tents and pavilions in the hills of Ajuda, then on the outskirts of Lisbon. The King's
claustrophobia Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms wit ...
never waned, and it was only after Joseph's death that his daughter
Maria I , succession = Queen of Portugal , image = Maria I, Queen of Portugal - Giuseppe Troni, atribuído (Turim, 1739-Lisboa, 1810) - Google Cultural Institute.jpg , caption = Portrait attributed to Giuseppe Troni, , reign ...
began building the royal
Ajuda Palace The Palace of Ajuda ( pt, Palácio da Ajuda, ) is a neoclassical monument in the civil parish of Ajuda in the city of Lisbon, central Portugal. Built on the site of a temporary wooden building constructed to house the Royal family after the 175 ...
, which still stands on the site of the old tented camp. Like the king, Prime Minister Sebastião de Melo survived the earthquake and is reported to have said, "Now? Bury the dead and feed the living." With the pragmatism that characterized his coming rule, the Prime Minister immediately began organizing recovery and reconstruction. He sent firefighters into the city to extinguish the flames and ordered teams to remove the thousands of corpses. Contrary to custom and against the wishes of representatives of the Church, many corpses were loaded onto barges and
buried at sea Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship or boat. It is regularly performed by navies, and is done by private citizens in many countries. Burial-at-sea services are conducted at many different location ...
beyond the mouth of the
River Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...
to prevent disease. To halt disorder, especially looting, in the ruined city,
gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
were constructed at high points around the city and at least 34 people were executed. The Portuguese Army was mobilized to surround the city to prevent the able-bodied from fleeing, so that they could be pressed into clearing the ruins. Not long after the initial crisis, the prime minister and the king quickly hired
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
s and engineers, and less than a year later, Lisbon was already free from debris and undergoing reconstruction. The king was keen to have a new, perfectly ordained city. Big
squares In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
and wide rectilinear avenues were the signatures of the new Lisbon. At the time, somebody asked the Marquis of Pombal the need of such wide streets. The Marquis answered: ''one day they will be small.'' The chaotic traffic of modern Lisbon reflects the prescience of the reply. Pombaline buildings were among the first seismically-protected constructions in the world. Small wooden models were built for testing, and earthquakes were simulated by marching troops around them. Lisbon's "new" downtown, known as the
Pombaline Downtown The Baixa ''(Downtown)'' (), also known as the Baixa Pombalina (''Pombaline Downtown'') is a neighborhood in the historic center of Lisbon, Portugal. It consists of the grid of streets north of the Praça do Comércio, roughly between the Cais d ...
(''Baixa Pombalina''), is one of the city's famed attractions. Sections of other Portuguese cities, like the
Vila Real de Santo António Vila Real de Santo António (, often run together as ) is a city, civil parish, and municipality in the Algarve, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,156, in an area of 61.25 km2. It is one of the few municipalities in Portugal without ter ...
in
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 ...
, were also rebuilt along Pombaline principles.


Expulsion of the Jesuits

The
expulsion of the Jesuits The suppression of the Jesuits was the removal of all members of the Society of Jesus from most of the countries of Western Europe and their colonies beginning in 1759, and the abolishment of the order by the Holy See in 1773. The Jesuits were ...
from Portugal has been seen as a quarrel with Prime Minister
Sebastião de Melo, Marquis of Pombal Sebastião is Portuguese for ''Sebastian''. This name may refer to: People * Sebastião (given name) Places * Sebastião Barros, a town in the state of Piauí, Brazil * Sebastião Laranjeiras, a city in the state of Bahia, Brazil * Sebastião ...
. Melo's quarrel with the Jesuits began over an exchange of South American colonial territory with Spain. By a secret treaty of 1750, Portugal relinquished to Spain the contested colony of Colónia do Sacramento at the mouth of the
Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La M ...
in exchange for the Seven Reductions of Paraguay, the autonomous Jesuit missions that had been nominal Spanish colonial territory. The Jesuits, disagreeing with transfers of
Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...
populations from one territory to another, caused the
Guaraní War The Guarani War ( es, link=no, Guerra Guaranítica, pt, Guerra Guaranítica) of 1756, also called the War of the Seven Reductions, took place between the Guaraní tribes of seven Jesuit Reductions and joint Spanish- Portuguese forces. It was a ...
and Portugal, fearing an attempt to build an independent empire in the New World, forbade the Jesuits to continue the local administration of their former missions. Portuguese Jesuits were removed from the court. On April 1, 1758, a brief was obtained from the aged
Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...
, appointing the Portuguese Cardinal Saldanha, recommended by Pombal, to investigate allegations against the Jesuits that had been raised in the King of Portugal's name. Benedict was skeptical as to the gravity of the alleged abuses. He ordered a minute inquiry, but to safeguard the Society's reputation, all serious matters were to be referred back to him. Benedict died the following month, however, on May 3. On May 15, Saldanha, having received the papal brief only a fortnight before, omitting the thorough visitation of Jesuit houses that had been ordered, and pronouncing on the issues the pope had reserved to himself, declared that the Jesuits were guilty of exercising illicit, public, and scandalous commerce, both in Portugal and in its colonies. Pombal moved quickly during the papal ''
sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...
''. In three weeks, the Jesuits were stripped of all Portuguese possessions, and before Cardinal Rezzonico had been made pope as
Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...
on July 6, 1758, the Portuguese dispossession of the Society was a ''fait accompli''. The last straw for the Court of Portugal was the attempted assassination of the king on September 3, 1758, of which the Jesuits were alleged to have had prior knowledge (see the Távora affair below). Among those arrested and executed was
Gabriel Malagrida Gabriel Malagrida (18 September or 6 December 1689 – 21 September 1761) was an Italian people, Italian Jesuit missionary in the Portuguese Colonial Brazil, colony of Brazil and influential figure in the political life of the Lisbon Royal Court ...
, the Jesuit confessor of Leonor of Távora. The Jesuits were expelled from the kingdom; important non-Portuguese members of the Order were imprisoned. The Order was civilly suppressed in 1759. The Portuguese ambassador was recalled from Rome and the
papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
sent home in disgrace. Relations between Portugal and Rome were broken off until 1770.


Távora affair

The Távora affair () was a political scandal of the 18th-century Portuguese court. The events triggered by the attempted murder of King
Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 * Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...
in 1758 ended with the public execution of the entire Távora family and its closest relatives in 1759. Some historians interpret the whole affair as an attempt by the Prime Minister Melo (future Marquis of Pombal) to limit the growing powers of the families of the high nobility. Clashes between Melo and nobility were common because the nobility despised him for his quick ascension to power. The clashes were tolerated by the king who trusted his prime minister's judgment. On the night of September 3, 1758, Joseph I was riding an unmarked carriage in a secondary and unfrequented road in the outskirts of Lisbon. The king was returning from an evening with his
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...
to the tents of Ajuda. Somewhere along the way two to three men intercepted the carriage and fired on its occupants. Joseph I was shot in an arm and his driver was badly wounded, but both survived and returned to Ajuda. Immediately Melo took control of the situation. Concealing the attack and the king's injuries, he proceeded with a swift enquiry. A few days afterwards, two men were arrested for the shootings and
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
d. The men confessed their guilt and stated that were following orders of the Távora family, which was plotting to put the
Duke of Aveiro Duke of Aveiro ( pt, Duque de Aveiro) was a Portuguese title of nobility, granted in 1535 by King John III of Portugal to his 4th cousin, John of Lencastre, son of Infante George of Lencastre, a natural son of King John II of Portugal. Joh ...
in the throne. Both were hanged the following day, even before the attempted
regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
was made public. In the following weeks the Marchioness Leonor of Távora, her husband, the Count of Alvor, as well as all of their sons, daughters and grandchildren were imprisoned. The conspirators, the Duke of Aveiro and the Távoras' sons-in-law, the Marquis of Alorna and the Count of Atouguia, were arrested with their families. Gabriel Malagrida, the Jesuit confessor of Leonor of Távora was also arrested. They were all accused of high
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
and attempted murder of the king. The evidence presented in their common trial was very simple: (a) the confessions of the executed killers; (b) the murder weapon that belonged to the Duke of Aveiro and (c) the assumption that only the Távoras would have known the whereabouts of the king in that evening, since he was returning from a liaison with Teresa of Távora, who was also arrested. The Távoras denied all charges but were eventually sentenced to death. Their estates were confiscated by the crown, their name erased from the peerage and their
coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...
outlawed. The original sentence ordered the execution of all of them, including women and children. Only the intervention of Queen Mariana and Princess Maria Francisca, the heiress to the throne, saved most of them. The Marchioness, however, was not spared. She and her other defendants who had been sentenced to death were publicly tortured and executed on January 13, 1759 in a field near Lisbon. The king was present along with his bewildered court. The Távoras were their peers and kin, but the prime minister wanted the lesson to be learned. Afterwards, the ground was salted to prevent future growth of vegetation. Nowadays, this field is a square of Lisbon, called ''Terreiro Salgado'', the salty ground. Gabriel Malagrida was
burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
a few days afterwards and the Jesuit Order declared outlaws. All its estates were confiscated and all the Jesuits expelled from Portuguese territory, both in Europe and the colonies. The Alorna family and the daughters of the Duke of Aveiro were sentenced to life imprisonment in monasteries and convents. Sebastião de Melo was made Count of Oeiras for his competent handling of the affair, and later, in 1770, was promoted to
Marquis of Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roy ...
, the name he is known by today.


The Ghost War

In 1762, France and Spain tried to urge Portugal to join the
Bourbon Family Compact The ''Pacte de Famille'' (, ''Family Compact''; es, Pacto de Familia) is one of three separate, but similar alliances between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain. As part of the settlement of the War of the Spanish Succession that brought ...
by claiming that Great Britain had become too powerful due to its successes in the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. Joseph refused to accept and protested that his 1704 alliance with Britain was no threat. In spring 1762, Spanish and French troops invaded Portugal from the north as far as the
Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
, while a second column sponsored the Siege of Almeida, captured the city, and threatened to advance on Lisbon. The arrival of a force of British troops helped the Portuguese army commanded by the Count of Lippe by blocking the Franco-Spanish advance and driving them back across the border following the
Battle of Valencia de Alcántara The Battle of Valencia de Alcántara took place in August 1762 when an Anglo Portuguese force led by John Burgoyne surprised and captured the town of Valencia de Alcántara from its Spanish defenders during the Seven Years' War. The town was take ...
. At the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...
in 1763, Spain agreed to hand Almeida back to Portugal.


See also

* List of Portuguese monarchs *
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 ...


Notes


References

*Carmo Reis, A. do (1987). ''Atlas de História de Portugal'' (5th ed.). Edições Asa. *Country Studies – Brazil. (2005, November 13). Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 17:15, November 13, 2005 fro
http://countrystudies.us/brazil/8.htm
*Geographic.org – Portugal. (2005, November 13). Geographic.org. Retrieved 17:30, November 13, 2005 fro

*Geographic.org – Brazil. (2005, November 13). Geographic.org. Retrieved 17:30, November 13, 2005 fro

*Madeira, Carlos (dir.); & Aguiar, João (2003). ''Portugal 860 anos – Figuras 1580–1926''. Livros SuperInteressante. *Mattoso, José (dir.) (1993). ''História de Portugal'' (Vol. IV; 1st ed.). Círculo de Leitores. *Mattoso, José (dir.) (1993). ''História de Portugal'' (Vol. VIII; 1st ed.). Círculo de Leitores. *Maxwell, Kenneth. ''Pombal, Paradox of the Enlightenment'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)

(2005, November 11). MSN Encarta.


External links


Images and historical depictions of the 1755 Lisbon earthquakeEncyclopædia Britannica on the Távoras Conspiracy
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Portugal (1578-1777) .1578 .1578 .1578 .1578 Portuguese Empire 1570s in Portugal 1770s in Portugal 1578