Vilafrancada
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Vilafrancada was an uprising led by prince Miguel I of Portugal in Vila Franca de Xira on 27 May 1823.


Origins

The liberal regime established in
Portugal 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 ...
by the Liberal Revolution of 1820 did not enjoy the confidence of more traditional elements of society, which demanded the return of absolutism. At the head of this tendency stood Queen
Carlota Joaquina Don (honorific), Doña Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana of Spain (25 April 1775 – 7 January 1830) was List of Portuguese royal consorts, Queen of Portugal and List of Brazilian royal consorts, Brazil as the wife of King Dom John VI of Portugal, ...
, wife of
João VI of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Peter III of Portugal , mother = Maria I of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal , death_date = , death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal , ...
, who had been exiled to Queluz after refusing to swear allegiance to the Constitution of 1822 and her third son, Prince Miguel.


The uprising

The year 1823 gave the absolutists the opportunity they sought to end the liberal regime in Portugal. In that year the Holy Alliance authorised a French invasion of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
to bring down the liberal government in Madrid and restore
Fernando VII of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...
. This encouraged an absolutist uprising by the
count of Amarante The Count of Amarante ( pt, Conde de Amarante) is a noble title, decreed by Queen Maria I of Portugal on 13 May 1811, and instituted on 28 June 1811, in favour of Francisco da Silveira Pinto da Fonseca Teixeira, 1st Count of Amarante. List of count ...
in the north 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 ...
and led the party of the Queen to open revolt, confident of French support. On 23 May Prince Miguel went to Vila Franca where he was joined by the 23rd Regiment of Infantry that had been sent to Almeida to reinforce the frontier town against being taken by the rebels. With the Queen and Prince Miguel prepared to force him to abdicate if necessary, João VI eventually decided to take command of the revolt himself, encouraged by the rising of the 18th Infantry Regiment which presented itself at
Bemposta Palace The Bemposta Palace ('), also known as the ''Paço da Rainha'' (''Queen’s Palace''), is a neoclassical palace in the area of Bemposta, now the civil parish of Pena (Lisbon), Pena, in Lisbon. It was originally built for Queen Dowager Catherine o ...
to acclaim him as absolute ruler. He left for Vila Franca, obliged Prince Miguel to submit, and returned to Lisbon in triumph. The
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 N ...
disbanded and various liberal politicians went into exile as the absolutist regime was restored. The King managed to prevent the ultra-reactionary faction from coming to power, but the Queen’s party continued its intrigues, and less than a year later a new absolutist rebellion broke out, the
April Revolt The April Revolt ( pt, Abrilada), in the history of Portugal, was an absolutist political revolt that took place in April 1824. It succeeded the Vilafrancada (1823) and foreshadowed the Portuguese Civil War (1828–1834). History On 30 ...
, which ended with Prince Miguel going into exile.


The proclamation

On 27 May 1823, at the beginning of the uprising, Prince Miguel issued the following proclamation from Vila Franca: :''”Men of Portugal: ''It is time to break the iron yoke in which we live ... The strength of national ills, already without limits, leaves me no choice (...)” :''In place of the long-established national rights which they promised you would recover on August 24, 1820, they gave you ruin and the King has been reduced to a mere ghost; (...) that to which you owe your glory in the lands of Africa and the seas of Asia, has been reduced to baseness and stripped of the brilliance that had once possessed from royal recognition; religion and its ministers, mocked and scorned (...). :''I find myself in the midst of valiant and brave Portuguese, determined as I am to die or to restore to His Majesty his freedom and authority. :''Do not hesitate, churchmen and citizens of all classes. Come and help the cause of religion, royalty and of you all, and swear not to kiss the royal hand again, until after His Majesty is restored to his authority.''


The medal of loyalty

To commemorate the uprising a "Medal of Loyalty to King and Country" was instituted, humorously referred to by Liberals as the “medal of dust.” The medal was intended to honour those who had joined João VI at Vila Franca or Prince Miguel At Santarém, or who had joined the forces of
Manuel da Silveira Pinto da Fonseca Teixeira Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * M ...
,
Count of Amarante The Count of Amarante ( pt, Conde de Amarante) is a noble title, decreed by Queen Maria I of Portugal on 13 May 1811, and instituted on 28 June 1811, in favour of Francisco da Silveira Pinto da Fonseca Teixeira, 1st Count of Amarante. List of count ...
, later made marquês de Chaves.COSTA, Marcus de Noronha da. ''Para a História do Miguelismo: A Ordem de São Miguel da Ala''. Lisboa, 1978. p. 14.


References

{{reflist Political history of Portugal 1823 in Portugal Monarchism in Portugal