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New Beginning
In 1750 at the end of Dom João V reign Portugal found itself in a precarious position; the Portuguese Empire was a mere shadow of its former self, which at one time had spanned the globe from the Américas to Japan. The revenue from the gold and diamonds in Brasil that Portugal had been relying for the last century was starting to decline and Portugal’s position within Europe was very weak.
The vast empire Portugal had built between the 15th and 16th century had been lost to rival European countries so that by 1750 Portugal was only left with half a dozen small possessions in Índia and Ásia, a few possessions in África and the province of Brasil in América.
During the reign of Dom João V the government’s revenue from the gold and diamonds in Brasil had filled the government coffers which had been lavishly spent on war, luxuries and the church; while Portugal’s agricultural and manufacturing continued to decline. The countryside had been depopulated by emigration to Brasil, so that by 1750 Portugal’s population was just over three million, while Brasil’s population had grown to over two million.
To compound Portugal’s problems, its position in Europe was not very secure and other countries sought to take advantage of its situation. For the last century Portugal had been relying on its alliance with England for survival, both politically and economically. During Dom João V reign England had gained great economic advantage over Portugal as the gold and diamonds from Brasil had been used to purchase English goods.
Throughout Europe, Portugal was regarded as a backwards nation lacking in intellectual and artistic progression stuck in a medieval decadence that it was unable to break free.
Dom José I
King of Portugal 1750 – 1777
On July 31, 1750 Dom José I became the 25th King of Portugal with the death of his father King João V. Dom José I wanted to address the issues that plagued the country and to do this he decided to break from his predecessor’s governance and institute a new government with new faces and new ideas. His foremost appointment was the appointed of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo as the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and War. Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo soon gained the king’s trust and support and the Portuguese government quickly came under his control. He ruled Portugal with a strong hand and throughout his rule his main policy was to strengthen the monarchy and to use it for the furtherance of a comprehensive scheme of reforms.
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo
Marquês de Pombal
Head of Portuguese Government 1750 – 1782
Father of Modern Portuguese Empire
Portugal is country rich in History and accomplishments as well as great historical figures such as Dom Afonso Henriques, Infante Dom Henrique, Vasco da Gama and many more. While these were great people and their accomplishments were instrumental in Portugal’s history, the man who shaped Portugal into the country it is today was Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello or as more commonly called “Marquês de Pombal”.
New Faces & New Ideas
The Marquês de Pombal first major test was the devastating Lisboa Earthquake of 1755 it was his handling of the earthquake and the recovery effort that won him his second major supporter. In 1763 Dom João Carlos de Bragança Sousa e Ligne, the Duque de Lafões returned from London after living there for five years. While in London he had been elected a member of the Royal Society and had been a keen observer of the educational and knowledge disparities between England and Portugal.
Dom João Carlos de Bragança Sousa e Ligne, Duque de Lafões
Guillermo Stephens
Jerome Rattan
One of the greatest obstacles to Portugal’s modernization was the Portuguese Roman Catholic Church. In 1750’s the church along with the Jesuits order controlled great parts of the country and vehemently apposed any changes to the government’s policy and modernization.
Saint Luís António Verney
While on the military front it was the friendship of Dom José António Lobo da Silveira, the Marquês de Alvito and Marechal General of all Portuguese forces in Portugal starting in 1762 that provided the Marquês de Pombal with the military support to counter many of his biggest critics and enemies.
The partnership of the Marquês de Pombal’s and these men led to unprecedented political, social, economic and religious changes in the country. It was these individuals who provided the great support and in many ways implemented many of the reforms outlined by Pombal. By 1770 the group came to be known as the “Os Apóstolos de Pombal” for their continued support and advocacy of his policies and reforms.
Lisboa Earthquake of 1755
Lisboa Earthquake of 1755
Lisboa in 1750s before the earthquake was one of Europe’s leading cities with over 250,000 people, rich in history and monuments constructed from the riches of its Empire.
The earthquake was one of the most destructive and deadly in history, killing between 30,000 and 60,000 people. The quake was followed by a tsunami and fire, resulting in the near total destruction of Lisboa. Many monuments and buildings were destroyed either by the earthquake, tsunami or subsequent fires. This included monuments, government buildings such as the palace, churches and cathedrals as well as the houses and businesses of thousands of people.
Dom José I immediately ordered the government to provide relief to the people and rebuild the country. He put the Marquês de Pombal in charge of this enormous undertaking. The Portuguese government under Pombal’s guidance immediately began a program of helping the survivors and preventing the spread of disease. Within three days the fires raging throughout Lisboa were brought under control. The army was brought in to maintain order and stop people from fleeing. The survivors were housed in tent cities (shanties) that were created around the capital; corpses were quickly removed and in many cases buried at sea.
The aftermath of the Lisboa Earthquake, showing the rebuilding of the city along with the tent city and the government hanging thieves
Dom José I who was out of Lisboa when the earthquake struck was also left without a home as the royal palace had also been destroyed in the earthquake. He developed a fear of living within walls, and for the duration of his reign the court was accommodated in a huge complex of tents and pavilions in the hills of Ajuda, then on the outskirts of Lisboa. It was only after his death that Dom José II his successor began the building the Royal Palace of Ajuda, the current residence of the Portuguese Monarchy, which still stands on the site of the old tented camp.
The Marquês de Pombal started to plan the rebuilding of Lisboa; he implemented several decrees that prohibited private construction initiatives. He felt developing a new, perfectly ordered city that magnified the splendour of the empire both a duty as well as an opportunity. He along with many others felt that the tremors would be the catalyst that would tear Lisboa and in turn Portugal from its medieval decadence and force it to acknowledge the necessities of an increasingly modern world.
The king and the Marquês de Pombal hired architects and engineers, who planned the reconstruction. Pombal wanted a city that would be built in an orderly fashion. In less than a year, Lisboa was free from debris and undergoing major urban works. These works were well planned and undertaken, rebuilding the areas with the highest level of damage along a wide–street grid system, while the less damaged areas were restored to their original street and building design schemes. Portuguese engineers, such as Manual de Maia and Eugénio dos Santos left their mark all over Lisboa with their work. By 1760 the remaining shanties were ordered demolished by the government and the last people still living in tents moved into the new buildings that had been built.
All Portuguese provinces were ordered to help the survivors and the rebuilding effort but in many cases the lack of proper roads hindered the relief effort. Help came from all Portuguese provinces including those in América, África, Índia and Ásia.
To combat disease a new law was passed requiring all people in Lisboa and the surrounding areas including the shantytowns to dump their human waste and garbage into refuse wagons that passed 4 times a day. The throwing of human waste out the window also became against the law. New aqueducts were built to bring fresh water into the area. Disease such as cholera was reduced throughout the capital region with the implementation of the new sanitation and clean water. In 1762 the new law was enacted throughout the rest of the country requiring local governments to setup regular human waste and garbage collections as well as provide clean water to all their residents.
From the onset of the rebuilding process labor shortages started being one of the biggest limiting factors so starting in 1756 thousands of Portuguese Américan Natives were brought to Portugal to work on the rebuilding of Lisboa and other earthquake damage areas. This was followed by additional workers from other parts of the empire in the subsequent years.
Economic Reforms
While living in London from 1738 to 1744 the Marquês de Pombal was greatly impressed with capitalism and the capitalist who made it possible. He viewed the lack of capitalists in Portugal as a determent to its future. He was determined to create the conditions necessary for the creation of capitalism in Portugal and envisioned a new capitalistic class allied with the monarchy that would drive the Portuguese economy and create great wealth.
When Pombal came to power Portugal practically imported everything it consumed, the purchase of these goods had been made possible by the revenue from the gold and diamonds from Brasil. Pombal’s first priorities when he came to power were:
To promote commercial development in both Portugal and its overseas provinces several charter companies were formed, these companies were given monopolist rights in exchange for their investment and development of a particular industry or region. The first company formed was “Companhia Geral das Pescarias Reaes do Reino do Algarve” which was created in 1753 to develop and manage Algarve’s sardine and tuna fisheries. That same year “Companhia da Ásia Portuguesa” was formed to develop and manage trade with the Portuguese colonies in Índia and Ásia.
In 1755 the “Companhia do Grão-Pará e Maranhão” was formed to develop and increase commerce in Northern Brasilia. This was followed by the "Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro" formed to regulate and protect the wine growers of the Portugal’s Northern Provinces. In 1756 the “Companhia da Pesca da Baleia” was created to regulate fishing and whaling. In 1759 a new company was created called “Companhia de Pernambuco e Paraíba” to develop and increase commerce in North-Central Brasilia.
To regulate and stimulate the economy several laws were enacted that tried to combine the best of Europe’s economic laws. In 1755 the “Junta do Comèrcio de Lisboa” was created, it replaced an older out of date association of merchants. A similar Chamber of Commerce was created in Porto in 1763. These institutions promoted both commercial and manufacturing development in Portugal and all its provinces. In 1759 the “Junta do Comèrcio” in Lisboa started offering the first commerce courses to Portuguese entrepreneurs and business owners and their staff. In 1766 the “Junta do Comèrcio” in Porto also started offering the same courses.
To further increase Portugal’s trade in África, Índia and Ásia several new companies were also created. In 1760 the rights for Portuguese trade in Índia and Ásia were taken from the "Companhia da Ásia Portuguesa” and given to two new companies: “Companhia da Índia Portuguesa” and “Companhia de Timor e Macau”. In 1765 the Portuguese administration and trade in África was also changed with the abolishment of the Captaincies and the creation of three new companies that received trade rights on the Áfrican continent. The “Companhia de Angola” was created to exploit the resources in Angola and the Congo Basin, the “Companhia de Moçambique” was created to exploit the resources in Moçambique and East África and the “Companhia de Bissau” was created to exploit the Portuguese Trade in West África.
In 1762 to help simulate the economy the government abolished all laws discriminating against Protestants giving them the same rights as Catholics. This allowed both Portuguese citizens as well as foreigners to invest in Portugal.
The difficulty in transporting relief supplies to Lisboa from other regions of Portugal to help in the earthquake relief and subsequently in the rebuilding effort convinced the government to initiate a countrywide road construction project. In 1756 the construction of a network of roads spanning the country was started, the plan was to connect the leading cities of Portugal together to spur economic development. They eventually would connect the entire country together providing access to all corners of Portugal.
These roads became the catalyst for the industrial development in Portugal between 1760 and 1800. It became possible for businesses to manufacture their products anywhere in Portugal and in turn transport them throughout the country and even send it to port for export. Thousands of miles of new roads were built throughout the country. These roads became known as “Estradas do Rei”; they had no tolls, were paved and elevated allowing their use year round. New bridges were built across all of Portugal’s rivers. The building of these roads enabled the Portuguese economy to grow substantially and for the first time they also provided the Portuguese Army with a network of roads year round. This would come to be one of the contributing factors in the defense of Portugal during the Peninsula Wars.
New decrees were also issued ordering local governments to built additional local roads connecting the local areas “concelhos” to the “Estradas do Rei”.
Royal Roads built in Portugal between 1756 -1795
Roads built 1756 – 1776 shown in Yellow
Roads built 1777 – 1795 shown in Red
Pombal established a procurement department in all the major Portuguese Embassies through out Europe with the object of investigating and securing new industrial and technological ideas for Portugal.
In the year 1767, in exchange for assisting James Hargreaves of Stan Hill escape from an angry mob to Nottingham the Portuguese embassy in London received the design specs for the multi-spool spinning wheels called “spinning jenny”. In 1769 James Hargreaves moved to Portugal and became a principal shareholder in a new company called “Companhia de Algudão” situated in Guimarães. The company was created to manufacture and operate the “spinning jenny”. To provide Portugal with the cotton, the production of cotton in Brasil was increased and new cotton plantations were started in Moçambique north of the Zambeze River and in Southern Angola. Additional machines were made for the wool and linen factories in Castelo Branco and Porto respectively.
The Portuguese government recruited businessmen and technicians from Europe’s production centers and provided them with exclusive rights for their products in Portugal. One of the most successful foreign businessmen who became Portuguese by naturalization was Jerome Rattan, Frenchman by birth. He became one of Portugal’s leading industrialists with factories throughout Portugal as well as investments in agriculture and forestry. He was a leading member of both “Junta do Comèrcio” and a leading investor in many overseas investments. Similarly William Stephens (Guillermo) a Englishmen by birth, started a glass factory in Marina Grande which in time became Portugal’s largest and one of the largest glass and Crystal companies in the world. These two individuals would become the principal economic proponents and advocates of the new economic and industrial systems in Portugal.
The increase in commerce in Portugal and its overseas provinces started causing shortages in cargo space as the number of Portuguese ships was not enough to meet the demand. In 1764 the government eased the restrictions on shipping Portuguese products on foreign ships. In 1760 the government along with private investors invested large amount of money to increase Portugal’s shipbuilding capacity along with the attendant trades. This investment allowed Portugal to double its shipbuilding capacity by 1785. The capacity was further expanded by the expansion of shipbuilding enterprises and related industries in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Goa. The number of Portuguese ships including the large merchant ships sailing between Portugal and its overseas provinces grew ten fold during this time frame.
New taxation laws were enacted that placed a greater burden on the wealthy and upper class. Initially the government was forced to borrow large amounts of money to finance the rebuilding and infrastructure construction but as the government’s revenues increased the amount borrowed from abroad decreased so that by the end of Dom José I reign Portugal no longer needed to borrow from abroad to finance its projects and expenditures.
By 1775 the government had been able to stabilize the revenue Portugal received from Brasil although it was still a shadow of its former self as the revenue from the gold and diamonds was greatly reduced due to the exhaustion of the gold and diamond mines. The government’s revenues and Brasil’s economy became based on the diversified agricultural economy promoted by both government policy and the two trading companies and by the increase in manufacturing that was occurring in most of Brasil major towns and cities especially in the south.
The revenue Portugal and the Portuguese people realized by the formation of the companhias was enormous, for example the "Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro" was able to increase the revenue Portugal received from wine in the Douro Region by ten fold and was able to triple production while at the same time imposing high quality standards. The farmers and Portugal both saw a huge economic benefit from the management by the companhia. The two companhias in Brasil as well as the companhias throughout the Empire played a huge part in the development and growth of the various provinces and Portugal as a whole.
The gigantic leap in manufacturing in Portugal and subsequently in the overseas provinces provided the goods and products for its needs and as well for export. The increase trade provided the government with additional revenue and reduced Portugal’s dependencies on foreign goods. By 1776 Portugal had greatly reduced the manufactured and consumer goods it imported to the point that its exports were three times greater than its imports. The nature of the products imported had also changed, in 1755 Portugal was exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods, by 1775 the bulk of the imports were raw materials for its factories and most of its exports were manufactured goods.
The revenue from Portugal’s overseas provinces also greatly increased; first in Índia then subsequently in East Ásia and finally in both África and Macau region as trade and economic activity increased in these provinces as they grew in size and were better developed and managed.
The economic development of Portugal and its overseas provinces between 1755 and 1795 was remarkable. By 1778 over 1000 factories were operating in Portugal. This number did not include the local traditional craft shops that also co-existed with the new factories. The Portuguese government had been able to liberate Portugal economically from the various English factors that had dominated and at the same time repressed Portugal’s development. The government’s revenue and spending had also been restored allowing the government to rebuild Portugal, invest in the infrastructure and defenses.
Marquês de Pombal
Resistance and Repression
The attempt on Dom José I life in 1758 became know as the Távora Affair
Dom João Carlos de Bragança Sousa e Ligne, Duque de Lafões
Immigration and Emigration
The shortage of workers in Portugal and its provinces started causing great problems and labor shortages that in many cases limited economic growth. Following the earthquake in Lisboa and Southern Portugal the government restricted the emigration of Portuguese; emigration to Brasil was frozen and emigration to Portugal’s other provinces in Índia, Ásia and África was severely restricted. The emigration of skilled tradesmen was partially eased starting in 1765 at various companies’ requests. The government always strictly controlled the movement of people as it tried to develop Portugal and its overseas provinces without depopulating the country.
Following the joint military campaign with Spain in Southern Brasilia region of Seven Missions against the indigenous and the Jesuits in 1755 the government brought thousands Portuguese Native Américans to Portugal to work in the reconstruction of Lisboa.
In 1757 the first immigrants from Índia, and Timor were brought to Portugal to help in the reconstruction effort and the building of other infrastructure projects. The labor crises in Portugal reached its peak between 1763 and 1772 during which time large number of Áfricans were also brought to Portugal.
The majority of the immigrants initially worked in the construction industry providing the labor for the reconstruction of Lisboa and other areas affected by the earthquake then many went to work in the road construction projects while the rest were employed in other construction jobs throughout the country.
The creation of thousands of factory jobs in the towns and cities created a new rural depopulation crisis. Agricultural production declined as people left agriculture for the new factory jobs. Starting in 1765 immigrants from Índia and África were brought to work on the farms. The government enacted new laws to protect the original European workers and forcing the landowners to pay the immigrants the same wage. The subsequent growth of industry as well as the continued labor shortages in the 1770s forced the government to start allowing some of the immigrants to start working in the factories.
The government restricted the immigrant’s right to move around the country and only immigrants that were Portuguese Catholic were allowed to marry. The integration of the immigrants into the Portuguese society was a gradual process. The government viewed their integration as a necessity and enlisted the Portuguese Catholic Church to promote the social and cultural acceptance of these people into the general society. By 1778 the number of immigrants in Portugal had surpassed 200,000. The vast majority were men, with women only accounting for 20 percent. The majority of these immigrants ended up integrating into the Portuguese society, marrying and settling down.
The rapid industrialization of Portugal and subsequently of Brasil as well as the increase in commerce and the labor shortage in both areas was the catalysts for the Portuguese government policy of forced labor movement throughout the empire. The expansion of Portuguese territory in África, Índia and Ásia provided the government with a steady supply of laborers to other provinces that were in need of laborers. The depopulation also facilitated the establishment of Portuguese control of newly acquired territory.
As the Portuguese expanded their overseas provinces in Índia, East Ásia and África the subjugated tribes that accepted Portuguese control were required to provide a specific number of laborers on a yearly basis. Subjugated tribes that resisted Portuguese control ended up losing half of their territory and people and their leaders executed. These tribes were also forced to provide a much higher number of laborers on a yearly basis. The laborers were sent to other provinces to work on construction, new plantations, farms and the growing number of factories.
The movement of people changed the composition of the population in Portuguese controlled areas of Índia, África and Ásia. The depopulation of newly acquired territory was subsequently followed by repopulation of the territory with people from other regions as these territories were in turn developed. The limited number of Europeans in the empire meant that the Portugal became reliant initially on Portuguese Índians and Timorenses (people from Timor region of East Ásia) to provide it with the laborers and tradesmen to continue its industrialization and growth. Subsequently Macaenses (people from Southern China around Macau) were also recruited.
The movement of Áfricans into Ásia, Índia and Portugal was initially limited to agricultural areas. These Áfricans while not slaves did not enjoy the same citizenship rights Europeans, Índians, Timorenses and Macaenses held. By 1770 slavery only existed in Brasil and África and only Áfricans continued to be slaves.
In 1759 Portugal abolished slavery amongst the Portuguese Native Américans and prohibited their emigration outside the empire. In 1761 Portugal abolished slavery in Índia, Timor and Flores this was followed by the abolished of slavery in Portugal proper in 1762. In 1765 Portugal abolished slavery in amongst mixed blood blacks in the entire empire.
In 1763 an Irish soldier named Patrick O’Connor who had decided to stay behind in Portugal following the war of 1761 became employed at a paper factory owned by Jacome Ratton. In 1764 Patrick O’Connor was sent by Jacome to his homeland to recruit fellow Irish to come to Portugal. Starting in 1765 Portuguese ships sailing to England would pass off the Irish coast on the way home and secretly pickup Irish settlers. Several thousand Irish eventually came to live in Portugal and its colonies every year. The Portuguese always kept the affair as low-key as possible afraid of upsetting the English.
The newly acquired territories also became the primary source of new recruits for the expanded colonial armies. Many young men preferred the prospect of being soldiers rather then working for the rest of their lives as laborers in some plantation. Subsequent taxation laws enacted by various provincial governments provided financial compensation to families whose sons become soldiers. These two sources provided the continuous supply of recruits to fill the colonial army’s ranks.
Church and State
Auto de fé in Lisboa
The first conflict between the Jesuits and the government came with the conflict between the privileges granted to the “Companhia do Grão-Pará e Maranhão” and the Jesuit missionaries in Maranhão. In 1756, Pombal began a propaganda attack on the Jesuits by publishing several papers attacking the Jesuits and conspiracy theories about the Jesuits power ambitions.
Saint Luís António Verney
Inácio de São Caetano Convent in Goa
The Portuguese Catholic Church in Portugal and all its overseas provinces was also reformed as all the Churches positions were also opened to all religious persons. Thousands of local Catholics religious people moved up in the churches hierarchy filling positions that once had only been reserved for white religious people. The first non-white bishop was Father Pedro Fernandes born in 1743 to a Catholic Native family from Goa. He became a priest in 1762 and went to work with the people of Timor in 1769. In 1799 he became the bishop of Dili. By 1780 Portugal had less than 50,000 people in 122 monasteries. This number did not include all the new monasteries and missionaries in the Américas, África, Índia and Ásia. These missionaries would play a huge part in Portugal’s rise to power in the 1900s, many times being the catalyst of that rise.
Educational Reforms
The new Pombal educational reforms instituted for the most part by Duque de Lafões were enormous to say the least. New schools, colleges, universities were opened. A new curriculum as well as new subjects was introduced to Portuguese students.
The expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal in 1759 had left Portugal without a secondary school system since the Jesuits had run all of Portugal’s secondary schools since the 16th century. The Universidade de Coimbra had also been greatly influenced by them and was also greatly affected by their expulsion in addition the Jesuit Universidade d’Evora had also been closed.
The educational reforms needed in Portugal and initiated by Pombal were carried forward with great enthusiasm and dedication by the Duque de Lafões, who in 1764 became the Secretary for Education and Science. Over the next forty years he would spearhead the countries educational and scientific progress
To combat the lack of learning centers in Portugal three colleges were created in 1761 in the cities of Lisboa, Porto and Coimbra. They were called the “Colégio dos Nobres”. The objective of these colleges was to instill in the descendants of the aristocrats a modern education and was made prerequisite to enter university. Initially most of these colleges professor’s were foreign because not enough qualified professors were available in Portugal. At first there was very little interest in these colleges from the noble families so the government opened them to the middle class and the new capitalist class. By 1769 when all three colleges were fully staffed and had a full student body less than half of the students were of noble families.
In 1768 a new education law was published. The level of education a student was to receive was based on the social class the student was born to. The people who were to be farmers or laborers were to receive their education from the parish priests. Those who were to fill higher functions were divided into two groups: those who needed to learn to read write and do arithmetic and those who were to go on to university. This was the start of primary and secondary education system. This system would continue until 1826 when the primary school system expanded to all children.
The Duque de Lafões recruited Father Manuel do Cenáculo Vilas Boas who coordinated with the Religious Orders in Portugal and the help of the Portuguese Religious Council to help staff the primary schools and in turn the new Portuguese Catholic Church and its Religious Orders supplied over two thirds of the staff for these new schools.
The secondary schools were much harder to staff and again the Duque de Lafões had to bring teachers from England and Europe to staff these schools. It was not until 1882 that all the secondary schools were staffed. Over the next twenty years the secondary schools were subsequently opened in every Portuguese provincial capital including its overseas provinces.
Father Manuel do Cenáculo Vilas Boas
In 1775 as part of the education law reforms the Duque de Lafões dismissed the entire teaching staff of the Universidade de Coimbra. The lack of qualified professors in Portugal forced Duque de Lafões to again fill all teaching positions with professors from foreign countries and it was only in 1777 that the university re-opened and it was not until 1782 when all the professors were hired. In addition two new faculties were added: Mathematics and Philosophy. The Philosophy faculty included science courses as well as courses in Natural sciences, Physics and Chemistry.
The faculty of Medicine was also drastically changed, practical education was imposed and for the 1st time students were exposed to patients in the local hospitals. This was the start of the Hospital University dependency that still exists today.
The faculty of law was also changed to include the study of the evolution of the judicial institutions from their origin to the historical evolution. This was the groundwork for the study of the rights in Portugal in the next century. The rights attributed to all Portuguese including non-whites in Portugal in the 1800s would not of been possible were it not for it.
The most radical of the Education reforms in the University was the introduction of structured course outline and structured teaching methods. Course manuals were introduced and students were forced to study from books. These reforms transformed the education in Portugal from the dark ages to same level as those found in other more enlightened European countries. While this was not accomplished overnight by 1800 Portugal education system was equal to the most enlightened European countries and more advanced than many.
War and Politics
The Portuguese government needed time for its reforms to take fruit so all external affairs were conducted with the most prudence and realism of Portugal’s position in the world. Pombal approach was to preserve its alliance with England and to always portrait that alliance to England to be in its best interest. Pombal always tried to take a neutral stand because he believed that if Portugal openly sided with England it risked the risk of being invaded by England’s enemies.
In 1756 the seven-year war started between England and France. Portugal informed both England and France of its neutrality. In 1759 an English squadron off the coast of Algarve intercepted a French Fleet of seven ships. Two French ships escaped and sought protection from the English at the Fort of Lagos but the English pursued them and destroyed them in Portuguese waters. The French were incensed and demanded that Portugal close its ports to England. Portugal refused and in May 1762 a French-Spanish force entered Portugal from Spain and encircled Miranda do Douro in the north. Portugal did not have the means to resist and stop the French-Spanish force so it requested English help. In June of 1762 the English army arrived in Portugal under the command of General Townsend. The English sent 6 infantry regiments, 1 cavalry regiment as well as armaments and money. The French-Spanish force captured the towns of Bragança, Chaves and the fort of Almeida during the months of July and August. On July 10th the Conde de Lippe who had accompanied the English contingent was put in Charge of both the English and Portuguese forces. On September 16th the Luso-English army led by Conde de Lippe defeated the invading French-Spanish force at the Battle of Salvaterra.
On November 3rd Portugal, England, France and Spain signed the Peace treaty of Fontainebleau ending all hostilities. On February 10, 1763 Portugal and Spain signed the Peace treaty of Paris returning all captured forts and towns in Portugal as well as the Settlement of Sacramento in Argentina to Portugal.
The Southern Brasilia region known as Entre Rios (region between the Plata and Paraguai rivers) was being contested by both the Portuguese and the Spanish. In 1776 the Viceroy of Rio de la Plata was created by Spain as a way to counter the Portuguese influence and power in the area. That year the first Viceroy Pedro Antonio Cevallos invaded southern Brasil in an attempt to drive the Portuguese from the region. He was finally stopped in Rio Grande do Sul but the conflict continued to simmer.
The Portuguese tried unsuccessfully to enlist the help of England and France to settle the Luso-Spanish conflict in Rio Grande do Sul. But unfortunately the English were unable and unwilling to put pressure on the Spanish; France on the other hand sought to gain from Portugal’s situation so it completely ignored Portuguese requests. Portugal was left on its own to deal with the Spanish.
Portuguese Armed Forces
Following the 1761 war between the French-Spanish and the Luso-English forces the Portuguese government contracted the Conde de Lippe to reorganize the Portuguese Army. Conde de Lippe was born in England and well versed in modern warfare, having served under Frederick of Prussia and was also known for his great organizational skills.
Under his orders new military academies were created and Prussian military instructors brought to Portugal. New training and professionalism were instilled in the army. Several graduates from these academies went on to serve in the Prussian Army for several years to gain valuable experience. Military rank and position became based on merit not social class.
In 1771 the Royal Academy for Military Fortification was opened. This academy became on of the principle learning centers for modern siege warfare and military fortification in Portugal. The knowledge Portuguese Artillery Officers would gain at this academy would serve Portugal numerous times throughout the empire.
Portugal’s peacetime army in Portugal proper was established at 50,000 men divided into two armies. One located in the Alentejo and the second one in Beira. These armies would be integrated with infantry, cavalry and artillery but due to personnel and budget issue it would take the Portuguese till 1794 to reach the target levels. The Royal Police Guard was established and installed in all the major towns and cities as a means of maintaining law and order. The size of the royal guard was initially set at 35,000 and would be made up of full time soldiers (infantry and artillery) and part time soldiers (citizen volunteers who received six months of training and served for 1 month a year.
Portuguese armaments industry was greatly increased; in 1768 Portugal adopted the Crespi System and paid Giuseppe Crespi to set up a factory in Coimbra. In 1776 the Portuguese company “Companhia de Armamento” gained complete control of the Giuseppe Crespi factory in Portugal and initiated several projects to increase the range of the muskets. The company was able to improve the range to approximately 200 yards. New armaments factories were also created in Lisboa, Setubal and Aveiro producing muskets as well as canons and howitzers. The gun powder factory in Lisboa was also expanded and a new factory was built in Setubal.
Conde de Lippe, founder of Portuguese Modern Military
The increased economic activity in the Portuguese provinces in África, Índia and Ásia put great pressures on the Portuguese Army and Navy to protect Portuguese interests as well as provide Portugal with the ability to expand its holdings. The continued European warfare in Europe, América, Índia and Ásia prompted the Portuguese government to institute its “Portugal Seguro” policy, which the Portuguese government advocated securing its overseas provincial borders, populating them for self-defence, defending the ports and cities and making the provinces profitable.
As part of its overall military reforms the Portuguese government began reforming and strengthening its overseas armies. Áfricans, Índians and Ásians (locals from Portuguese East Ásia and Macau) were recruited to reinforce the Portuguese overseas armies. The stipulation was that these soldiers were not allowed to server in their native province. The Áfrican soldiers served in Portuguese Índia, East Ásia and Macau. The Índian soldiers served mainly in Portuguese África and Brasil but were subsequently used in East Indies as well as Macau. The soldiers from East Indies and Macau went to serve in Índia and África.
The colonial armies were rearmed with arms and artillery manufactured in the growing Portuguese armament industries. Forts were built in strategic locations to protect Portuguese economic interest including all ports and vital cities. Border forts were also established in areas that both protected and extended Portugal’s control of its provinces.
The colonial armies in África, Índia and Ásia were established at 50,000 the same size as the regular army in Portugal proper. These were to be Portugal’s reserves to be drawn upon in time of need. In África Portugal used the presence of the colonial forces to increase the size of the area it controlled and to subjugate the local natives. Between 1775 and 1795 the areas of Portuguese control in África doubled when these armies finally reached their target size. While in Índia and Ásia they were used to protect and strengthen Portuguese Interests.
The defence and armed forces in Brasil were also reviewed and upgraded. Colonial forces reinforced the Portuguese regular army stationed in Brasil.
The first opportunity for the new Portuguese Army and the Colonial Army to serve together would come during the Portuguese-Marrocan War of 1769 when a joint Portuguese-Colonial army fought and won a series of battles against a larger but inferior Marrocan force. The Portuguese force had better leadership, higher quality soldiers, superior weapons and artillery.
The navy shipbuilding program in conjunction with the merchant shipbuilding program was expanded to provide Portugal with the ships necessary to defend its interests and territory. The navy shipbuilding capacity was further increased in Portugal as well at the overseas shipbuilding centers in Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Goa. This in turn would allow the Portuguese Navy to become the second largest navy in the world by 1798.
In 1763 the administration of the Portuguese navy was reformed with the creation of the secretary for Navy. The naval command was restructured similar to the army as naval rank and position became based on merit not social class. In 1768 the Royal Academy of the Navy was created in the City of Porto to teach Portuguese Navy Officers and Portuguese Merchant Navy Officers modern naval techniques. Many of the teachers like all other higher learning centers in Portugal came from other European countries, mostly England. In time this academy would become one of the world’s leading centers for learning Marine Doctrine and Ship Warfare.
Royal Opposition & Disposition
D. Jose I married Mariana Vitória de Espanha daughter of Filipe V de Espanha in 1729. They only had four daughters:
The Queen and her daughters begged and pleaded for D. Jose I to dismiss Pombal for the sake of the country but his faith in Pombal remained solid so he dismissed their pleading and requests. This only made them more determined and resolved in their opposition to the Pombal.
Following the Tavora affair the Queen and her daughters had in essence became Pombal’s only major opposition. So Pombal set out to reduce their influence in court. His first attempt to match the eldest daughter with someone more in line with his thinking was a failure when in 1760 the D. Maria Francisca was married to her uncle Pedro de Bragança. A marriage arranged by her mother the Queen.
As for the other three daughters he convinced the King to allow him to arrange their marriages in order to strengthen Portugal politically. Pombal worked feverishly and was able to pair all three of them off. The Queen disapproved all of the matches found by Pombal but the King overrode her objections and consented to each of the marriages.
In 1762 the second oldest daughter D. Maria Ana Francisca was married to her uncle the recently widowed Filipe I de Bourbon-Parma, brother of her mother.
In 1763 he concludes a marriage between the youngest of D. Jose I daughters D. Maria Francisca Benedita and Principe Ferdinando Antonio Pasquale Giovanni Nepomuceno Serafino Gennaro Benedetto of Naples and Sicily, son of Espanha’s Carlos III.
In 1763 D. Maria Francisca Doroteia was married to William, Duke of Cumberland younger son of Jorge II of Grã-Bretanha. In the previous year he had accompanied General Townsend and the English army during its foray in Portugal during the later part of the Seven Year War. Unfortunately he had gotten sick (heart attack) soon after his arrival and was forced to stay in Portugal while he recuperated. While in court he and D. Maria Francisca Doroteia developed a liking to each other and following his recovery Pombal arranged for them to be married.
The Queen and her entourage were in shock at the development and their apparent predicament. In less than three years Pombal had greatly reduced the influence and power of the Royal family in court. But in 1765 circumstances provided them with renewed vigor in their opposition to Pombal. The “break” of the Portuguese Catholic Church and Rome shocked both the Queen and D. Maria Francisca, heir to the throne.
The Order of Christ Conspiracy
The Conspirators
In 1761 Princesa Maria Francisca, the heir to the throne married her uncle Dom Pedro III, brother to the King. Donna Maria and her husband much like her father were not interested in political matters. Donna Maria and Dom Pedro were very religious and favored the “Companhia de Jesus” Jesuit Order.
They became distressed with the religious politics that were being advanced by Pombal and the new Portuguese Religious Council. In their confidence of immunity because of their proximity to the King (Dom Pedro being the King’s brother and Donna Maria being his daughter) organized themselves against Pombal and those advocating an Independent Portuguese Catholic Church thus making themselves the main opposition to Pombal and the Portuguese Catholic Church.
The Jesuits who had already been expelled from Portugal and were locked in a dirty propaganda war with the Portuguese government provided Donna Maria and Dom Pedro through the ambassador from Spain with the necessary money to organize and plan their opposition. Two prominent nobles were recruited the Marquês de Angela and the Visconde of Vila Nova de Cerveira to lead the forces against Pombal. Dom Pedro and Donna Maria provided the moral and political legitimacy to the conspiracy. They were to be the new King and Queen of Portugal after the Dom José I was forced to abdicate once Pombal had been eliminated. The group became know as the “Conspiração da Companhia de Deus” the Order of Christ Conspiracy.
The Spanish, who still harbored territorial desires on Portugal even after 100 years following the Restoration of the Portuguese Independence, were alarmed at both the political and religious changes occurring in Portugal. They hoped to benefit as Portugal became embroiled in a civil war. The Spanish went as far as planning the invasion of Portugal and the seizure of Brasil.
On May 20, 1768 while returning to court in Ajuda from viewing the reconstruction of Lisboa, Pombal and his escort were attacked by a dozen armed men. Pombal was wounded in the attack and six of his eight guards were killed along with eight of the attackers. The remaining four attackers were wounded and captured but unfortunately none of them lived long enough to identify their backers.
Pombal was incapacitated for over 2 months but soon returned to his duties. The wounds that Pombal suffered limited his duties and he became very sick during the winter of 1769. In 1770 following the attack and in recognition of Carvalho e Melo outstanding work Dom José I made him the Marquês de Pombal. At the same time the King became worried about Pombal’s health so he recalled Martinho de Melo e Castro from the London embassy to become Pombal’s assistant. Martinho de Melo e Castro was both courageous and a liberal thinker and he and Pombal formed a formidable partnership that lasted till Pombal death in 1782. He would go on to be his successor and make a name for himself as one of Portugal most capable Prime Ministers till his own death in 1795.
By 1771 the conspirators had become desperate, many of their original backers had been arrested, died or came to accepted the new order. On October 11 the Marquês de Angela and the Visconde de Vila Nova de Cerveira had assembled in secret, a force of over 2,000 men outside of Lisboa at an estate provided by Dom Pedro. On that day the King was to travel in the afternoon from Ajuda to the Praça de Comercio in the center of reconstructed Lisboa for the unveiling of a great Equestrian statue. Dom Pedro found out from his brother the King that Pombal would be traveling incognito with about 100 soldiers in the morning to prepare for the King’s arrival, so plans were made to attack and kill Pombal and capture the king.
Príncipe José, the oldest son of Donna Maria and Dom Pedro was 10 years old and like most royal children he had little interaction with his parents who had entrusted his upbringing and education to others. The Príncipe’s education had been entrusted to Pombal who chose all of his tutors thus the Príncipe was a great admirer of Pombal and his goals and visions for Portugal.
The Battle of Belem
On October 11, on that eventful day Príncipe José was on his way to visit his mother when he overheard their plot. Donna Maria was instructing a priest and fellow conspirator on the final preparations. Being a curious boy he at first hid to hear what was being said but then continued hiding when he found out the details of the conversation. He waiting until everyone had left, made his escape and rushed to warn Pombal. Unfortunately by the time he arrived Pombal had already departed. Unsure of whom he could trust he turned to the only people he knew to be Pombal’s supporters, his tutors. When he finally found one of them and told his story they raced to alert other members of the court who could help. Príncipe José and his tutor found the captain of the Royal Guard a supporter of Pombal who took the young Príncipe before the King who upon hearing of the plot ordered the Royal Guards to make ready. Before leaving the King had his daughter and her husband as well as the whole court imprisoned. He then did something complete uncharacteristic he joined the guards and accompanied by the young Príncipe rode to rescue Pombal.
Meanwhile Pombal and his escort were intercepted on the way to Lisboa by the Marquês de Angela and the Visconde de Vila Nova de Cerveira and their men. The Marquês de Angela called Pombal to surrender and when Pombal refused he called him a coward and an agent of the devil that must be destroyed to save Portugal.
When the King and the Príncipe accompanied by over 5,000 royal guards came upon the ambush, the situation was desperate for Pombal and his remaining soldiers. Only 20 soldiers remained around Pombal and they were minutes away from being killed along with Pombal. The arrival of the King and the Royal Guards caused the rebel soldiers to panic and flee. The Marquês de Angela was killed in the subsequent fight when he and about 300 soldiers fleeing the Royal Guards were corned in a building in the outskirts of Lisboa. A fire broke out in the building during the fighting that trapped most of the conspirators in the building. Of the 300 soldiers in the building less than 50 made it out alive unfortunately the Marquês de Angela was not one of them.
Statue of Dom José I in Lisboa Commemorating his attack on the Order of Christ Conspirators
The Final Stand
The Visconde de Vila Nova de Cerveira made his escape first to Santarém but when the local magistrate attempted to arrest him, he and his men fled to Bragança where he hoped to regroup and gather around him an army of his supporters. The town of Bragança had been taken over by the nobles and friars sympathetic to the conspirators. He made an urgent appeal help from other nobles. While some nobles supported them in the end less than 5,000 conspirators gathered in Bragança meanwhile the government marched more than 30,000 soldiers against the conspirators in Bragança. Some nobles who had supported the conspirators attempted to flee the country, most did not make it. Pombal ordered the country sealed until all conspirators were caught.
The news of the attempted assassination spread through out the nation. (Although the version being spread had both Pombal and the King as targets) Most commoners and many nobles especially the younger generation was incensed and turned against the conspirators.
The Portuguese Army reinforced by young nobles “Fidalgos” and Royal Guards reached Bragança on November 25th and surrounded the town. The siege lasted 2 days when on the third day the local population rebelled against the conspirators. The army used the distraction to seize the town. The Visconde of Vila Nova de Cerveira and his most loyal men supported by the friars took refuge in the Castle of Bragança. The Visconde and half his men as well as most of the friars died when the government forces stormed the castle.
On January 21 1772 the government held a public trial in Lisboa, by the time the trial started over 5,000 people were in prison. Donna Maria had become hysterical after her arrest and had suffered a nervous breakdown which unfortunately she never recovered from and spent the rest of her life at the new Military Hospital of Santarém and her husband Dom Pedro died while in custody. All the nobles convicted at the trial were stripped of their assets, condemned to death and executed. Their families were exiled to Brasil.
The Jesuits were tried in absenteeism and found guilty in the attempted murder of the King and the overthrow of the Portuguese government. A book was published in 1772 called “A Dedução Cronológica e Analítica” which had very high circulation and was translated into all the major languages in Europe. The book put the blame solely on the Jesuit Orders hands. They were implicated in all of Portugal’s misfortunes since their arrival in Portugal. This book was very well received in Europe and Pope Clemente XIV felt compelled to disband the Jesuits if for no other reason than to save the Roman Catholic Church.
Consolidation
Following the attempted overthrow which became known as the Order of Christ Conspiracy the last opposition to Pombal and his reforms had finally been extinguished. The last economic, political and religious opposition had either been killed or were forced to see the light and support the reforms.
The fall of Donna Maria and Dom Pedro from power and the elevation of Príncipe José to Príncipe de Brasil had put to rest any hope of political changes in Portugal. As a result of the trial and executions, hundreds of nobles were either executed or imprisoned and Pombal was left with no opposition in the whole country.
Those that survived were left with no alternative but to join the Pombal reforms bandwagon. Many simply joined to avert any suspicions on them and to prove that they were in full support of the King and the government; it was ironic that many of these reluctant investors eventually amassed greater fortunes from their investment in the new enterprises and economic ventures than they could have hoped with their original estates.
All non-Portuguese religious men and women were ordered to appear before the Portuguese Religious Council for questioning. Most were expelled from Portugal. Their orders were also expelled and their assets seized by the crown. The expulsion of the last non-Portuguese religious people left Portugal with no voice for the Roman Catholic Church in the country. Only the Portuguese religious orders were left and all of these were supporters of the Portuguese Catholic Church.
The implications of the Spanish embassy and the Spanish ambassador in the plot was fully revealed in the trial and angry mobs protested daily in front of the Spanish Embassy. When the Spanish government refused to hand over the ambassador an angry mob overwhelmed the embassy’s security and burned down the embassy and killed the ambassador. Spain responded by jailing the Portuguese ambassador and cutting off all diplomatic relationships with Portugal. It was only following the 1777 Portuguese-Spanish Américan War that he was finally released and returned to Portugal.
On December 10 1771, Príncipe José became the Heir apparent and was proclaimed Príncipe de Brasil. Príncipe José age 10 and his two younger siblings Princesa Mariana age 4 and Príncipe João also age 4 became orphans with the death and incarceration of their parents. Their upbringing had from their birth been entrusted to royal servants so they did not suffer much from their absence. Their upbringing and education continued under Pombal’s influence.
In 1775 Pombal started negotiations with the English about the marriage of King George IV oldest daughter Princesa Charlotte to Dom José II heir to the throne. On August 11, 1776 Princesa Charlotte was betrothed to Príncipe José. As part of the betrothal Portugal refused to recognize United States independence and closed its ports to Américan vessels.
Queen Carla I of Portugal 1782-1828
In 1775 the Portuguese government “Pombal” published the “Observações Secretíssimas” which was a political-philosophical paper showing how far Portugal had come in the last 20 years. The comparisons were made on the many levels including: cultural development, industrial development, development of the arts, literacy, scientific development, strength of the domestic trade, wealth of the external trade, political peace, and increase level of wealth and general well being. While the “Observações Secretíssimas” may have appeared as propaganda it was true that in 1750 hardly anyone in Lisboa could read the same could not be said in 1775. It was also true that in 1750 everything Portugal consumed was imported in 1775 Portugal was producing all the consumer goods it consumed and some companies were already starting to export their products.
In 1776 Dom José I health started deteriorating and he made Pombal the regent for the remainder of his reign and until his successor came of age. On February 24 1777 Dom José I died, on his deathbed he instructed the heir, his grandson, to look after his subjects well being and to be aware of the responsibility that God had entrusted on him. He also asked for two things: that the he pardon the political prisoners, and that the policies started during his reign be continued.
Book I 1750-1777
O Renascimento de um Império – O Princípio
O Renascimento de um Império – O Princípio
New Beginning
In 1750 at the end of Dom João V reign Portugal found itself in a precarious position; the Portuguese Empire was a mere shadow of its former self, which at one time had spanned the globe from the Américas to Japan. The revenue from the gold and diamonds in Brasil that Portugal had been relying for the last century was starting to decline and Portugal’s position within Europe was very weak.
The vast empire Portugal had built between the 15th and 16th century had been lost to rival European countries so that by 1750 Portugal was only left with half a dozen small possessions in Índia and Ásia, a few possessions in África and the province of Brasil in América.
During the reign of Dom João V the government’s revenue from the gold and diamonds in Brasil had filled the government coffers which had been lavishly spent on war, luxuries and the church; while Portugal’s agricultural and manufacturing continued to decline. The countryside had been depopulated by emigration to Brasil, so that by 1750 Portugal’s population was just over three million, while Brasil’s population had grown to over two million.
To compound Portugal’s problems, its position in Europe was not very secure and other countries sought to take advantage of its situation. For the last century Portugal had been relying on its alliance with England for survival, both politically and economically. During Dom João V reign England had gained great economic advantage over Portugal as the gold and diamonds from Brasil had been used to purchase English goods.
Throughout Europe, Portugal was regarded as a backwards nation lacking in intellectual and artistic progression stuck in a medieval decadence that it was unable to break free.
It was in this country that in 1750 Dom José I became the 25th king.
Dom José I
King of Portugal 1750 – 1777
On July 31, 1750 Dom José I became the 25th King of Portugal with the death of his father King João V. Dom José I wanted to address the issues that plagued the country and to do this he decided to break from his predecessor’s governance and institute a new government with new faces and new ideas. His foremost appointment was the appointed of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo as the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and War. Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo soon gained the king’s trust and support and the Portuguese government quickly came under his control. He ruled Portugal with a strong hand and throughout his rule his main policy was to strengthen the monarchy and to use it for the furtherance of a comprehensive scheme of reforms.
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo was a son of a minor noble, educated in Portugal at the University of Coimbra. In 1738 he went to live in London as Portugal’s ambassador to England and in 1744 moved to Vienna as Portugal’s ambassador to the Austrian Empire. In both cities he came into contact with new ideas and came to understand Portugal’s backwardness and the need change it.
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo
Marquês de Pombal
Head of Portuguese Government 1750 – 1782
Father of Modern Portuguese Empire
Portugal is country rich in History and accomplishments as well as great historical figures such as Dom Afonso Henriques, Infante Dom Henrique, Vasco da Gama and many more. While these were great people and their accomplishments were instrumental in Portugal’s history, the man who shaped Portugal into the country it is today was Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello or as more commonly called “Marquês de Pombal”.
It was his vision that transformed Portugal from a backwards-declining empire to one of the largest and most powerful empires today. His reforms not only touched all regions of Portugal and its empire but all aspects of Portuguese society. He laid the groundwork and provided the vision that was continued by his successors to today. It is safe to say that Portugal would not be the country it is today was it not for Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo.
New Faces & New Ideas
The Marquês de Pombal first major test was the devastating Lisboa Earthquake of 1755 it was his handling of the earthquake and the recovery effort that won him his second major supporter. In 1763 Dom João Carlos de Bragança Sousa e Ligne, the Duque de Lafões returned from London after living there for five years. While in London he had been elected a member of the Royal Society and had been a keen observer of the educational and knowledge disparities between England and Portugal.
His correspondence with the Marquês de Pombal and the King starting in 1759 regarding educational disparities and the need for Portugal to modernize its own institutions least it fall even more behind had greatly impressed Pombal and with the support of the King who was the Duque de Lafões cousin recalled him to Lisboa in 1763. In 1764 he became the Secretary for Education and Science and over the next forty years would use that position and the support of the government to spearhead the countries educational and scientific progress. More importantly the Duque de Lafões provided the Marquês de Pombal with much needed support amongst Portugal’s leading nobles. With his help and support many nobles who personally continued to appose Pombal came to support his reforms and work.
Dom João Carlos de Bragança Sousa e Ligne, Duque de Lafões
On the economic front two transplanted Portuguese Jerome Rattan and Guillermo Stephens became the two leading industrial supporters and industrialists in the country. Both Rattan a Frenchmen by birth and Stephens a Englishman by birth started in the middle of the 1760s at the beginning of the economic revolution in Portugal their rise in Portugal’s economic and trade revolution. These two became the leading investors and industrialist in the country and eventually ended up having investments in almost every part of the Portuguese economy and empire. They played a major role in the establishment of factories throughout the country as well as financing many commercial enterprises. So great was their success that their support and contacts provided much of the impetus to the much of the economic investments over the next quarter century. In 1771 Jerome Rattan became the Secretary of Commerce and personally owned over 100 factories throughout the empire by the turn of the century.
Guillermo Stephens
Jerome Rattan
One of the greatest obstacles to Portugal’s modernization was the Portuguese Roman Catholic Church. In 1750’s the church along with the Jesuits order controlled great parts of the country and vehemently apposed any changes to the government’s policy and modernization.
The schism between the Portugal and the Catholic Church - Holy See along with the subsequent expulsion of most of the Religious Orders from the Portuguese Empire brought great challenges as well as great opportunities for Portugal. Religious reform might have been one area that Pombal might have failed were it not for the return to Lisboa of Luís António Verney in 1765 from Rome. It was his leadership and enlightened approach along with his openness that allowed for the modernization of the Church and made it a partner in the modernization of the country.
Saint Luís António Verney
While on the military front it was the friendship of Dom José António Lobo da Silveira, the Marquês de Alvito and Marechal General of all Portuguese forces in Portugal starting in 1762 that provided the Marquês de Pombal with the military support to counter many of his biggest critics and enemies.
The partnership of the Marquês de Pombal’s and these men led to unprecedented political, social, economic and religious changes in the country. It was these individuals who provided the great support and in many ways implemented many of the reforms outlined by Pombal. By 1770 the group came to be known as the “Os Apóstolos de Pombal” for their continued support and advocacy of his policies and reforms.
Lisboa Earthquake of 1755
Lisboa Earthquake of 1755
Lisboa in 1750s before the earthquake was one of Europe’s leading cities with over 250,000 people, rich in history and monuments constructed from the riches of its Empire.
The earthquake was one of the most destructive and deadly in history, killing between 30,000 and 60,000 people. The quake was followed by a tsunami and fire, resulting in the near total destruction of Lisboa. Many monuments and buildings were destroyed either by the earthquake, tsunami or subsequent fires. This included monuments, government buildings such as the palace, churches and cathedrals as well as the houses and businesses of thousands of people.
Dom José I immediately ordered the government to provide relief to the people and rebuild the country. He put the Marquês de Pombal in charge of this enormous undertaking. The Portuguese government under Pombal’s guidance immediately began a program of helping the survivors and preventing the spread of disease. Within three days the fires raging throughout Lisboa were brought under control. The army was brought in to maintain order and stop people from fleeing. The survivors were housed in tent cities (shanties) that were created around the capital; corpses were quickly removed and in many cases buried at sea.
The aftermath of the Lisboa Earthquake, showing the rebuilding of the city along with the tent city and the government hanging thieves
Dom José I who was out of Lisboa when the earthquake struck was also left without a home as the royal palace had also been destroyed in the earthquake. He developed a fear of living within walls, and for the duration of his reign the court was accommodated in a huge complex of tents and pavilions in the hills of Ajuda, then on the outskirts of Lisboa. It was only after his death that Dom José II his successor began the building the Royal Palace of Ajuda, the current residence of the Portuguese Monarchy, which still stands on the site of the old tented camp.
The Marquês de Pombal started to plan the rebuilding of Lisboa; he implemented several decrees that prohibited private construction initiatives. He felt developing a new, perfectly ordered city that magnified the splendour of the empire both a duty as well as an opportunity. He along with many others felt that the tremors would be the catalyst that would tear Lisboa and in turn Portugal from its medieval decadence and force it to acknowledge the necessities of an increasingly modern world.
The king and the Marquês de Pombal hired architects and engineers, who planned the reconstruction. Pombal wanted a city that would be built in an orderly fashion. In less than a year, Lisboa was free from debris and undergoing major urban works. These works were well planned and undertaken, rebuilding the areas with the highest level of damage along a wide–street grid system, while the less damaged areas were restored to their original street and building design schemes. Portuguese engineers, such as Manual de Maia and Eugénio dos Santos left their mark all over Lisboa with their work. By 1760 the remaining shanties were ordered demolished by the government and the last people still living in tents moved into the new buildings that had been built.
All Portuguese provinces were ordered to help the survivors and the rebuilding effort but in many cases the lack of proper roads hindered the relief effort. Help came from all Portuguese provinces including those in América, África, Índia and Ásia.
To combat disease a new law was passed requiring all people in Lisboa and the surrounding areas including the shantytowns to dump their human waste and garbage into refuse wagons that passed 4 times a day. The throwing of human waste out the window also became against the law. New aqueducts were built to bring fresh water into the area. Disease such as cholera was reduced throughout the capital region with the implementation of the new sanitation and clean water. In 1762 the new law was enacted throughout the rest of the country requiring local governments to setup regular human waste and garbage collections as well as provide clean water to all their residents.
From the onset of the rebuilding process labor shortages started being one of the biggest limiting factors so starting in 1756 thousands of Portuguese Américan Natives were brought to Portugal to work on the rebuilding of Lisboa and other earthquake damage areas. This was followed by additional workers from other parts of the empire in the subsequent years.
Economic Reforms
While living in London from 1738 to 1744 the Marquês de Pombal was greatly impressed with capitalism and the capitalist who made it possible. He viewed the lack of capitalists in Portugal as a determent to its future. He was determined to create the conditions necessary for the creation of capitalism in Portugal and envisioned a new capitalistic class allied with the monarchy that would drive the Portuguese economy and create great wealth.
When Pombal came to power Portugal practically imported everything it consumed, the purchase of these goods had been made possible by the revenue from the gold and diamonds from Brasil. Pombal’s first priorities when he came to power were:
- To asses the decline in revenue from Brasil and the implications this would have on the government’s budget
- The need to develop Portuguese national industries to manufacture the goods needed by Portugal and to reduce its economic dependency on England
- To increase the governments revenue in Portugal and its overseas provinces.
To promote commercial development in both Portugal and its overseas provinces several charter companies were formed, these companies were given monopolist rights in exchange for their investment and development of a particular industry or region. The first company formed was “Companhia Geral das Pescarias Reaes do Reino do Algarve” which was created in 1753 to develop and manage Algarve’s sardine and tuna fisheries. That same year “Companhia da Ásia Portuguesa” was formed to develop and manage trade with the Portuguese colonies in Índia and Ásia.
In 1755 the “Companhia do Grão-Pará e Maranhão” was formed to develop and increase commerce in Northern Brasilia. This was followed by the "Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro" formed to regulate and protect the wine growers of the Portugal’s Northern Provinces. In 1756 the “Companhia da Pesca da Baleia” was created to regulate fishing and whaling. In 1759 a new company was created called “Companhia de Pernambuco e Paraíba” to develop and increase commerce in North-Central Brasilia.
To regulate and stimulate the economy several laws were enacted that tried to combine the best of Europe’s economic laws. In 1755 the “Junta do Comèrcio de Lisboa” was created, it replaced an older out of date association of merchants. A similar Chamber of Commerce was created in Porto in 1763. These institutions promoted both commercial and manufacturing development in Portugal and all its provinces. In 1759 the “Junta do Comèrcio” in Lisboa started offering the first commerce courses to Portuguese entrepreneurs and business owners and their staff. In 1766 the “Junta do Comèrcio” in Porto also started offering the same courses.
To further increase Portugal’s trade in África, Índia and Ásia several new companies were also created. In 1760 the rights for Portuguese trade in Índia and Ásia were taken from the "Companhia da Ásia Portuguesa” and given to two new companies: “Companhia da Índia Portuguesa” and “Companhia de Timor e Macau”. In 1765 the Portuguese administration and trade in África was also changed with the abolishment of the Captaincies and the creation of three new companies that received trade rights on the Áfrican continent. The “Companhia de Angola” was created to exploit the resources in Angola and the Congo Basin, the “Companhia de Moçambique” was created to exploit the resources in Moçambique and East África and the “Companhia de Bissau” was created to exploit the Portuguese Trade in West África.
In 1762 to help simulate the economy the government abolished all laws discriminating against Protestants giving them the same rights as Catholics. This allowed both Portuguese citizens as well as foreigners to invest in Portugal.
The difficulty in transporting relief supplies to Lisboa from other regions of Portugal to help in the earthquake relief and subsequently in the rebuilding effort convinced the government to initiate a countrywide road construction project. In 1756 the construction of a network of roads spanning the country was started, the plan was to connect the leading cities of Portugal together to spur economic development. They eventually would connect the entire country together providing access to all corners of Portugal.
These roads became the catalyst for the industrial development in Portugal between 1760 and 1800. It became possible for businesses to manufacture their products anywhere in Portugal and in turn transport them throughout the country and even send it to port for export. Thousands of miles of new roads were built throughout the country. These roads became known as “Estradas do Rei”; they had no tolls, were paved and elevated allowing their use year round. New bridges were built across all of Portugal’s rivers. The building of these roads enabled the Portuguese economy to grow substantially and for the first time they also provided the Portuguese Army with a network of roads year round. This would come to be one of the contributing factors in the defense of Portugal during the Peninsula Wars.
New decrees were also issued ordering local governments to built additional local roads connecting the local areas “concelhos” to the “Estradas do Rei”.
Royal Roads built in Portugal between 1756 -1795
Roads built 1756 – 1776 shown in Yellow
Roads built 1777 – 1795 shown in Red
Pombal established a procurement department in all the major Portuguese Embassies through out Europe with the object of investigating and securing new industrial and technological ideas for Portugal.
In the year 1767, in exchange for assisting James Hargreaves of Stan Hill escape from an angry mob to Nottingham the Portuguese embassy in London received the design specs for the multi-spool spinning wheels called “spinning jenny”. In 1769 James Hargreaves moved to Portugal and became a principal shareholder in a new company called “Companhia de Algudão” situated in Guimarães. The company was created to manufacture and operate the “spinning jenny”. To provide Portugal with the cotton, the production of cotton in Brasil was increased and new cotton plantations were started in Moçambique north of the Zambeze River and in Southern Angola. Additional machines were made for the wool and linen factories in Castelo Branco and Porto respectively.
The Portuguese government recruited businessmen and technicians from Europe’s production centers and provided them with exclusive rights for their products in Portugal. One of the most successful foreign businessmen who became Portuguese by naturalization was Jerome Rattan, Frenchman by birth. He became one of Portugal’s leading industrialists with factories throughout Portugal as well as investments in agriculture and forestry. He was a leading member of both “Junta do Comèrcio” and a leading investor in many overseas investments. Similarly William Stephens (Guillermo) a Englishmen by birth, started a glass factory in Marina Grande which in time became Portugal’s largest and one of the largest glass and Crystal companies in the world. These two individuals would become the principal economic proponents and advocates of the new economic and industrial systems in Portugal.
The increase in commerce in Portugal and its overseas provinces started causing shortages in cargo space as the number of Portuguese ships was not enough to meet the demand. In 1764 the government eased the restrictions on shipping Portuguese products on foreign ships. In 1760 the government along with private investors invested large amount of money to increase Portugal’s shipbuilding capacity along with the attendant trades. This investment allowed Portugal to double its shipbuilding capacity by 1785. The capacity was further expanded by the expansion of shipbuilding enterprises and related industries in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Goa. The number of Portuguese ships including the large merchant ships sailing between Portugal and its overseas provinces grew ten fold during this time frame.
New taxation laws were enacted that placed a greater burden on the wealthy and upper class. Initially the government was forced to borrow large amounts of money to finance the rebuilding and infrastructure construction but as the government’s revenues increased the amount borrowed from abroad decreased so that by the end of Dom José I reign Portugal no longer needed to borrow from abroad to finance its projects and expenditures.
By 1775 the government had been able to stabilize the revenue Portugal received from Brasil although it was still a shadow of its former self as the revenue from the gold and diamonds was greatly reduced due to the exhaustion of the gold and diamond mines. The government’s revenues and Brasil’s economy became based on the diversified agricultural economy promoted by both government policy and the two trading companies and by the increase in manufacturing that was occurring in most of Brasil major towns and cities especially in the south.
The revenue Portugal and the Portuguese people realized by the formation of the companhias was enormous, for example the "Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro" was able to increase the revenue Portugal received from wine in the Douro Region by ten fold and was able to triple production while at the same time imposing high quality standards. The farmers and Portugal both saw a huge economic benefit from the management by the companhia. The two companhias in Brasil as well as the companhias throughout the Empire played a huge part in the development and growth of the various provinces and Portugal as a whole.
The gigantic leap in manufacturing in Portugal and subsequently in the overseas provinces provided the goods and products for its needs and as well for export. The increase trade provided the government with additional revenue and reduced Portugal’s dependencies on foreign goods. By 1776 Portugal had greatly reduced the manufactured and consumer goods it imported to the point that its exports were three times greater than its imports. The nature of the products imported had also changed, in 1755 Portugal was exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods, by 1775 the bulk of the imports were raw materials for its factories and most of its exports were manufactured goods.
The revenue from Portugal’s overseas provinces also greatly increased; first in Índia then subsequently in East Ásia and finally in both África and Macau region as trade and economic activity increased in these provinces as they grew in size and were better developed and managed.
The economic development of Portugal and its overseas provinces between 1755 and 1795 was remarkable. By 1778 over 1000 factories were operating in Portugal. This number did not include the local traditional craft shops that also co-existed with the new factories. The Portuguese government had been able to liberate Portugal economically from the various English factors that had dominated and at the same time repressed Portugal’s development. The government’s revenue and spending had also been restored allowing the government to rebuild Portugal, invest in the infrastructure and defenses.
Marquês de Pombal
Resistance and Repression
The first opposition to Marquês de Pombal was as a result of the creation of the new companies. Several of the original entrepreneurs and businessmen saw them as an attack against themselves and their interests. On February 23 1757 people in Porto revolted against the new restrictions and monopoly on the wine industry. They besieged the house of Bernardo Duarte de Figueredo, Judge Conservator of the Douro Company, forcing him to rescind the restrictions and monopoly. They then proceeded to attack the company’s offices and warehouses, destroying the company’s archives and edifices. Pombal reacted to the revolt with ferocity – treating the act as an act of Lèse-majesté. He sent five regiments to regain control of the city of Porto. Several leading businessmen as well as government officials along with over 450 people were arrested. Over 400 were found guilty and the leaders were executed while the majority of those convicted were imprisoned.
With the merchants under control the second group to appose Pombal was the nobility who were apposed to him and the King in part for the reforms being implemented as well as the higher taxes imposed on them. On September 3, 1758 an attempt was made on the Dom José I life as the king returned to court in an unmarked carriage from a rendezvous with the Teresa of Távora. Three men intercepted the carriage and fired on its occupants; the King and his driver were wounded but survived and returned to court.
Following an investigation Pombal had the following nobles arrested: the Duque de Aveiro, the Marquês de Távora, the Conde de Atougia, the Marquês de Alorna and the Condes de Vila Nova, Óbidos and Ribeira Grande. Many other nobles as well as people from all classes were also arrested. At the time of the trial over one thousand people were in custody. These included most family members of the Marquês de Távora.
At the trial two men confessed to being the attackers and that they were following orders of the Távora family. The Távora family denied all accusations but they were found guilty along with other accomplices and sentenced to death. Their estates were confiscated to the state and their name erased from the peerage and their coat-of-arms outlawed.
It was only through the intervention of Queen Mariana and Maria Francisca, the heiress to the throne, that most of women and children of those executed were saved from being executed. Those not executed were sent to the prisons in Angola and Mazagão.
The attempt on Dom José I life in 1758 became know as the Távora Affair
In 1759 following the Távora Affair Dom José I made Carvalho e Melo the Conde de Oeiras. The aristocrats were shaken and were broken because the people executed or jailed were their peers and friends. While many of them continued to hate the Conde de Oeiras they did not openly challenge him.
In 1763 Dom João Carlos de Bragança Sousa e Ligne, the cousin of the king returned to Portugal from London. He was proclaimed the Duque de Lafões as a result of his brother’s death in 1761 and became the Secretary for Education and Science. More importantly he became an adamant supporter of the Conde de Oeiras as his reforms. It was his support not the fear of the Conde de Oeiras that brought many nobles on side of the reforms and changes.
Many nobles who previously had detested and worked against the reforms began investing in many of the business ventures and industries. In many cases these nobles would amass greater wealth from their business ventures and industries than their previous estates had been able to provide.
Dom João Carlos de Bragança Sousa e Ligne, Duque de Lafões
Immigration and Emigration
The shortage of workers in Portugal and its provinces started causing great problems and labor shortages that in many cases limited economic growth. Following the earthquake in Lisboa and Southern Portugal the government restricted the emigration of Portuguese; emigration to Brasil was frozen and emigration to Portugal’s other provinces in Índia, Ásia and África was severely restricted. The emigration of skilled tradesmen was partially eased starting in 1765 at various companies’ requests. The government always strictly controlled the movement of people as it tried to develop Portugal and its overseas provinces without depopulating the country.
Following the joint military campaign with Spain in Southern Brasilia region of Seven Missions against the indigenous and the Jesuits in 1755 the government brought thousands Portuguese Native Américans to Portugal to work in the reconstruction of Lisboa.
In 1757 the first immigrants from Índia, and Timor were brought to Portugal to help in the reconstruction effort and the building of other infrastructure projects. The labor crises in Portugal reached its peak between 1763 and 1772 during which time large number of Áfricans were also brought to Portugal.
The majority of the immigrants initially worked in the construction industry providing the labor for the reconstruction of Lisboa and other areas affected by the earthquake then many went to work in the road construction projects while the rest were employed in other construction jobs throughout the country.
The creation of thousands of factory jobs in the towns and cities created a new rural depopulation crisis. Agricultural production declined as people left agriculture for the new factory jobs. Starting in 1765 immigrants from Índia and África were brought to work on the farms. The government enacted new laws to protect the original European workers and forcing the landowners to pay the immigrants the same wage. The subsequent growth of industry as well as the continued labor shortages in the 1770s forced the government to start allowing some of the immigrants to start working in the factories.
The government restricted the immigrant’s right to move around the country and only immigrants that were Portuguese Catholic were allowed to marry. The integration of the immigrants into the Portuguese society was a gradual process. The government viewed their integration as a necessity and enlisted the Portuguese Catholic Church to promote the social and cultural acceptance of these people into the general society. By 1778 the number of immigrants in Portugal had surpassed 200,000. The vast majority were men, with women only accounting for 20 percent. The majority of these immigrants ended up integrating into the Portuguese society, marrying and settling down.
The rapid industrialization of Portugal and subsequently of Brasil as well as the increase in commerce and the labor shortage in both areas was the catalysts for the Portuguese government policy of forced labor movement throughout the empire. The expansion of Portuguese territory in África, Índia and Ásia provided the government with a steady supply of laborers to other provinces that were in need of laborers. The depopulation also facilitated the establishment of Portuguese control of newly acquired territory.
As the Portuguese expanded their overseas provinces in Índia, East Ásia and África the subjugated tribes that accepted Portuguese control were required to provide a specific number of laborers on a yearly basis. Subjugated tribes that resisted Portuguese control ended up losing half of their territory and people and their leaders executed. These tribes were also forced to provide a much higher number of laborers on a yearly basis. The laborers were sent to other provinces to work on construction, new plantations, farms and the growing number of factories.
The movement of people changed the composition of the population in Portuguese controlled areas of Índia, África and Ásia. The depopulation of newly acquired territory was subsequently followed by repopulation of the territory with people from other regions as these territories were in turn developed. The limited number of Europeans in the empire meant that the Portugal became reliant initially on Portuguese Índians and Timorenses (people from Timor region of East Ásia) to provide it with the laborers and tradesmen to continue its industrialization and growth. Subsequently Macaenses (people from Southern China around Macau) were also recruited.
The movement of Áfricans into Ásia, Índia and Portugal was initially limited to agricultural areas. These Áfricans while not slaves did not enjoy the same citizenship rights Europeans, Índians, Timorenses and Macaenses held. By 1770 slavery only existed in Brasil and África and only Áfricans continued to be slaves.
In 1759 Portugal abolished slavery amongst the Portuguese Native Américans and prohibited their emigration outside the empire. In 1761 Portugal abolished slavery in Índia, Timor and Flores this was followed by the abolished of slavery in Portugal proper in 1762. In 1765 Portugal abolished slavery in amongst mixed blood blacks in the entire empire.
In 1763 an Irish soldier named Patrick O’Connor who had decided to stay behind in Portugal following the war of 1761 became employed at a paper factory owned by Jacome Ratton. In 1764 Patrick O’Connor was sent by Jacome to his homeland to recruit fellow Irish to come to Portugal. Starting in 1765 Portuguese ships sailing to England would pass off the Irish coast on the way home and secretly pickup Irish settlers. Several thousand Irish eventually came to live in Portugal and its colonies every year. The Portuguese always kept the affair as low-key as possible afraid of upsetting the English.
The newly acquired territories also became the primary source of new recruits for the expanded colonial armies. Many young men preferred the prospect of being soldiers rather then working for the rest of their lives as laborers in some plantation. Subsequent taxation laws enacted by various provincial governments provided financial compensation to families whose sons become soldiers. These two sources provided the continuous supply of recruits to fill the colonial army’s ranks.
Church and State
In 1750 Portugal was a catholic country where the church had great influence over the everyday life of the Portuguese. The Catholic Church held vast amounts of land, and wealth but that wealth was out of the reach of the crown and in the opinion of Pombal the Catholic Church was one of the main obstacles to modernization of Portugal. In 1750 Portugal’s population was just over three million with 200,000 in 538 monasteries. The main religious force in Portugal was the “Companhia de Jesus” the Jesuits. They ran the schools and had great influence not only in court but also with the Royal family.
Pombal had been greatly influenced while living in London and Vienna by the anti Jesuit movement in both countries. After the Lisboa earthquake the Conde de Oeiras was deeply embarrassed by the backwardness and the churchmen advocating the burning of people alive "auto de fé" as a means to stop the earth from shaking.
Auto de fé in Lisboa
The first conflict between the Jesuits and the government came with the conflict between the privileges granted to the “Companhia do Grão-Pará e Maranhão” and the Jesuit missionaries in Maranhão. In 1756, Pombal began a propaganda attack on the Jesuits by publishing several papers attacking the Jesuits and conspiracy theories about the Jesuits power ambitions.
In 1757 Dom José I issued an edit stopping the Jesuits from preaching in the countryside. This culminated with several Jesuit priests being implicated in the Távora affair. Pombal arrested several Jesuit priests but never tried them.
On September 3, 1759 Pombal issued a law expelling the Jesuits from Portugal and all of its provinces. The Jesuits were arrested, the government seized all of their assets and their schools were closed. They were deported to Rome where they continued to have great support.
In 1760 Portugal withdrew its ambassador from Rome and the Portuguese bishops as well as the Portuguese Catholic church stopped having any connection with the Holy See. In 1762 Father António Vieira published the “Tentiva Teológica” which advocated an independent Portuguese Catholic Church with the Pope continuing as the spiritual head of the Church but headed by the Portuguese Religious Council. The Council would be comprised of a partnership between the Bishops of Portugal and the King and would govern the Portuguese Catholic Church.
Pombal seized on the “Tentiva Teológica” as the means to break the Roman Catholic Church’s grip on Portugal and to replace it with a modern church that would be a partner in the reforms and modernization of Portugal instead of an hindrances. In 1764 the Portuguese government banned all “auto de fé", took charge of the Inquisition and installed Pombal’s brother Paulo de Mendonça as the Inquisitor-General. A crown censorship on all printed materials was also imposed.
Starting in 1765 using all means available the Portuguese government lent its support to “Tentiva Teológica”. A propaganda campaign was fought against the “Old Order” and anyone who spoke out against “Tentiva Teológica” was condemned to the Inquisition. Many religious people were brought before the Inquisition on charges of heresy and blasphemy for opposing the “Tentiva Teológica”.
The Bishop of Coimbra who was from a very noble family and had great prestige in the country published a pastoral letter condemning “Tentiva Teológica” and prohibiting people from reading it along with also prohibiting people from accepting new ideas including the new scientific French philosophy being encouraged by the government. The Bishop was arrested and brought before the inquisition. His pastoral letter was judged to be “false, inflammatory and seditious” and was burned in a political ceremony at the “Praça do Comercio” in Lisboa. He was striped of all his privileges and property and imprisoned in an underground cell at the “Forte de Pedrouços”. In 1778 he was allowed to leave prison on condition he accept the new Portuguese Catholic Church but he refused and stayed in prison until his death in 1788.
In 1765 Luís António Verney returned from Rome at the invitation of both the Portuguese government and the Portuguese Catholic Council to spearhead the modernization of the Church. A follower of the Enlightenment Movement it was his leadership, policies and vision that would guide both Portugal and the Portuguese Catholic Church forward. In 1771 he was proclaimed Patriarch of the Faith by both the King and Council a post he held till his death in 1795. He worked tirelessly with the new Council and Religious Orders to make the Church inclusive and modern.
Saint Luís António Verney
All remaining religious orders in the country were reformed and new independent national religious orders were created to replace the religious orders expelled from the country. These new religious orders only answered to the Portuguese Catholic Church. All religious laypeople both men and women were ordered to present themselves before the Religious Council court and those that accepted the “Tentiva Teológica” were then presented before a joint session of the Royal Court and the Religious Council to affirm their adherence to the King and the “Tentiva Teológica” in public. Those that refused were deported and their assets seized by the government.
The new religious orders as well as all positions within them were opened to all locals throughout the empire in addition the religious orders were prohibited from admitting religious novices into either monasteries or nunneries.
Brother Inácio de São Caetano a pious man who originally was a Carmelite was placed as overseer of all missionary orders in 1765, this culminated with the closing of the inquisition in Goa. He spearheaded the Portuguese government’s missionary movement, thousands of religious people were sent to the Portuguese overseas provinces to be missionaries to the local people.
Inácio de São Caetano Convent in Goa
The Portuguese Catholic Church in Portugal and all its overseas provinces was also reformed as all the Churches positions were also opened to all religious persons. Thousands of local Catholics religious people moved up in the churches hierarchy filling positions that once had only been reserved for white religious people. The first non-white bishop was Father Pedro Fernandes born in 1743 to a Catholic Native family from Goa. He became a priest in 1762 and went to work with the people of Timor in 1769. In 1799 he became the bishop of Dili. By 1780 Portugal had less than 50,000 people in 122 monasteries. This number did not include all the new monasteries and missionaries in the Américas, África, Índia and Ásia. These missionaries would play a huge part in Portugal’s rise to power in the 1900s, many times being the catalyst of that rise.
New Bishops were installed in América, África, Índia and Ásia to help direct the missionaries and the new Portuguese Catholic converts. The new missionaries worked side by side with the government to convert the locals not only to Catholicism but to also make them Portuguese.
On the diplomatic side the Portuguese government continued its diplomatic and public Relationship against the Jesuits with great success. In 1773 Pope Clemente XIV abolished the Jesuit Order, it was hoped that this action would allow Portugal to re-establish diplomatic relationship with the Holy See and lead to integration of the Portuguese Catholic Church into the Roman Catholic Church. This did not happen and it was only during the reign of Dom Carlos I in 1883 that diplomatic relationship with the Pope Leo XIII and the Holy See was re-established.
The Portuguese government headed by Pombal had shown the merchants it would not tolerate any dissent. The nobles who once had enjoyed considerable independence were brought to heel and shown they were not above the law. Lastly the Roman Catholic Church influence in Portugal had been broken and a new Portuguese Catholic Church had arisen in it place and made a partner in the modernization and expansion of Portugal.
Educational Reforms
The new Pombal educational reforms instituted for the most part by Duque de Lafões were enormous to say the least. New schools, colleges, universities were opened. A new curriculum as well as new subjects was introduced to Portuguese students.
The expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal in 1759 had left Portugal without a secondary school system since the Jesuits had run all of Portugal’s secondary schools since the 16th century. The Universidade de Coimbra had also been greatly influenced by them and was also greatly affected by their expulsion in addition the Jesuit Universidade d’Evora had also been closed.
The educational reforms needed in Portugal and initiated by Pombal were carried forward with great enthusiasm and dedication by the Duque de Lafões, who in 1764 became the Secretary for Education and Science. Over the next forty years he would spearhead the countries educational and scientific progress
To combat the lack of learning centers in Portugal three colleges were created in 1761 in the cities of Lisboa, Porto and Coimbra. They were called the “Colégio dos Nobres”. The objective of these colleges was to instill in the descendants of the aristocrats a modern education and was made prerequisite to enter university. Initially most of these colleges professor’s were foreign because not enough qualified professors were available in Portugal. At first there was very little interest in these colleges from the noble families so the government opened them to the middle class and the new capitalist class. By 1769 when all three colleges were fully staffed and had a full student body less than half of the students were of noble families.
In 1768 a new education law was published. The level of education a student was to receive was based on the social class the student was born to. The people who were to be farmers or laborers were to receive their education from the parish priests. Those who were to fill higher functions were divided into two groups: those who needed to learn to read write and do arithmetic and those who were to go on to university. This was the start of primary and secondary education system. This system would continue until 1826 when the primary school system expanded to all children.
The Duque de Lafões recruited Father Manuel do Cenáculo Vilas Boas who coordinated with the Religious Orders in Portugal and the help of the Portuguese Religious Council to help staff the primary schools and in turn the new Portuguese Catholic Church and its Religious Orders supplied over two thirds of the staff for these new schools.
The secondary schools were much harder to staff and again the Duque de Lafões had to bring teachers from England and Europe to staff these schools. It was not until 1882 that all the secondary schools were staffed. Over the next twenty years the secondary schools were subsequently opened in every Portuguese provincial capital including its overseas provinces.
Father Manuel do Cenáculo Vilas Boas
In 1775 as part of the education law reforms the Duque de Lafões dismissed the entire teaching staff of the Universidade de Coimbra. The lack of qualified professors in Portugal forced Duque de Lafões to again fill all teaching positions with professors from foreign countries and it was only in 1777 that the university re-opened and it was not until 1782 when all the professors were hired. In addition two new faculties were added: Mathematics and Philosophy. The Philosophy faculty included science courses as well as courses in Natural sciences, Physics and Chemistry.
The faculty of Medicine was also drastically changed, practical education was imposed and for the 1st time students were exposed to patients in the local hospitals. This was the start of the Hospital University dependency that still exists today.
The faculty of law was also changed to include the study of the evolution of the judicial institutions from their origin to the historical evolution. This was the groundwork for the study of the rights in Portugal in the next century. The rights attributed to all Portuguese including non-whites in Portugal in the 1800s would not of been possible were it not for it.
The most radical of the Education reforms in the University was the introduction of structured course outline and structured teaching methods. Course manuals were introduced and students were forced to study from books. These reforms transformed the education in Portugal from the dark ages to same level as those found in other more enlightened European countries. While this was not accomplished overnight by 1800 Portugal education system was equal to the most enlightened European countries and more advanced than many.
War and Politics
The Portuguese government needed time for its reforms to take fruit so all external affairs were conducted with the most prudence and realism of Portugal’s position in the world. Pombal approach was to preserve its alliance with England and to always portrait that alliance to England to be in its best interest. Pombal always tried to take a neutral stand because he believed that if Portugal openly sided with England it risked the risk of being invaded by England’s enemies.
In 1756 the seven-year war started between England and France. Portugal informed both England and France of its neutrality. In 1759 an English squadron off the coast of Algarve intercepted a French Fleet of seven ships. Two French ships escaped and sought protection from the English at the Fort of Lagos but the English pursued them and destroyed them in Portuguese waters. The French were incensed and demanded that Portugal close its ports to England. Portugal refused and in May 1762 a French-Spanish force entered Portugal from Spain and encircled Miranda do Douro in the north. Portugal did not have the means to resist and stop the French-Spanish force so it requested English help. In June of 1762 the English army arrived in Portugal under the command of General Townsend. The English sent 6 infantry regiments, 1 cavalry regiment as well as armaments and money. The French-Spanish force captured the towns of Bragança, Chaves and the fort of Almeida during the months of July and August. On July 10th the Conde de Lippe who had accompanied the English contingent was put in Charge of both the English and Portuguese forces. On September 16th the Luso-English army led by Conde de Lippe defeated the invading French-Spanish force at the Battle of Salvaterra.
On November 3rd Portugal, England, France and Spain signed the Peace treaty of Fontainebleau ending all hostilities. On February 10, 1763 Portugal and Spain signed the Peace treaty of Paris returning all captured forts and towns in Portugal as well as the Settlement of Sacramento in Argentina to Portugal.
The Southern Brasilia region known as Entre Rios (region between the Plata and Paraguai rivers) was being contested by both the Portuguese and the Spanish. In 1776 the Viceroy of Rio de la Plata was created by Spain as a way to counter the Portuguese influence and power in the area. That year the first Viceroy Pedro Antonio Cevallos invaded southern Brasil in an attempt to drive the Portuguese from the region. He was finally stopped in Rio Grande do Sul but the conflict continued to simmer.
The Portuguese tried unsuccessfully to enlist the help of England and France to settle the Luso-Spanish conflict in Rio Grande do Sul. But unfortunately the English were unable and unwilling to put pressure on the Spanish; France on the other hand sought to gain from Portugal’s situation so it completely ignored Portuguese requests. Portugal was left on its own to deal with the Spanish.
Portuguese Armed Forces
Following the 1761 war between the French-Spanish and the Luso-English forces the Portuguese government contracted the Conde de Lippe to reorganize the Portuguese Army. Conde de Lippe was born in England and well versed in modern warfare, having served under Frederick of Prussia and was also known for his great organizational skills.
Under his orders new military academies were created and Prussian military instructors brought to Portugal. New training and professionalism were instilled in the army. Several graduates from these academies went on to serve in the Prussian Army for several years to gain valuable experience. Military rank and position became based on merit not social class.
In 1771 the Royal Academy for Military Fortification was opened. This academy became on of the principle learning centers for modern siege warfare and military fortification in Portugal. The knowledge Portuguese Artillery Officers would gain at this academy would serve Portugal numerous times throughout the empire.
Portugal’s peacetime army in Portugal proper was established at 50,000 men divided into two armies. One located in the Alentejo and the second one in Beira. These armies would be integrated with infantry, cavalry and artillery but due to personnel and budget issue it would take the Portuguese till 1794 to reach the target levels. The Royal Police Guard was established and installed in all the major towns and cities as a means of maintaining law and order. The size of the royal guard was initially set at 35,000 and would be made up of full time soldiers (infantry and artillery) and part time soldiers (citizen volunteers who received six months of training and served for 1 month a year.
Portuguese armaments industry was greatly increased; in 1768 Portugal adopted the Crespi System and paid Giuseppe Crespi to set up a factory in Coimbra. In 1776 the Portuguese company “Companhia de Armamento” gained complete control of the Giuseppe Crespi factory in Portugal and initiated several projects to increase the range of the muskets. The company was able to improve the range to approximately 200 yards. New armaments factories were also created in Lisboa, Setubal and Aveiro producing muskets as well as canons and howitzers. The gun powder factory in Lisboa was also expanded and a new factory was built in Setubal.
Conde de Lippe, founder of Portuguese Modern Military
The increased economic activity in the Portuguese provinces in África, Índia and Ásia put great pressures on the Portuguese Army and Navy to protect Portuguese interests as well as provide Portugal with the ability to expand its holdings. The continued European warfare in Europe, América, Índia and Ásia prompted the Portuguese government to institute its “Portugal Seguro” policy, which the Portuguese government advocated securing its overseas provincial borders, populating them for self-defence, defending the ports and cities and making the provinces profitable.
As part of its overall military reforms the Portuguese government began reforming and strengthening its overseas armies. Áfricans, Índians and Ásians (locals from Portuguese East Ásia and Macau) were recruited to reinforce the Portuguese overseas armies. The stipulation was that these soldiers were not allowed to server in their native province. The Áfrican soldiers served in Portuguese Índia, East Ásia and Macau. The Índian soldiers served mainly in Portuguese África and Brasil but were subsequently used in East Indies as well as Macau. The soldiers from East Indies and Macau went to serve in Índia and África.
The colonial armies were rearmed with arms and artillery manufactured in the growing Portuguese armament industries. Forts were built in strategic locations to protect Portuguese economic interest including all ports and vital cities. Border forts were also established in areas that both protected and extended Portugal’s control of its provinces.
The colonial armies in África, Índia and Ásia were established at 50,000 the same size as the regular army in Portugal proper. These were to be Portugal’s reserves to be drawn upon in time of need. In África Portugal used the presence of the colonial forces to increase the size of the area it controlled and to subjugate the local natives. Between 1775 and 1795 the areas of Portuguese control in África doubled when these armies finally reached their target size. While in Índia and Ásia they were used to protect and strengthen Portuguese Interests.
The defence and armed forces in Brasil were also reviewed and upgraded. Colonial forces reinforced the Portuguese regular army stationed in Brasil.
The first opportunity for the new Portuguese Army and the Colonial Army to serve together would come during the Portuguese-Marrocan War of 1769 when a joint Portuguese-Colonial army fought and won a series of battles against a larger but inferior Marrocan force. The Portuguese force had better leadership, higher quality soldiers, superior weapons and artillery.
The navy shipbuilding program in conjunction with the merchant shipbuilding program was expanded to provide Portugal with the ships necessary to defend its interests and territory. The navy shipbuilding capacity was further increased in Portugal as well at the overseas shipbuilding centers in Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Goa. This in turn would allow the Portuguese Navy to become the second largest navy in the world by 1798.
In 1763 the administration of the Portuguese navy was reformed with the creation of the secretary for Navy. The naval command was restructured similar to the army as naval rank and position became based on merit not social class. In 1768 the Royal Academy of the Navy was created in the City of Porto to teach Portuguese Navy Officers and Portuguese Merchant Navy Officers modern naval techniques. Many of the teachers like all other higher learning centers in Portugal came from other European countries, mostly England. In time this academy would become one of the world’s leading centers for learning Marine Doctrine and Ship Warfare.
Royal Opposition & Disposition
D. Jose I married Mariana Vitória de Espanha daughter of Filipe V de Espanha in 1729. They only had four daughters:
- D. Maria Francisca born 1734,
- D. Maria Ana Francisca born 1736,
- D. Maria Francisca Doroteia born 1739
- D. Maria Francisca Benedita born 1746.
The Queen and her daughters begged and pleaded for D. Jose I to dismiss Pombal for the sake of the country but his faith in Pombal remained solid so he dismissed their pleading and requests. This only made them more determined and resolved in their opposition to the Pombal.
Following the Tavora affair the Queen and her daughters had in essence became Pombal’s only major opposition. So Pombal set out to reduce their influence in court. His first attempt to match the eldest daughter with someone more in line with his thinking was a failure when in 1760 the D. Maria Francisca was married to her uncle Pedro de Bragança. A marriage arranged by her mother the Queen.
As for the other three daughters he convinced the King to allow him to arrange their marriages in order to strengthen Portugal politically. Pombal worked feverishly and was able to pair all three of them off. The Queen disapproved all of the matches found by Pombal but the King overrode her objections and consented to each of the marriages.
In 1762 the second oldest daughter D. Maria Ana Francisca was married to her uncle the recently widowed Filipe I de Bourbon-Parma, brother of her mother.
In 1763 he concludes a marriage between the youngest of D. Jose I daughters D. Maria Francisca Benedita and Principe Ferdinando Antonio Pasquale Giovanni Nepomuceno Serafino Gennaro Benedetto of Naples and Sicily, son of Espanha’s Carlos III.
In 1763 D. Maria Francisca Doroteia was married to William, Duke of Cumberland younger son of Jorge II of Grã-Bretanha. In the previous year he had accompanied General Townsend and the English army during its foray in Portugal during the later part of the Seven Year War. Unfortunately he had gotten sick (heart attack) soon after his arrival and was forced to stay in Portugal while he recuperated. While in court he and D. Maria Francisca Doroteia developed a liking to each other and following his recovery Pombal arranged for them to be married.
The Queen and her entourage were in shock at the development and their apparent predicament. In less than three years Pombal had greatly reduced the influence and power of the Royal family in court. But in 1765 circumstances provided them with renewed vigor in their opposition to Pombal. The “break” of the Portuguese Catholic Church and Rome shocked both the Queen and D. Maria Francisca, heir to the throne.
The Order of Christ Conspiracy
The Conspirators
In 1761 Princesa Maria Francisca, the heir to the throne married her uncle Dom Pedro III, brother to the King. Donna Maria and her husband much like her father were not interested in political matters. Donna Maria and Dom Pedro were very religious and favored the “Companhia de Jesus” Jesuit Order.
They became distressed with the religious politics that were being advanced by Pombal and the new Portuguese Religious Council. In their confidence of immunity because of their proximity to the King (Dom Pedro being the King’s brother and Donna Maria being his daughter) organized themselves against Pombal and those advocating an Independent Portuguese Catholic Church thus making themselves the main opposition to Pombal and the Portuguese Catholic Church.
The Jesuits who had already been expelled from Portugal and were locked in a dirty propaganda war with the Portuguese government provided Donna Maria and Dom Pedro through the ambassador from Spain with the necessary money to organize and plan their opposition. Two prominent nobles were recruited the Marquês de Angela and the Visconde of Vila Nova de Cerveira to lead the forces against Pombal. Dom Pedro and Donna Maria provided the moral and political legitimacy to the conspiracy. They were to be the new King and Queen of Portugal after the Dom José I was forced to abdicate once Pombal had been eliminated. The group became know as the “Conspiração da Companhia de Deus” the Order of Christ Conspiracy.
The Spanish, who still harbored territorial desires on Portugal even after 100 years following the Restoration of the Portuguese Independence, were alarmed at both the political and religious changes occurring in Portugal. They hoped to benefit as Portugal became embroiled in a civil war. The Spanish went as far as planning the invasion of Portugal and the seizure of Brasil.
On May 20, 1768 while returning to court in Ajuda from viewing the reconstruction of Lisboa, Pombal and his escort were attacked by a dozen armed men. Pombal was wounded in the attack and six of his eight guards were killed along with eight of the attackers. The remaining four attackers were wounded and captured but unfortunately none of them lived long enough to identify their backers.
Pombal was incapacitated for over 2 months but soon returned to his duties. The wounds that Pombal suffered limited his duties and he became very sick during the winter of 1769. In 1770 following the attack and in recognition of Carvalho e Melo outstanding work Dom José I made him the Marquês de Pombal. At the same time the King became worried about Pombal’s health so he recalled Martinho de Melo e Castro from the London embassy to become Pombal’s assistant. Martinho de Melo e Castro was both courageous and a liberal thinker and he and Pombal formed a formidable partnership that lasted till Pombal death in 1782. He would go on to be his successor and make a name for himself as one of Portugal most capable Prime Ministers till his own death in 1795.
By 1771 the conspirators had become desperate, many of their original backers had been arrested, died or came to accepted the new order. On October 11 the Marquês de Angela and the Visconde de Vila Nova de Cerveira had assembled in secret, a force of over 2,000 men outside of Lisboa at an estate provided by Dom Pedro. On that day the King was to travel in the afternoon from Ajuda to the Praça de Comercio in the center of reconstructed Lisboa for the unveiling of a great Equestrian statue. Dom Pedro found out from his brother the King that Pombal would be traveling incognito with about 100 soldiers in the morning to prepare for the King’s arrival, so plans were made to attack and kill Pombal and capture the king.
Príncipe José, the oldest son of Donna Maria and Dom Pedro was 10 years old and like most royal children he had little interaction with his parents who had entrusted his upbringing and education to others. The Príncipe’s education had been entrusted to Pombal who chose all of his tutors thus the Príncipe was a great admirer of Pombal and his goals and visions for Portugal.
The Battle of Belem
On October 11, on that eventful day Príncipe José was on his way to visit his mother when he overheard their plot. Donna Maria was instructing a priest and fellow conspirator on the final preparations. Being a curious boy he at first hid to hear what was being said but then continued hiding when he found out the details of the conversation. He waiting until everyone had left, made his escape and rushed to warn Pombal. Unfortunately by the time he arrived Pombal had already departed. Unsure of whom he could trust he turned to the only people he knew to be Pombal’s supporters, his tutors. When he finally found one of them and told his story they raced to alert other members of the court who could help. Príncipe José and his tutor found the captain of the Royal Guard a supporter of Pombal who took the young Príncipe before the King who upon hearing of the plot ordered the Royal Guards to make ready. Before leaving the King had his daughter and her husband as well as the whole court imprisoned. He then did something complete uncharacteristic he joined the guards and accompanied by the young Príncipe rode to rescue Pombal.
Meanwhile Pombal and his escort were intercepted on the way to Lisboa by the Marquês de Angela and the Visconde de Vila Nova de Cerveira and their men. The Marquês de Angela called Pombal to surrender and when Pombal refused he called him a coward and an agent of the devil that must be destroyed to save Portugal.
When the King and the Príncipe accompanied by over 5,000 royal guards came upon the ambush, the situation was desperate for Pombal and his remaining soldiers. Only 20 soldiers remained around Pombal and they were minutes away from being killed along with Pombal. The arrival of the King and the Royal Guards caused the rebel soldiers to panic and flee. The Marquês de Angela was killed in the subsequent fight when he and about 300 soldiers fleeing the Royal Guards were corned in a building in the outskirts of Lisboa. A fire broke out in the building during the fighting that trapped most of the conspirators in the building. Of the 300 soldiers in the building less than 50 made it out alive unfortunately the Marquês de Angela was not one of them.
Statue of Dom José I in Lisboa Commemorating his attack on the Order of Christ Conspirators
The Final Stand
The Visconde de Vila Nova de Cerveira made his escape first to Santarém but when the local magistrate attempted to arrest him, he and his men fled to Bragança where he hoped to regroup and gather around him an army of his supporters. The town of Bragança had been taken over by the nobles and friars sympathetic to the conspirators. He made an urgent appeal help from other nobles. While some nobles supported them in the end less than 5,000 conspirators gathered in Bragança meanwhile the government marched more than 30,000 soldiers against the conspirators in Bragança. Some nobles who had supported the conspirators attempted to flee the country, most did not make it. Pombal ordered the country sealed until all conspirators were caught.
The news of the attempted assassination spread through out the nation. (Although the version being spread had both Pombal and the King as targets) Most commoners and many nobles especially the younger generation was incensed and turned against the conspirators.
The Portuguese Army reinforced by young nobles “Fidalgos” and Royal Guards reached Bragança on November 25th and surrounded the town. The siege lasted 2 days when on the third day the local population rebelled against the conspirators. The army used the distraction to seize the town. The Visconde of Vila Nova de Cerveira and his most loyal men supported by the friars took refuge in the Castle of Bragança. The Visconde and half his men as well as most of the friars died when the government forces stormed the castle.
On January 21 1772 the government held a public trial in Lisboa, by the time the trial started over 5,000 people were in prison. Donna Maria had become hysterical after her arrest and had suffered a nervous breakdown which unfortunately she never recovered from and spent the rest of her life at the new Military Hospital of Santarém and her husband Dom Pedro died while in custody. All the nobles convicted at the trial were stripped of their assets, condemned to death and executed. Their families were exiled to Brasil.
The Jesuits were tried in absenteeism and found guilty in the attempted murder of the King and the overthrow of the Portuguese government. A book was published in 1772 called “A Dedução Cronológica e Analítica” which had very high circulation and was translated into all the major languages in Europe. The book put the blame solely on the Jesuit Orders hands. They were implicated in all of Portugal’s misfortunes since their arrival in Portugal. This book was very well received in Europe and Pope Clemente XIV felt compelled to disband the Jesuits if for no other reason than to save the Roman Catholic Church.
Consolidation
Following the attempted overthrow which became known as the Order of Christ Conspiracy the last opposition to Pombal and his reforms had finally been extinguished. The last economic, political and religious opposition had either been killed or were forced to see the light and support the reforms.
The fall of Donna Maria and Dom Pedro from power and the elevation of Príncipe José to Príncipe de Brasil had put to rest any hope of political changes in Portugal. As a result of the trial and executions, hundreds of nobles were either executed or imprisoned and Pombal was left with no opposition in the whole country.
Those that survived were left with no alternative but to join the Pombal reforms bandwagon. Many simply joined to avert any suspicions on them and to prove that they were in full support of the King and the government; it was ironic that many of these reluctant investors eventually amassed greater fortunes from their investment in the new enterprises and economic ventures than they could have hoped with their original estates.
All non-Portuguese religious men and women were ordered to appear before the Portuguese Religious Council for questioning. Most were expelled from Portugal. Their orders were also expelled and their assets seized by the crown. The expulsion of the last non-Portuguese religious people left Portugal with no voice for the Roman Catholic Church in the country. Only the Portuguese religious orders were left and all of these were supporters of the Portuguese Catholic Church.
The implications of the Spanish embassy and the Spanish ambassador in the plot was fully revealed in the trial and angry mobs protested daily in front of the Spanish Embassy. When the Spanish government refused to hand over the ambassador an angry mob overwhelmed the embassy’s security and burned down the embassy and killed the ambassador. Spain responded by jailing the Portuguese ambassador and cutting off all diplomatic relationships with Portugal. It was only following the 1777 Portuguese-Spanish Américan War that he was finally released and returned to Portugal.
On December 10 1771, Príncipe José became the Heir apparent and was proclaimed Príncipe de Brasil. Príncipe José age 10 and his two younger siblings Princesa Mariana age 4 and Príncipe João also age 4 became orphans with the death and incarceration of their parents. Their upbringing had from their birth been entrusted to royal servants so they did not suffer much from their absence. Their upbringing and education continued under Pombal’s influence.
In 1775 Pombal started negotiations with the English about the marriage of King George IV oldest daughter Princesa Charlotte to Dom José II heir to the throne. On August 11, 1776 Princesa Charlotte was betrothed to Príncipe José. As part of the betrothal Portugal refused to recognize United States independence and closed its ports to Américan vessels.
Queen Carla I of Portugal 1782-1828
In 1775 the Portuguese government “Pombal” published the “Observações Secretíssimas” which was a political-philosophical paper showing how far Portugal had come in the last 20 years. The comparisons were made on the many levels including: cultural development, industrial development, development of the arts, literacy, scientific development, strength of the domestic trade, wealth of the external trade, political peace, and increase level of wealth and general well being. While the “Observações Secretíssimas” may have appeared as propaganda it was true that in 1750 hardly anyone in Lisboa could read the same could not be said in 1775. It was also true that in 1750 everything Portugal consumed was imported in 1775 Portugal was producing all the consumer goods it consumed and some companies were already starting to export their products.
In 1776 Dom José I health started deteriorating and he made Pombal the regent for the remainder of his reign and until his successor came of age. On February 24 1777 Dom José I died, on his deathbed he instructed the heir, his grandson, to look after his subjects well being and to be aware of the responsibility that God had entrusted on him. He also asked for two things: that the he pardon the political prisoners, and that the policies started during his reign be continued.
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