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Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves Reyno de Portugal et d'los Algarves | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1640–1777 | |||||||||
.svg) Flag (1707–1777) | |||||||||
| Anthem: "Adeste Fydeles" | |||||||||
| Capital | Lisbon | ||||||||
| Common languages | Portuguese | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||
| Government | Absolute Monarchy | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1640–1656 | John IV | ||||||||
• 1750–1777 | Joseph I | ||||||||
| Chief minister | |||||||||
• 1640–1642 | Francisco de Lucena | ||||||||
• 1756–1777 | Marquis of Pombal | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 1640 | |||||||||
| 1668 | |||||||||
| 1777 | |||||||||
| Currency | Portuguese real | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | PT | ||||||||
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From theHouse of Braganza restoration in 1640 until the end of the reign of theMarquis of Pombal in 1777, theKingdom of Portugal was in a transition period.Having been near its height at the start of theIberian Union, thePortuguese Empire continued to enjoy the widespread influence in the world during this period that had characterized the period of theDiscoveries. By the end of this period, however, the fortunes of Portugal and its empire had declined, culminating with theTávora affair, the catastrophic1755 Lisbon earthquake, and the accession ofMaria I, the first ruling Queen of Portugal.
The opulent use ofBrazilian gold, theabsolutist regime, the movement toward theindependence of Brazil, theMethuen Treaty and the Lisbon earthquake contributed to the decline of Portugal's position in Europe and the world. These events, those at the end of theAviz dynasty, and the period of theIberian Union forced Portugal to depend more on its colonies, first India and then Brazil. This shift from India to Brazil was a natural consequence of the rise of theDutch as well as theBritish Empire. A similar shift occurred after Brazil gained independence, leading Portugal to focus more on its possessions in Africa.
The early 18th century, known as thePombaline Era afterSebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal, was a period of dictatorship and wide-ranging reforms. The Marquis of Pombal was appointed byJoseph I, who had little inclination to rule. He initiated many reforms intended to modernize the country and attacked the power of the privileged nobility and clergy, notably in the case of the Távora affair and the expulsion of theJesuits. He was also the leader of the reconstruction ofLisbon after the earthquake in 1755. However, historians also argue that Pombal's "enlightenment," while far-reaching, was primarily a mechanism for enhancing autocracy at the expense of individual liberty and especially an apparatus for crushing opposition, suppressing criticism, and furthering colonial economic exploitation as well as intensifying book censorship and consolidating personal control and profit.[1]
Soon after the death of Joseph in 1777, his daughter Maria I dismissed Pombal, and prohibited him from coming within 20 miles of her.[citation needed]
TheBattle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578 saw both the death of the young kingSebastian and the end of theHouse of Aviz. Sebastian's successor, theCardinal Henry of Portugal, was 70 years old. Henry's death was followed by adynastic crisis, with three grandchildren ofManuel I claiming the throne:Catherine, Duchess of Braganza, who was married toJohn, 6th Duke of Braganza;António, Prior of Crato; andPhilip II of Spain. António had been acclaimedKing of Portugal by the people ofSantarém on July 24, 1580, followed by many other cities and towns throughout the country. However, Philip II marched into Portugal and defeated the troops loyal to the Prior of Crato in theBattle of Alcântara. Philip II was crowned Philip I of Portugal in 1580 (he was subsequently recognized as official king by thePortuguese Cortes ofTomar in 1581) and thePhilippine Dynasty began.
Portugal's status was maintained under the first two kings of thePhilippine Dynasty, Philip I and his sonPhilip II of Portugal and III of Spain. Both monarchs gave excellent positions to Portuguese nobles in the Spanishcourts, and Portugal maintained independent laws, currency, and government. However, the joining of the two crowns deprived Portugal of a separate foreign policy, and Spain's enemies became Portugal's. The war with England led to a deterioration of relations with Portugal's oldest ally (since theTreaty of Windsor in 1386) and the loss ofHormuz.
Being united with Spain involved Portugal in theEighty Years War, Spain's war with the emergingDutch Republic - which began with the Dutch rebelling against Spanish rule in their own north European territory, but soon developed into the Dutch Republic becoming a major new maritime power and attacking the Spanish colonies. This campaign directly impacted Portuguese colonies as well, many of which were invaded by the Dutch - leading to theDutch–Portuguese War. In Asia,Portuguese Ceylon (modernSri Lanka) - where the Portuguese had long controlled the coastal regions (though not the whole island) - was lost to the Dutch, as were Portuguese colonies in the East Indies (today'sIndonesia), and commercial interests in Japan. Portuguese colonies in Africa (Mina) and South America were also attacked by the Dutch. Brazil was partially conquered by both France and theDutch Republic. TheDutch intrusion into Brazil was longer lasting and more troublesome to Portugal. The Dutch captured a large portion of the Brazilian coast includingBahia,Salvador,Recife,Pernambuco,Paraíba,Rio Grande do Norte,Ceará, andSergipe, while Dutch privateers captured Portuguese ships in both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
When Philip II died, he was succeeded byPhilip III (and IV of Spain) who took a different approach to Portuguese issues. He raisedtaxes, which mainly affected Portuguese merchants (Carmo Reis 1987). The Portuguese nobility began to lose its importance at the SpanishCortes, and government posts in Portugal were occupied by Spaniards. Ultimately, Philip III tried to make Portugal a Spanish province and Portuguese nobles lost all of their power.
This situation culminated in a revolution by the Portuguese nobility and highbourgeoisie on 1 December 1640, 60 years after the crowning of Philip I. The revolution was planned byAntão Vaz de Almada,Miguel de Almeida andJoão Pinto Ribeiro. They, together with several associates, killedSecretary of StateMiguel de Vasconcelos and imprisoned the king's cousin, theDuchess of Mantua, who had governed Portugal in his name. The moment was well chosen, as Spain was fighting theThirty Years' War and also facing theCatalan Revolt at the time.
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The support of the people became apparent almost immediately and soonJohn, 8th Duke of Braganza, was acclaimed King of Portugal throughout the country as John IV. By December 2, 1640, John was already sending a letter as sovereign of the country to theTown Hall ofÉvora.
The subsequent war with Spain, named theRestoration War, consisted mainly of periodic skirmishes near the border and five significant battles, being theBattle of Montijo on 26 May 1644, theBattle of the Lines of Elvas on 14 January 1659, theBattle of Ameixial on 8 June 1663, theBattle of Castelo Rodrigo 7 July 1664, and theBattle of Montes Claros 17 June 1665; the Portuguese were victorious in all of these battles.
The victories were possible because John IV made several decisions that strengthened the Portuguese forces. On December 11, 1640, he created the Council of War to organize the operations (Mattoso Vol. VIII 1993). Next, the king created the Junta of the Frontiers, to take care of the fortresses near the border, the hypothetical defense ofLisbon, and the garrisons and sea ports. In December 1641, he created a tenancy to assure upgrades on all Portuguesefortresses, paid for with regional taxes. John IV also organized the army, establishing the Military Laws of King Sebastian, and developed an intense diplomatic activity that restored good relations with England.
After several decisive victories, John quickly tried to make peace with Spain. His demand that Spain recognize the legitimacy of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza, was not fulfilled until the reign of his sonAfonso VI during the regency ofPeter of Braganza (another son of John and future King Peter II of Portugal).
The Portuguese RoyalHouse of Braganza began with John IV. The Dukes of the House of Braganza were a branch of theHouse of Aviz created byAfonso V for his half-uncleAfonso, Count of Barcelos, illegitimate son ofJohn I, first monarch of the House of Aviz. The Braganzas soon became one of the most powerful families of the kingdom, and for the next decades married many Portuguese royal family members. In 1565,John, 6th Duke of Braganza marriedPrincess Catherine, granddaughter of KingManuel I. This connection with the Royal Family proved determinant in the rise of the House of Braganza to a Royal House. Catherine was one of the strongest claimants of the throne during thedynastical crisis of 1580 but lost the struggle to her cousin Philip II of Spain. Eventually Catherine's grandson became John IV of Portugal as he was held to be the legitimate heir.
John IV was a beloved monarch, a patron of fine art and music, and a proficient composer and writer on musical subjects. He collected one of the largest libraries in the world (Madeira & Aguiar, 2003). Among his writings is a defense ofPalestrina and a Defense of Modern Music (Lisbon, 1649). Abroad, the Dutch tookPortuguese Malacca (January 1641) and theSultan of Oman capturedMuscat (1648). By 1654, however, most of Brazil was back in Portuguese hands and had effectively ceased to be a viable Dutch colony. John married his daughterCatherine of Braganza toCharles II of England, offeringTangiers andBombay as a dowry. John IV died in 1656 and was succeeded by his sonAfonso VI.
Afonso VI became King of Portugal when he was thirteen years old. The young king suffered from an illness thatparalyzed the left side of his body and left him mentally unstable. After a six-yearregency ofLuísa de Guzman, the Queen Mother, Afonso assumed the control of the country. His reign was short due to a conspiracy of his wife, QueenMarie Françoise of Savoy, who joined with Afonso's brother,Prince Peter, to secure anannulment of her marriage to the king in 1667 based on hisimpotence. Peter later married Marie Françoise. In the same year, Peter managed to gain enough support to force the king to relinquish control of the government and to name him Prince Regent.
Peter continued as Prince Regent butde facto ruler of Portugal for the next 16 years. When Afonso died in 1683, Peter succeeded him as Peter II of Portugal. Peter II is considered the firstabsolutist monarch of Portugal. He dismissed the historiclegislativePortuguese Cortes in 1697 and ruled alone. He encouraged the focusing of Portuguese exploration of Brazil aftersilver was found in the territory. Peter's reign also saw the signing of theMethuen Treaty of trade with England.
Peter was succeeded by his sonJohn V in 1706. An admirer ofLouis XIV, John maintained a lavish court paid for by the riches of Brazil and ruled as an absolutist king, ignoring the Cortes (which had only convened sporadically since 1640) and personally appointing ministers. Hiscognomens were "the Magnanimous", "the Magnificent" or "the Portuguese Sun-King" and he is perhaps the best example of an absolutist monarch in Portugal. His long reign was characterized by a strengthening of the king's powers, made possible by the large revenues flowing to Portugal from Brazil.
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John V used the crown's treasure to develop Portugal's weakened economy by creating new manufactures across the country; however, the majority of the investment was used to patronize the arts and intellectuals and regain Portugal's lost prestige among its European neighbors (Carmo Reis 1987). His foreign policy followed two simple rules: political neutrality in European conflicts, and attempts to increase his prestige in Rome. The title "Most Faithful Majesty" was eventually bestowed upon John V and his successors by apapal bull.
John V's last years of life were dedicated to devout acts and to subservience to the clergy (Madeira & Aguiar 2003). His early economic measures, which were unpopular among the upper nobility (Mattoso Vol. IV 1993), became ineffective and public affairs were so dependent on the monarch's rule that they became almost inoperative (Carmo Reis 1987). In his later years, Portugal lapsed into stagnation. John V died on July 31, 1750, and was succeeded by his sonJoseph I.
A consequence of thepersonal union with Spain was the loss of the Portuguese monopoly of theIndian Ocean. English, French and Dutch conquered Portuguese possessions in Asia. Of the huge Empire ofManuel I andJohn III, the Portuguese were reduced to the stronghold ofGoa, several small strongholds in India,Macau on the coast of China, and the island ofPortuguese Timor. Trade posts in Africa were lost to the English (Gulf of Guinea) and Dutch (Natal andPortuguese Gold Coast). Faced with this situation, the Portuguese focused their commercial interests on Brazil, which was partially under Dutch control. After several years of open warfare, the Dutch formally withdrew in 1654 after an English mediation.
Sugar cultivation was introduced in Brazil at the beginning of the 17th century, and proved to be a great success. The colony's economy was based onplantation agriculture and powered byslave labor. In the late 17th century, colonial Brazilian explorers known asbandeirantes found gold in what is today the state ofMinas Gerais (General Mines). The Portuguese colonists began an exploration of Brazil's interior beyond the line of theTreaty of Tordesillas (later according with Spain theTreaty of Madrid). Settlements in southeastern Brazil, nearer the gold regions, grew at a rapid pace, eventually eclipsing the older settlements of the northeastern coast.
The world's first greatgold rush began with thousands of colonists and slaves pouring into the rugged mountains north ofRio de Janeiro. The rush eventually spread to many other regions of Brazil. In the 1720s, the rush suffered another stimulus with the discovery of diamonds and the two mining industries grew fast. By the 18th century, perhaps 80 percent of the gold in Europe originated in Brazil.
In Lisbon, gold from Brazil had an enormous impact on Portuguese society. The Royal Family had the right to collecting one-fifth of the gold mined in Brazil, growing rich and recovering the prestige of the previous centuries. The gold rush also causedemigration to Brazil and deprived Portugal of a large part of its population. The population was denuded to such an extent that John V prohibited emigration in 1709 (Mattoso Vol. IV 1993). It was also during this period that theAmerindians gained total freedom, a decision that contrasted with the growingslave trade.
The conditions for the Brazilian independence started to form. As the Portuguese elites received most of the profits from gold mining in Brazil, the plantations and mine owners started to protest the reassertion of imperial control and the constant imposition of new taxes. The first sign of Braziliannationalism, theMinas Conspiracy, was felt during the rule of theMarquis of Pombal. A revolt led by prominent figures as well as military officers failed and Royal courts sentenced most of the conspirators to prison or exile. This situation was aggravated when theNapoleonic Wars started. During the reign ofMaria I and regency of her sonPrince John, the isolation of Spain's colonies in relation to mainland Spain led to a series of independence wars throughoutLatin America, creating a tense situation between the colony and Lisbon. With thetransfer of the Royal court to Rio de Janeiro in 1807, the tense situation was attenuated as Prince Regent John declared Brazil a Vice-Kingdom and Portugal's official name became theUnited Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.
TheMethuen Treaty was signed betweenPeter II of Portugal andQueen Anne of England in 1703. It was named forJohn Methuen, the British Ambassador Extraordinary to Portugal where he negotiated the treaty. The Methuen Treaty cemented allegiances in theWar of the Spanish Succession and created favorable trading terms for both nations, especially regardingport wine. The commercial part of the treaty established that English textiles would be preferred in Portugal, and that Portuguese wines (mainly port) would be preferred in England by paying only two thirds of the rates settled with France. The Methuen Treaty played a major part in the development of the port wine industry as the decisions provided great stimulus to wine production in the hinterland ofPorto.
In the alliance with England in the War of the Spanish Succession, the Portuguese gained the protection of both English and Dutch. Portugal suffered French attacks in Rio de Janeiro andPortuguese Cape Verde but managed to secure the colonies. In Europe, the Portuguese stood by theGrand Alliance and, led by the Portuguese GeneralMarquis of Minas and EnglishCount Galway, advanced into SpanishCastile, capturing Madrid on 28 June, but sustained defeat in theBattle of Almansa on April 14, 1707, against Spain and France led by theDuke of Berwick and theDuke of Popoli. The joint forces of the Portuguese and English suffered 5,000 casualties and 8,000 soldiers were made prisoners. Anarmistice was signed with France in 1713 and peace was made with Spain in 1715.
When John V died in 1750, he was succeeded by his sonPrince Joseph Emmanuel, who reigned as Joseph I. He loved the palatial life,opera, and was devoted to theCatholic Church (Mattoso Vol. IV 1993). He enjoyed the Royal Family's riches of the Brazilian gold and decided, instead of ruling, to delegate all his powers toSebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (Portuguese pronunciation:[sɨβɐʃtiˈɐ̃wʒuˈzɛðɨkɐɾˈvaʎuiˈmɛlu]), futureCount of Oeiras andMarquis of Pombal
Melo sought to replace Portugal's stagnant absolutism with an enlightened despotism and overhaul all aspects of economic, social and colonial policy to make Portugal a more efficient contender with the other great powers of Europe, and thus secure its own power status as a result. Impressed by the English economic success, which he had witnessed while serving as ambassador in London, he successfully implemented similar economic policies in Portugal. He was responsible for the abolition of slavery in continental Portugal and inPortuguese India in 1769, development of theport wine industry, and the end of discrimination against non-Catholic Christians in Portugal. He also reorganized the army and navy, bringing the total Portuguese military strength to around 90,000 troops. The reformedPortuguese army was put to the test in 1762 whenSpain invaded aided by France, during theSeven Years' War. Britain invoked its alliance with Portugal and sent troops. Several months later, the conflict was settled with comparatively little fighting. In 1777, Spain and Portugal signed theTreaty of San Ildefonso, which mainly resolved a number of border disputes between their South American colonies.
During theAge of Enlightenment, Portugal was considered one of Europe's unenlightened backwaters; it was a country of three million with 200,000 people in 538monasteries in 1750. Melo seems to have been deeply embarrassed by Portugal's much lamented backwardness. Having lived in two major centers of European enlightenment as his country's ambassador to both Vienna and London, he increasingly identified theJesuits with their alleged doctrinaire grip on science and education as an inherent drag on an independent, Portuguese style illuminism. Especially in England, he came in contact with the anti-Jesuit tradition of that country and in Vienna he made friends withGerhard van Swieten, a staunch adversary of the Austrian Jesuits and their influence. Asprime minister Melo engaged the Jesuits in a dirtypropaganda war, which was watched closely by the rest of Europe, and he launched some conspiracy theories about the order's desire for power.
The Marquis did not confront only the Jesuits. In the course of theTávora affair he accused both theSociety of Jesus and a series of powerful noble families surrounding the Távora family oftreason and attemptedregicide. Melo was an important precursor for thesuppression of the Jesuits throughout Europe and its colonies, which culminated in 1773, whenPope Clement XIV abolished the order.
Further reforms were carried out in education. He created the basis for secular publicprimary andsecondary schools, introduced vocational training, created hundreds of new teaching posts, added departments of mathematics and natural sciences to theUniversity of Coimbra, and introduced new taxes to pay for these reforms.
But Melo's greatest reforms were economic and financial,[2] with the creation of several companies andguilds to regulate every commercial activity. He demarcated the region for production ofport, the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe. He ruled with a strong hand by imposing strict laws upon all classes of Portuguese society from the nobility to theworking class, and through his widespread review of the country's tax system. These reforms gained him enemies in the upper classes, especially among the high nobility, who despised him as a social upstart. The reform of the wine industry in 1757 provoked riots that were suppressed with considerable bloodshed. When the appatic King Joseph died on February 24, 1777, he was succeeded by the first Queen of Portugal,Maria I. The Queen disliked the Marquis and the Marquis was not fond of the new Queen (Madeira & Aguiar 2003), so she dismissed him from his post and prohibited him of leaving hisMarquessate ofPombal.
On November 1, 1755, at 9:20 am, a massiveearthquake (estimated at 8.5–9.0 on themoment magnitude scale) struck Lisbon, followed by atsunami and a fire, resulting in the near-total destruction of the city. The earthquake accentuated political tensions in Portugal and profoundly disrupted the country's 18th century colonial ambitions.
Of a Lisbon population of 275,000, up to 90,000 were killed and eighty-five percent of Lisbon's buildings were destroyed, including famous palaces and libraries, as well as most examples of Portugal's distinctive 16th centuryManueline architecture.
Owing to a stroke of luck, the Royal Family escaped unharmed from the catastrophe. KingJoseph I and the court had left the city, after attendingmass at sunrise, fulfilling the wish of one of the King's daughters to spend the holiday away from Lisbon. After the catastrophe, Joseph developed a fear of living within walls, and the court was accommodated in a huge complex of tents and pavilions in the hills ofAjuda, then on the outskirts of Lisbon. The King'sclaustrophobia never waned, and it was only after Joseph's death that his daughterMaria I began building the royalAjuda Palace, which still stands on the site of the old tented camp.
Like the king, Prime Minister Sebastião de Melo survived the earthquake and is reported to have said, "Now? Bury the dead and feed the living." With the pragmatism that characterized his coming rule, the Prime Minister immediately began organizing recovery and reconstruction. He sent firefighters into the city to extinguish the flames and ordered teams to remove the thousands of corpses. Contrary to custom and against the wishes of representatives of the Church, many corpses were loaded onto barges andburied at sea beyond the mouth of theRiver Tagus to prevent disease. To halt disorder, especiallylooting, in the ruined city,gallows were constructed at high points around the city and at least 34 people were executed. The Portuguese Army was mobilized to surround the city to prevent the able-bodied from fleeing, so that they could be pressed into clearing the ruins.
Not long after the initial crisis, the prime minister and the king quickly hiredarchitects and engineers, and less than a year later, Lisbon was already free from debris and undergoing reconstruction. The king was keen to have a new, perfectly ordained city. Bigsquares and wide rectilinear avenues were the signatures of the new Lisbon. At the time, somebody asked the Marquis of Pombal the need of such wide streets. The Marquis answered:one day they will be small. The chaotic traffic of modern Lisbon reflects the prescience of the reply.
Pombaline buildings were among the firstseismically-protected constructions in the world. Small wooden models were built for testing, and earthquakes were simulated by marching troops around them. Lisbon's "new" downtown, known as thePombaline Downtown (Baixa Pombalina), is one of the city's famed attractions. Sections of other Portuguese cities, like theVila Real de Santo António inAlgarve, were also rebuilt along Pombaline principles.
Theexpulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal has been seen as a quarrel with Prime MinisterSebastião de Melo, Marquis of Pombal. Melo's quarrel with the Jesuits began over an exchange of South American colonial territory with Spain. By a secret treaty of 1750, Portugal relinquished to Spain the contested colony ofColónia do Sacramento at the mouth of theUruguay River in exchange for theSeven Reductions of Paraguay, the autonomous Jesuit missions that had been nominal Spanish colonial territory. The Jesuits, disagreeing with transfers ofGuaraní populations from one territory to another, caused theGuaraní War[3] and Portugal, fearing an attempt to build an independent empire in the New World, forbade the Jesuits to continue the local administration of their former missions. Portuguese Jesuits were removed from the court.
On April 1, 1758, a brief was obtained from the agedPope Benedict XIV, appointing the PortugueseCardinal Saldanha, recommended by Pombal, to investigate allegations against the Jesuits that had been raised in the King of Portugal's name. Benedict was skeptical as to the gravity of the alleged abuses. He ordered a minute inquiry, but to safeguard the Society's reputation, all serious matters were to be referred back to him. Benedict died the following month, however, on May 3. On May 15, Saldanha, having received the papal brief only a fortnight before, omitting the thorough visitation of Jesuit houses that had been ordered, and pronouncing on the issues the pope had reserved to himself, declared that the Jesuits were guilty of exercising illicit, public, and scandalous commerce, both in Portugal and in its colonies. Pombal moved quickly during the papalsede vacante. In three weeks, the Jesuits were stripped of all Portuguese possessions, and before Cardinal Rezzonico had been made pope asClement XIII on July 6, 1758, the Portuguese dispossession of the Society was afait accompli.
The last straw for the Court of Portugal was the attempted assassination of the king on September 3, 1758, of which the Jesuits were alleged to have had prior knowledge (see the Távora affair below). Among those arrested and executed wasGabriel Malagrida, the Jesuit confessor ofLeonor of Távora. The Jesuits were expelled from the kingdom; important non-Portuguese members of the Order were imprisoned. The Order was civilly suppressed in 1759. The Portuguese ambassador was recalled from Rome and thepapal nuncio sent home in disgrace. Relations between Portugal and Rome were broken off until 1770.
The Távora affair was a political scandal of the 18th-century Portuguese court. The events triggered by the attempted murder of KingJoseph I in 1758 ended with the public execution of the entire Távora family and its closest relatives in 1759. Some historians interpret the whole affair as an attempt by the Prime Minister Melo (future Marquis of Pombal) to limit the growing powers of the families of the high nobility.
Clashes between Melo and nobility were common because the nobility despised him for his quick ascension to power. The clashes were tolerated by the king who trusted his prime minister's judgment.
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On the night of September 3, 1758, Joseph I was riding an unmarked carriage in a secondary and unfrequented road in the outskirts of Lisbon. The king was returning from an evening with hismistress to the tents of Ajuda. Somewhere along the way two to three men intercepted the carriage and fired on its occupants. Joseph I was shot in an arm and his driver was badly wounded, but both survived and returned toAjuda.
Immediately Melo took control of the situation. Concealing the attack and the king's injuries, he proceeded with a swift enquiry. A few days afterwards, two men were arrested for the shootings andtortured. The men confessed their guilt and stated that were following orders of the Távora family, which was plotting to put theDuke of Aveiro in the throne. Both were hanged the following day, even before the attemptedregicide was made public.
In the following weeks the Marchioness Leonor of Távora, her husband, the Count of Alvor, as well as all of their sons, daughters and grandchildren were imprisoned. The conspirators, the Duke of Aveiro and the Távoras' sons-in-law, the Marquis of Alorna and the Count of Atouguia, were arrested with their families. Gabriel Malagrida, the Jesuit confessor of Leonor of Távora was also arrested.
They were all accused of hightreason and attempted murder of the king. The evidence presented in their common trial was very simple: (a) the confessions of the executed killers; (b) the murder weapon that belonged to the Duke of Aveiro and (c) the assumption that only the Távoras would have known the whereabouts of the king in that evening, since he was returning from a liaison with Teresa of Távora, who was also arrested.
The Távoras denied all charges but were eventually sentenced to death. Their estates were confiscated by the crown, their name erased from the peerage and theircoat-of-arms outlawed. The original sentence ordered the execution of all of them, including women and children. Only the intervention ofQueen Mariana and PrincessMaria Francisca, the heiress to the throne, saved most of them.
The Marchioness, however, was not spared. She and her other defendants who had been sentenced to death were publicly tortured and executed on January 13, 1759, in a field near Lisbon. The king was present along with his bewildered court. The Távoras were their peers and kin, but the prime minister wanted the lesson to be learned. Afterwards, the ground was salted to prevent future growth of vegetation. Nowadays, this field is a square of Lisbon, calledTerreiro Salgado, the salty ground.
Gabriel Malagrida wasburned at the stake a few days afterwards and the Jesuit Order declared outlaws. All its estates were confiscated and all the Jesuits expelled from Portuguese territory, both in Europe and the colonies. The Alorna family and the daughters of the Duke of Aveiro were sentenced to life imprisonment in monasteries and convents.
Sebastião de Melo was madeCount of Oeiras for his competent handling of the affair, and later, in 1770, was promoted toMarquis of Pombal, the name he is known by today.
In 1762, France and Spain tried to urge Portugal to join theBourbon Family Compact by claiming that Great Britain had become too powerful due to its successes in theSeven Years' War. Joseph refused to accept and protested that his 1704 alliance with Britain was no threat.
In spring 1762, Spanish and French troops invaded Portugal from the north as far as theDouro, while a second column sponsored theSiege of Almeida, captured the city, and threatened to advance on Lisbon. The arrival of a force of British troops helped the Portuguese army commanded by theCount of Lippe by blocking the Franco-Spanish advance and driving them back across the border following theBattle of Valencia de Alcántara. At theTreaty of Paris in 1763, Spain agreed to hand Almeida back to Portugal.
