|
Portugal Political and Social Organization
Afonso Henriques and subsequent Portuguese kings ruled
by
divine right until a constitutional monarchy was
established in
the early nineteenth century. The early kings were
assisted by a
royal council composed of the king's closest advisers and
friends
from among the higher nobility and clergy. The royal
council was
staffed by a number of functionaries, such as the
chancellor, who
kept the royal seal and was the highest official in the
land; the
notary, who gave advice on legal matters; the scribe, who
wrote
the king's letters and documents (many early kings were
illiterate); and the majordomo, who commanded the king's
household guard.
When questions of exceptional importance arose, the
king
would convoke the cortes, an expanded royal council that
brought
together representatives of the three estates of the
realm:
nobility, clergy, and commoners. The first such cortes was
called
in 1211 at Coimbra in order to legitimate the succession
of
Afonso II, Afonso Henriques's grandson, to the throne, as
well as
to approve certain laws of the realm. After the Cortes of
Leiria,
which was convoked in 1254 by Afonso III, representatives
of the
self-governing settler communities began to attend. Cortes
were
convoked at the king's will and were limited to advising
on
issues raised by the king and presenting petitions and
complaints. Resolutions passed by the cortes did not have
the
force of law unless they were countersigned by the king.
Later,
the cortes came to limit the power of the king somewhat,
but
gradually the monarchy became absolute. The cortes was
convoked
less and less frequently, and in 1697 it stopped being
called
altogether.
As to territorial administration, northern Portugal was
subdivided into estates (terras), each a
quasi-autonomous
political and economic unit of feudal suzerainity governed
by a
nobleman (donatário) whose title to the land was
confirmed
by the king. Religious administration was carried out by
the
Roman Catholic Church, which divided the north into
bishoprics
and parishes. In the south, administration was the
responsibility
of the military orders: Templars, Hospitallers,
Calatravans, and
Knights of Saint James. In the center, administration fell
to the
monastic orders: Benedictines, Franciscans, and
Dominicans. The
towns and communities of settlers, as well as a certain
amount of
land around them, were owned by the king, who was
responsible for
regulating them.
The settler communities (concelhos) were each
recognized by a royal franchise, which granted local
privileges,
set taxes, specified rights of self-government, and
controlled
the relationship among the crown, the concelho, and
the
donatário, if the community was located within a
terra. Each concelho governed itself through
an
assembly chosen from among its resident "good men"
(homens-bons); that is, freemen not subject to the
jurisdiction of the church, the local donatário, or
the
special statutes governing Muslims and Jews. Each
concelho
was administered by a local magistrate, who was assisted
by
several assessors selected from among the
homens-bons of
the assembly. The tutelary power of the king was
represented by
an official (alcalde) appointed by the king, who
was
empowered to intervene in local matters on the king's
behalf when
necessary to ensure justice and good administration. The
degree
of self-government of these communities gradually declined
as the
monarchy became increasingly centralized.
During its formative stages, Portugal had three social
classes: clergy, nobility, and commoners. By virtue of the
religious fervor of the times, the clergy was the
predominant
class. It was the most learned, the wealthiest, and
occupied the
highest office in the realm: the chancellorship. The
clergy
comprised two categories; the bishops and parish priests
of the
regular church hierarchy and the abbots and monks of the
religious and military orders. These two categories were
divided
into the higher clergy (bishops and abbots) and low clergy
(priests and monks). The clergy enjoyed various privileges
and
rights, such as judgment in ecclesiastical courts
according to
canon law, exemption from taxes, and the right to asylum
from
civil authorities within their churches.
The next social class, the nobility, owed its
privileged
position above all to its collaboration with the king in
the
reconquest. The highest level among the nobility was made
up of
the "rich men" (homens-ricos) who owned the largest
feudal
estates, had private armies, and had jurisdiction over
great
expanses of territory. Below them were the lesser
nobility, who
held smaller estates and were entrusted with the defense
of
castles and towns but did not have private armies or
administrative jurisdiction. Below the lesser nobility
were the
highest class of free commoners, the villein-knights, who
maintained their own horses and weaponry, serving the king
as
required. These knights were often encouraged to settle in
or
near the colonial communities of the frontier where they
were
granted special privileges and organized raids against the
Muslims for their own profit.
The commoners formed the bottom of the social strata.
Among
them the serfs were the lowest group. The most numerous
group,
they were bound by heredity to the estates of the crown,
nobility, and clergy, where they were occupied in
agriculture,
stockraising, and village crafts. Serfs could become free
by
serving as colonists in the underpopulated territories in
the
south. The second lowest group consisted of the clients,
that is,
freemen who did not own property and received protection
from an
overlord in exchange for service. Above the clients were
the
villein-knights, who formed a stratum that merged the
commoners
with the nobility. Finally, outside the basic social
structure
were the slaves, usually Muslim captives, who tilled the
lands of
the military orders in the Alentejo.
Data as of January 1993
|
