|
Portugal War of the Two Brothers
João's death created a problem of royal succession. The
rightful heir to the throne was his eldest son, Pedro,
emperor of
Brazil. Neither the Portuguese nor the Brazilians wanted a
unified monarchy; consequently, Pedro abdicated the
Portuguese
crown in favor of his daughter, Maria da Glória, a child
of
seven, on the condition that when of age she marry his
brother,
Miguel. In April 1826, as part of the succession
settlement,
Pedro granted a new constitution to Portugal, known as the
Constitutional Charter. Pedro returned to Brazil leaving
the
throne to Maria, with Miguel as regent.
The Constitutional Charter attempted to reconcile
absolutists
and liberals by allowing both factions a role in
government.
Unlike the constitution of 1822, this document established
four
branches of government. The legislature was divided into
two
chambers. The upper chamber, the Chamber of Peers, was
composed
of life and hereditary peers and clergy appointed by the
king.
The lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, was composed
of 111
deputies elected to four-year terms by the indirect vote
of local
assemblies, which in turn were elected by persons meeting
certain
tax-paying and property-owning requirements. Judicial
power was
exercised by the courts; executive power by the ministers
of the
government; and moderative power by the king, who held an
absolute veto over all legislation.
The absolutists, however, were not satisfied with this
compromise, and they continued to regard Miguel as the
legitimate
successor to the throne because he was Portuguese whereas
Pedro
was Brazilian. In February 1828, Miguel returned to
Portugal to
take the oath of allegiance to the charter and assume the
regency. He was immediately proclaimed king by his
supporters.
Although it initially appeared that Miguel would abide by
the
charter, pressure mounted for a return to absolutism. A
month
after his return, Miguel dissolved the Chamber of Deputies
and
the Chamber of Peers and, in May, summoned the traditional
cortes
of the three estates of the realm to proclaim his
accession to
absolute power. The Cortes of 1828 assented to Miguel's
wish,
proclaiming him king as Miguel I and nullifying the
Constitutional Charter.
This usurpation did not go unchallenged by the
liberals. On
May 18, the garrison in Porto declared its loyalty to
Pedro,
Maria da Glória, and the Constitutional Charter. The
rebellion
against the absolutists spread to other cities. Miguel
suppressed
these rebellions, and many thousands of liberals were
either
arrested or fled to Spain and Britain. There followed five
years
of repression.
In Brazil, meanwhile, relations between Pedro and
Brazil's
political leaders had become strained. In 1831 Pedro
abdicated in
favor of his son, Pedro II, and sailed for Britain. He
organized
a military expedition there and then went to the Azores,
which
were in the hands of the liberals, to set up a government
in
exile in March 1831. In July 1832, Pedro occupied Porto,
which
was subsequently besieged by the absolutists. In June
1833, the
liberals, still encircled at Porto, sent a force commanded
by the
duke of Terceira to the Algarve. At the same time, a
liberal
squadron defeated the absolutists' fleet near Cabo São
Vincente.
Terceira landed at Faro and marched north through the
Alentejo to
capture Lisbon on July 24. A stalemate of nine months
ensued. The
absolutists controlled the rural areas, where they were
supported
by the aristocracy and the peasantry. The liberals
occupied
Portugal's major cities, Lisbon and Porto, where they
commanded a
sizeable following among the middle classes. Finally, the
Miguelists lifted their siege of Porto and marched on
Lisbon, but
they were defeated at Évora-Monte. Peace was declared in
May
1834, and Miguel, guaranteed an annual pension, was
banished from
Portugal, never to return. Pedro restored the
Constitutional
Charter.
Data as of January 1993
|
