The Kingdom: 1830s Part 3
O Reino: 1830s Parte 3
XI (11th) Government of the Constitutional Charter:
“The Caretaker Government”:
Loulé and the Pasos brothers knew their Government had its days counted so they tried to go around the situation by asking for the support of the Radicals and Independents. From the latter, they gathered only 4 Deputies as the rest were surely going to support the Saldanhistas/Vilafloristas but they secured the full support of the Radicals but not before promising Government positions to them.
Costa Cabral, in his unofficial position of leader of the Radicals, managed to have his fellow Deputies drop their most radical ideals such as Republicanism but that did not prevent the other Factions from openly criticizing the Coalition, citing that the country would no doubt fall into anarchy. On their hand, the Reformistas accused the criticizing Factions of being hypocrites negotiating the future of the country in Palmela’s house even when they lost the Elections.
In an ambience of political instability and with the Queen and King very concerned with a potential revolt, Loulé, the President of the Council of Ministers nominated his Government which was the first full left-leaning one. The returnees were Pasos Manuel who got the Kingdom Affairs, Sá Nogueira with the Navy and Overseas and Jozé da Silva Pasos with the Exchequer. The new Ministers were Jozé Traveso Valdez, the Baron of Bonfim, who got the War Affairs; Jozé da Gama Carneiro e Souza, the Count of Lumiares, who got the Foreign Affairs; João Gualberto de Oliveira who took the recreated portfolio of Industry and Public Works; Costa Cabral with the Justice Affairs and Almeida Garrete with Public Instruction.
Pasos Manuel proposed and managed to have the Cortes approve the Municipal Reform of 1838. Unlike the previous ones, this new Reform increased the number of Municipalities ever so slightly because it divided the larger and or the more populous ones into smaller ones:
- The gigantic Municipality of Barcelos, the third most populous of the country was divided into five: Barcelos, Capareiros, Rates, Vila Nova de Famalicão and Cambezes;
- The Municipality of Guimarães was divided in two: Guimarães and São Torcato;
- The Municipality of Vila Real was divided into four: Vila Real, São Miguel de Poiares, Andrães and Pinhão;
- The Municipality of Chaves was divided into three: Chaves, Ervões and Valpaços;
- The Municipality of Bragança was divided in two: Bragança and Vale de Prados;
- The Municipality of Leiria was divided in two: Leiria and Monte Real.
Most of the affected Municipalities were so large because of Feudalism as they had belonged to the Dukedom of Bragança or the Dukedom of Beja and most of the new Municipalities had, in fact, been abolished by the Reform of 1836 and were recreated with far more Freguezias [
Parishes].
Pasos Manuel intended to divide other Municipalities like Lisboa, Porto, Coimbra and Vizeu as well as abolishing many still small Municipalities north of the River Tejo but he could not harness the necessary support for the measure. He was also unable to pass a new Administrative Code of a decentralizing nature much to his dismay. His brother Jozé da Silva Pasos managed to pass the Monetary Reform of 1838 with unanimous support in the Cortes. This Reform decimalized the Real, following the pattern of most of Europe with the 1 000 Réis (Mil-Reis) coin becoming the basis of large transactions because the Real was worth very little when compared with the Spanish Real de Ocho, the German Thalers, the French Francs or the British Pound, so much that for decades there wasn’t even a 1 Real coin even if it was still the accounting currency in the country.
The Monetary Reform of 1838
Industry incentives continued but further reductions in public expenditure were not approved by the Cortes. Plans for the improvement of the lines of communication were made with the calls for studying the potential of the railway being made by many including King Augusto, thanks to his family in the Confederação Germânica [
German Confederation], a region where the next method of transportation was becoming very popular.
The very controversial Abolition of Religious Orders Decree of 1838 made by Costa Cabral was surprisingly approved in the Cortes despite staunch opposition, especially in the Chamber of Peers. From that moment forward, no monastery could accept novices and those with less than ten monks were to be closed and the personnel be sent to large monasteries that had more than ten monks. This left even more assets in the hands of the State. Buildings were usually used to organize schools while everything else was sold at public auction. The most important of these sales were the extensive properties that were bought by the local oligarchs who had the means to acquire them and some rare times by groups of peasants.
However, despite enriching the State’s coffers, reducing the Public Debt and increasing the cultivated area two antagonistic things were observed:
- On one hand, the peasant population found it increasingly difficult to secure their basic needs such as food, firewood and pastures for the cattle;
- On the other hand, to make the land more productive and raise more money, selling it to the rich was the way to go.
In other words, helping the peasantry by facilitating the purchase of land was counterproductive not only because it would decrease the profit but would create even more small pieces of land. For the country, it was more productive to try and make the properties, especially in the north, larger.
Sá Nogueira continued setting the seemingly uncontroversial Overseas expansion while also proposing the construction of hybrid sail and steam ships but this did not even go to the Cortes because Jozé da Silva Pasos deemed them as not necessary nor worth the costs. After all, the technology was still much to be desired due to being new. The Baron of Bonfim had the 1839 Military Education Reform approved which made the Royal Academy of Fortification, Artillery and Drawing the Royal Army School (Real Escola do Exército) (REE) and the Royal Academy of Marine Guards the Royal Navy School (Real Escola da Marinha) (REM). Both acquired a wider range of subjects adapted to the current times and had branches installed in Porto where the local institutions were made part of them.
In addition to training Military Officers, both schools also trained civil engineers, especially the REE. Upon completing the studies, graduates became officers and in the REM it was necessary to complete a year on a ship. Access to the courses of both schools demanded the completion of preparatory studies in the Polytechnic Schools, Military Colleges and Liceus.
The Fall of the Government:
Negotiations between Saldanhistas and Vilafloristas were somewhat difficult because of the action of Agostinho Jozé Freire from the Vilafloristas and his followers who were trying to get as many concessions from Saldanha as they could. Because they took so long, both factions allowed Jozé da Silva Pasos’s 1839 budget to pass with the Saldanhistas voting in favor and the Vilafloristas abstaining.
An agreement was reached in the early spring between both factions and on April 16, 1839, Agostinho Jozé Freire, proposed a censure motion against the XI Government that won with 54% of votes in the Chamber of Representatives and 71% in the Chamber of Peers. It was the first time that a Government fell without a Military action or the Monarch/Regency’s interference and while legal it was not understood like that by the masses.
There were insults exchanged in the Cortes with the Baron of Bonfim having to be escorted out of the São Bento Palace after unbecoming conduct though he was not the only one. In the major cities and towns of the Kingdom where the support for the Reformistas was stronger massive revolts erupted and in the largest many members of the RGN even joined the revolt forcing the worried King Augusto I to call the Army to suppress the protests before something worse could happen.
Maria II’s worst fears had been realized and she was deeply worried and considered calling for Elections though with the quick action of her husband, Lisboa was pacified by the army and she ended up nominating Saldanha to form a new Government and among other concessions, she elevated her uncle to become the Duke of Loulé. It wasn’t enough, for the first time since she arrived in Portugal, Maria was being heavily criticized by a very large portion of the population and so was Augusto who in their eyes was serving the Holy Alliance and Absolutism even though he was quite liberal and far more supportive of the Reformists than his wife.
Saldanha and Terceira were warned by the Queen that she would not tolerate any major shifts in policies and that the Reforms passed by the Reformists were to be kept lest the protests and revolts grew in size. She said that if things didn’t calm down, she would call for Elections in 1840 and would not take a no for an answer. The two Marshals were irritated with her demands but they were also concerned with the country’s situation.
XI (11th) Government of the Constitutional Charter
20/01/1838-17/04/1839
Reformist Party/Radicals
XII (12th) Government of the Constitutional Charter:
As for the XII Government, Saldanha gave Vila Flor the Kingdom Affairs while the latter’s supporters also took the Foreign Affairs, given to Agostinho Jozé Freire as Palmela excused himself from the Government, believing things to have gotten out of hand; the Navy and Overseas Affairs was given to Manuel Francisco de Leitão e Carvalhoza, Viscount of Santarém and the Exchequer Affairs were given to Jozé da Silva Carvalho.
The Count of Lavradio, another prominent diplomat affectionate with Saldanha criticized him for giving the three most important and powerful positions to the Vilafloristas and got into a bit of conflict with Saldanha because of it, being accused of being a hypocrite, after all, after Palmela refused to Foreign Affairs they were offered to Lavradio who also refused. The Saldanhistas got the Justice Affairs in the person of Joaquim António de Aguiar, War Affairs in the person of Jozé Jorge Loureiro, Public Instruction in Rodrigo da Fonseca Magalhães and Industry and Public Works in Jervis de Atouguia.
Everything stayed much the same, Silva Carvalho maintained what Silva Pasos outlined and concluded his loans, Aguiar maintained Costa Cabral’s reforms, and the Viscount of Santarém maintained the same policies as Sá Nogueira because they both shared the same views regarding the Empire. Several Reforms that the Reformists failed to pass and were already addressed were put into motion by the next Government: Vila Flor passed a more conservative version of Pasos Manuel’s proposal to reduce the expenses in the Public Sector, the Viscount of Santarém pressured by the two Marshals approved the construction of two hybrid ships to renew the Portuguese Fleet and set conditions to make Portugal a leading force in this area and Silva Carvalho also sold more of the properties formerly belonging to the Religious Orders.
And this took place while revolts were going on throughout the country. Saldanha and Vila Flor were even forced to lead the Army in some campaigns to pacify the coastal areas where the support for the Reformists was more exacerbated and by 1840 they were able to keep the situation in check so much that the Queen gave up her plans to hold earlier Elections. Still, the Reformistas were trying to capitalize on the situation in their favour. While they publicly pleaded for protests to not turn into revolts that would harm the country and its people they did organize their own protests to criticize the “appropriation of their ideas” and the “O Reformador” journal was by now the best-selling one in the country for the first time in 1840. The Radicals, heavily weakened in the previous Elections, decided to join the Reformist Party as it grew considerably more radical.
The Royal Family:
Prince Pedro grew up quickly and healthily, showing himself to be energetic from a young age and also a quick learner. In 1840, when he was about 4 years old, he spoke Portuguese and French to an equal degree and was beginning to learn German. However, the first big development for the Bragança-Bouarné, as some historians identify the children of the union between Maria II and Augusto I, came from the latter’s side of the family.
In 1836, Prince Miguel Pavlovitxe da Rúsia [
Michael Pavlovich of Russia], brother of Tsar Nicolau I, made an official visit to Munique where, in addition to visiting the Bavarian Royal Family, he visited Princess Augusta Amélia, Augusto’s mother, and the rest of the Bouarné, who received him with pomp. The Prince’s reports to the Tsar made the latter invite King Luíz I da Baviera to send a Vitelbaque [
Wittelsbach] Prince to Rúsia to participate in military manoeuvres, and the Bavarian refused.
But Nicolau I, intending to secure a Bavarian match and not being one to give up, insisted that Maximiliano de Bouarné, the Portuguese King and Brazilian Empress-Dowager’s younger brother, come instead. It’s likely that the Tsar saw this as an opportunity to reestablish diplomatic and economic ties with the two Portuguese-speaking nations whose Governments he despised but understood that he would not be able to change. Not that he felt compelled to anyway...they were very far away from Rúsia and it’s area of influence.
After consulting his sister Augusta, who was delighted to have another son of her showcase his attributes to boost the family’s increasing reputation, Luíz I sent his nephew to Rúsia as a representative of Baviera (and indirectly Portugal and Brazil). The trip took place in 1837 and Maximiliano was warmly received by the Tsar who, in addition to taking him to watch military exercises, also took him through various regions of the Russian Empire. Upon arriving at São Petersburgo [
Saint Petersburg], Maximiliano met Tsarina Alexandra (born Carlota da Prúsia) and the couple’s children and impressed them in the same fashion his older brother had done in Brazil and Portugal, with his appearance and refined education. Very impressed was the Tsar’s favourite child, his daughter Maria Nicolaevna who was two years younger than Maximiliano and it seemed like the two of them fell in love.
The unexpected couple faced the problem of the difference in status as Maximiliano was more akin to a Count and Maria was an Imperial Princess. Their confessions were also different with Maximiliano being a Catholic and his family still associated with Napoleão who was hated in Rúsia. In their favour was Nicolau I’s opinion of the Bavarian and his daughter as well as his wish to restore relations with Portugal, Brazil and indirectly with Espanha which also had shifted from his wing.
Maximiliano de Bouarné [Maximilian de Beauharnais]
He imposed, however, conditions that were similar to those the Portuguese imposed on Augustus namely:
- Residing in Rúsia;
- Serving the Russian Army;
- Have their children educated to be Russians and Orthodox;
- Accept that the children took the Romanov name instead of Bouarné.
When the terms were presented, Augusta Amélia, who initially was delighted with her son’s trip, was completely against the marriage. For her, the terms that Augusto accepted had always been a thorn in her shoes but he became a King while Maximiliano would be a simple secondary Russian Prince whose kids would never get to the throne as there were plenty of claimants in front of them. Her brother and the Bavarians, on the other hand, were very receptive to the marriage as this way they would not need to sacrifice a Vitelbaque and would rip the benefits all the same.
The decision passed to the Head of the Family, Augusto, who, convinced by the Portuguese politicians eager to restore relations with Rúsia, even if already in favour of the marriage for he did not believe his brother would get a better offer, authorized the marriage but only if Rúsia ceased its diplomatic embargo to Portugal (which began in 1829). Nicolau eagerly accepted the demand as he was already planning to do it anyway and so Ambassadors were exchanged by both countries with the Count of Lavradio being the Portuguese choice not only because of his diplomatic skills but also because Saldanha wanted to fix their partnership.
It was Lavradio who represented Portugal at the wedding on July 2, 1839, at the Winter Palace of the Russian capital where the Tsar spared no expense in the parties that lasted two full weeks. Aside from the massive costs, the Russian population disliked Maximiliano because he was, as stated, tied to Napoleão. Nevertheless, Maximiliano received the treatment of Imperial Highness (even higher than his brother’s) and the title of Prince Romanovsqui. He was also appointed Major-General of the Russian Army and received an annual pension of 100 000 Rublos [
Rubles] while his wife received a pension of 700 000 Rublos and they would also receive a sum of 2 000 000 Rublos to be paid in Russian treasury bonds. The Tsar also ordered the construction and furnishing of a palace for the couple in São Petersburgo and another near it. This wealth generated tensions between Augusto and Maximiliano which ranged from envy to narcissism and then into a cut of ties as two branches of the Bouarné, none of which had the surname anymore and represented two different countries with different views as well.
As for the Portuguese Royal Family, Maria II once more became pregnant and again the delivery of the child was difficult and very time-consuming but on September 11, 1839, a girl with light brown hair and blue eyes, strong and healthy, was born. Sumptuously baptized on September 25, the young Princess received the name Maria Leopoldina Augusta Jozefa Clara Francisca Luíza Joaquina Izidora Antónia Carolina Izabel da Glória Micaela Gabriela Rafaela de Bragança. Her very long name honoured her two grandmothers and her godfather was Luíz I da Baviera and the godmothers were her two living Brazilian aunts Januária and Francisca.
While the Portuguese Succession was more or less secured with Prince Pedro and Princess Maria Leopoldina and despite the very hard and long deliveries, Queen Maria wanted more kids...
And here it is, as promised the final Internal Affairs of the Country during the 1830s. The next Update whenever it is will be the Economic and Finances during the 1830s. I want to keep it in just one Update and make it a decade-long analysis rather than this format that fits politics more. Anyway, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.