Rebirth of an Empire "O Renascimento de um Império" v2.0

[Johannes Parisiensis]

A more efficient agriculture is bound to provide additional food for cities, crops and surplus workers for industry and settlers for the colonies. Moreover, the food surplus will reduce the trade deficit, or at least orient it towards machine tools and other items needed for industry and advanced agriculture.

Portugal has the same advantages the United Kingdom enjoyed OTL: available resources from colonies and allies, and control over sea paths to other markets. Add to this education, and the XIXth might well be known and the Portuguese century.

And industrialisation will be a major change, ensuring a new society will emerge, where the OTL Miguelistas will have even less power or even traction (apart in literary circles, just wanting to get the athmosphere like OTL British writers aired support for Jacobites in the XIXth) since it might be as well a foreign society. Will the nobility switch to industry or will a capitalist class be born? And what about the class conflicts which might be born (will the TTL Marx be born in Lisbon)?

 

[Wolttaire]

I just want to say this is one best written and reaerched timeline on this site!!! so bravo!!!

 

[Sceonn]

So it seems the greater Metropolitan population and business opportunities will translate to a steady stream of Colonists to the colonies with European emigration to fill up the gap.

Portugal is living up to it's Mini Britain game plan. The industrialization is certainly interesting, coal and later oil will more and more than ever dictate their colonial acquisition. It'd be interesting when the Brazilians finally try their hand on the new Metropolitan fad. In fact the likelihood of Metropolitan industrialization being spread to the colonies could only happen in Portugal due to their unique position.

 

[Jaime Rider]

Nice update! It looks like the vanguard of the second industrial revolution will be Britain and Portugal. Do you think that the example of Portugal. Isn’t lead to a better integrated Ireland in Britain? Thanks for the chapter.

 

[Lusitania]

With the professionalization and the systemization of the military and of war/battle analysis, and the renaissance in the teaching of fields like mathematics, it would be interesting to have some bright spark hit upon Lanchester's laws in time for the military reforms prior to the Napoleonic Wars.

To not get too involved with the mathematics, the laws posit this; Warfare from eras dominated by melee units could be understood to be fights of two large groups engaging each other practically on one-on-one duels. One spearman or one horseman can only attack one spearman or horseman at a time, so we can assume that if the individual soldiers of both sides are roughly of equal quality then we expect casualties taken to roughly equal casualties made, even if there is a numerical superiority of one side. This is also the case with unaimed fire into each others areas, like a duel between howitzers divided by a hill: you might have twice as many guns as mine, but that's just another way of saying that the target I have to hit is twice as large as yours, so it evens out to me being able to take out as many of your guns as you mine. This is Lanchester's Linear Law.

But with the arrival of muskets and rifles of increasing accuracy and power, the battlefield becomes more accurately described as the whole force of one side fighting against the whole force of the other; it is easier for a full regiment of riflemen to attack every member of a half-depleted regiment than if both sides were using spears. Using nothing more than a bit of calculus and some basic and fairly reasonable assumptions to create a basic model, Lanchester calculates that in 'modern' war, the strength of a military force is not proportional to its number of soldiers, but rather to the square of its number of units. If I have 1,000 soldiers and you have 800, then what once may have been a bloody struggle for each of us will likely be a crushing victory for me, because the effect of superior numbers has been dramatically increase. This is Lanchester's Square Law.

Now, of course, practically no engagement between two enemy forces in military history ever had exactly the strict conditions assumed by either law, or had the exponent be equal to 1 or 2; the effective exponent has always been between 1 and 2, with certain technologies or tactics increasing or decreasing it. But in general, it has increased over history, and it can certainly be used to help describe the challenges posed to Portugal by an enemy that is both larger and as-well-or-better trained and equipped. Better quality troops is welcome, as is better tactics and generalship (Portugal's smaller army can, for example, trust more in an aggressive pursuit of defeat in detail to overcome a larger opponent, as it shows that even a slight local numerical advantage can achieve decisive results), but so long as Portugal's enemy has a land route then the overwhelming factor is always going to be numbers - if Portugal is outnumbered by the French on the field 2 to 1, then it would have to make every Portuguese soldier equal to 4 French. Against Napoleon's army of 1808, that is impossible. It's more worth Portugal's time to have more troops, either for set-piece battles or guerrilla, and to know how to raise and lower the exponent of both sides in an engagement. Of course, it goes without saying that moves which lower the exponent of the enemy side, increase the exponent of your side, or both, is always good to do, but moves that increase or decrease the exponents of both sides increases the relative importance of numbers, so only some times will increasing it on both ends be beneficial; Portugal's army must lower it when they are outnumbered to at least promise/deliver to the French a slog for their victory (for example, getting the French into squares or columns when they should be in lines, or in a more strategic sense focusing on disruption/wasteful expense of the French supply of ammunition to force more melee combat) and raise it when they have the upper hand and can deliver a decisive blow (like inviting the French onto an open field or to come down a hill and then letting the rockets fly, or pulling back a regiment targeted for a bayonet charge and whittling the charge down with the advantage in rifles).

Sorry for delay in responding, you present some very good insight and information.

The Portuguese have responded to a manpower deficiency by drastically changing the manner in which it trains, equips and manufacture its products.

Like is many areas the Portuguese started way behind the other countries and decided that bold moves were required. iOTL and iTTL Count of Lippe started the Portuguese down the path of modernization with proper officer training programs, modern warfare, coastal defenses. iTTL his vision and recommendations were not wasted and ignored but enhanced and enacted.

As the Portuguese armed forces continue to grow and modernize they will eventually be in a position that when Spain / France come against it they should have many advantages over less organized and well led adversaries.

what impact the Portuguese will have on the rest of Europe we not sure, it will depend on each country acceptance and ability to change. Also if they would accept the changes especially if they come from Portuguese. Some would study the Portuguese while others might reject anything the Portuguese simply for whom they are and their animosity towards them.

So if we apply Lanchester's laws the Portuguese could respond with less troops but due to combinations of factors (as indicated above defeat a larger enemy. We have already seen some of this as the Portuguese professional troops and professional troops with better weapons have overcome larger adversaries in Africa and India. This leads us to another factor in Portuguese favor. Like the British iOTL who had many officers gaining valuable experience in India and elsewhere in the world prior to the Napoleonic wars the Portuguese are in similar experience with both the empire and military benefiting from the ongoing conflicts in the world. Both troops and officers are gaining valuable experience that will be valuable later on.

 

[Lusitania]

A more efficient agriculture is bound to provide additional food for cities, crops and surplus workers for industry and settlers for the colonies. Moreover, the food surplus will reduce the trade deficit, or at least orient it towards machine tools and other items needed for industry and advanced agriculture.

Portugal has the same advantages the United Kingdom enjoyed OTL: available resources from colonies and allies, and control over sea paths to other markets. Add to this education, and the XIXth might well be known and the Portuguese century.

And industrialization will be a major change, ensuring a new society will emerge, where the OTL Miguelistas will have even less power or even traction (apart in literary circles, just wanting to get the atmosphere like OTL British writers aired support for Jacobites in the XIXth) since it might be as well a foreign society. Will the nobility switch to industry or will a capitalist class be born? And what about the class conflicts which might be born (will the TTL Marx be born in Lisbon)?

Portuguese agriculture is benefiting from new technology, improved (vastly) transportation and investment that has greatly increased the production. Considering that the population has increased to over 4 million people and the agricultural output has not only kept pace but increased to reach close to 90% of requirements is very impressive but as the country population increases the food needs will increase. The closest place for agriculture will be the country close to Metropolitan Portugal, Morocco. The thing is that relations between Portugal and Morocco are not the friendliest at the moment. FYI Morocco was the source of the British army food during the Napoleonic wars as opposed to the French who relied on the locals "generous donations".

The Portuguese will need to address the need for better and more reliable sources of food as time increases. Now as for Morocco something will have to be done to increase Portugal's ability to obtain additional food. Another source as indicated will be colonies, transportation will be a factor though (at least till refrigerated and faster ships are available. Other alternatives could be USA or even BNA. both close to Metropolitan Portugal and have good agricultural lands. Although might be decades till they able to be large agricultural exporters.

I just want to say this is one best written and researched timeline on this site!!! so bravo!!!

Thanks You a large reason for the excellent work has been my co-author till now Thrudgelmir2333 who has provided a much of the excellent detail and information. This is a great time to ask if any of the readers and fans are interested in joining me writing the TL. There are a lot of areas that you can contribute such as government, society, law, economics or military. If anyone can and would like to help (can be one time or regularly) please send me a message.

So it seems the greater Metropolitan population and business opportunities will translate to a steady stream of Colonists to the colonies will European emigration will fill up the gap.

Portugal is living up to it's Mini Britain game plan. The industrialization is certainly interesting, coal and later oil will more and more than ever dictate their colonial acquisition. It'd be interesting when the Brazilians finally try their hand on the new Metropolitan fad. In fact the likelihood of Metropolitan industrialization being spread to the colonies could only happen in Portugal due to their unique position.

Yes Metropolitan Portugal will be in a better position to provide settlers to the colonies but even with the increased size it still is small when we compare it to France, Spain and Britain whose populations in Europe rival the Portuguese empire wide. Therefore the Portuguese will need to continue to be adaptive, and creative. One thing that the Portuguese will need rely on immigrants from other European countries but if they want to be a world power they will need to really differentiate themselves from rest of the colonial empires and be inclusive with non-Europeans in the empire.

As for Industrialization while it started in Metropolitan Portugal it will move very fast to the rest of empire. The Portuguese have broken the colonial mold and both allowed and encouraged development of factories first in Brazil and later elsewhere, what will follow will be industrialization as steam engines will spread through the empire.

As for the resources needed for industrialization we already have iron ore being mined in Angola. What the Portuguese do lack is coal and while external sources will be important at the start of the industrialization desire for sources free from external political risks will drive investment in discovering domestic sources or sources that can be brought into the empire.

Nice update! It looks like the vanguard of the second industrial revolution will be Britain and Portugal. Do you think that the example of Portugal. Isn’t lead to a better integrated Ireland in Britain? Thanks for the chapter.

As you have pointed out the Portuguese and British will be the leading the industrialization and both countries' companies attempt to increase their production and profits. Now as for the issue of integration I do think that Portuguese example might lead to better integration of Catholics and by that Irish into Britain. This might be a result of Queen Charlotte and her letters to her brother the king of Britain. Known as the Charlotte Correspondence as she wrote to her her brother appealing to better the Catholic situation. We will have several posts on this in the future.

 

[Drunkrobot]

Portuguese agriculture is benefiting from new technology, improved (vastly) transportation and investment that has greatly increased the production. Considering that the population has increased to over 4 million people and the agricultural output has not only kept pace but increased to reach close to 90% of requirements is very impressive but as the country population increases the food needs will increase. The closest place for agriculture will be the country close to Metropolitan Portugal, Morocco. The thing is that relations between Portugal and Morocco are not the friendliest at the moment. FYI Morocco was the source of the British army food during the Napoleonic wars as opposed to the French who relied on the locals "generous donations".

My guess would be that there's a chance Morocco tries to seize the territory it's lost to Portugal while it and Britain are committed to fighting Napoleon. We can't expect Portugal to be treated like a power on the decline by this point, if the Moroccan Sultan has even half a brain then he should recognise that if he doesn't soon get the Portuguese pushed into the sea while they fighting for their existence on the Metropole, then Morocco's destiny of increasing vassalhood and subservience to a resurgent Portugal for the foreseeable future is pretty much guaranteed. This has been a great timeline so far but we can't expect other powers to continue to blunder into war thinking the Portuguese will be relative pushovers.

 

[Adam Corvin]

You know what i would like? some POV's from natives in the Congo and other places showing the difference between the Portuguese system of relatively gentle enlightenment vs the brutality of most colonial powers.

 

[Johannes Parisiensis]

The Portuguese will need to address the need for better and more reliable sources of food as time increases. Now as for Morocco something will have to be done to increase Portugal's ability to obtain additional food. Another source as indicated will be colonies, transportation will be a factor though (at least till refrigerated and faster ships are available. Other alternatives could be USA or even BNA. both close to Metropolitan Portugal and have good agricultural lands. Although might be decades till they able to be large agricultural exporters.

Will they try to tmport grain from Eastern Europe? OTL, it was a breadbasket and a major agricultural exporter.

 

[Mestre]

Will they try to tmport grain from Eastern Europe? OTL, it was a breadbasket and a major agricultural exporter.

They cant. Eastern Europe is only reach through the bosforus.

 

[Lusitania]

My guess would be that there's a chance Morocco tries to seize the territory it's lost to Portugal while it and Britain are committed to fighting Napoleon. We can't expect Portugal to be treated like a power on the decline by this point, if the Moroccan Sultan has even half a brain then he should recognise that if he doesn't soon get the Portuguese pushed into the sea while they fighting for their existence on the Metropole, then Morocco's destiny of increasing vassalhood and subservience to a resurgent Portugal for the foreseeable future is pretty much guaranteed. This has been a great timeline so far but we can't expect other powers to continue to blunder into war thinking the Portuguese will be relative pushovers.

Well there is a lot of logic in your statement but countries weren’t led or governed using logic. Nationalism, grievances and anger clouded many of decisions. So we will see how Portuguese-Moroccan relationship plays out. Major future post in future. All I can say

Will they try to tmport grain from Eastern Europe? OTL, it was a breadbasket and a major agricultural exporter.

They cant. Eastern Europe is only reach through the bosforus.

The problem with Portuguese importing critical products and material through potentially hostile territory is that it can be cut off from those sources. Take for example shipbuilding materials supply from Baltic were interrupted during the 3 year war. The Portuguese had to find alternative routes or sources. So relying on grain sources that had to go through a country that Portuguese did not have close relationship with is risky. Better to develop sources closer to home or better yet domestically.

 

[Lusitania]

You know what i would like? some POV's from natives in the Congo and other places showing the difference between the Portuguese system of relatively gentle enlightenment vs the brutality of most colonial powers.

Hi, think that a great idea. Need collaborator to provide me some details of the people. I had a few people from India provide me with the materials in the v1 of the TL would like some in this version too.

 

[Lusitania]

King and Country (1783) (3 of 4)
​

Philosophy, Religion & Ideology​

The end of the Three Years War was both a balsam and a painful cool off for Portugal. A massive challenge had been overcome, but only at the cost of an almost total and seemingly needless mobilization of forces the nation did not know itself capable of mustering in such a short time. Moreover, the terms of the Treaty of Paris, albeit generous for Lisbon, seemed like a foreign prize for such feelings of emergency the nation face in 1781 when the threat of Franco-Dutch naval invasions first solidified.

There was also the en masse use of manpower away from the army into the navy, where cultural and racial standards for the naval equivalents of officers were lower. This resulted in the fate of the nation shortly relying on its Irish communities in the Douro Valley who habitually took fishing and sailing jobs upon immigrating.

Spurred by rising representationalism in Portuguese magistracy and politics, the 18th century as a whole and the Late Pombaline Era in particular were when the Locke ideas of social contract began truly rooting themselves deeply into metropolitan society. With the decreasing powers of all established figures, from the Prime Minister to the priests, more and more people began rising between the masses to form assemblies, discussions, committees and candidacies. One big flag of this idea was the change in code in the clergy which stated that the Prelate was chosen amongst the Patriarchs and archbishops via candidacy and closed-door election (not unlike the Pope) and the fact that magistrates now began to be chosen amongst the local population, raising their dedication in same proportion as their self-interest.

Power in Portugal, however, was still not by consent of the people. The Bragança Dynasty still held dogmatic rights to the throne and the ministers were chosen mostly following the authoritarian Josephine model. It seemed undeniable, though, that for society to progress Portugal had to admit to itself that its citizens had unalienable rights which protected them against authoritarian cabinets and shady migration offices like the PRP, lest a constant war of generations continue and events like the Tagus Declaration become cyclical and ever more violent.

With the collapse of slavery in non-Brazilian Portugal, the debate over the citizens status only became hotter. Striking differences between Portuguese and Brazilian mentality began to surface, putting cohesion in the population in danger. Without a united outlook on what it meant to be a citizen in the country, King Joseph II believed that the colony he grew up in was destined to sever its ties with the motherland in the near future, following the American example.

The King’s comprehensive reforms to Brazilian state division and rights had gone a long way to separate the cancer from the boon in the territory, allowing the population to debate within themselves how they should act as part of the empire without seeing Lisbon as an impediment to their future. Older policies like the CPD and MAD also assured Brazilians that the Portuguese were their allies, for better or for worse.

Adding further to the philosophical complication was the muddy relationship between church and state; the Verneyists argued that while the church was not to be tied to ‘human powers’, it still demanded certain symbolic privileges like the christening and coronation of the heads of state in order to protect its power from rival religions inside the Portuguese Empire. The population in general was also not ready to embrace deism, much less secularism or even atheism.

The complete removal of it from universities (non-Catholic ones, at least) had, however, liberated philosophical debate completely, allowing Portuguese philosophers to develop and preach ideas regarding natural law, society and the country.

Anglicanism, Germanism, Frenchism, Dutchism & Lusitanism​

“It’s just a fad.”
-popular saying​

It was known in the big cities that both the king and the burgher elite were, for various reasons, followers of Germanic and Anglican cultures. The Pombaline period had also been remarked for its obsessive relationship with British advancements of all kinds, seeking to emulate both machinery and politics in London. It ought to follow that at the end of the 1770s, Portuguese society had developed a gratitude and fascination for northern European ideas as opposed to Mediterranean ones.

The removal of Inquisition allowed many previously banned works and books to circulate with freedom never seen before. This included texts from the highly insightful Voltaire but also books from American revolutionaries like Thomas Paine, reviled as he was by colonialists, German artists like the Prussian writer Christian Wolff and even the proto-Romanticist poems of Johan von Herder. It could be said that it was almost too much philosophical information flowing in all at once.

Philosophical trends therefore went through a series of phases in just a few years:

• Anglicanism: Boiling over from previous periods in which English ideas were dominant in Portugal, the early years of this era still saw much literature development on concepts from British economists and philosophers, culminating in the publishing of the ‘General Theory of Productivity’, the most influential economic treatise of the epoch. It would be supplanted by Germanism as most Portuguese high society members considered it a natural progression from studies on English language and scriptures;
• Germanicism: Peaking around the peaceful period of 1778-1779 thanks to increased commerce with Hamburg and a trendy interest from the King and the legacy of Count Lippe, Germanism was the fascination felt in Portuguese society for not only German and Prussian culture, but also their rising prominence as a language of philosophy, with Herder’s ideas of individualism being particularly provocative;
• Frenchism: Also mixed with interest in American revolutionary theories, the focus on French revolutionary ideas was at its apex between 1779 and 1781, just as the war with France itself occurred, and was a hotly contested debate with half considering them as threat and half considering them as the next vital step in reforming society;
• Dutchism: This was the short-lived obsession in 1783-1785 about Dutch society and practices following the signing of the Luso-Dutch Alliance. After centuries of rivalry, the victory over Amsterdam and the preceding events between Luanda and Kapstaad allowed roots of mutual interest to bloom in this short period and for an interchange of thoughts and interests to occur;
• Lusitanism: This was the idea with which the country departed to the next era (1784-1799) and consisted of a mix of all previous trends consolidated by the effects of the Portuguese victory in the Three-Years War, the philosophical flag of death penalty abolishment and its seeming return to colonial prominence;

These five philosophical trends influenced the evolution of Portuguese society. Originally departing from a sort of offshoot of Spanish society beliefs in the early 1760s, philosophical Anglicanism had swept the nation thanks to Prime Minister Pombal’s heavy investments towards rivaling it. Anglicanism had challenged and changed Portuguese society in the following ways:

• It had fomented a growing interest towards capitalism, banking, trade good valuing and new forms of commerce, allowing the nation to abandon its traditional and counterproductive ambitions;
• It implanted the idea and importance of innovation from society, proving to the citizens that antiquated institutions like the Inquisition had hurt them immensely and allowing for the patronage of the Scientific Revolution to finally occur;
• It borderline revolutionized colonialism and statehood in Portugal, with politicians adopting new methods like the CPD and the MAD to change the way colonies and the country structured themselves, starting the conversation about the relationship between the state and church and putting the idea of ‘state’ ahead of ‘the personal property of kings’;
• It reinvented Portuguese cultural fascination with the sea and its war machines, allowing the Navy to quickly reform itself with previously unseen ambition;

These changes all started in the early 1760s and propagated to the 1770s. After 1777, with the passing of the war hero Count Lippe and the coronation of the Germanophile Joseph II, society began moving more towards German ideas, propelled by the newfound commerce between Portugal and the Holy Roman Empire states, including Prussia, but also Scandinavian countries like Sweden.[1] They were also popular amongst the anti-authoritarian citizens of the metropolis, both in the aristocracy and the people, who hoped that the many decades of dictatorship in Portugal would catapult society in the opposite direction now that Pombal seemed to be approaching the end of his life. The most important immediate changes to Portuguese politics during the 1777-1783 period were due to these ideas. Under the umbrella of interest in German trends, Portuguese society began debating the following:

• Introduced a humanistic stance on individualism that believed that pursuing the empowerment ‘self’ as opposed to the collective had constructive and moral consequences, as well as many other ideas popular in Prussia and codified by Emmanuel Kant being recited in the Portuguese cities. Kant was extremely popular and influential to new politicians to the point many tried to invite him to give classes in Lisbon despite his ongoing isolation;
• Codified the anti-organized-religion sentiment growing in Portugal through the rational approach towards Christianity defended by Wilhelm Teller;
• Sowed more seeds of interest on not only classicism but also northern European themes of antiquity;
• Continued the defense of the scientific method in all political practices as opposed to traditionalism. As the pre-earthquake generations began dying off, Portugal shined a more and more negative light on the old methods;

But the focus on German philosophy would not last long. By 1779, the current cabinet’s most profound reforms like the MLE began cementing themselves in society and creating big backlashes, especially in agricultural communities. At the same time, hostilities with France began rising, contact with German commercial partners began growing more difficult and the American Revolution exploded. The main source of revolutionary ideas for Portugal was France, though. At the time, Necker was in charge of France’s finances and kept regular contact with his Portuguese homologue Jacques Ratton.

Necker proposed important tax reforms that alleviated the financial situation in France but antagonized him to the Ancién Regime. Combined with him being Protestant, Necker’s positions made him an enemy of the status quo and not only he was barred from becoming minister, but he was eventually dismissed, something that many argued was one of the powder kegs for the future revolution. In Portugal, the repeal of blood cleanliness laws removed religion impediments to high offices, so much that half the late Pombaline cabinet was non-Catholic. This created a high level of sympathy for people in Portugal towards the little they heard about the events in France, creating interest in their more volatile ideas.

The fact that most proponents of these ideas were Free Masons probably helped make a connection.

• The elimination of the estate system began growing in popularity, even after the Tagus Declaration announced the clergy as being no longer sponsored by society as one in Portugal and aristocrats having grown more symbolic than factual;
• Liberty, Equality and Fraternity began circulating in flyers as soon as 1780 in Oporto, rousing many to bad mouth the status quo and pursue political agendas;
• The rising tensions and climate of threats, not to mention the stabilization of immigrant communities in the cities, propelled a strange sense of ‘Nouveau nationalism’ in Portugal with many questioning what it meant to live in a common state;
• Underground republican ‘gangs’ began appearing, with the censored ‘Partido Republicano’ dating its founding to college campus groups in Coimbra just before the Luso-Franco War;

The interest in French philosophy continued even throughout the Third Years War, exacerbated even by its harshest periods, as many believed that the path to progress was in emulating French ideas, not antagonizing them, as opposed to following British or German ones blindly. The true influence of this was limited, however, especially as the last two new fads of the epoch made their claims to Portuguese mindset.

One particular proponent of this movement had been the Scottish-born expatriate James Ferrier, who first came to Portugal to help reform fortification and artillery sectors under the efforts of the late Count Lippe. A Huguenot mason, he served between 1762 and 1780 and due to his reading habits, he would discuss with fellow military officers the ideas of Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau, allowing him to influence high-ranking soldiers in the eve of the Tagus Declaration.

Dutchism was the fad in Metropolitan Portugal and its African and Asian possessions that began in 1782 to 1783 as a direct result of the conclusion of the Three Years War and the signing of the controversial and unexpected Luso-Dutch Alliance. The reopening of markets between Dutch and Lusitanian ports all throughout the globe allowed for a new interchange of goods and political projects which caused the influx of Dutch-designed goods from all things ranging from clothes to architecture to permeate Portugal. This was more of a material fad than philosophical one, but it still had its odd influence:

• The continued propagation of Dutch financial methods, allowing Portuguese treatises on productivity to root even deeper;
• The increased investment towards stock exchanges. The years of 1780 to 1784 saw an increase of stock issuing of almost a whopping 150%;
• The studying of methods of indirect colonization and how they failed in Indonesia and what this ultimately meant for statehood. This would allow the Navy Ministry to reform colonization yet again in the next decade;
• The simple fascination in some areas in Portugal for Dutch engineering and products, from the way they built houses to the way they conducted agriculture;

The ‘Gafanha’ towns in Ilhavo, next to Aveiro, became the hotspot of development themed around the fascination for Dutch ideas. Originally settled as places to conduct treatment for leprosy, the strings of settlements around the fluvial geography of the Haff-Delta became the entry point of Dutch ships selling products and work from Amsterdam and The Hague. Combined with the Jewish Emancipation Act of 1780, it also became the entry point of many old Sephardic Jews interested in returning and investing into their ancestral country.

The porcelain industry of Vista Alegre in particular saw its biggest pre-industrial boom in this decade, gaining a great new number of investors that allowed even the town itself to develop a viable port for privately-controlled exports.

The many fluvial towns in the Aveiro Haff-Delta became throughout the rest of the century the nucleus of Dutch influence seeping into Portugal. Note the placement of Vista Alegre just southeast of Ilhavo itself​

The four foreign fads of ideas and influences had a lasting impact in post-Pombaline Portugal to the point that much of the architectural development occurring in areas throughout the mainland in these decades was themed around the strongest foreign influence in the respective area, or simply by the liberation of minority rights passed by Joseph II at the start of the 1780s. The inner territories saw a lot of transformation towards the synagogue and Sephardic architectures in particular, since many hidden Jews had lived there in secrecy away from the scrutiny of city persecutors.

Registered Architectural Style Development between 1750-1783
Dark Green: Earthquake Pombaline[2]
Light Green: Irish Neighborhood
Purple: Mirandese/Leonese Influence
Cyan Blue: Sicilian/Genovese
Orange: Dutch urban style[3]
Blue: French gentry style[4]
Yellow: Open Sephardic style[5]​

But as the country moved away from the early Josephine Era into the fully-transitioned government of the mid Josephine Era (namely as the dust of the Three Years War settled and the death of Pombal began showing its effects), the ideas began shifting towards a great introspection into the country’s own identity. Influenced by massively important philosophers like Theodore Almeida, Bento Farinha and even the ever-present figure, the diplomat Correia da Serra, Lusitanism began surging in the eve of 1784 as a final sedimentation of all previous ideas but also as the result of the work of the most important thinkers of the age in the country.

Lusitanism, as it was known later in 1790, as a whole was a form of layered nationalist fad and initially called for the following doctrines:

• The evolution of national identity in marriage with a specific and limited set of philosophical flags: This basically meant permanently attaching the idea of being a citizen of the Portuguese kingdom to certain unalienable values. In turn, this, of course, had as a consequence a deep-rooted constitutionalist thought;
• Said flags to include codified citizen rights (the definition of who is citizen was pending approval), the fight against slavery and the demonization of the death penalty: Adopting these three flags would allow the people, according to the philosophers, to have a personal principle to stand on in an age of flooding idealism. In more skeptic analysis, it called for having something to act as a higher moral platform as opposed to French Revolutionaries, which Portuguese philosophers were increasingly viewing as rivals or even enemies;
• The fight of enlightened ideas against self-admitted ideological inertia in Portugal: Using both recent and long history as basis, the debaters seemed to agree that the country had problems innovating in all areas due to a lingering specter of conformism. Lusitanism admitted the problem of conformism as a constant detriment, meaning it could not be solved and therefore should be kept in mind about itself;
• General Amorphousness: In all other areas, the ideology defended debate and open mind, taking no strong stance in things like power distribution, wealth or the government. Correia da Serra, a diplomat, defended it allowed to consider opposing ideas that would satisfy multiple sides simultaneously, leading to better social peace and progress;

Theodore and Serra fought to develop and cement Lusitanism as a lasting mentality by arming it with time-tested ideas of battling perceived barbarism and constantly seeking to detach itself from most ideological anvils, making it ultimately amorphous​

Lusitanism, therefore, did not surge to replace previous fads. Instead it surged as a way to try to understand their movements while defending the maintenance of a set of basic, unique principles to the natives, namely the fight against slavery and the death penalty and allow new movements to seep in in a sort of more sophisticated philosophical platform. It did not promote secularism, for example, which, albeit a growingly popular idea, it still made more conservative sides seethe. Radicalism, as a result, also was not mentioned in good light. The philosopher Bento de Sousa Farinha argued that it represented popular mentalities that had lasted throughout the convoluted Pombaline period pretty well, like a national personality code.

Its impact is debatable, since it was written as a sort of stance with which to take other ideas in, rather than an idea in itself. Critics called it a “poor excuse for a gentleman’s guide” or even “a mutated form of proto-nationalism”. It was also more strongly demonstrable in younger generations as opposed to older ones, meaning its significance was highly contextual and the product of forced social influence that the Pombaline age was known for, instead of humanly universal.

The behavior of its defenders, even highly influential ones, certainly seemed to defend the idea that it was merely nationalism, since they mostly called for the status of the state to be once and for all cemented on a modern codex. This was furthered by the fact that it seemed to be inspired by the victory in the Three Years War and recent unexpected colonial successes. The opening of the port of Ponta d’Albuquerque in Nova Zelândia to new colonists and land seekers seemed to create the idea that there was a future to being Portuguese in this age of European expansion. Combined with the rebirth of national branding in the previous era in mercantile products, a new expanded navy, a unique military code and the apparent eminence of a new code of law, Lusitanism began to grow as the belief that there was value in pursuing their own ideas for life and law in the world, something that would influence generations between 1790 and 1820.

In shorter term, it was part of the explanation of why there was opposition to Revolutionary France and, later on, the Napoleonic empire, even though it’s homologue American idealism was more well accepted. The rest of the causes laid in topics explained below.

Value Void Years (1775-1780), Death Penalty Discussion & The Theodore Arguments​

“The message that the Lusitanians took as their main banner for this age of upheaval, when so many of our nations lost the values the Ancién Regime leached them with since the days of Charlemagne and were left with a lack of obvious principles, was not liberty like the French, nor gentlemanly like the British, nor even chivalry like the Spaniards or religious morality like the Austrians; it was a fervent belief in human dignity. The belief that the citizen was weak and fragile and should be protected from one another, and that no man had the right to claim another was to be put to death. This was both their sword against the bourgeoisie, their shield against the Revolution and the brush with which they painted Iberia after (the treaty of) Vienna.”
-Thomas Carlyle, speaking of Theodore on ‘The French Revolution: A History’ (ITTL)​

As already stated,[6] the years following the Tagus Declaration were of conversation about what should be the popular set of beliefs sacred to everyone, as to many, including the government, there seemed to be too much eagerness to challenge the norms and the powers-that-be. There was no reason to obey Pombal if it was so easy to turn sword at his enemies, for example. What truly defined righteous power and what was important for the collective? The ongoing French and American revolutions seemed to favor the idea that Republicanism could give you the answer, as it tried to put the power, even if just a modicum of it, in the hands of the people and away from partial tyrants.

One thing that the Portuguese seemed to be growingly sure to be incorrect and even counterproductive was slavery. This was thanks to many arguments saying that society wasted more resources maintaining the literal chain of command of it than it would, for example, in indentured servitude or even free labor, not to mention the obvious moral qualms. The shortage of labor manpower surely played a part in developing this conversation, but the important thing to retain was that, as of 1775, this seemed to be only obvious thing to be wrong in the collective point of view.

In order to cement this idea, many thinkers and professors attempted to codify the anti-slavery argument on logical terms, so as to be able to universally argue them to any member of society and perhaps use the same arguments and their techniques to press other new matters. Simultaneously, the anti-slavery debate seemed to be hitting a major problem in the Portuguese Empire; it was seen as not unique by the British and hard to gather support in Brazil, making it a poor national flag. This weakened its power to rouse the reformers in the country who sought to expand society in truly new ways and feel they were part of a cutting edge culture.

Seeking to stay ahead of their Spanish, French and ultimately the American ideological counterparts, elites invested into their own prestige and education wanted a message to call their own, to be the country’s contribution to the world. This was partly in consequence to the recoveries in prestige of recent years in other matters; the new gains in the empire brought military and economic glory, but the country was still seen as backwater. With the Inquisition gutted and the clergy no longer empowered to hoard all the knowledge, the ‘Novas Classes’ felt free to discuss what their mission in society was. Only by staying ahead of the curve in something could the aristocrats, burghers and doctors feel equal to their European counterparts, or so they felt.

With the repression of the clergy gone, the Portuguese bourgeoisie and aristocracy sought to be culturally innovative and often conversed throughout the 1770s about how could they collectively pursue a new avenue in society​

This was more often sprouted by local rivalries between households than not. With empiricism in fad thanks to French philosopher influence and new industrial sponsors baiting the educated to compete for their favor, the amount of lip spent debating the national course increased exponentially in this epoch.

At the same time, there were concerns in the country regarding the volatile nature of politics in recent decades and how it resulted in events like the Távora Affair and the OOC conspiracy. It was understood that Pombal had set a terrifying precedent for future Prime Ministers, reformist as he may have been. The high-standing people who survived his regime and even profited from it now feared that in the future that sword be turned against them. Combined with the increasing outrages felt by both liberals and authoritarians in society as a result of events in America and France, this spawned the discussion in educated people about whether there should be death penalty for political crimes.

There was also the naturally mild nature in the populace that rarely sought to pursue justice harshly in metropolitan Portugal, the historical exception being religion, piracy and treason. In 1780, Vice-Admiral Rebelo captured the pirate William Piranha, but did not bring him to court of law to be trialed for the death penalty, instead hiring him as a privateer. This decision, initially reviled, was celebrated in 1783 after the massive victory in the Battle of Timor Sea.[7] This helped form the question in the population if the death penalty should be applied for civil crimes, too.

With these two doubts growing throughout the 1777-1783 period, the foundation was set for truly influential conversation amongst thinkers and politicians, but also amongst the people. New coming politicians wished to debate with free speech and no specter of the guillotine so, also wishing to prove their defense of enlightenment didn’t make them Pombalists, began criticizing perceived despotism in other countries as a way to vouch for their nationalism. Needless to say that people at the bottom of society didn’t like the prospect of being hanged by a sudden trial.

The alternative of life imprisonment, however, wasn’t appealing since it carried implications of having to feed hated rogues indefinitely. Another force biding against the idea of abolishing the Death Penalty had been the Marquis of Pombal and his fiercest supporters. The Prime Minister stood to lose much face if he defended the repeal of Death Penalty at the same time as being famously responsible for the Távora Affair tortures and executions, not to mention all the shootings and hangings of criminals and looters after the Lisbon Earthquake. The Pombalists also stood to lose strength of argument in the public plaza of debate if they took up an anti-death-penalty position at the same time they defended extreme interventionism and authoritarian implementation of law.

With the military now employing a far more sophisticated legal code than the population itself, however, the number of former members of the army now in powerful social positions demanding reform in civil code as well was increasing. Many soldiers and lieutenants found themselves leaving a life of discipline protected by a comprehensive new military court only to join a society that seemed comparatively barbarian, especially as they tried to buy land and solve difficult disputes.

The same displeasure was true to men of law. The conservative magistrate Pina Manique, a known political opponent of Pombal, for example, argued that the repeal of the Death Penalty was essential to “forming an acceptable revolutionary code of law for these unacceptable revolutionary times”. The fact that he was at the time concerned with the fate of the King’s interned mother, Maria Pia, a figure hated by Pombalists, progressives and liberals alike, that he feared would be assassinated by the Tagus Signers probably was his motivation for such a position.

Pina Manique exemplified the conservative wing of the anti-death-penalty movement and how it was motivated mainly by fear of the current government’s potential extremism​

Another main figure was Queen Charlotte. Known to be a sort of trend-setter[8] in the Lisbon court and displeased by the less sophisticated aspects of her husband’s nation as opposed to Britain, she jumped at the idea of vocally defending citizens that argued against executions, seeing it as a sign of daring innovation and something that would set her domain aside from those of her younger sisters. However, the defenders felt that although the idea was up in the air, it lacked a solid, organized argument, something they could cite whenever the topic was brought up to whomever may challenge them on it.

This continued until 1779.

Right before the Rope Busting Incident and the start of the Luso-Franco Maritime War (and the Three Years War in general), Theodore de Almeida, a cleric and writer embittered by Pombal’s persecution of Jesuits but protected by the Verneyist church, decided to tackle the issue of the Death Penalty in the philosophical optic so he could present a complete argument against it in society. The work on this had really started in 1770, when he was invited back to Portugal from France by Louis Verney, but it was only later on as the issue became hotter that he was able to take part in enough discussions and debates to truly deepen his literature on it. In the year of 1779, he completed the collection of testimonies and arguments he needed to make a thesis against the Death Penalty in Portugal in particular. It was a multi-branched work that addressed concerns in Portuguese society’s various sectors, from the clerics to the politicians to the people, regarding the defense of the Death Penalty in an effort to portray it as counterproductive as slavery had been in the 1760s, during Joseph I’s realm.

Theodore argued mostly on the presumption that the human being was flawed, a perspective that seemed natural, popular and even obvious to most people. Departing from this, he systematically wrote how the Death Penalty could only be unfair in any situation, drawing upon his own feelings regarding the Pombalist Age, feelings that were shared by many of his compatriots.

Teodoro de Almeida, the Solitary Philosopher
Born 7 January 1722
Death 18 April 1804
Writer, Philosopher and Priest that codified the Portuguese argument against slavery and the death penalty​

Theodore’s Arguments, as the philosophical attack became known, were multiple, but the most important were the following:

• The Argument of God: Speaking to the Clergy, Theodore argued that only God could judge with full wisdom and claim any man was truly unredeemable, and that any man who sentenced another to death over heresy or heathenism could only be infringing on the belief that no man was absolutely infallible, as death was the final solution that must be given with absolute certainty;
• The Argument of Science: Speaking to Rationalists, Theodore argued that the capital punishment was a final solution to problems intelligent men refused to face for fear, hate, spite or laziness, and therefore no rationalist could claim that merely sentencing an opposite viewpoint or problematic voice to the ‘ultimate silence’ was the scientific decision to make;[9]
• The Argument of Law: Speaking to the Jurists, Theodore argued that no fundament could speak of Man having legitimate obligations and rights without rule of civil law agreed to by social contract, parliament and constitution agreed to by all, and because no civilization could accurately claim that all its citizens stood in one mind on any matter, they also could not fully present any man should be given capital punishment with unanimous consent, even without the possibility of later regret (see Argument of Man);
• The Argument of Politics: Speaking to Politicians, Theodore argued that the capital punishment was an unacceptable sweeping of undesirables that on all accounts refused to explore the possibility of redemption, rehabilitation or mercy and, therefore, was ultimately counterproductive to society’s productive growth or its moral upbringing, as well as promoting rebellion in cultures. This also presented the Death Penalty as the weapon of tyrants;
• The Argument of Man: Speaking to Humanists, Theodore argued that the execution of the death penalty was a process filled with dehumanizing steps to all parties involved, the possibility for cruel and unusual punishment (either through direct intent or executioner incompetence), the possibility for killing the wrong person and the undeniably omnipresent callousness of Man, who is flawed, in a process that would be absolute. Moreover, speaking to other Philosophers, Theodore argued that the absolute nature of death, when imposed by man’s rule of law, infringed the humanistic principles that attempted to study mankind itself, equating it to a scientist destroying a healthy test sample, and that absolutism itself was destructive to the evolution of thought by destroying the fertility that impurity of ideas brought the mind;

Theodore’s arguments were problematic, to say the least, stepping on the toes of Absolutists in Portugal in particular and causing many to question if the man was a secular revolutionary like the Americans and the Jacobins. The skepticism and the anti-violence stance, however, were appealing. Theodore appealed to a belief particular to Portuguese culture which said that not only were the ones in upper class as flawed as the common man, but the common man was likely as flawed as he could possibly be, even to humorous extents. Moreover, it argued that the executions carried out by Pombal had been immoral, something that caught the eye of his enemies.

It was using Theodore’s arguments that Vice-Admiral Rebelo (holding the rank of Admiral after the Three Years War, when the court session took place) argued in favor of keeping privateer William ‘Piranha’ in the Navy on a path to redemption, instead of executing him for crimes of piracy. This became an historically notable moment because William himself went on to be a Navy legend throughout the late 18th century and early 19th century, and thus subject of popular interest.

The Death Penalty remained legal throughout the early Josephine Period, however. It would only be officially outlawed by Joseph II in 1787, during the Mid Josephine Era. This was because not only Theodore’s arguments were still too fresh, but the debate itself was still splitting the educated society down the middle due to:

• The ongoing bad code of civil law that would not be reformed till Minister Cruz e Silva became the first Minister of Justice since the Earthquake;
• The concerns over lack of compensatory infrastructure and punishment, like penal colonies or simply more prisons, to handle all the criminals that would be executed;
• The conflict between the idea and the presently in-power government of Sebastião de Carvalho e Melo, who opposed the idea of banning the Death Penalty, even branding it ridiculous;

Freemasonry & Constitutionalism on the Rise​

Throughout 1760 to 1780, the power of the South American super-colony of Brazil was on the rise within the context of the Portuguese Empire. Thanks to colonial reforms like the CPD and the MAD, there was a structure of rules between Portugal and Brazil that impeded the motherland from acting in treason or exploitation to Brazil without breaching the agreed law and compromising the increasingly-commerce-based relationship. Portugal profited way too much on selling new manufactured goods to Brazil, and Brazil profited way too much on selling plantation goods and gunpowder to Portugal and its remaining colonies. There was also a vested interest in Brazilian elites in expelling its own discontent settlers to Luanda in Angola and Bahia Nova in Tauranga. The masonry was present in many of these contracts and grew in power proportionally.

In 1780, the free masonry in Brazil and the one in Portugal were intrinsically tied, motivated by both their commerce and their mutual distaste for Pombal’s government. The collapse of the Inquisition had allowed these men to act even more freely and the signing of the Tagus Declaration gave them unprecedented mainstream liberty and power. The Grand Orient of Lusitania was officially formed somewhere along the 1769s.[10]

1869 seal celebrating 100 years of the Grand Orient of Lusitania​

These gentlemen had representatives as far away as Macau by 1780, working along the sub-continental trade line to Russian Siberia as a consequence of the Luso-Russian Treaty of Commerce and Friendship,[11] as well as the line in reverse direction to warehouses in Hamburg and St. Petersburg, and mostly defended constitutionalist and republican ideas. The events of the American Revolution had emboldened them, leading to the spread of influence to educated people about ideas of republicanism and liberty. They were poorly received, however, as their cultist demeanor inspired rumors of heresy, debauchery, fraudulence, tax dodging or even Satanism, a reaction akin to popular perception towards Jewish communities.

With the plutocrats growing in power every year, however, it was inevitable that some of their ideas seeped through the cracks of skepticism. Magistrates and lawyers, for example, believed that the state needed indeed a reform on law codification. Radicals wanted the King to sign a constitution that prevented the rise of people like Pombal forever and some fringe individuals wanted an outright republic, arguing that Portugal at its core was but a slightly bigger than normal mercantile state with an unfortunate crusader past. With profit lines growing thinner as the liberation from Pombal’s heavy mercantile restrictions grew colder, many burghers wanted more tax breaks, commerce treaties and codified guidelines to stimulate creation of wealth and productivity.

This all converged on the desire for a code of laws and principles in general. While many old states had formal codes of laws, democratic constitutions, also called enlightened constitutions, were something usually only found in England and its colonies, with the notable exception of Corsica which had one that offered universal suffrage to land owners. An attempted backed by King Charles XII of Sweden had been made in Ukrainian-Zaporozhian lands in 1710, but being a power in exile, it never materialized. The American Founding Fathers also began clamoring for one in the 1780s, but would not ratify it until 1788, in the next epoch relatively to Portuguese history.

The absolutists were still strong in Portugal, however. While King Joseph II was meek in the early phase of his government, he and his wife were popular and traditionalist or power-hungry nationalists wanted him to have as much power as possible, both to impede Pombal from continuing his regime and to serve their own philosophy regarding absolutism in itself, disregarding all arguments against its inefficiency and tendency to be corrupted or undermined. This even ignored a discrete fact that King Joseph II wanted to relieve himself of some of the responsibilities he had that he believed he could not correctly fulfill.

With the passing of laws protecting minorities in 1780 by Joseph II, the status of citizenship was put into question, furthering the challenge that Social Contract presented to politicians. In one letter sent to Lisbon, the Count of Vimioso “Afonso Miguel de Portugal e Castro”, a direct vassal of Joseph II (as the King of Portugal was, by dynasty, simultaneously the Duke of Bragança and King) who temporarily served in Bahia as colonial governor, asked the monarch how was he supposed to reconcile the conflict within the border communities that spoke Leonese offshoots regarding the apparent conflict between their ‘rights’ and the laws passed by Duke John of Lafões, the Science and Education Minister (not to mention the cousin of Joseph’s grandfather), that demanded the mother tongue to be taught in all territories with more scrutiny. Which law was he supposed to impose?

This was perhaps a question that could only be solved by laying out a definitive article on the status of minorities, rather than just a temporary Royal Decree. By extension, perhaps if that article spoke of the status of the main citizens it could only bring benefits and prevent future problems. Absolutists defended that the answer was a stricter code of law, not a constitution, and that any document akin to a bill of rights would forever compromise authority in Portugal.

Much like the Death Penalty, it would not be in this era that this question would be solved, but its events definitely contributed to bringing the point to light. With the rising of tensions all over Europe against the French Jacobins, however, drafting a document formalizing the separation of powers would be made very difficult.

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[1] See Section: Rebirth of Empire (part 2 of 2) - The last Years of Pombal (1777 – 1782) – Monarchical Orders – Early Josephine Acts – The Broken Salt Act & The Monopoly Breakdown.
[2] The placement of this development was chosen by very deliberate projects, such as the reconstruction of Lisbon/Setúbal/Faro, the establishment of the Royal Roads around the Mondego River, the development of Oporto, the first investments in Sines and finally the forced urbanization of Vila Real de Santo António.
[3] Named after how it was primarily used to develop concentrated, tall, waterside infrastructure associated with the plutocrat class.
[4] Named so after how it was associated to Lisboet gentry seeking to follow French fads in a vain way.
[5] Named so after how it was born due to the communities feeling more empowered to develop their art and symbols “out in the open” as popularity for protecting them grew in the 1770s after the Tagus Declaration.
[6] See Section: King and Country (1783) – Demographics & Culture – The ‘Confused’ Generation.
[7] See Section: The Three-Years War (1780 -1783) – The Second Luso-Dutch War (1782 - 1783) – East Indies Theatre – India & the Spice Islands – Battle of Timor (1782).
[8] See Section: Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) – The Last Years of Pombal (1777 - 1782) – Ministry of Health & Agriculture – Potato Cultivation.
[9] This argument was especially important to combat Social Darwinism in Portugal in the early 20th century.
[10] iOTL the Grand Orient of Lusitania was only founded in 1802.
[11] See Section: Rebirth of the Empire (Part 2 of 2) – Luso-Mysore War of 1777 – 1778 – War Impact – Countries and People – European Powers – Prestige and Commerce.

If we were to try and summarize this post into a single sentence it would be that the Portuguese were trying to determine who they really were. But it is really allot more than that . For a people who had just had its world turned upside down and forced to reassess what it really meant to be Portuguese and what values defined the national soul. Unfortunely or fortunately this would be a process that would repeat every generation or second one as the country and empire adapted to new circumstances and societal changes.

Questions/ Comments???

Join us on January 10 ,2021 we post the 4 and last section in the "King and Country 1783" called Politics and Imperialism

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[CountofDooku]

Let me be the first to say that this chapter is pure written gold and perfektion, very nicely done!

 

[Thrudgelmir2333]

Let me be the first to say that this chapter is prue written gold and perfektion, very nicely done!

Thanks. It could be better, though.

 

[Aguss]

Cool updates as always.

What does the brown color on the map (on the Algarve / Faro coast) mean? English-style architecture? Andalusian? Moroccan? Polish?

You did not write a reference for that color.

 

[Adam Corvin]

I'm an Advocate for the death penalty in extreme cases having personally seen far too many creatures not deserving the term human but hey, the ignorant and naïve are gonna be ignorant and naïve.

 

[Drunkrobot]

I'm an Advocate for the death penalty in extreme cases having personally seen far too many creatures not deserving the term human but hey, the ignorant and naïve are gonna be ignorant and naïve.

There are some that would assign ignorance and naivety to the notion of pinning the permanent fate of a human life to an assumption that a state and its criminal prosecution is and can be impartial and flawless.

 

[CountofDooku]

Thanks. It could be better, though.

Maybe it could, but I wish mine were as good as yours are allready.

 

[RedAquilla]

Great Update dealing with more intellectual affairs, it's great to see the Portuguese create their own philosophical thought and way of doing things.