Rebirth of an Empire "O Renascimento de um Império" v2.0
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Rebirth of Empire (Part 1 of 2) - Portuguese Religious Council & Verneyist Thought (4 of 5)
Lusitania
Donor
Rebirth of the Empire (Part 1 of 2) (cont)
Portuguese Religious Council & Verneyist Thought (4 of 5)
Religious Council Stagnation & Verneyist Movement
Portuguese Religious Council & Verneyist Thought (4 of 5)
Religious Council Stagnation & Verneyist Movement
The Portuguese Religious Council legacy was mixed. To many of the nobles it was a great success for it provided them with means to resolve the dispensation crisis they faced. In the months following the Assembly hundreds of requests for dispensation were made in all dioceses and even the most conservative Bishops and Archbishops reluctantly provided them if for no other reason than to keep the nobility on their side. The Assembly failed to address any of the other major political and religious problems affecting the country. Bishops and clergy continued to preach to their congregations against the government and tensions in the country rose to new dangerous levels.
In 1769, the Undeclared War against Spain in South America was ending with good news. Spanish South American troops were being pushed out of Uruguay into Rio de la Plata and, combined with resentment from the Fantastic War triple invasion; Spanish political influence in Portuguese religious matters was compromised. It became clear to many prominent figures in both Portuguese and Spanish society that the terms of the new peace treaty would be not only unfavorable to Spain, but also demand a certain political back-off from the Spanish part on Portuguese political matters.
Simultaneously, Verney had consolidated his political steps as Head of the Religious Council and was ready for his next ambitious step; making a serious breakthrough in Portuguese religion as a whole and announce a set of reforms that would get state and church off each other’s way.
Although his allies and supporters were growing thanks to his charisma and reasonable theological arguments, so was the awareness of his enemies of how far Verney was willing to go. His arguments in favor of getting off the Jewish community’s case, allowing heretics and heathers to obtain higher posts and worst of all ending Inquisition in Portuguese India scared a lot of people from all social levels and made it clear to conservative inhabitants who judged him as harmless that Verney was not only allied to Pombal, but was dangerous to the country.
Therefore, Verney’s room of maneuver was not as mine-free as he would have wanted. The Religious Council’s authority began to be questioned in late 1769 and some conservative representatives began calling for a new head. The Religious Council’s law, however, established no formal date for changing the head as said head was merely a representative of representatives that could or not convince them to back his ideas. Verney, however, was revealing himself more moving and radical as time passed and walls began to be placed here and there in his policies. He was prevented, for example, from extending further rights to non-Christians and further reforming the already very secular religiously-born orders.
Verney, however, instead of wasting time and strength pushing his ideas even further, focused his energies and experiences with the Portuguese clergy in writing a piece of work that would forever change the country.
The ‘Tentativa Theológica’ & ‘Demonstração Theológica’
In 1765 at the request of Pombal and Bishop Saldanha, Father Anthony Pereira Figueiredo[1] published the “Tentativa Theológica”, a detailed manifest advocating that each Bishop had the divine right to provide dispensation in their diocese.[2] It did not advocate a break from Rome but it planted the idea that the Portuguese church and its Bishops were the best ones to administering their dioceses.
Pombal seized on the “Tentativa Theológica” as the means to weaken the Roman Catholic Church’s grip on Portugal. Starting in 1766, using all means available the Portuguese government with the support and backing of King Joseph I lent its support to “Tentativa Theológica”, informally funding its publication to all corners of the Empire. The “Tentativa Theológica” was translated and published in Spain, France, the Italian Peninsula and the Holy Roman Empire. It was received with much praise in Portugal and Europe but also condemned by conservatives. When it was translated into Latin and published in the Italian Peninsula, Rome responded by having it burned.
In Lisbon, Bishop Francisco (I) de Saldanha da Gama began providing dispensations in 1767, but in 1768 the Bishop of Coimbra, Miguel da Anunciação, who was from a very noble family and had great prestige in the country, published a pastoral letter condemning “Tentativa Theológica” and prohibiting people from reading it along with also prohibiting people from accepting new ideas including the new scientific French philosophy being encouraged by the government. The Bishop was arrested and brought before trial for overreaching his authority.
The radicalization of Verneyist feelings as a result of the Coimbra bishop’s anti-Verneyist actions could not be understated. His pastoral letter was judged to be “false, inflammatory and seditious” by court but, while no legal penalty was applied to the documents themselves as a result of the secularization reforms passed by the Pombaline Cabinet, there were several indignant uprisings in moderate circles and the pastoral letter was burned in a political ceremony at the “Chamber of Commerce” in Lisbon. Bishop Miguel was stripped of all his privileges and property and imprisoned in an underground cell at the “Forte de Pedrouços”.[3]
In 1771, as Rio de Janeiro chose to join the Liberation Act that decreed the end of slave trade, Father Louis Verney and Goa Archbishop Manuel Soares, building on the work of Father Anthony Pereira de Figueiredo published the “Demonstração Theológica”, a detailed manifest comprised of over 110 points of theological logic which advocated an independent Portuguese Catholic Church with the Pope continuing as the spiritual head of the Church but headed by the Portuguese Religious Council.
The ‘Theological Essay’ Treatise
Written by Father Verney – Archbishop Soares under Father Pereira Figueiredo name[4]
The treatise, as already stated, had over 100 points of order, but a few main ones stood out and characterized its beliefs most uniquely:
- Anti-Roman Stance: Perhaps the most important and debatable point was the role of the Pope according to the Treatise. It renounced the Pope as an undeniable voice of truth as well as Latin as the tongue of church rituals.
- Pontifical Recognition: Compounding and contrasting this first idea, it recognized the Pope’s symbolic role as a head of the Church based on its tracing back to the Apostle Peter. On the other hand, the Orthodox Patriarchs were given similar recognition based on the sacredness of their ‘lineage’.
- Rejection of Absolutist & Traditionalist Thinking: The Verneyist belief that no man, clerical or not, could truly understand the nature of God or of the Prophet and, therefore, any violent or inflexible human behavior on the matter, especially passed down without grounding, was inherently arrogant and fallacious. It became quickly considered a ‘Pacifist and Tolerant’ theory that rejected Holy Wars and Inquisitions as viable or just methods of redemption, tribute or service to god in favor of understanding, compromise or tolerance.
- Anti-Traditionalism: Complementing the Rejection of Absolutist Thinking, this called for an ongoing discussion of what constituted as punishable heresy in the context of the local culture. Punishment and tribute, two of the main aspects of classical religious expression, were no longer of inflexible form. Drawing upon the events of the Lisbon Earthquake, it also rejected the idea of natural catastrophes as Punishment from God.
- Abrahamic Syncretism: The belief on a duty of the Church to bridge divisions with other Abrahamic faiths, particularly Judaism and Orthodox Christianity, rather than widening them. It admitted, for example, that sacred sites of the Hebrew and Eastern faiths also held sacred meaning to Catholics due to a strong shared root to Abrahamic faith. This would later on extend to certain Protestant beliefs after the Order of Christ Conspiracy and even Islamic aspects after the Portuguese-Morocco Wars of the 19th Century.
- Secular Political State: A semi-secular belief that recognized the human state, such as the kingdom or the republic, as a growing entity reflective of human imperfection seeking to immortalize human progress and that it should be held separate from the church due to a conflict of nature.
- The Patriarchies: The formal recognition of the archdiocese of Goa as the ‘Rome of the East’ on the same level of Lisbon as the ‘Rome of the West’, (at least within the realm of the Verneyist Church), as well as the evolution of demographical circumstances as a driving force for the need to proclaim or revoke the role in the future.
- The Church of Portugal: The final main point of the Verneyist Church. Empowered by the papal recognition of the archbishop of Lisbon as Patriarch, countless historical figures, national Saints and the role of the colonial empire in spreading Christianity, it defended the strength of the Portuguese Catholic Church as one of separate identity to that of Rome’s and the only one truly capable of expressing Portuguese faith to the Lord.
Pombal seized on the “Demonstração Theológica” as the means to break the Roman Catholic Church’s grip on Portugal and to replace it with a modern church that would be a partner in the reforms and modernization of Portugal instead of hindrances. The crown censorship on all printed materials continued.
Starting in 1771, using all means available the Portuguese government with the support and backing of King Joseph I lent its support to “Demonstração Theológica”, informally funding its publication to all corners of the Empire. A propaganda campaign was fought against the “Old Order” and anyone who spoke out against “Demonstração Theológica” in favor of traditional Catholicism was gradually ostracized.
International Impact and National Radicalization
The impact of the treatise could be felt all over Portuguese society and it would see translations to French and English as well. Its attack on clerical influence in courts saw a lot of applause and a quick rise in approval in certain less zealous aristocratic circles and many plutocratic groups sympathized with its syncretic ideals, anti-traditionalism and insults at the Inquisition. On the other hand, it was censored in the more moralist European courts, especially the Spanish one.
Before the Order of Christ Conspiracy took place, one of the main spreaders of the treatise was none other than its, Archbishop Manuel Soares.
Archbishop Manuel Soares
1726-1812
Bishop of Kochi, Archbishop of Goa, Patriarch of Goa
Religious Council Representative and Co-writer of the ‘Demonstração Theológica’
Born in Braga during the religiously luxurious reign of John V, Archbishop Soares made a clerical career all around western India, where he became intimately familiar with the history and present circumstances of Indian Christianity. His intelligence and insight earned him a place in the Religious Council under Saldanha’s term, where he met Verney and began exchanging theological debates with him. He’s widely attributed with many of the syncretic thoughts in the ‘Demonstração Theológica’, as he often argued against the Church’s all-knowing stance and its inability to comprehend its many faithful cultures, instead warring for a pro-roman attitude in populations living completely outside the European world.
Upon returning to the East he became the main voucher of the treatise, which was much more successful there than even in Portugal itself thanks to its laidback stance on converting Indian locals and its efforts to compensate the Indian archdiocese for the two hundred years of inquisition.
[1] Father Antonio Pereira de Figueiredo was born in 1725 in the town of Mação Beira (Estremadura). He was educated under the Jesuits in the college at Villa Viçosa. At the age of 20 he took religious vows in the Oratory of the Holy Spirit at Lisbon where he studied philosophy and theology. In 1752, he published his first book “New Method of Latin Grammar”. His publications soon placed him in the crosshairs of the Jesuits. He continued to publish several other books both on education and religion over the following years. Between 1760 and 1765 he become Portugal’s most prominent theologian with the publication of commentary on the fifth, sixth and seventh Ecumenical Councils, Council of Nicea and the second and third Ecumenical Synods.
[2] In 1760 the schism between Portugal and Rome had caused much anguish and concern amongst the Portuguese nobles, who were some of the most related in Europe. Requiring dispensation from Rome to marry many marriages had been postponed or cancelled due to the inability to receive this dispensation from Rome.
[3]In 1778, he was allowed to leave prison on condition he accept the new Portuguese Catholic Church but he refused and stayed in prison until his death in 1779.
[4] The use of Father Anthony Pereira de Figueiredo was used to provide additional credence to the Treatise as well allow both Verney and Archbishop Soares to support it.
Note:
We are now dealing with the religious aspects of the reign of King joseph I. In these chapters we provide additional details on the religious reforms occurring within Portugal. Now we actually able to see the Treatises and the impact they had in both the church and country as whole. Note: iOTL both of these Treatises were published during this time and Father Figueiredo was the author of both and an advocate of major reform but the forces against him were too great. iTTL reformers are able to gain the upper hand (at least for now). Comments / questions???.
Please return Sunday July 16 as we publish the last chapters in "Portuguese Religious Council & Verneyist Thought"
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Good updates!
There are a few typos. Where it reads Macao, it should be Mação, and it was located at that time (XVIII century) in the historical province of Beira. Where it reads Villa Vicosa, it should be Villa Viçosa.
Lusitania
Donor
It will be both welcomed and rejected. There are parts of the Empire where these changes will help the church and be very welcome while in more conservative and reactionary. We will discuss the empire reaction in next post.
Good updates!
There are a few typos. Where it reads Macao, it should be Mação, and it was located at that time (XVIII century) in the historical province of Beira. Where it reads Villa Vicosa, it should be Villa Viçosa.
Thanks corrections made
Rebirth of Empire (Part 1 of 2) - Portuguese Religious Council & Verneyist Thought (5 of 5)
Lusitania
Donor
Rebirth of the Empire (Part 1 of 2) (cont)
Portuguese Religious Council & Verneyist Thought (5 of 5)
The Last Roman Assembly & Birth of the Church of Portugal
Portuguese Religious Council & Verneyist Thought (5 of 5)
The Last Roman Assembly & Birth of the Church of Portugal
As months passed tensions rose in the country with clergy, nobles and commoners unsure what lay ahead for them. Not a day would go by that news about another priest, noble or peasant being arrested for sedition. At his time, many publications and pamphlets circulated throughout the country attacking many of the imprisoned clergy and espousing virtues of a free and independent church. Stories of atrocities and economic misdeeds due to Jesuits and other orders were readily available and with many more Portuguese able to read was disseminated in the pubs and streets to the illiterate[1].
Verney ordered each Bishop to appear before the Inquisition which was headed by Pombal’s brother Paulo de Mendonça. The first to appear before the Inquisition was Archbishop of Lisbon, Dom Fernando de Sousa da Silva. Evidence was produced of his inflammatory sermons and several clergy under him provided evidence of his plotting against the government. Archbishop Dom Fernando de Sousa da Silva was arrested and imprisoned. The trial of Archbishop Dom Fernando de Sousa da Silva served as a warning to the remaining open conservative Bishops and Archbishops to either resign, support the government or be imprisoned. The Bishop of Guarda, Bernardo Osório, being of advanced age chose to retire instead of opposing the government. With the country on verge of religious and political war Prelate Verney called for the 2nd Portuguese Religious Assembly of 1769. Wanting the Assembly to be a true meeting of Portugal and its colonies religious leaders he ordered the Bishops of Brazil and Africa to also attend. But the situation in Brazil was even worse than in Portugal, as four of the seven Brazilian Dioceses were vacant and no one attended from them. Of the three Brazilian Bishops (Rio, Olinda and Maranha) only the Bishop of Olinda, Francisco Xavier Aranha, accepted the Prelate’s invitation and sailed to Lisbon for the Assembly.
The African and Indian dioceses, however, were far friendlier to the invitation. Used as they were to compromise with local faiths, many of them saw in Verneyist thinking an opportunity to reform the Catholic Church in their favor. From Africa the Bishop of Angola and Congo, Manuel de Santa Ines Ferreira, set sail for Lisbon too.
The Prelate of Portugal opened the 2nd Portuguese Catholic Assembly on November 2nd 1770, to the gathered bishops and Archbishops with a prayer of enlightenment and forgiveness but the direction and purpose of the Assembly was set by none other than Father Antonio Pereira de Figueiredo who citing the “Catecismo de Montellier” spoke in how the church and its officials must disseminate and practice a more austere piety based on a better understanding of the religion itself. He closed by stating that it was through this manner that all parish priest and religious men and women would find the subject that they needed to teach their parishioners to “uphold their duties to their state”.
The assembled bishops and Representatives kneeling before the Prelate during the Last Roman Assembly
The Assembly, now dominated by enlightened or pro-Verney leaders, moved to establish a modern and independent Portuguese Catholic Church. When the discussion came to Pope, the role and place of Bishop of Rome divided the leaders with some advocating for complete break with Rome, but Verney argued to continue spiritual link to Rome, a link to their religious heritage but without the backwards and medieval constraints. The Assembly voted to establish the Portuguese Catholic Council with the Patriarchs of Lisbon as its official head, instead. The role of Monarchy was limited to advisory to the council and each archdiocese was granted a renewed representative seat. The Portuguese Catholic Assembly was to meet every four years to debate and discuss matters that affected the church and country.
The shattering actions of the Assembly immediately shock-waved throughout the city and went not without their critics. The Bishop of Faro, Lourenço de Santa Maria e Melo who had voted against all of the Assemblies motions stood up and made a speech in which he refused to accept the actions of the Assembly. In a last act of defiance, he walked out of the Assembly turning his back on his fellow bishops.[2]
The last act of the 2nd Assembly was the election of a new Patriarch of Lisbon. The Bishop of Evora was the first to nominate Prelate Luís António Verney, the nomination was echoed by all the gather Bishops and Archbishops as well as supporting staff. Verney refused the nomination at first stating that there were many other more qualified candidates but when the Assembly voted unanimously to elect Verney as the new Patriarch of Lisbon and Prelate of the Portuguese Catholic Council (PCC). Verney accepted the show of support for him and thanked them for their confidence and finally asked for their prayer.
Public outrage was soon called upon when the Assembly’s actions were declared with all segments of society shocked by the sudden declaration of schism. To drive the killing blow to the conservative cause, Prelate Verney issued ‘The Tagus Declaration’, expressing the intentions of the Church, its declaration of independence from Rome and calling forth the support of the estates for this radical movement.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] The Portuguese government had the services of some of Portugal’s most gifted writers and theologians producing the publications such as Antonio Pereira de Figueiredo, Antonio Ribeiro dos Santos, Jose Seabra da Silva and Joao Ramos de Azeredo Coutrinho. While regulating what religious books were published through Real Mesa Censoria.
[2] Bishop Melo never made it out of Lisbon, his carriage was ambushed less than one mile from the Assembly and he was arrested.
Note:
We are now dealing with the religious aspects of the reign of King joseph I. In these chapters we provide additional details on the religious reforms occurring within Portugal. We ave reached the natural conclusion of our discussions regarding religion in the country and Empire. This is not the end of section though for all that has happened will now lead us to the next part The Pombaline Revolution. Comments / questions???.
Please return Thursday July 20 as we begin the most exiting and thrilling part of King Joseph I reign apply named "The Pombaline Revolution"
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- How would it play with the relations with other Catholic powers?
- Will French Gallicanists try to mimic this move, ad they did OTL during the revolution?
- Is Pombal trying to set up councils for the other religions, so as to better control Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism et al.?
Would just like to remind the friendly tropers who created the TV Tropes's page for this timeline to update it when appropriate, especially as the posts begin to move towards political and cultural sections.
This will be covered in due time in separate topics, depending on relevance.
As of the moment the Pombaline government considers those as minorities, not as an estate-level preoccupation, and is likely to approach them very differently. The Berber Act and the CPD policy variants in Goa should serve as a semi-appropriate example.
Lusitania
Donor
Glad you enjoying it. We are just about ready to get dirty and see the intrigue.
Gallicanism was in existence prior to the Portuguese chism. While there are many differences the most basic wa that many in the Gallicanist community advocated regional or down to each Bishop that to me would lead to 1001 churches each going their own way. The Portuguese church tried to modernize and when Rome rejected all attempts the Portuguese took it upon themselves to embrace faith in new and modern way. As for future impact we will wait to see but the French Revolution had a far greater impact than the Portuguese chism.
Rebirth of Empire (Part 1 of 2) - The Pombaline Revolution (1 of 3)
Lusitania
Donor
Rebirth of the Empire (Part 1 of 2) (cont)
The Pombaline Revolution (1 of 3)
The Pombaline Revolution (1 of 3)
The days, hours even, following the Assembly were of outrage, disbelief and uncertainty for virtually the entire Portuguese society. The new Portuguese Church declared spiritual war on traditional Catholicism and announced its intentions to enforce its pre-modern beliefs on the entire country. Sudden instability struck the nation as some priests announced their support while others attempted to gather protests. The Portuguese Army was immediately ordered to stay alert by King Joseph I. As the dust settled on the explosive declaration, many could do little more than wait and see what catastrophe happened.
Predicting that religious upheaval would soon hit the streets, many embassies temporarily closed doors, notably the Spanish one which immediately sent messages to Madrid to relay the Lisbon’s See announcements, message that was intercepted by the SIMP and kept secret by the Count of Oeiras so as to not intimidate Verney’s supporters with the prospect of Spanish military interventions.
Soon enough, many supporters of the new church went out to the streets shouting victory and declaring their support. Antagonists shouted back with screams of heresy and dishonor. The stage was set for nation-scale inner conflicts and the Royal Guard found itself already arresting citizens.
The Tagus Declaration (1769)
“Completely uncharacteristic of the cabinet of the time, yet absolutely defining to the very cabinet’s historical significance, the piece of paper that was, for all intents, an informal first draft of the Constitutional Chart of Joseph II’s last years, was in the time of the reign of his grandfather Joseph I perhaps the most important document of its age.”
“The Tagus Declaration and its impact on the Constitutional Thinking in Portugal” by Miguel Vicente de Abreu, one of Portugal’s foremost 19th century Historians (1827 – 1883)
“Completely uncharacteristic of the cabinet of the time, yet absolutely defining to the very cabinet’s historical significance, the piece of paper that was, for all intents, an informal first draft of the Constitutional Chart of Joseph II’s last years, was in the time of the reign of his grandfather Joseph I perhaps the most important document of its age.”
“The Tagus Declaration and its impact on the Constitutional Thinking in Portugal” by Miguel Vicente de Abreu, one of Portugal’s foremost 19th century Historians (1827 – 1883)
Though usually attributed to Verney, the document that would formalize national politics for the remainder of the century and well into the beginning of the constitutional era, otherwise known as the 1769 Issue or Tagus Declaration, was actually the work of a number of parties interested in controlled revolution in Portugal, which included none other than the Marquis of Pombal himself.
The Tagus Declaration was more than merely a religious schism announcement; it was also a formal, primitive form of a Bill of Rights. It set ideological guidelines regarding not only science but also religion, war, politics, society and education based on the thoughts of many minds influenced by the tensions in Portugal during the 1760s, but lacked in the parliamentary and libertine thinking areas that actually attributed citizen rights that could be deemed as dangerous at the time. All in all, it was a successful attempt to transform the country, but its limited form, especially in comparison to the constitutions that would rise in America and France later on, would inspire Constitutionalist thinking that would eventually deem it obsolete.
Even so, the Tagus Declaration was immensely important and radical for its place and time, challenging traditional Portuguese society to take up new paradigms for itself. Initially written by Church-to-State as a formal renunciation of clerical influence over the government, it was morphed by the Pombalists into something far more complex and meaningful, carrying hundreds of points regarding royal legislature and social structuring that would define the very nature of the state for at least the following four decades.
While it contained over a hundred provisions once formally processed and handed out by the state, it also included a number of ideological commitments towards enlightenment and progress. The most important points included:
- Monarchical Communion with Portuguese Church: The King and the Kingdom of Portugal were divinely ordained by the Church of Portugal, formalizing the separation from the Roman Church;
- Law of the Land: Legislation and judicial powers were tied to state, territory or realm, not to overall country. Formal colonial states had their authority to pass laws and judgment fully recognized. This allowed the Tagus Declaration to gain support from many oversea areas;
- Prohibition of Obstacles: Men in church could not be denied education and career by the state and, likewise, men of the state and businesses could not be denied education or career for religious reasons. This drew directly from the renunciation of ‘Blood Cleanliness’ but applied it state-wide, rather than merely CPD-wide;
- Eradication of ‘Clergy’ & ‘Burgher’ Estates: The Clergy and Burghers were no longer recognized by law, instead treated as citizens of ecclesiastic, capitalist and clerk classes with no special feudal-style rights or restrictions. This reflected the change of Portuguese society under Pombal, with Church separating itself from State and merchants, bankers, investors and bureaucrats being given stronger and more centralized representation institutions (like the Lisbon-style Mints and the Chambers of Commerce);
- Redefinition of the ‘Noble’ Estate: One of the most radical points, this included the redistribution of the privilege of aristocratic titles to focus on its titular power rather than its landed one. In social terms, it meant decreased aristocratic land privileges, thus allowing for more government-sponsored or capitalist-funded terrain development or industrialization, in exchange for greater prestige of family name as well as greater judicial ties with the king. Monetarily, it increased land obligations on Nobles such as taxes or development/occupation permission hand-outs in exchange for more secure or larger pensions;
- Portuguese Honors System: Expanding upon the previous point, this called for a more widespread elevation of noteworthy citizens to status of ‘Life Peers’ or ‘Sirs’ (in the Portuguese case, ‘Dom’ or ‘Lorde’), thus distributing non-hereditary pensions and titles, as well as right of representation in Royal Court;
- Justice for the People: While social hierarchy was still in place in the previous two points, lower classes were entitled to judicial defense for the greater good of the realm’s war against corruption. This sat on enlightened ideals that believed older orders were vulnerable to localized tyrannies that strengthened small powers in detriment of the King and the People;
- Society of Assemblies: Entities such as the Chambers of Commerce, aristocratic councils, limited peasant assemblies that rose in the 1780s and even Religious Councils of the Portuguese Catholic Church and similar present religions were to be protected from outside interference, allowing the classes to decide more matters, more independently and by their own rulebooks;
- Subscription to the Portuguese Catholic Church: Finally, the popular adherence and support of the signers for the Church of Portugal as the main religious body in the nation, stripped of interference powers but allowed the spread of its practice.
It is safe to say that the Tagus Declaration was the ‘de facto’ manifesto of what came to be known as the Pombaline Revolution, a series of events and taken steps that took place in the country between the Last Roman Assembly and the crowing of Joseph II in Brazil as a King in communion with the new church. It’s glorification of the ideas of enlightenment allowed for the transformation of the nation’s nature over the course of a few years through its signing by several prominent names of the main estates who adhered to the new reforms and sought to bring about further.
The Tagus Declaration was extended to the Chambers of Commerce and courts to ask for either their support or their revolt.
Enlightened Aristocrats, Burghers and Freemasons signing their support for the Schism in the Tagus Declaration and initiating the Pombaline Revolution
With a professional military powered by victories in Cisplatina and Morocco standing by the King, the issuing of this document came with a lot of punch to it, leaving little maneuver for discussion. Though dissidence rose, most of the interested parties signed their support and requested legislative validation to be passed by the Crown.
The document was contemporarily radical, as it held strong beliefs supporting the change of the status quo. Its ideas on the Aristocratic Estate appeared compromising, but actually fundamentally changed its framework and interaction by further closing the judiciary circuit and limiting the manner Nobles restricted progress and national action. The reduced land privileges for the aristocracy, for example, would allow for businessmen and poor farmers to use more land for agriculture, commerce and manufactory, but in turn the Nobles were given more judiciary privacy, more solid hereditary laws and more exclusivity in ceremonial matters.
By far the most benefitted estate was that of the Burghers, who saw job posts liberated all over the empire and land available for use in many previously restricted aristocratic possessions. The 1770s would see a rapid rise in the number of contracts signed between burghers and aristocrats, mostly regarding land use, stimulating a new culture of business prestige amongst the nobles as influence began to be affected by the number and power of businessmen in league with them.
The people, in turn, saw something new be offered to them by the Declaration in the form of judiciary protection against privileged classes. Though education levels and economy did not allow for actual representation in court for the masses, many land confiscation and executive powers over them were restricted. This left out, of course, institutions like the PRP, which continued to plague the people in the shadows by migrating them for the government’s benefit.
Combined with the schism with Rome, the result was a society of more isolated estates with less stepping over of one another and more potential for development and growth in the country. It also meant an end to many obstacles that plagued Pombal’s reforms should it be enforced.
On January 1st of 1770, King Joseph I, backed by the Tagus Signers, announced the passing of the Declaration’s ideas as processed law.
The Portuguese Catholic Church
As the 2nd Assembly wrapped up Prelate Verney requested that all the gathered Bishops to remain in Lisbon for the 1st Council meeting of the new Portuguese Catholic Church. On November 26, the first Portuguese Catholic Council meeting opened with Prelate Verney leading the meeting. Of Portugal’s 15 dioceses less than half were occupied, while in Brazil only one diocese was occupied. The first order of business was to fill the vacant diocese chairs. Verney and Pombal had amassed a huge list of priests and religious men, who were interviewed before the Inquisition even as the Assembly was underway. Men were imprisoned for their anti-government and anti-PCC views, but of those that passed a short list was created of who be the most capable and loyal Bishops.
The filling of the vacant diocese seats still left the church with many capable men and the religious situation in the country was still very dangerous. The PCC voted to establish several new dioceses not only in Portugal but also in Brazil, all based on their historical, demographical and administrative importance. The Dioceses of Castelo Branco, Aveiro, Braganca, Pinhel, Penafiel and Beja were created[1]. In Brazil the dioceses of Cuiba, Fortaleza, Goias and Porto Alegre were created. Portugal was left with 36 dioceses in Portugal, Brazil, Africa and Asia.
Portuguese Catholic Church (Prelate)
West Archdioceses
Patriarchy of Portugal
Lisbon
Braga
Evora
Patriarchy of Brazil
Bahia
Rio de Janeiro
Cisplatina (post 1775)[5]
East Archdioceses
Patriarchy of Goa
Goa
Macau[2]
Dili[3]
Patriarchy of Africa
Angola – Congo
Guinea[4]
Mozambique[6]
Table of Portuguese Empire Archdioceses
The three-tiered Prelate Tiara
Patriarchy of Portugal
Lisbon
Braga
Evora
Patriarchy of Brazil
Bahia
Rio de Janeiro
Cisplatina (post 1775)[5]
East Archdioceses
Patriarchy of Goa
Goa
Macau[2]
Dili[3]
Patriarchy of Africa
Angola – Congo
Guinea[4]
Mozambique[6]
Table of Portuguese Empire Archdioceses
The three-tiered Prelate Tiara
The Portuguese Catholic Church in Portugal and all its overseas provinces was also reformed as all the Churches positions were also opened to all religious persons. Thousands of local Catholics religious people moved up in the churches hierarchy filling positions that once had only been reserved for white religious people. The first non-white bishop was Father Pedro Fernandes born in 1743 to a Catholic Native family from Goa. He became a priest in 1762 and went to work with the people of Timor in 1769. In 1799 he became the bishop of Dili. By 1780 Portugal had less than 50,000 people in 122 monasteries. This number did not include all the new monasteries and missionaries in the Americas, Africa, India and Asia. These missionaries would play a huge part in Portugal’s rise to power in the 1900s, many times being the catalyst of that rise.
New Bishops were installed in America, Africa, India and Asia to help direct the missionaries and the new Portuguese Catholic converts. The new missionaries worked side by side with the government to convert the locals not only to Catholicism but to also make them Portuguese.
Inácio de São Caetano Convent in Goa
Seat of Asian PCC Patriarchy
On the diplomatic side, the Portuguese government continued its diplomatic and public Relationship against the Jesuits with great success. In 1773 Pope Clemente XIV abolished the Jesuit Order, it was hoped that this action would allow Portugal to re-establish diplomatic relationship with the Holy See and lead to integration of the Portuguese Catholic Church into the Roman Catholic Church. This did not happen and it was only during the reign of Dom Carlos I in 1883, more than a century later, that diplomatic relationship with the Pope Leo XIII and the Holy See was re-established.
[1] iOTL these are the same dioceses that were created in 1771.
[2] In 1772 the Diocese of Macao was promoted to Archdiocese as the Archbishop of Macao became involved in the evangelization of Southern China and Northern Vietnam.
[3] In 1772 the Portuguese Religious council moved the Diocese of Malacca to Dili the capital of Timor. The Diocese of Malacca was established in 1558 as suffrage to Archdiocese of Goa. In 1576, it lost territory to the Diocese of Macao. In 1641 with the loss of Malacca to the Dutch it lost its remaining territory and became an honorary diocese. In 1772 the growth of Portuguese Timor and Flores convinced the Portuguese Religious council that the colony needed its own diocese. The Diocese of Macao was stripped of its East Indies parishes and the Archdiocese of Dili was created.
[4] The Parishes of Cape Verde and Guinea had been under the Diocese of Funchal. The implication of the Bishop of Funchal in the Order of Christ Conspiracy and the growth of Guinea both economically and population resulted in the Diocese of Funchal being stripped of all its African parishes and the establishment of the Archdiocese of Guinea in 1776.
[5] The combination of the huge population growth in Cisplatina, the desire by Verney and those within the council to support the anti-slavery movement in Brazil and the desire to support the part of Brazil where the council had its greatest support resulted in the creation of the Archdiocese of Montevideo in 1775. The creation of the third Brazilian Archdiocese continued the shift in Brazil from the north to the south, first economically, then politically now religiously.
[6] The distance and growing size of Portuguese presence in Africa and Indian Ocean led the PCC to not only create the first diocese in East Africa but to promote it to Archdiocese. The appointment of Amaro José de Santo Thomaz Amaro José de Santo Thomaz as Archbishop of Mozambique would be instrumental in the church’s influence in East Africa greatly surpassing the Portuguese political control for decades.
Note:
Wanted to apologize for the listing of church archdioceses and the out of order footnotes. When we wrote the section they were in a table with the footnotes in order but due to our inability to copy or import tables they were all mixed up so I improvised and listed them logically instead but the footnotes are now out of place. Hope you can still follow.
The Pombaline revolution is being posted in 3 sections: the 1st which we just posted deals with the after affects of the Religious Schism we posted in our religious section and the accompanying Tagus Declaration (apology to Portuguese purists Tagus being the English translation of the Tejo, but due to this being an English language board we decided to use the English name) and its far reaching implications as well as church structural reforms. These political and aristocratic reforms along with religious schism will be the catalyst for the upcoming section. Comments / questions???.
Please return Sunday July 23 as we post the "Order of Christ Conspiracy"
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Lusitania
Donor
Thanks, more to follow
That is the plan to not only enhance the readers experience by providing an exiting and complete TL but to also continue in its development and writing to current times.
Rebirth of Empire (Part 1 of 2) - The Pombaline Revolution (2 of 3)
Lusitania
Donor
Rebirth of the Empire (Part 1 of 2) (cont)
The Pombaline Revolution (2 of 3)
The Order of Christ Conspiracy
The Pombaline Revolution (2 of 3)
The Order of Christ Conspiracy
D. Joseph I married Mariana of Spain, daughter of Phillip V of Spain, in 1729. The Spanish princess, as befitting of her cultural upbringing, was serious, pious and conservative. They only had four daughters:
- D. Maria Francisca born in 1734,
- D. Maria Ana Francisca born in 1736,[1]
- D. Maria Francisca Doroteia born in 1739,[2]
- D. Maria Francisca Benedita born in 1746.[3]
The Queen and her daughters begged and pleaded for D. Joseph I to dismiss Pombal for the sake of the country but his faith in Pombal remained solid so he dismissed their pleading and requests. This only made them more determined and resolved in their opposition to the Pombal.
Following the Távora affair the Queen and her daughters had in essence became Pombal’s only major opposition, so Pombal set out to reduce their influence in court. His first attempt to match the eldest daughter with someone more in line with his thinking was a failure when in 1760 the D. Maria Francisca was married to her uncle Pedro of Braganza. A marriage arranged by her mother the Queen.
As for the other three daughters, he convinced the King to allow him to arrange their marriages in order to strengthen Portugal politically. Pombal worked feverishly and was able to pair all three of them off. The Queen disapproved all of the matches found by Pombal but the King overrode her objections and consented to each of the marriages.
In 1762 the second oldest daughter D. Maria Ana Francisca was married to her uncle the recently widowed Filipe I de Bourbon-Parma, brother of her mother.
In 1763, he concluded a marriage between the youngest of D. Jose I daughters D. Maria Francisca Benedita and Principe Ferdinando Antonio Pasquale Giovanni Nepomuceno Serafino Gennaro Benedetto of Naples and Sicily, son of Spain’s Carlos III. Later on, that same year, D. Maria Francisca Doroteia was married to William, Duke of Cumberland, the younger son of George II of Great Britain.[4] In the previous year he had accompanied General Townsend and the English army during its foray in Portugal during the latter part of the Seven Year War. Unfortunately, he had gotten sick (heart attack) soon after his arrival and was forced to stay in Portugal while recuperating. While in court he and D. Maria Francisca Doroteia developed a liking to each other and following his recovery Pombal arranged for them to be married.
The Queen and her entourage were in shock at the development and their apparent predicament. In less than three years Pombal had greatly reduced the influence and power of the Royal family in court, but in 1765 circumstances provided them with renewed vigor in their opposition to Pombal. The “break” of the Portuguese Catholic Church and Rome and, more importantly, the signing of the controversial ‘Tagus Declaration’ shocked both the Queen and D. Maria Francisca, heir to the throne, as it was for all intents a formal declaration of war by Pombal’s supporters against Portuguese society.
The Conspirators
In 1761 Princess Maria Francisca, the heir to the throne married her uncle Dom Pedro, brother to the King. Donna Maria and her husband much like her father were not interested in political matters. Both of them were very religious and favored the “Companhia de Jesus” Jesuit Order.
Left: Maria Francisca
Princess of Brazil, Heiress to the Portuguese Throne
Right: Prince Peter
The events of Pombal’s governing, especially after the Távora Affair and Tagus Declaration, had poised her and her husband against Pombal, however. This was mostly due to her aristocratic upbringing which left her with an intense religious mania and melancholia that made her susceptible to reactionary influence, from which there was plenty in the court that raised her. By the birth of her eldest (and mentally healthy) son Prince Joseph of Brazil, her position regarding Pombal was solidly formed and even with the checkmating of her sisters by the Prime Minister she sought to curb his influence with her father, king Joseph.
They became distressed with the religious politics that were being advanced by Pombal and the new Portuguese Religious Council. In their confidence of immunity because of their proximity to the King (Dom Pedro being the King’s brother and Donna Maria being his daughter), the two organized themselves against Pombal and those advocating an Independent Portuguese Catholic Church, thus making themselves the main opposition to Pombal and the Portuguese Catholic Church.
The Jesuits who had already been expelled from Portugal and were locked in a dirty propaganda war with the Portuguese government provided Donna Maria and Dom Pedro through the ambassador from Spain with the necessary money to organize and plan their opposition. Two prominent nobles were recruited; the Marquis of Angeja and the Viscount of Vila Nova de Cerveira to lead the forces against Pombal. Dom Pedro and Donna Maria provided the moral and political legitimacy to the conspiracy. They were to be the new King and Queen of Portugal after the Dom Joseph I was forced to abdicate once Pombal had been eliminated. The group became known as the “Conspiração da Ordem de Cristo”, the Order of Christ Conspiracy, named after the infiltration of many Jesuit agents in the reformed Order of Christ as part of their plan to prevent the persecution of their allies by the Prime Minister.
The Spanish government and Crown, who still harbored territorial desires on Portugal even after 100 years following the Restoration of the Portuguese Independence and held resentment from their intense losses throughout the Seven Years War, were alarmed at both the political and religious changes occurring in Portugal as well as its militarization, seeing it as British interference. They hoped to benefit as Portugal became embroiled in a civil war which could even provide them an opportunity to recover from their losses and install a friendly monarch in their neighbor that would reinstate the Jesuit Order.
Elevation to Marquis and the SIMP Persecution
On May 20, 1768 while returning to court in Ajuda from viewing the reconstruction of Lisbon, Pombal and his escort were attacked by a dozen armed men. Pombal was wounded in the attack and six of his eight guards were killed along with eight of the attackers. The remaining four attackers were wounded and captured, but unfortunately none of them lived long enough to identify their backers.
The attack on Pombal's life shocked the King, the cabinet and much of the society segment that supported his reforms, sending flashbacks of the Távora Affair that had occurred ten years earlier to many who learned of the event, as once again a direct attempt on the life of one of the heads of the reformations had been made. The wounds that Pombal suffered limited his duties and he became very sick during the winter of 1769.
In 1770 following the attack and in recognition of Carvalho e Melo outstanding work, Dom Joseph I made him the Marquis of Pombal. The aristocratic promotion was announced to the kingdom with mixed reactions, as it was a clear assertion of state power from Joseph I who intended to make it clear to Pombal’s attackers that they had only strengthened the King’s resolve to support his reforms. The title of Marquis of Pombal became historically associated to Prime Minister Melo, being his iconic title of reference well into the modern day.
For the new Marquis, it meant recognition from the King and increased powers, of course, which he would not hesitate to use to act in society and court. Duke John, the Education Minister, still outranked him and did not hesitate to remind the PM of it, but in face of the political timing and meaning of this promotion its exact rank was irrelevant.
For it was after his nomination as Marquis that Pombal began to make use of the services of SIMP, the intelligence agency he had created in response to the Távora Affair, to hunt down the perpetrators of his assassination attempt and compile a list of enemies of the state. Throughout the following year, the Marquis’ agents arrested and questioned a number of thugs, servants, rogues and suspects in a series of investigation operations that allowed them to collect enough evidence and testimony to not only capture conspiracy members, but also first learn of the conspiracy in itself.
By 1771 the conspirators had become desperate, many of their original backers had been arrested, died or came to accept the new order and with Pombal closing more and more in onto their plan. On October 11, the Marquis of Angeja and the Viscount of Vila Nova de Cerveira had assembled in secret a force of over 2,000 men outside of Lisbon at an estate provided by Dom Pedro. On November 1st, the King was to travel in the afternoon from Ajuda to the 'Commerce Plaza' in the center of reconstructed Lisbon to deliver a speech on the Earthquake’s anniversary.
Dom Pedro found out from his brother the King that Pombal would be traveling incognito with about 100 soldiers in the morning to prepare for the King’s arrival, so plans were made to attack and kill Pombal and capture the king.
Prince Joseph & the Battle of Belem
Prince Joseph, the oldest son of Donna Maria and Dom Pedro and grandson to the King, was 10 years old and like most royal children he had little interaction with his parents who had entrusted his upbringing and education to others. Under orders from his grandfather, the Prince's education had been entrusted to Pombal who chose all of his tutors, thus the Prince was a great admirer of Pombal and his goals and visions for Portugal.
Prince Joseph
Born 1761
On October 11, Prince Joseph was on his way to visit his mother when he overheard their plot. Donna Maria was instructing a priest, her confessor and fellow conspirator Frei Inácio de São Caetano, on the final preparations. Being a curious boy who felt distant from his religiously zealous mother, he at first hid to hear what was being said but then continued hiding when he found out the details of the conversation. He waited until everyone had left, made his escape and rushed to warn Pombal. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, Pombal had already departed. Unsure of whom he could trust he turned to the only people he knew to be Pombal’s supporters, his tutors.
It was none other than Duke John of Braganza himself, Minister of Education and cousin of Joseph’s grandfather, who stumbled upon the young Prince while travelling with his escorts, among which the captain of Royal National Guard, to join the monarch in the Plaza. They took the young Prince under protection and rushed to the King, interrupting him in the middle of his public speech on the Earthquake’s legacy, who upon hearing of the plot ordered the Royal Guards to instill order in the filled Plaza and make ready.
What then followed were the large movement of guards throughout the city and a great spreading of alarm amongst the citizens. The people who were witnessing the speech in the Plaza were dispersed and Royal Guard platoons, SIMP agents and even PRP officials rushed to the houses of the implicated conspirators. Moreover, upon discovering through the Prince the possible involvement of an organized group of at least 2,000 armed men, orders were issued by Lippe to recall the Metropolitan Army to protect the capital and the king.
Panic, furor, revolt and alarm quickly escalated as armed men under the king’s command were seen rushing through the streets and rumors of another conspiracy being uncovered exploded all over the capital. The stage was set for a bloody confrontation and many immediately realized another ‘Távora’ was about to happen.
Meanwhile, Pombal and his escort were intercepted on the way to Lisbon by the Marquis of Angeja and the Viscount of Vila Nova de Cerveira and their men. The Marquis of Angeja called Pombal to surrender and when Pombal refused he called him a coward and an agent of the devil that must be destroyed to save Portugal.
When the King and the Prince, accompanied by over 5,000 royal guards and the approaching Lisbon Brigade, came upon the ambush, the situation was desperate for Pombal and his remaining soldiers. Only 20 soldiers remained around Pombal and they were minutes away from being killed along with Pombal. The arrival of the King and the Royal Guards caused the rebel soldiers to panic and flee. The Marquis of Angeja was killed in the subsequent fight when he and about 300 soldiers fleeing the Royal Guards were corned in a building in the outskirts of Lisbon. A fire broke out in the building during the fighting that trapped most of the conspirators in the building. Of the 300 soldiers in the building less than 50 made it out alive. Unfortunately, the Marquis of Angela was not one of them.
The Final Stand
The Viscount of Vila Nova de Cerveira made his escape first to Santarém, but when the local magistrate attempted to arrest him, he and his men fled to Bragança where he hoped to regroup and gather around him an army of his supporters. The town of Bragança had been taken over by the nobles and friars sympathetic to the conspirators. He made an urgent appeal help from other nobles. While some nobles supported them in the end less than 5,000 conspirators gathered in Bragança meanwhile the government marched more than 30,000 soldiers against the conspirators in Bragança. Some nobles who had supported the conspirators attempted to flee the country, most did not make it. Pombal ordered the country sealed until all conspirators were caught.
The news of the attempted assassination spread throughout the nation. (Although the version being spread had both Pombal and the King as targets) Most commoners and many sympathetic or honorable nobles especially the younger generation was incensed and turned against the conspirators. Several revolts occurred against local governments, mainly clerical ones where several priests, Jesuits and bishops who often voiced against Pombal were toppled or attacked.
The Metropolitan Army, reinforced by young nobles “Fidalgos” and Royal Guards, reached Bragança on November 25th and surrounded the town with at least 2 Brigades ready to bombard it. The siege lasted 2 days when on the third day the local population rebelled against the conspirators. The army used the distraction to seize the town. The Viscount of Vila Nova de Cerveira and his most loyal men supported by the friars led by Frei João Baptista,[5] took refuge in the Castle of Bragança. The Viscount and half his men as well as most of the friars died when the Army stormed the castle.
On January 21, 1772, the government held a public trial in Lisbon. By the time the trial started over 5,000 people were in prison. Donna Maria had become hysterical after her arrest and had suffered a nervous breakdown which unfortunately she never recovered from. She spent the rest of her life at the new Military Hospital of Santarém and her husband Dom Pedro died while in custody. All the nobles convicted at the trial were stripped of their assets, condemned to death and executed. Their families were exiled to Brazil and Angola.
[1] iOTL - died unmarried due to mother’s disapproval of suitor (Louis, Dauphin of France)
[2] iOTL - died unmarried due to refusal to marry suitor (Philippe Égalité)
[3] iOTL - Married her nephew Infante Joseph, Prince of Beira (no issue)
[4] iOTL – He lost Hanover to French and agreed to the Convention of Klosterzeven, which displeased his father greatly and he retired from military and public offices. Here, health issues prevented him from participating in the British military expedition to Hanover. By 1761 he had recovered sufficiently to accompany the British to Portugal.
[5] Frei João Baptista a former University of Coimbra theology professor opposed Pombal and his educational reforms.
Note:
As we indicated last past the Pombaline revolution is being posted in 3 sections: the 2nd which we just posted deals with the actual revolt and the final gasp attempt to "put humpty dumpty back together" so much had changed in the last 2 decades that the shell shocked conservatives finally mustered the strength and steel to cut the snake's head. What they did not count on was the manner in which the new generation would react and which side they would choose. iOTL Pombal did consider bypassing Princess Maria and have the king nominate her son as the heir but alas he was married to his aunt and had no issue and worse died of small pox. Comments / questions???.
Please return Sunday July 27 as we post the concluding chapters in the "Pombaline Revolution"
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One of these new age priests should read the book of Exodus. It lays out pretty clearly what incest is and that it is forbidden. Unless it's different in Portuguese and doesn't read the same as King James Version.
Lusitania
Donor
But unfortunately Portuguese nobility was some of the most closely related in Europe. Princess Maria (Joseph II mom) was married to her uncle. While the relationship of Portuguese nobles was high it was unselfish not uncommon in Europe at time.
IOTL the schism between Portugal and Rome in 1960 caused great anguish amongst the nobles due in great part that many marriages could not take place unless Rome provided dispensation due both sides being closely related by blood.