Lusitania
Donor
Yes we are talking about the infancy of the revival and as the empire expands and incorporates new people and regions they too will experience the same or equal revival and add their voices to the mosaic of Portuguese culture.
Rebirth of an Empire "O Renascimento de um Império" v2.0
- Thread starter Lusitania
- Start date
The Mid Josephine Era (1783 to 1799) Struggling Capitalism, Technocracy & Neoclassicism (4 of 4)
Lusitania
Donor
Growth of the Empire (1783-1799)
The Mid Josephine Era (1783 to 1799)
Struggling Capitalism, Technocracy & Neoclassicism ( 4 of 4)
Sculpture: Castro, Vilaça & Aguiar
Naturally, following closely behind art in the neoclassicist movement, sculptors sought to develop Portuguese construction of beautiful statues and marble pieces. The two main figures of neoclassicist sculpting in Portugal were Joaquim Machado de Castro and José de Santo António Vilaça.
Joaquim Machado de Castro
1731-1822
Master Sculptor
Born in Coimbra, Joaquim was responsible for a number of studies made on already existing works early on in his career, over which he became a celebrated figure throughout Europe. His most famous creation to the layman was obviously the equestrian statue of Joseph I the Reformer in Lisbon, at the Commerce Plaza, which was at the time becoming an icon of the Pombaline ‘Baixa’, but he also went to great lengths to document the construction phases for posterity. Beloved at home and abroad, Joaquim Castro furthered this dimension of neoclassicism in the country, to the point that one of the most important art museums in Portugal was eventually built and named after him in his hometown of Coimbra in 1831.
The second figure, José de Santo António de Vilaça, was born in Braga and focused his work more on churches and religious figures at the dioceses. His vast production of sculpted art began in 1758 at a monastery and he was a disciple of André Soares, a Baroque Arquitecture figure who would pass away in 1762. While initially enamored with the Benedict Order’s interests in sculpture, Vilaça developed a string of neoclassicist productions in the 1780s following the Verneyst uprising, which he philosophically agreed with.
Finally, João José de Aguiar probably went the furthest in the country in exploring the beauty of neoclassicist sculpture. Born in Belas, Aguiar was considered the finest sculptor of his age. While his work on ‘Joseph II’ was his most famous statue, his “Virtues” series, where he constructed statues of figures like Providence, was nationally celebrated by his most passionate representation of the love for the Greek and Roman classics.
The ‘Virtues’
Figures like ‘Providence’ were built by the master sculptor Aguiar and brought great wealth to Portuguese art
Architecture: ‘Costa e Silva’ & Carr
The first big expression of neoclassicist architecture had actually been imported to Lisbon directly from Italy in 1742, when the Chapel of St. John the Baptist was brought in by Bologne-educated ‘José Costa e Silva”.
José da Costa e Silva
1747-1819
Neoclassicist architect
Born in Vila Franca (de Xira) in 1747, Joseph studied in Bologna, Italy, under patronage of deceased King Joseph I, the Reformer, who held a passion for opera and theater buildings inherited from John V. Accompanied by the likes of João Brunelli, Joseph studied architecture, geometry, arithmetic, mechanics and hydrostatics in order to perfect the scientific base of his knowledge. While in Italy he kept contacts in Portugal and in 1768 he returned to Lisbon at the invitation of several members of the Chamber of Commerce and was commissioned to design the Teatro Nacional do Tejo (National Theatre of Tagus).[1]
In 1770 he returned back to Italy where he was named Honorable Academic at the Academy in 1775 and he travelled all over the Italian peninsula, including the Pompeii ruins that initially inspired the neoclassicist movement on such a widespread scale.
He finally returned to Lisbon in 1782, with the grandson of his patron, Joseph II, already in power, and was employed mostly in projecting new buildings in urban expansions throughout the country. From 1785 onward, Joseph took part in grander projects, helping the renovation of the headquarters of important institutions like the Chambers of Commerce, the Mint and eventually the new wings of the Royal Palace itself, Ajuda. He would in 1792 complete the first great privately invested project of his career, the construction of the National Royal Museum in Aveiro.
National Royal Museum in Aveiro, built by ‘Costa e Silva’
Revealing the influences of the artistic movement as well as of similar theaters in Naples and Milan, the national theater’s reconstruction was just as important to the capital’s arts as the completion of the Royal Palace was to King Joseph’s authority, furthering the belief that architecture was the primary expression of Portuguese neoclassicism. The Royal Palace of Ajuda itself would benefit from this movement, being started by Royal Architect Manuel de Sousa, but finished by Costa e Silva and Francisco Fabri using the heroic presentation of neoclassicism to glorify the Bragança household in an age of re-establishment of the status quo. It effectively helped cement the Josephine era, especially as the Napoleonic Age unfolded.
Indeed, this period helped attract many engineers and architects from abroad to contribute to Lusitanian Neoclassicist architecture. It was for this and many other reasons that architecture became the apex dimension of neoclassicism in this particular country; it was the only one internationally recognized as an artistic heavyweight in a continent filled with aesthetic titans like France and Italy.
A great foreign architect attracted by this development in Portuguese neoclassicism was John Carr.
John Carr
1723 – 1807
English Architect
Born in Horbury, Wakefield, John Carr was the eldest of nine children of an English master mason. His career began in 1748 and his first contact with Portugal was in partially starting the construction of the Hospital of Saint Anthony in Oporto in 1770. This was due to Carr’s belief that London lacked patronage for new coming architects at the time and therefore he mostly based himself in Yorkshire and took several jobs, at home and abroad.
His personal quirks at work usually hindered his projects, though; Carr was thrifty with payments and kept the staff to a minimum to maximize personal profits, causing him to rarely delegate tasks and matters and force him to travel on horseback to meet clients and personally build contacts. His career, though, eventually propelled him to become Lord Mayor of York between 1770 and 1785, the bulk of the early Josephine period.
John specialized in creating foundations for economic sustainability for his buildings in long term, instead of aesthetic development, something the clients thanked him for. His commissions bordered on urban planning, involving mostly model villages, bridges, churches, gateways, garden temples and other contributions to estates. His most proud creation back in England was the Buxton Crescent in Derbyshire, an early example of multifunctional architecture.
This skill in sound foundation stemmed mostly from his background in stonemasonry and the use of Paladdian and Rococo styles in his works helped construct his aesthetic signature. Still, after 1785, John Carr was attracted back to Portugal due to decreasing demand for his projects in England and a boom in architectural investments occurring in Oporto. This allowed him to resume his work on St. Anthony Hospital, allowing it reach functionality in 1790.
Royal Hospital of St. Anthony in Oporto
The hospital is an architectural landmark due to being considered, even at the time, the most Palladian building in Portugal, featuring sober symmetry that reflected empiricism defended by Pombalists and resembling a temple of antiquity. It integrated well into the growing neoclassicism in the country by featuring many characteristics brought from the Italian-born style that appealed to those fascinated by Hellenisms. John Carr continued to work for the Portuguese cities for only five more years, drafting new churches and hospitals for minorities now experiencing a revivalism under Joseph II’s protection laws. The protestant communities like Scottish expats from earlier wars benefitted the most from his contributions, building either new churches or renovating Catholic temples to a more northern style.
But the short stay still left Carr’s mark in Portuguese neoclassicist architecture by introducing major buildings that broke away from Mediterranean trends. His works were often identifiable due to resembling ‘English churches and houses’ on the eye of the urban beholder used to typical Portuguese buildings designed for warm weather.
The overall importance was therefore vast for this period; architecture has the particularly of expressing art in regular life in a more direct manner, being out in the open instead of inside a museum or an impoverished writer’s notes. It’s a direct product of what is affecting society, regardless of sensitivies. It therefore influenced national mentality the most, shaping the Lusitanist fad to more fiercely adopt the Germanic and Anglican ideas that preceded it.
The result of Portuguese neoclassicism being so stimulated was that political ideology also developed faster, shaping national mentality and commitment to war in the defense of ideals of the entire mid and late Josephine eras. One of the most important factors that would affect conflicts from 1800 onward in the country was the stark individualism that became clear in events like the Battle of Abenrey, in itself a major event. Lusitanian Neoclassicism, much like any other artistic movement, was a passing fad and would be replaced by realism in the 1820s and 1830s, but while it lasted it shaped political reforms, decision making and national mobilization and therefore cannot be understated in importance.
The History of Art: ‘Machado’
Finally, cementing this idea of great impact of neoclassicism in Portuguese art, there is the sculptor Cyrillo Valkmor Machado to speak of.
Cyrillo Valkmor Machado
Sculptor, Architect, Art Historian and Painter
1748-1823
Born in Lisbon, Machado was a person who honored his generation of artists in many ways. He studied in Rome before returning to Portugal and tried to create a painting academy dedicated to depicting nudity, known as the ‘Academia do Nú’ (por. Academy of the Nude), but he also had artistic contributions of his own, including church, palace and mansion panels and ceilings. He also took part in modeling the National Palace of Ajuda, where the King currently resided, and was regularly consulted in the palace’s inner art. He was also responsible for the statue of King Sebastian II in Alcácer-Quivir, built after the Redemption War.
Machado excelled in various arts, from painting, to architecture to sculpture, putting him in a unique position to become a great erudite of Portuguese arts.
But more importantly, Machado was a recorder of the birth of Portuguese Neoclassicism. Early on he gathered an extensive collection of memories of painters, sculptors and architects in Portugal, which were published posthumously, a work so without peer at the time that the editor wrote an extensive note honoring its importance. This was because it allowed Portuguese society to cement its reattachment to the arts, particularly the new classicism, and use it as a basis to embark on new eras of culture.
Volkmar reached such renown with his contributions to this era of Portuguese art that he was referenced in Prussian letters about the subject.
Said work also gave birth to the practice in Portugal of studying the history of art more closely, and therefore rely less on outside influence for more creativity. While not a leader of his generation, Volkmar was perhaps the most important member in a subtler way, as without his deep understanding of his peers and desire to express it, Lusitanian Neoclassicism would likely have not had as deep an impact.
The Challenges of the Age
“More and more our national enclosure is a small wooden boat in a swelling political storm. Soon there will be no more space for water and cargo. Decisions must be made.”
Thomas Aloysius Finlay – Portuguese Irish philosopher, historian and Portuguese Catholic Bishop
Thomas Aloysius Finlay – Portuguese Irish philosopher, historian and Portuguese Catholic Bishop
It was important to consider the new concerns the elites faced in the country regarding the new geo-political realities and the winds of change. Both America and Europe faced an era of revolutions; not only had the United States broken free from the top maritime power in the world, ending the belief that European naval might had guaranteed control over their colonies, but France was currently embroiled in rising civil unrest, with the conservative class struggling to rein into submission an ever more unsatisfied population.
Portugal in particular faced a series of interesting challenges within its own premises:
- The solidification of its own revolutionary agenda, mainly the fight against slavery and the death penalty;
- Keeping the industrialization and economic dynamism afloat while paying off the debts of major Pombaline cabinet investments;
- The development of Verneyism, the national cult;
- The continuation of imperial ambitions and defense of its colonies, mainly expansion into India;
- The relationship with its newest ally, the Dutch state;
- The handling of the current diplomatic crisis with Spain regarding the diplomat incarcerated in Madrid over the death of Spanish dignitaries in Lisbon during the OOC Conspiracy outbreak;
- The industrial resource problem, namely the lack of clean coal to fuel machinery development;
- The projection of power during a time when Spain, France, England and Prussia wished to settle accounts between themselves to the detriment of minor powers around them;
- The instability of Portuguese alliances, particularly the Luso-Dutch alliance in the context of growing Patriot resentment in Amsterdam;
- The shifting nature of Brazil;
The year of 1783 presented the opportunity to such development, but the weight of the Brazilian colonial problem threatened to sink the empire’s attention and resources. Looking at the American example, disgruntled settlers sought to foment Brazilian independence, while the motherland attempted to inspire them to pursue the Canadian path of mutual benefits. It seemed undeniable that further decentralization was needed to prevent a major colonial catastrophe.
One measure that had done wonders was working towards involving Brazil in Portuguese investments, namely its colonies. The eastern-coast string of Brazil’s cities, which formed the backbone of the supercolony, were in 1783 doing active commerce with their twins in Africa’s western coast and their distant cousins in Asia. Were it not for the diagonal transit crossing towards India from other powers, the South Atlantic would be a sea region of almost exclusive Luso-Brazilian horizontal commerce. Moreover Cisplatina had been a major appeasement contest and had made Brazil interested in pursuing commerce towards the southern lanes, not just the La Plata river itself. Brazil was also interested in participating in the Nova Zelândia colonization, which progressed rather slowly but surely.
However, without new major expansions it was unlikely that colonial resentment could be settled. Minister Castro believed it was possible to make Brazilians feel proud members of the Lusophone world by properly feeding their own ambitions (drawing mostly from the theory that American resentment stemmed from the concessions made to British Quebec to appease French colonists). The expedition of Alexandre Ferreira along the ‘La Plata-Amazon’ fluvial path laid the groundwork for the next major colonial race in South America, over which the Portuguese intended to have superiority. The acquisition of Malacca had also stabilized incursions to the Far East and Terra Australis from the Indic lane, opening new highways.
It was therefore time to organize the government, but right as the period started, a nearby conflict already drew Portuguese attention.
[1] See King and Country 1777 – Legacy of the Reformer – Cultural Contribution.
As we continue to highlight the changes in Portuguese society we continue with the some of the major figures in the 1780s and beyond remaking the country and showcasing the empire's wealth and strength in arts and architecture. Majority of these items were built in Portugal but at much later period. Here new wealth and desire to showcase it has accelerated these project decades in some cases. Questions/ Comments???
Next post called the Portugal & The Patriottentijd (1784-1787) will be posted on July 31. Obrigado.
If so, maybe the Tierra del Fuego would be enough? Although I don't how feasible is it for Brazil to get control of the straits.
Patagonia seems undefendible from the North.
Awesome update! Can't wait to see how Portugal will "reign in" Brazilian ambition so that both regions of the empire can benefit.
Lusitania
Donor
Yes keeping them comming. Still hoping to get one or few collaborators who can help with stories, ideas, writhing or editing. Please message me. No specific requirements or commitments.
Oh yes the people in Brazil will be looking at opportunities to expand into rest of South America. The more stable the Portuguese empire is and the more unstable the Spanish empire is the the greater the temptation.
The southern regions will be looking very tempting especially since they were lightly populated compared to Brazil whose population is growing faster than iotl due to migration, expanded health and better access to food and bigger economy.
Yes it show how the expanded economic growth is being translated into greater investment in cultural buildings and infrastructure as opposed being wasted on wars and other things like in past.Intriguing update.
Hm…. Not sure Lisbon can reign in Rio. The thing is that while Rio can be seen as expansionists the people living in the provinces were more concerned about local issues. But over time the weight of Brazil will be felt in rest of empire. Now the thing is if rest of the empire continues to grow Including metropolitan Portugal then they can counter the economic political and population of Brazil.
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I'm loving this story. it's something really different. The vast majority of stories focus on the united states or the three great nations of europe (france, germany and england). This is not a bad thing, but it gets repetitive after a while. The history of this portugal 2.0 is becoming one of my favorites if not the most favorite for its innovative idea.
Portugal could use Spain as a nice shield against Napoleon, I don't know how that would impact the relationship with Spain.
Now about the relationship between Rio and Lisbon we could have a certain dichotomy between "liberals" and "reactionaries". Colonies, even one as important as Brazil tend to be at the same time more and less liberal than the metropolis depending on the subject. Rio could, for example, not care about the death penalty and be the group that pushes the most for greater inclusion of pardos. Considering a large part of its generals, scientists and writers were pardos like Machado de Assis (the greatest name in Brazilian literature).
Pardo is an umbrella term for people with a mixture of skin colors, whether this miscegenation is mulatto (descendants of whites and blacks), cabocla (descendants of whites and Amerindians), cafuza (descendants of blacks and indigenous) .
One thing Boneheaded_Bookkeeper said about Portugal reigning over Brazil can be played as a sibling dispute over who gets more land. The more brazil expands in south america, the more portugal has to expand in asia. Brazil's focus on its army could be an important factor in the Napoleonic period, creating Portugal's greater dependence on Brazil to defend itself. A naval dependence of Brazil with Portugal already exist and create a greater relationship between them. A balance of power with brazil vs portugal and india could be a way to create a certain equality between the two kingdoms. This could create envy of Brazil with India fearing it would lose its prestige as the jewel of the Portuguese empire.
Another factor of Brazil in relation to its expansion and wars is its 8 or 80 attitude. Expanding wildly with the bandeirantes and spending decades trying to digest the new acquired land. It's the same in the war, being relatively courteous to the Argentine in the dispute for Uruguay. But in the Paraguayan War, during the final years of the war there was almost a systematic extermination of the Paraguayan population, until Solano Lopez was found and killed. (due to the fact that the population hid Solano or simply due to anger at the number of Brazilians killed in the war). The El Cristiano (a war trophy that is in the Patio Epitácio Pessoa of the National Historical Museum , being a Brazilian historical heritage). To this day, Brazil does not recognize this as a massacre, but something that the Paraguayans and their dictator brought about by attacking Brazil. which doesn't help the relationship with Paraguay these days ( The feeling that it's Paraguay's fault is the norm and I doubt that will change).
Now in a more positive note If Brazil becomes basically a junction of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil (perhaps even Chile?) with its expansion to the south or/and an expansion to Bolivia. A lot of pressure will be put on portugal creating a very interesting and tense senario.
Perhaps a way to resolve this tension would be a Brazilian governor in Rio or perhaps further expansion in India bringing Indians into the struggle for power in the empire. A relationship with the Japanese will be something interesting to see due to the large number of Japanese people in Brazil. A Portuguese expansion in Spain will be another factor in the balance for power.
Portugal could use Spain as a nice shield against Napoleon, I don't know how that would impact the relationship with Spain.
Now about the relationship between Rio and Lisbon we could have a certain dichotomy between "liberals" and "reactionaries". Colonies, even one as important as Brazil tend to be at the same time more and less liberal than the metropolis depending on the subject. Rio could, for example, not care about the death penalty and be the group that pushes the most for greater inclusion of pardos. Considering a large part of its generals, scientists and writers were pardos like Machado de Assis (the greatest name in Brazilian literature).
Pardo is an umbrella term for people with a mixture of skin colors, whether this miscegenation is mulatto (descendants of whites and blacks), cabocla (descendants of whites and Amerindians), cafuza (descendants of blacks and indigenous) .
One thing Boneheaded_Bookkeeper said about Portugal reigning over Brazil can be played as a sibling dispute over who gets more land. The more brazil expands in south america, the more portugal has to expand in asia. Brazil's focus on its army could be an important factor in the Napoleonic period, creating Portugal's greater dependence on Brazil to defend itself. A naval dependence of Brazil with Portugal already exist and create a greater relationship between them. A balance of power with brazil vs portugal and india could be a way to create a certain equality between the two kingdoms. This could create envy of Brazil with India fearing it would lose its prestige as the jewel of the Portuguese empire.
Another factor of Brazil in relation to its expansion and wars is its 8 or 80 attitude. Expanding wildly with the bandeirantes and spending decades trying to digest the new acquired land. It's the same in the war, being relatively courteous to the Argentine in the dispute for Uruguay. But in the Paraguayan War, during the final years of the war there was almost a systematic extermination of the Paraguayan population, until Solano Lopez was found and killed. (due to the fact that the population hid Solano or simply due to anger at the number of Brazilians killed in the war). The El Cristiano (a war trophy that is in the Patio Epitácio Pessoa of the National Historical Museum , being a Brazilian historical heritage). To this day, Brazil does not recognize this as a massacre, but something that the Paraguayans and their dictator brought about by attacking Brazil. which doesn't help the relationship with Paraguay these days ( The feeling that it's Paraguay's fault is the norm and I doubt that will change).
Now in a more positive note If Brazil becomes basically a junction of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil (perhaps even Chile?) with its expansion to the south or/and an expansion to Bolivia. A lot of pressure will be put on portugal creating a very interesting and tense senario.
Perhaps a way to resolve this tension would be a Brazilian governor in Rio or perhaps further expansion in India bringing Indians into the struggle for power in the empire. A relationship with the Japanese will be something interesting to see due to the large number of Japanese people in Brazil. A Portuguese expansion in Spain will be another factor in the balance for power.
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Religion in brazil in my opinion is cyclic, having moments of extreme fervor and devotion and moments in which the population is almost agnostic.This however does not weaken it. In the last 40 years brazil was moving as a population towards a general secularization. Now it's coming back to having a big factor in politics. Especially with the weakening of Roman Christianity and the strengthening of Protestants, who will make up the majority of the population by 2030 at the latest. This change occurs in part due to the lack of protagonism of the Roman Catholic Church in issues that matter socially in Brazil. Abortion, death penalty, etc. (The death penalty in particular is supported by approximately 60 percent of the population.Last survey was supported by 57%) The death penalty is illegal. Abortion is even worse with less than 20% of the population supporting it.
African religions that were not absorbed or accepted by Catholics are again under pressure to be converted. The current republic (the sixth) is by far the most liberal which is good for these religious minorities, I don't know how long this will last due to this revival of Catholicism (again something cyclical) . The difference is that the pressure usually comes from Protestants now rather than from Roman Christians. An example of this intricate Christianity is the supreme court that has a cross positioned above the symbol of the republic.
When brazil was the capital of the Portuguese empire, it heard several social advances (especially in relation to the acceptance of color by individuals). Religious freedom was not one of those advances unfortunately. This non-acceptance of African religions has more to do with the religious fervor inherited from the Portuguese than with racism in my opinion, considering how mixed the population is.
After the abolition of slavery there were several debates on how to deal with slaves. The idea that gained most strength and became official was the whitening of the population. This process took place through the misigenation , and immigration of Europeans. The oil painting that demonstrates this idea in a more simplified way is the painting "Cam's Redemption". The idea was that in 3 or 4 generations the population would be mostly white. The idea of whitening was relatively popular. The reason for this for example was the fact that a bandeirante (black or mix) who managed to become relatively rich wanted his children to dig into high society. One of the phrases was "he is very similar to mom/dad with such white skin,congratulations". The group that most occurred in high society this were the bandeirantes who became coffee barons, who in a few generations turned white ( by marrying mostly italians).
The "bandeirantes" were a very fascinating and peculiar group. They are considered heroes and adventurers despite their unpleasant actions. They were generally polygamous, with each "bandeirante" having several women and speaking mainly Tupi and not Portuguese. Leaders were chosen on the basis of strength, with blacks leading whites for example.
The relationship between whites and blacks in brazil is also something very strange when compared to america. The vast majority of barons had and preferred black mistresses. These women also took care of the children of barons. Giving creation a term "black mother". There's a poem that I don't remember the origin that said the baron could only have sex with his wife (white) if he had a handkerchief with the scent of his lover (a black woman).
Another poem talks about how the son had a duty to his mother (white), but loved more his black mother. The women hated each other, and the young man usually took the side of is "black mother'". It was a peculiar period compared to other colonies in the rest of the world.
I'm saying this because this timeline is moving towards secularism and racial inclusion relatively quickly. Something possible for capital (and the other colonies) that has a great interaction with Europe. But I think that secularization in particular is going to have great difficulty in Brazil. Which is more or less independent. This clash of individual freedom vs collective good will be very interesting to observe. Hopefully the more tolerant side wins (Portugal) or at least manage to reduce this hostility from Brazil.
PS: one thing I forgot to mention in the previous post is a strange custom that I think is of Portuguese origin of cutting off enemies' heads and placing them in bamboo or long sticks and taking in to battle as a form of intimidation. Skin (of the living individual) and dismemberment occurred but was less common. The members of this person were nailed in public squares in the city. (Tiradentes)
African religions that were not absorbed or accepted by Catholics are again under pressure to be converted. The current republic (the sixth) is by far the most liberal which is good for these religious minorities, I don't know how long this will last due to this revival of Catholicism (again something cyclical) . The difference is that the pressure usually comes from Protestants now rather than from Roman Christians. An example of this intricate Christianity is the supreme court that has a cross positioned above the symbol of the republic.
When brazil was the capital of the Portuguese empire, it heard several social advances (especially in relation to the acceptance of color by individuals). Religious freedom was not one of those advances unfortunately. This non-acceptance of African religions has more to do with the religious fervor inherited from the Portuguese than with racism in my opinion, considering how mixed the population is.
After the abolition of slavery there were several debates on how to deal with slaves. The idea that gained most strength and became official was the whitening of the population. This process took place through the misigenation , and immigration of Europeans. The oil painting that demonstrates this idea in a more simplified way is the painting "Cam's Redemption". The idea was that in 3 or 4 generations the population would be mostly white. The idea of whitening was relatively popular. The reason for this for example was the fact that a bandeirante (black or mix) who managed to become relatively rich wanted his children to dig into high society. One of the phrases was "he is very similar to mom/dad with such white skin,congratulations". The group that most occurred in high society this were the bandeirantes who became coffee barons, who in a few generations turned white ( by marrying mostly italians).
The "bandeirantes" were a very fascinating and peculiar group. They are considered heroes and adventurers despite their unpleasant actions. They were generally polygamous, with each "bandeirante" having several women and speaking mainly Tupi and not Portuguese. Leaders were chosen on the basis of strength, with blacks leading whites for example.
The relationship between whites and blacks in brazil is also something very strange when compared to america. The vast majority of barons had and preferred black mistresses. These women also took care of the children of barons. Giving creation a term "black mother". There's a poem that I don't remember the origin that said the baron could only have sex with his wife (white) if he had a handkerchief with the scent of his lover (a black woman).
Another poem talks about how the son had a duty to his mother (white), but loved more his black mother. The women hated each other, and the young man usually took the side of is "black mother'". It was a peculiar period compared to other colonies in the rest of the world.
I'm saying this because this timeline is moving towards secularism and racial inclusion relatively quickly. Something possible for capital (and the other colonies) that has a great interaction with Europe. But I think that secularization in particular is going to have great difficulty in Brazil. Which is more or less independent. This clash of individual freedom vs collective good will be very interesting to observe. Hopefully the more tolerant side wins (Portugal) or at least manage to reduce this hostility from Brazil.
PS: one thing I forgot to mention in the previous post is a strange custom that I think is of Portuguese origin of cutting off enemies' heads and placing them in bamboo or long sticks and taking in to battle as a form of intimidation. Skin (of the living individual) and dismemberment occurred but was less common. The members of this person were nailed in public squares in the city. (Tiradentes)
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Lusitania
Donor
First happy new year to all and hope everyone is doing well and safe.
You bring up some very good points and Portugal place and its dealing with its colonies/overseas provinces is definitely a major point we can both talk (1750-1780) and speculate post 1780.
Lets discuss Brazil which is still the largest colony. The power dynamics and population imbalance between the two had led to elevation of Brazil to the same status as Portugal and the enactment of laws providing autonomy to the various provinces. Which brings us to the discussion that iOTL many Brazilian scholars and historians have stated that had the Portuguese court not resided in Rio during Napoleon war Brazil would never of united and instead there would of been various Portuguese speaking states in South America (much like New Spain splitting). We all already seeing a differentiating with Brazil being elevated to same status as Portugal. The role of Vice Rei in Rio de Janeiro has changed as his responsibilities in Brazil have diminished as each province gained greater say in their administration and development. While provincial governors are still appointed by the crown but each provinces development and political leaning is diverging and differences between the various provinces is over time becoming more pronounced.
The other major factor is that people (businessmen and landowners) have the same rights as those from Metropolitan Portugal.
As we have seen Brazil expansion into IOTL Paraguay has been countered by a great expansion in India, East Asia and most recently New Zealand. In addition Portuguese colonies and strength in Africa has also been strengthened. This had accomplished two things it has greatly increased Portuguese strength and power in those regions but also more importantly just as Brazilian exports and economic strength has increased so too has the economic strength of Metropolitan Portugal and its other regions thus reducing the weight of Brazilian in the Empire while at same time providing economic opportunities for the Brazilian merchants.
In your post you have brought up certain scenarios of possible Portuguese Metropolitan expansion as well discussion about continued Portuguese expansion elsewhere thus making the Portuguese empire stronger and diminishing Brazilian dominance in the Empire. As for Brazilian expansion that could happen with some in Rio and elsewhere in Brazilian provinces talking about Brazilian Manifest Destiny. But those discussion have been heavily influenced by consumption of alcohol so we should not read anything into such blustering.
Lusitania
Donor
Some very interesting 19th and 20th iotl observations and information regarding cultural, society and religious happening in Brazil.
A lot of the points you bring out are of course way in future and I think it premature to discuss how things will play out in Brazil during the next century. But let’s look at the Brazil in the 1780s.
the concept of Brazilian autonomy needs to be qualified. Brazil region is a loose collection of very different provinces all enjoying certain amount of autonomy both from Lisbon but also from each other. Attitudes and both economic and social/religious attitudes are differentiating themselves. The north provinces agricultural emphasis is different from the industrialization and commercial dominance of the southern provinces. So too is composition of each provinces social makeup. The northern states are more plantation based with greater emphasis on reliance on slavery. The vast majority of free population is whites with a small minority of free blacks, mulatos and Indians/Asians. Meanwhile in south provinces majority of land owned by smaller landowners although plantations do exists. The percentage of free vs slaves is much higher than in northern provinces. The number of non European is considerably higher with Indians and Asians emigrants making a substancial part of most towns and cities. Industry and commerce attract more and require different type of people and not slaves.
These differences will result in different attitudes towards slavery, place within Portuguese empire, opportunities and general society changes. Will they change yes as all provinces develop but there will continue to exist differences. Be interesting to see how they develop. How society changes in each province and the makeup of the society in each province.
This brings us to last topic religion, how that relates to different groups in Brazil. A lot of this we will deal with in multiple future posts. But certain things in the 1780s can be discussed. The split it establishment of independent Portuguese Catholic Church has split many Portuguese with the greatest number Roman Catholics supporters in Brazilian provinces. That is also different depending on provinces with rural more RC than city but autonomy means that in some provinces there are two bishops or churches. The second major religious implication is the Africanization of PC church with black priest and eventually bishops as well as saints that reflect the Africans thus strengthening its strength and relevance to many Africans not only in Africa but over time in Brazil. This is similarly to what is happening in Portuguese India and Asia with PC
Becoming the dominant religion in those regions and becoming part of these communities in Brazil.
What we are also seeing is the requirements of Africans, Indians and Asians to “become” Portuguese in being accepted and speaking the language without the need to be Catholic. This has allowed the Portuguese to incorporate greater number locals than be possible if religious conversion was also required. But as we have discussed the PC is making inroads and growing % of the population is Catholic. Which when we look at the huge increase in number of people living under Portuguese rule, then there is a much higher then the number of Catholics.
Therefore without requirements to be Catholic we will see a greater number of non Catholic both RC and PC in Brazil. Although the more conservative north with greater RC number will be more antagonist towards the non Christians.
Hope this helps clarify or muddle things.
PS if someone is interested in work collaboratively on the Brazil part of the TL please send me a message. Thanks.
Will we get a world map soon? I really wanna see what the world looks like.
The Mid Josephine Era (1783 to 1799) Portugal & The Patriottentijd (1784-1787) (1 of 2)
Lusitania
Donor
Growth of the Empire (1783-1799)
Portugal & The Patriottentijd (1784-1787) (1 of 2)
The Mid Josephine Era (1783 to 1799)
Portugal & The Patriottentijd (1784-1787) (1 of 2)
“We have committed a great hypocrisy, seeking to intrude in the domestic affairs of Holland, but it’s likely, however, that the alliance would have ended before it could have drawn its first breath otherwise.”
-Diplomat José Correia da Serra
The Netherlands were the newest ally of Portugal, according to the provisions of the 1783 Paris Treaty, and this friendship was tense, being the result of an unfavorable stalemate result of the conflicts lost to Lisbon in the South East Asian seas and the Portuguese offer to safeguard Dutch interests in South Africa against the British. The benefits of the alliance were promising, however; albeit not what it used to be, the Dutch Navy was formidable and professional enough to operate independently of the integrity of the Dutch mainland, meaning they were stout sea allies to the Portuguese against British and French power. With a demarcated control more or less achieved in their common spheres of influence overseas, it benefitted Amsterdam to be able to count on Portuguese naval cooperation to help protect Dutch India, Dutch Africa and even Suriname.
Setting
But while this ‘Little Coalition’ seemed to be forming, it did not mean that fervent Dutch citizens appreciated the results of the war; the empire lost much of its political territory, its power projection got cut down harshly and the writing on the wall spelled pretty clearly that their Golden Age was over. The Orangists in power, therefore, came under political assault and their leader, Prince William V of Orange, became the target of national grievance.
Prince William V of Orange
Stadtholter of the Dutch Republic, leader of the pro-monarchic (Orangist) party
The failures of the Three-Years War made him the enemy of many patriots
The source of the chaos preceded the treaty itself, however; already in 1781, the Patriot Joan Derk Van Der Capellen anonymously published the pamphlet “To the people of the Netherlands” in which he called upon the people to raise weapons and form civic militias (à laUSA and Sweden) so as to form an armed resistance against the Orangist policies. These bodies increased in number and size throughout the country along with new Patriot political clubs and as the situation overseas worsened, the more acerbated the population became against perceived government incompetence.
It did not help that William was a rather weak leadership figure; the Prussian envoy Phillipe Charles, count of Alvensleben, was in Holland from 1787 onward and eventually described William as ‘theoretical in rule, away from practical work and with a tendency to swamp conversations about public affairs while being indecisive about every subject’. The Count of Barca, who represented the Portuguese at the signing of the Luso-Dutch Alliance, also confessed to Queen Charlotte, another important figure in it, that “it was preferable if we dealt exclusively with their representatives, and not the stadtholder himself.”
The economy had also been in dire straits; while the GDP remained relatively stable till 1780, it got cut rather dramatically with the collapse of power in eastern seas of Indonesia, ruining the Dutch monopoly over its products, and the domestic fishing and industry sectors suffered direct, absolute declines. Moreover, the 18th century saw a period of de-industrialization and de-urbanization beginning to occur, contributing to the added bad news that their population remained stale at a time where most of Europe (including Portugal) was booming in numbers. Poverty increased and radicalized the population despite the banks thriving in Amsterdam, causing skepticism to grow very strongly by 1776.
Said skepticism was also present in the head of state, but more so towards republicans. When receiving news of the American Proclamation of Independence, the Stadtholder himself described it as a “poor parody of our declaration against Phillip II”. The inherent analogy, however, still planted the seed of advancing republicanism in Dutch minds as a potential solution for their problems. Said seeds faced a series of growth challenges, namely the interests of the British in supporting the Orangists and the royal marriage between William V and Wilhelmina, making Prussia a royalist ally.
However, these were still thriving circumstances for lack of satisfaction with the political system, but it was only after 1785 did the Patriots harness enough strength to go against him, taking away power in cities and eventually managing to push reforms to replace the old “regenten” co-option system with a more democratic model with elected representatives. The result was a domino effect in which their effective representation increased dramatically and eventually Holland, Groningen and Utrecht all had Patriot governors in the States General, the final consequence being of William V losing control of most of the Dutch States Army.
Foreign Intervention
The situation was followed closely by all neighbors and otherwise foreign interested parties. Representing Portuguese naval interests at the time in the area was Admiral Bernardo Esquivel, a veteran from the dreaded Luso-French Maritime War.
Admiral Bernardo Esquivel
Commander of Portugal’s North Atlantic sea forces
Viscount of Estremoz (non-her.)
Admiral Esquivel had been amicably stationed in Amsterdam since the signing of the new peace treaty with Holland. The objective had been to safeguard the formal transition of courtesies and cooperation pacts involved in an alliance as recent and unexpected as the Luso-Dutch treaty. While holding no sway among the Dutch themselves, he was for all intents the top representative of Lisbon in all matters involving the Paris Treaty in Holland. With the country being at the center of a lot of Great Power intrigue, especially as Republicanism grew in nearby France, the Dutch King had to turn to his royalist foreign allies, mainly the British but also now the Portuguese. Anglo-Dutch relationships, however, were now scalded by the recent events of the American Revolutionary War, the 4th Anglo-Dutch War and the Three-Years War, where Amsterdam supported the American uprising and London repeatedly attacked and seized Dutch colonies.
While the Portuguese were complicit in the partition of Dutch India, Africa and Indonesia, they had also turned out to be unexpected friends in protecting their colonists in said takeovers, especially in Kaapstad, which was now under British administration, and in securing the transition of the Dutch capital in the Indian Subcontinent to nearby Colombo, in Ceylon. They were a far lesser threat than the British and more willing to meet the Dutch Royalists half-way, and Admiral Esquivel, seeing tensions rise in Holland very quickly, had repeatedly assured William V that he was there to further Dutch interests to the best of his ability.
In the meantime, he attempted to further the establishment of a stronger diplomatic presence in The Hague. To oversee the first year of this, he picked Ambassador José Francisco Correia da Serra, a relatively young co-founder of the Lisbon Academy of Science. It was a choice of fancy, as, while Serra was no stranger to diplomacy, he was far better known for his paleontological and botanical contributions, something Esquivel hoped would endear his party to the Dutch Royalists. Here, Ambassador Serra met his British counterpart to The Hague, Sir Francis Harry, a man convinced that the French conspired everywhere.
José Correia da Serra & Sir James Harris
The two ambassadors formed the representation of the Royalists’ foreign allies at The Hague
Sir James’ fears, which he shared with Correia da Serra, were not entirely unfounded; the French took great comfort in the ineptitude of the Dutch Stadtholder and there seemed to be some movement from their part to ally themselves with the Patriot movement as a way to supplement their growing friendship with some segments of Dutch society. The British Secret Service, in particular, which backed James Harris, suspected that a Dutch agent named Gerard Brantsen, a Patriot who had helped secure peace for the Anglo-Dutch War and even honored French Admiral Saint Tropez for his services to Holland, would soon formalize a deal. This shadowy republican coalition was seen with great fear by the Royalists and their allies, who attempted to manipulate William V to assert his rights.
Without the Royalists in power, it was likely the Luso-Dutch alliance would die before it could ever bear fruit, so, with the assistance of the PRP and SIMP, Correia da Serra and Esquivel concluded that their objective was to make sure William V either held on to total power or remained a legitimate figurehead over the Dutch Navy and its colonies. Intervention in Dutch affairs from Portuguese agents, therefore, became unavoidable.
Supporting the Royalists & Growing Fusion of PRP and SIMP
The task of influencing the intricacies of Dutch politics was a challenge to the SIMP’s limited offensive capacities, especially. The diplomatic ties were still fresh, unlike with British possessions, and unlike with the growing friendship with North German states, Portugal had a history of grievances with the Netherlands which included the extremely recent Three-Years War. In order to pool their resources, the PRP, the SIMP and the diplomatic embassies began pooling their efforts and, notoriously, began to occupy a pension in the beach town of Estoril, just west of Lisbon.
A simple pension in Estoril became historically associated with the growing fusion between the secret defense service department and the demographic resettlement office
To supplement these efforts, Ambassador Correia da Serra, along with Francis Harry, began conspiring in conjunction with Prussia, namely the minister Johan von Goertz. Unfortunately, Frederick the Great did not wish at the time to embitter relations with France so soon and Prussia at first attempted to mediate the conflict together with France, not to mention the situation south of Portugal, in Morocco, unexpectedly began to require the attention of Admiral Esquivel. With the decrease of naval presence in Amsterdam being forecast, Correia da Serra understood he would have to adopt a new strategy, one which he believed would pass in securing the support of the Dutch Navy.
Admiral Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen
1735-1819
Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, also known as the Count of Doggersbank, was a Dutch lieautenant-admiral who had recently, in 1781, obtained heroic status fighting the Royal Navy in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. His only contact with the Portuguese at this point had been in 1770 when, as a captain, he got stuck on the rocks of the Cape Verde island of Boa Vista, the first of a few embarrassing accidents in his early career. The difficulties the Netherlands faced in the 1760s pushed him down, like many others, to careers in the merchant fleet and writing naval theory papers, but his contacts earned him temporary service under the Russian navy, for which he fought against the Ottomans. This eventually allowed him to not only become the first Western European to charter the Masmara sea, but also to score the first Christian victory in the Black Sea in four centuries, earning him the nickname “Hero of the Black Sea”.
While Jan eventually returned to the Low Countries, for which he would score the victory over the English at Dogger’s Bank in 1781 that earned him his medal and title, to the point Stadtholder William made him his privileged Admiral-General, Jan’s career became strained. Blamed by the failure of the Brest Affair and with the Dutch naval policy constantly criticized, Jan repeatedly considered leaving for Russia again, but William convinced him time and time again to remain. His political status made him an enemy of the Patriots during this crisis, though, which combined with the rest said about him made Jan the perfect target for Correia.
Ambassador Correia began swaying Admiral-General Jan towards forming a stronger naval coalition with Portugal, citing the new alliance and predicting William would eventually sanction it. Sensing that Jan was against William’s conversations with Sir James Harry for numerous reasons, Correia was able to convince him that they should ally forces to influence the Stadtholder more positively away from English influence. While Jan was initially hesitant towards this idea, events would conspire to sway him towards it.
In 1784, however, tragedy struck when Portugal had to go to war with Morocco once more. Barely out of the Three-Years War, the state now had to divert resources and agents towards supporting the classified Operation Hercules, which would be paramount to the conflict’s success, and Ambassador Correia was one of many summoned back to Lisbon to help speed said resolution. The Portuguese Navy in particular was called en masse to be part of the war, virtually emptying the Netherlands of Lusitanian agents. Admiral Jan also departed in the same year to the Mediterranean to investigate suspicions of a possible attack from Venice, leaving William completely isolated from Lusitanian influence.
This gave Sir James Harry freedom to act unabated towards influencing the Stadtholder for nearly two years, something the Portuguese would have to endure in the meantime.
During the Admiral’s absence, a case began piling up against Jan that he was responsible for the collapse of negotiations during the Brest affair of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War to form an anti-English naval coalition. The accusations embittered Jan so much that he attempted to resign from servicing the Dutch navy, but William insisted for him to remain, but In 1785, the following year, William left The Hague and removed his court to Het Loo Palace in Gelderland, a province remote from the political center, a move that was interpreted by many as a set up for tensions with the Patriots to climax.
It was in February of 1786 that, coincidentally, the war between Portugal and Morocco ended with the fabled Treaty of Tangiers and Correia da Serra returned to Amsterdam with a very bolstered diplomatic reputation at the same time Jan’s squadron also arrived from the Mediterranean. This restarted the race for influence in the Netherlands, but Sir James Henry had too much of an advantage over the Portuguese at this point and Stadtholter William was ready to fully antagonize the Patriots; in September of 1786, he sent States-Army troops to Hattem and Elburg to overthrow the cities' Patriot ‘vroedschap’, despite the defense by Patriot Free Corps, organized by Herman Willem Daendels.
This belligerence from William provoked the states under Patriot influence and they began depriving Orangists of offices in the army in retaliation. The Stadtholter himself was fired by the States of Holland from the role of Captain-General of their troops, putting William at odds with a central chunk of his own people. An open conflict now looked unavoidable and Jan’s faith in William was irreparably shaken, but the worst was yet to come for him.
We are not dead, today we post the first part of the Dutch civil war and Portuguese intervention. We would like to thank “Martynios” for beta-reading the Dutch Patriot Crisis. Questions/ Comments???
Next post conclusion of the Portugal & The Patriottentijd (1784-1787) will be posted on June 30. Obrigado.
It might be interesting to know if Radicals in Portigal might be inspired by the PAtriots.
Interesting...I read this chapter and went to check what happened in OTL, so if someone was to intervene in the Netherlands, is Portugal going to join them or just give diplomatic support? Either way, Portugal is starting to get involved in the International scene which could end up like a hornet's nest, especially in this timeframe of 1780-1790s.
I always find it "funny" when certain people just support Republicans when they represent the opposite to their regime, and vice-versa. The French are digging their own grave to a large extent.
Great chapter.
I always find it "funny" when certain people just support Republicans when they represent the opposite to their regime, and vice-versa. The French are digging their own grave to a large extent.
Great chapter.
Lusitania
Donor
thanks. keep trying to maintain the TL going still have a few major sections that had had been written by Thrudgelmir2333. My style and writing ability is nowhere as good as his.
Thanks will endeavor to keep posting. Still hopping to work with one or few fans who be interested in collaborating together. Message me if anyone interested.
There are always individuals who are unhappy with current political and economic situation. We already had few attacks in Portugal and they will more likely than not increase in the future . In time events outside Portugal will also inspire individuals. Wether they act as lone wolfs or join fellow minded individuals in coordinated action will be determined by several factors such as the strength of the economy, perceived impression of the government and local circumstances.
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Lusitania
Donor
Yes Portuguese have involved themselves as a result of the way that Portuguese-Dutch War ended. The Dutch lost to both Portuguese and British but the Portuguese advocated that the British not take away all the Dutch colonies, meanwhile they allowed Dutch citizens living in newly acquired Portuguese territories the ability to remain. The Portuguese benefited from continued Dutch investment plus recognized it was in their best interest for Dutch empire to survive. They also viewed that as a smaller country they had several things in common.
Fast forward to the war and Portuguese felt compelled to support support of the Dutch government in hopes to continue the growing alliance and economic interaction.
I do agree that several countries in hopes of destabilizing or attacking political foe will support adversaries whose ideology or actions run contrary to their own interests or if these individuals were in their own country would be arrested / executed.
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