Vivam Lusos Valorosos, A Feliz Constituição - A Portuguese Timeline

[RedAquilla]

Greetings fellow readers and lovers of History. I decided to bring this new Timeline of mine about Portugal (of course) which will be a secondary project on this site given the requirements that this specific period needs to be handled decently. The POD is the death of Miguel/Michael I of Portugal while he returned from his exile in Austria.

In OTL he would usurp his niece, revoke the Constitutional Charter of 1826 and send the country into a violent Civil War that ended up with much tragedy and devastated the country further. His death will have great consequences for Portugal, positive and negative, as now a child reigns a sizable Empire during a very unstable time. Taking advantage of her tender age and the POD, I decided to make her more astute at everything and more interventive in the rule of the country especially once she comes of age while also keeping her best traits from which she was remembered: being a good mother and a good educator.

This no Portuguese wank, I do not plan to make Portugal dominate the world, the time for that has passed but the possibility for a strong and very different country is still there. I will take some creative liberties when necessary in the same fashion of “Cessa o Nevoeiro: O Surgir do Quinto Império” and the butterflies will start flapping their wings in a smaller geographic scale especially when the contact with Portugal is larger and will eventually spread throughout the world so that the present time is both different but also similar. In other words, do not expect excessively different marriages, wars, uprisings, etc.

I’m a person that likes to make retcons here and there, therefore what is written is subject to improvements over time. Such changes will never change the core of the Updates radically. Currently, I’m debating in organizing a variety of topics either by a four years legislature or by decade, I’m still a bit unsure. Any help is welcome to make the TL better, Updates will be published when they are ready as this is a secondary project but I do hope to make two others before the end of the weekend to get things started. Without further ado, let the timeline begin!

An Accident That Shaped a Country ​

On February 11, 1828, the Portuguese newspaper Gazeta de Lisboa, like many other European newspapers, reported the tragedy that befell on the Portuguese House of Bragança...Prince Miguel, Regent and future King of Portugal thanks to his marriage to his 8 years old niece, Maria II, drowned when the ship that carried him from London to Lisbon was hit by a very violent storm and sank off the coast of Great Britain.

Condolences came from all over Europe but also from Brazil, where the deceased Prince’s brother, Peter I of Brazil ruled. The Queen herself who at this point was still in Brazil also sent her condolences but because her father, the Emperor, feared that the instability that cursed the Kingdom in which he was born could erupt a civil war at any time, she was sent to Lisbon as it was deemed the best course of action despite the implications. Thus the little Queen was forced to embark on a ship to the Kingdom she would reign and knew little about even when she cried for being afraid to end up like her uncle.

Maria saw her brothers for the last time in many decades but her father she would never see again. Having sworn to fulfill her duties and be a great Queen to her people, she did harbor a grudge for having her happy and carefree childhood stolen from her. Thus, the “Era Mariana” or the Age of Maria began in Portugal, shaping the country in this long Nineteenth Century of countless changes.

Maria II of Portugal​

Spoiler: Table of Contents:

1. Context, the Queen's Arrival and the Troubled Times
   • Context: Portugal at the Beginning of the 19th century
   • The Queen's Arrival and the Government of Miracles
   • The Abandoned and Forgotten Empire (1800-1830)
2. The 1830s: Stabilization of the Liberal Regime
   • The Kingdom: 1830 Portuguese Legislative Elections
   • The Kingdom: 1830s Part 1
   • The Kingdom: 1834 Portuguese Legislative Elections
   • The Kingdom: 1830s Part 2
   • The Kingdom: 1838 Portuguese Legislative Elections
   • The Kingdom: 1830s Part 3

 

[pandizzy]

interesting. Let's see how the marian age shapes portugal and the world.

 

[RedAquilla]

Context: Portugal at the Beginning of the 19th century ​

“A Viradeira”:
The death of King José I on February 24, 1777, ended the reforming era of his right-hand man, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the famous Marquis of Pombal who marked the country in the 27 years he ruled. To her father’s place came Princess Maria Francisca, his eldest daughter, who became the first reigning Queen of the country as Maria I. She had been a strong opponent of her father’s prime minister and many of his policies which she ended up reversing.

Maria did keep many of Pombal’s ministers but she restored the privileges of the nobility and clergy and ended the commercial monopolies. The very positive results of Pombal’s Government were ripped by the Queen: the balance of trade was positive given that the Portuguese exports (mainly wine and raw materials from Brazil) outnumbered the imports and Maria’s reign was one of further cultural renewal but coexisting with reactionary traits.

Two years after Maria ascended to the throne, the American Revolution began in the British colonies of North America. Portugal practiced a policy of absolute neutrality that benefited it in commerce as stated above but led to other problems specifically in the Crown Jewel that was Brazil where several independence movements began to haunt Lisbon who repressed them harshly like the famous Inconfidência Mineira of 1789.

It was precisely in this famous year of 1789 that the French Revolution began, a revolution that devastated Europe in a way never seen before. The core ideas of the Revolution were promptly censured in Portugal and its colonies but they would nevertheless reach the country and spread despite the Absolute Monarchy’s desperate measures to control it. More dangerous than the ideas themselves were what the rebels were willing to do to implement them such as what happened in the execution of Louis XVI of France and his wife Marie Antoinette.

Opposition to the revolutionary ideas was particularly ardent during its darkest period, the Reign of Terror (1793-1794) where massacres and executions of anyone with a hint of opposition to the Revolution were common. A series of international coalitions tried without luck to end the Revolution and Portugal partook in nearly all of them. Its first military action being the 1794 Roussillon Campaign alongside Spain which ended in a complete failure.

After this failure Spain had a complete diplomatic overturn and allied itself with Revolutionary France against the United Kingdom. In Portugal, the political class considered doing the same but good relations with the British were still necessary for the country and thus both the elite and the general population were divided in which position they should take concerning the country’s oldest ally and France.

To aggravate this already sensitive situation, the Queen who already showed signs of mental illness after the losses of her husband Peter III and eldest son, Joseph, grew increasingly insane and by 1799 was deemed incapable of continuing ruling so her remaining son and heir, Prince João Maria assumed the title of Prince-Regent.

Maria I of Portugal

Prince John’s Regency:
Continuing the fashion of Maria’s late reign, the Regency was an extremely complex period for the country both at the diplomatic level, with Portugal trying to remain neutral in the wars ravaging Europe and appeasing both the British and the French; but also at the internal level where the various political factions took increasingly aggressive and uncompromising positions.

Returning an old idea, many in the ruling class looked to Brazil as the possible new center of the Portuguese Empire given the enormous potential that the territory had in opposition to the Metropolis and the better proximity it had with the Estado da India so plans to move the court to the colony became increasingly more appealing and to some even a necessity.

In this year of 1799, the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte emerged to lead Revolutionary France into a golden age. Taking a country that had been in a state of total anarchy to the ruler of Europe in less than a decade, the self-crowned Emperor of the French had a major thorn in its shoes and that was the United Kingdom so to him it was crucial to defeat it. He managed to turn nearly all of Europe against the British, nearly all, because Portugal refused to abandon its commitments to its old ally, mostly for fear of losing its colonies.

To Napoleon, this was unacceptable so he coerced Spain to pressure Portugal out of this alliance and if this demand was not accepted, then the country should be invaded. Despite hesitating, the Spanish did invade on May 20, 1801, with 30 000 soldiers with an extra 15 000 French being promised. The British did not help Portugal and the country despite having the potential to raise 46 000 foot soldiers and 8 000 on horse, only managed to get 16 000 on foot and 2 000 on horse, all poorly trained.

The heydays of the Count of Lippe’s reforms during the times of Pombal had long been gone, replaced with corruption and inefficiency so it was not surprising that the Spanish entering through Alentejo occupied a series of border fortresses without much resistance. Spain’s First Secretary of State, Manuel de Godoy, went as far as to say “I lack everything, but with nothing, I will go to Lisbon” something that showed how shameful was the state of the Portuguese Armed Forces at the time.

The conflict did not last long as the demoralized Portuguese were compelled to negotiate the Treaty of Badajoz on June 6, 1801, in which they recovered all of their lost possessions with the exception of Olivença and would have to pay 20 million Francs to France.

In 1806, Napoleon crushed the Prussians and with only the British left to face him, he implemented the Continental Blockade System designed to weaken the United Kingdom’s mighty economy. Although it enjoyed moderate success it was much less than what the Emperor, not mentioned that British goods kept entering Europe especially through Portugal who kept its ports opened.

For this reason, the Emperor ordered Portugal to close its ports to the British or face the consequences. The Prince acted indecisively in a final attempt to appease both sides but for Napoleon, this was not an option. On October 27, 1807, France and Spain sighed the Treaty of Fontainebleau where they agreed to divide Portugal into three parts between themselves and in the next month, on November 19, a French Battalion commanded by Jean-Andoche Junot entered the country.

Instead of using the means and superior numbers he had had at his disposal the Prince was complied by his Ministers and courtiers to evacuate to Brazil so that he could not be captured. Thus 10 000 Portuguese left to Rio de Janeiro and left the country to fend for itself. For the first time in his history, a European country would be ruled by a former colony...

The Court's Departure to Brazil

The Peninsular War:
Before leaving Lisbon, the Prince-Regent formed a Regency Council that was instructed to receive Junot with peace and friendship. The French General proclaimed himself a reformer who was there to free the Portuguese from oppression and lead them to progress, however, he started a campaign to control the country with an iron fist, emptying the treasury to “pay the debts” owned to France and left 50 000 Spanish and French soldiers committing the greatest atrocities to the population and the country’s cultural heritage.

In the following, year, 1808, Napoleon deemed the Spanish too weak and so he forced the abdication of Charles IV and his son Ferdinand to place his brother Joseph Bonaparte as the King of Spain. This was, without doubt, one of Napoleon’s worst decisions as he turned a loyal ally into another thorn in his shoes, revolts against the French erupted throughout Spain and quickly spread to the angered Portuguese.

Seeing the Spanish turning against the French, the British finally decided to intervene in the Peninsula by sending Arthur Wellesley who ended up landing in Buçaco, Figueira da Foz in Central Portugal. There he took control of the Portuguese Army which he incorporated into his and defeated the French at the Battles of Roliça and Vimeiro. This led to the Convention of Sintra signed between both commanders which only benefited them.

Trying to control the situation in the Peninsula, Napoleon ordered Jean-de-Dieu Soult to reoccupy Portugal. Soult defeated the British at Corunha in 1809 and then invaded Portugal from the north in order to take Porto. The Portuguese peasantry used guerrilla techniques against the French but they still took Chaves and Braga and arrived at Porto. The city’s population put up a fierce resistance and Wellesley relieved the city, defeating Soult at the Second Battle of Porto.

With Soult leaving the country, Wellesley invaded Spain at won the Battle of Talavera but was unable to advance much further into Spain and so he returned to Portugal where he prepared the Lines of Torres Vedras to face the Third French Invasion under André Massena. This Marshal entered the country with 62 000 men via the Beiras in Central Portugal and he faced 40 000 British/Portuguese troops defending the capital and so he was unable to take Lisbon and fled.

The Peninsular War continued on Spanish soil until March 1814. The Portuguese soldiers were very important to the overall French defeat in the Peninsula. Eventually, Napoleon was defeated by the Sixth Coalition and ended the bloody conflict with as many as 100 000 dead in Portugal due to famines, diseases and violence, in just a few words, Portugal was completely ruined.

The French Invasions of Portugal

The Liberal Revolution of 1820:
Since 1808, Mainland Portugal was a British Protectorate and as stated above, a colony of Brazil which was now the center of the Portuguese Empire. The Royal Family had no interest in returning and the British General William Beresford ruled Portugal with an iron fist and in a despotic manner, persecuting French sympathizers or anyone who opposed the status quo, incurring the wrath of the population.

Changing the capital to Rio de Janeiro forced a collection of things to make the backwater city the worthy capital of an Empire. Besides many constructions and improvements:

• The ban on transformative manufactures was abolished and incentives were made to create and spread them through Brazil;
• The Brazilian ports were opened to world trade and the British secured the best deal out of anyone, having lower taxes than the Portuguese themselves. This caused a drop of 75% in foreign trade and led to the ruin of many merchants;
• The State apparatus in Lisbon was replicated in Rio de Janeiro and thus the two centers would compete with each other;
• To “help” Portuguese negotiators at the Conference of Vienna, Brazil was elevated to a Kingdom and got the same status as Portugal creating the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.

All these factors were aggravations to the Portuguese bourgeoisie which took the role of main opponents to the status quo. Drinking for the ideals of the French Revolution and with the support of the militaries, a Liberal Revolution broke out in Porto, on August 24, 1820, whose immediate objective was to summon the Cortes and endow the country with a Constitution.

Since Beresford was not in Portugal at the time, the revolution was not crushed and gained momentum, several other cities joined in, including Lisbon which dictated its success. A Provisional Council was formed to organize the Elections for the Cortes whose Deputies from all over the Empire would create a Constitution.

The Cortes recalled the already King, John VI, to the capital and he returned but left his eldest son and heir, Peter, as the Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil in hopes to contain any independence desires. This displeased the Courts who deemed that Brazil needed to return to its former status as a colony which displeased the Brazilians who obviously did not want such a shameful condition.

After the King’s arrival on April 26, 1821, Lisbon was once more the capital of the Empire, this when Spanish America was collapsing in a wave of independence movements that were particularly strong near Brazil. The final straw in the union between Portugal and Brazil was when the Cortes kept demanding that Peter returned and eventually he grew tired of it and became the champion of Brazil’s Independence which began on September 7, 1822, with a War of Independence against Portugal.

In that same year of 1822, the Cortes finally approved the country’s first Constitution which was pretty radical for its time and made the King a simple figurehead. John VI accepted the Constitution and the Constitutional Monarchy began in Portugal when not even a handful of countries in Europe were constitutional.

The Cortes of 1820

Opposition to the Constitutional Monarchy:
Although the King accepted the Constitution, many nobles did not and rallied behind Queen Carlota Joaquina, who also refused to swear it. Since Peter had become Emperor of Brazil, the question of who would succeed to the throne was left opened and to the Absolutists the clear answer was the Queen’s second son whose paternity was questioned as was of her last two daughters Maria da Assunção and Ana de Jesus.

As the Holy Alliance composed of Europe’s leading Superpowers and paladins of conservatism restored the Absolute Monarchy in Spain in 1823, the Absolutists in Portugal prepared to bring down the Constitution. On May 27, 1823, Miguel led an insurgency in Vila Franca de Xira near Lisbon which also received the support of the capital’s garrison. To save his position and disrupt his son and wife’s plans of having Miguel become King, John VI suspended the Constitution.

Because of this, the Queen and Prince kept their schemes and on April 30, 1824, Miguel, using the pretext that his father’s life was in danger, imprisoned several of his Ministers and other important figures while keeping the King unaware of his coup in the Palace of Bemposta in Lisbon. It seemed that everything was going perfectly for Miguel until he offended the English and French Ambassadors who in retaliation brought the King to an English warship and there he stripped Miguel of all of his military positions and exiled him.

Meanwhile, on the Brazilian front, Portugal proved itself incapable of controlling the Brazilians and as soon as 1823, diplomatic negotiations between both parties began, with the mediation of the United Kingdom, the greatest winner of this entire process...Peter I of Brazil agreed to pay an indemnity of 2 million Pounds to Portugal and sign a Treaty of Friendship and Alliance with its former colonizer. Only in 1825 did Portugal recognized the independence of Brazil but not without opposition.

Queen Carlota was “exiled” to the Palace of Queluz and was suspected of trying to poison her husband while saying it was the Liberals. John ruled in a mixture between Absolutism and Constitutionalism and promised to make a more moderate Constitution to appease all of his subjects. He indeed ended up poisoned and feeling his death near appointed a Regency Council presided by his daughter Isabel Maria instead of his wife who most likely was the one behind his death.

The Princess and the Regency were tasked with choosing who would inherit the Crown of Portugal and despite opposition, they chose Peter I of Brazil who is still called Peter IV of Portugal. Knowing fully well that none of his subjects wanted the Personal Union at least in the conditions in came to happen, the Emperor and King sought a decision that would suit everyone.

Eventually on May 2, 1826, after almost 2 months as King of Portugal, Peter abdicated in favor of his eldest child, Maria da Glória born in 1819 at Rio de Janeiro, a year in which Brazil was still part of Portugal and thus she could be deemed Portuguese. His abdication had some imposed conditions namely that the country was forced to accept the Constitutional Charter of 1826 which was a copy of the Brazilian one with just half a dozen small changes and Maria da Glória was to marry her uncle Miguel who after swearing the new Constitution would be named Regent.

Prince Miguel in the Years Before His Death

And so we arrive at the current situation of things, a country that lost its Crown jewel, was still in a bad economic situation with little to no industry, bad accesses and roads, a Constitutional Monarchy in a sea of Absolutism that threatened to put down the new status quo, in conclusion, an aimless country trying to find its place in the world...

A summary of the state in which Portugal is at the time of the POD and a summary on how it got there. Unfortunately, my early plan of making a further Update in this weekend will not happen as the next part is not complete. As always thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.

 

[RedAquilla]

interesting. Let's see how the marian age shapes portugal and the world.

Will try to make a believable story, thank you for the comment.

 

[Mister Mister]

Interesting start. Keep em coming.

 

[RedAquilla]

The Queen's Arrival and the Government of Miracles ​

Political Conjuncture:
The Absolutist Faction led by Queen-Dowager Carlota Joaquina had suffered a tremendous blow with the sudden death of Miguel, who was to become King of Portugal once he stepped into Lisbon, in accordance with their schemes. Now they were left without a valid candidate to gather the support of their cause. All of Carlota’s daughters except for Maria da Assunção were in favor of the new political order so the Queen-Dowager sought to place her Spanish grandson, Sebastião Gabriel, who had a powerful claim thanks to his mother Maria Teresa, who was Carlota’s eldest daughter, on the Portuguese throne. Sebastião had been born in Rio de Janeiro, in 1811 and was a Portuguese Infante which made him eligible for the crown.

But Sebastião had always considered himself a Spaniard and many Portuguese, including some of Carlota’s supporters, had reaped grievances with the Spanish throughout the entire period since the French Revolution began so there was no real consensus in supporting her ambition. Another powerful Absolutist, the Duke of Cadaval, probably the most powerful noble in the country, sought to claim the throne himself because he was a relative of the Royal House of Bragança, even if his support was smaller than the Queen-Dowager. Nevertheless, in hopes to achieve a compromise that would allow her schemes to go further with fewer conflicts, Carlota admitted that using Maria da Glória was probably inevitable.

The Liberals who had been wary of Miguel’s previous nomination to the position of Regent and feared the return of the Absolute Regime, saw this time as the best to make a move to assure that Liberalism triumphed. The responsibility of such a plan was given to General João Carlos de Oliveira e Daun, a grandson through the female line of the Marquis of Pombal and the man who forced the Regency Council to swear the Constitutional Charter of 1826.

With support from the capital and most of the army, Saldanha as he was known, he made a coup known as the Coup of the Marianos (Pronunciamento dos Marianos) which forced the Regency Council to remain in functions, until the Queen was of age, and appointed a new Government presided by Saldanha consisting on the following individuals:

It was the 6th Government of the Charter and the 1st Government of Queen Maria’s Reign. Colloquial it was known as the Government of Miracles not only for some of the extreme measures they took but also because of how long it lasted despite the opposition and internal problems it had to face.

It had three high-ranking soldiers (Saldanha, Vila Flor and Subserra), two jurists and economists (Trigoso de Aragão and Mouzinho da Silveira) and a diplomat (Palmela). Trigoso and Subserra had already presided over previous Liberal Governments and the others except for Vila Flor had occupied a portfolio in previous Governments as well. All of them were supporters of the Constitutional Charter and supporters of Peter I of Brazil’s decision to nominate his daughter as the Queen of Portugal.

As for the Regency Council that John VI had appointed it was composed of:

• Isabel Maria de Bragança, Princess of Portugal;
• Nuno Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo, Duke of Cadaval;
• Patrício da Silva, Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon;
• Francisco Xavier de Meneses Silveira e Castro, Marquis of Valada;
• Marcos de Noronha e Brito, Count of Arcos.

Of these, the Count of Arcos was the only fully receptive to the Charter. The Princess and Cardinal-Patriarch were very conservative but despite it all, they accepted the new regime and kept a neutral stance and so did the Marquis of Valada. The only one who kept a staunch opposition to how things were going was the Duke of Cadaval who despite swearing the Charter kept criticizing the conduct of Saldanha’s Government.

As an irony of fate, on April 4, 1828, Maria II arrived in Lisbon. The reason for such irony was that it was her birthday, she turned 9 years old upon arriving in the country she was to reign. She was received in the Terreiro do Paço by the Regency Council members and the Government who wished her a happy birthday which she politely thanked. She reportedly told her preceptor and guardian, the Marquis of Barbacena: “Portugal seems fresher than Brazil, My Lord. I quite enjoy it already”. The man smiled as she was led to the residence that was chosen for her, the Palace of Ajuda.

The streets of the capital were filled with people wishing to see and greet the little girl that was now their Queen. Maria appreciated it a lot and thanked God for not giving her the same fate as the uncle she was meant to marry earlier that year. Upon arriving in the Palace of Ajuda, still in its never-ending construction period, she met her remaining aunts who remembered her only as a baby who also wished her a happy birthday and praised her beauty and growth.

From all of them, Maria became especially attached to her aunt Ana de Jesus, who was 21 years of age and the only one married with a baby girl named Ana Carlota as her daughter. She and her husband, the Marquis of Loulé, a staunch Liberal, had an affair before their marriage which resulted in her being pregnant during their somewhat forced wedding. She was quite lively and the most liberal of the daughters of Carlota Joaquina and she was the one that tried to befriend and spend more time with the young Queen.

Contrary to her mother Carlota Joaquina who refused to see her granddaughter, Maria da Assunção was present to welcome Maria II but she was cold and distant to her. The young Queen had been warned by her father and her preceptor of her grandmother’s behavior so she paid them no mind and enjoyed herself exploring the Palace and Lisbon. As the days went by she began seeing the first lickspittles who wanted to earn her favor, young ladies and men who did not wish to spend time with her because of her but rather her position. She grew jaded from this despite her young age and she quickly picked the nature of the individuals and their gruesome ambition, something she would use throughout her life. She excelled in her studies and worked hard to fulfill her dream of being a good Queen.

She would get very attached to her new preceptor Leonor da Câmara, a daughter of the second marriage of Luís António José da Câmara, Count of Ribeira Grande. Chosen by the Marquis of Palmela, Leonor had been a lady-in-waiting to Queen Carlota so she was victim of mistrust by both Liberals and Absolutists but the woman would showcase an extreme loyalty to Maria and supported her always, a fact that the young Queen appreciated deeply.


The Course of Action of the Government of Miracles:
Saldanha’s Government was quick to present stability problems. As noted, all the Ministers were Chartists but there were differences in their position in the political spectrum:

• Saldanha was at this time period quite radical and a Francophile with some of his opponents claiming he was a Jacobin and a Republican hidden in the closet thought this was mostly untrue;
• Palmela and Subserra were more moderate and former staunch supporters of John VI’s moderate regime having earned plenty of favors from him;
• Vila Flor was conservative and a former ally of Prince Miguel, he was also a member of the high nobility of the country;
• Trigoso de Aragão and Mouzinho da Silveira were pragmatic and neutral individuals but staunch supporters of Liberalism. They preferred to try to stabilize the others’ ambitions and conflicts in a common cause which was to assure the advancement of the Liberal cause and the assurance of political stability for the good of the country.

The Count of Saldanha​

In fact, it was the reforms pressed forward by these two that marked the Government’s legacy:

• Private jurisdictions were extinguished. Lordships both secular and ecclesiastical with the exception of the Dukedom of Bragança ceased to exist;
• Taxes, contributions and tributes to private entities were abolished freeing the population from the nobility and clergy’s yoke which in turn paved the way to a stronger municipal power;
• In consequence of the former measure, the fiscal system of the country was reformed and standardized in order to fight the Portuguese financial crisis (nearly 32 000 Contos of debt or 32 000 000 Réis in 1828) but at the same time make these taxes fairer to everyone;
• Corporations of various crafts and all their restrictive rules were extinguished to stimulate a market economy;
• The Judiciary System was reformed to be stronger and more independent in accordance with the Charter. The Supreme Court of Justice was created;
• The Public Ministry was separated from the Crown;
• Civil equality for all men was promoted as stipulated by the Charter.

Of course, these reforms were controversial, even the noble Ministers such as Vila Flor did not like them because they lost a very substantial part of their income and prerogatives, which, in turn, limited their further action. This was seen in the controversial Abolition of Religious Orders which ended up not going forward for these reasons. It aimed to acquire the monasteries’ extensive properties to boost the country’s economy but it was postponed by making them part of the Public Ministry.

Another controversial Reform that did not go forward was that of the municipality fabric which aimed to abolish hundreds of municipalities and fuse them with the larger ones to facilitate the State’s control. This was seriously opposed by the populations of those threatened municipalities who did not wish to lose their privileges, even if said privileges became standardized throughout the country and they would lose next to nothing.

A less controversial Reform was that of the Administrative Divisions of the country which had been mostly left intact for centuries and pretty much all Deputies saw the need in improving it. But to what it should be changed to was a topic of much discussion and two main alternatives emerged:

• A more radical Reform that involved the creation of 17 Continental Districts that would receive the names of their capitals;
• A more moderate Reform that involved the division of the huge Province of Beira into two: Beira Litoral and Beira Interior; and the division of Alentejo into two as well: Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alentejo. Minor territorial adjustments would also be made on the others.

It was decided and approved in the Cortes that the dispute would be resolved after a General Census was conducted to see the state of the Kingdom’s population and how it was distributed. But even if approved, this decision still had opponents due to the costs of such inquiry among other reasons. Individuals were recruited to collect data from all the Kingdom’s Parishes as well as in the Azores and Madeira, priests were expected to contribute and every person was to be recorded with monetary fines being used to incentivize everyone to answer.

Mouzinho, Trigoso and Saldanha wanted to use the results of the Census to update the electoral map of the 1830 Elections but this did not happen because the data took longer to collect than anticipated and Vintista/Radical opposition united with some Chartists to prevent it from happening anyway as they deemed it unfair.

Saldanha’s Government appointed new Governors to the Overseas possessions to prevent separatist and absolutist movements as well as intervention from foreign powers though none were recorded. Like all the previous Governments since the Revolution of 1820, there was no concrete Overseas policy, the main objective was to maintain the territories, quell dissent and send in taxes and tributes to Lisbon.

On the other hand, as three Military Commanders composed the Government, they were very keen on reforming the Armed Forces which were still competent enough from the Napoleonic Wars but also stagnating from inaction, coups and counter-coups as well as the loss of Brazil. Saldanha delivered a speech on the 8th Anniversary of the Revolution of 1820, August 24, 1828, on the city of Porto with the young Queen present on her first visit to the second largest city of the country, where he said the following about reforming the Army: “It was the Army who brought us to this day, free of French and English control, with a Queen in our lands and it is the Army who must the defend the Constitution and our gracious Queen so that the country is not humiliated nor there is the need to evacuate the Government as it did back then.” He would repeat this speech in the Cortes months later in the presence of many Deputies and Peers who agreed with him.

Together with Vila Flor, Saldanha proposed a reform that would extinguish the Ordenanças that had been in force since the Restoration and whose origins were even older in favor of a system of conscriptions similar to the French Revolutionary model, that is, all men aged between 18 and 25 and those who were not married were bound to join the military service either as soldiers or members of a future Royal National Guard (Real Guarda Nacional/RGN) which according to both Ministers would completely replace the Militias and General Police Department (Intendência Geral da Polícia) and all the subordinate bodies to the latter.

Summing up, the ultimate goal of all of these Reforms was simple and clear: to defeat once and for all the Absolutist forces without a Civil War while also giving the necessary energy to truly modernize the country after all the perils it suffered since 1807. Such a notion would prove impossible because the Absolutists were pressured for almost two years of hostile measures against them and their only option was to retaliate somehow...not only that but many individuals felt galvanized and flocked to the Absolutists. The popular sentiment was mixed with some being happy to be finally free of the nobility and clergy’s jurisdictions and not needing to pay heavy taxes while others were afraid of losing their municipalities and many were also left to fend for themselves with the end of the corporations of craftsmen.


Opposition and Revolts:
The Queen Dowager and the Duke of Cadaval’s factions worked in the shadows against the Regime and their circles increased. The need for them to attack became stronger after the death of the Count of Arcos on May 6, 1828. In the Cortes, much was discussed in regards to what to do with the Regency Council. Nobody questioned the tender age of Queen Maria but there were plenty of individuals especially of the Left that did not feel the need to nominate a new Regent but in the end, the consensus was to nominate a replacement for the Count of Arcos though who was the big question...

The Vintistas proposed prominent people from the Revolution of 1820 but the Moderates and Chartists who controlled the Chamber of Deputies and Chamber of Peers were against it and instead proposed the Marquis of Loulé due to his relationship with the Royal Family and for his open favorable opinion of Liberalism. The Absolutists, on the other hand, pressed for either the Queen Dowager or José António Oliveira Leite de Barros, a lackey of the former who served in a previous Government. Nearly all of the Cortes united against these proposals which galvanized the Absolutists further. The chosen one ended up being the Marquis of Loulé who assumed his position as Regent on August 9.

Cadaval openly protested against the nomination but no one paid him any mind. Anyone but Carlota Joaquina who invited him and his lackeys to her schemes of a new Military Revolt similar to the Abrilada and Vilafrancada in which he would replace Prince Miguel’s position as Generalissimo. The objectives were as follows:

• Imprison the Queen and all the Princesses;
• Suspend the Cortes and imprison the Government, Deputies and Peers until a proper trial could be arranged;
• Take control of the entire country and restore the Absolute Monarchy;
• Erase any sort of opposition that could arise;
• Marry the Queen to her cousin Sebastião Gabriel and acclaim him as Sebastian II;

Both Cadaval and Carlota Joaquina were to hold the real power behind the throne with Sebastião and Maria acting as puppets Monarchs.

Carlota Joaquina and the Duke of Cadaval​

Cadaval accepted and the preparations for the coup increased their pace and the details of how it was to be conducted were decided. Carlota Joaquina tried to get support from her brother Ferdinand VII of Spain but he refused because he was facing his own internal problems and could not nor wished to intervene in Portugal at least until the coup was successful. Sebastião also refused to travel to Portugal until he could enter Lisbon unopposed as he was worried about the success rate of the coup.

The months went by as the planning continued and finally on February 11, 1829, one year after Miguel’s tragic death, the Conspiracy officially began. Taking advantage of the date, Carlota Joaquina pleaded for her family, especially her granddaughter to come to visit her, so that she could apologize for the awful treatment she gave the child which was unfair. The Regency Council determined to answer positively to her plead but the Government was more apprehensive, especially Subserra and Trigoso de Aragão.

Once the Queen and the Princesses were safely inside the Palace of Queluz where Carlota Joaquina lived, they were, with the exception of Maria da Assunção, confined in rooms until the coup was deemed successful. Cadaval was informed of the success of the Conspiracy and led 2 000 men from Vila Franca de Xira to apprehend the Deputies and Peers that were in the Palace of São Bento, the headquarters of the Cortes. Some Liberals, despite being caught off-guard, escaped and organized some sort of opposition in the capital but they were at disadvantage. Throughout the country, Absolutists rose in support of the “Conspiração do Infante”, a clear homage to the late Prince Miguel.

Unfortunately for them, two key individuals escaped, one of them was Saldanha who escaped with the help of some loyal men and made his way to Santarém where his fellow General and Minister, the Count of Vila Flor was, after going there to inspect the troops and advance some military reforms that were still just mere thoughts that involved the Military Regions. Vila Flor suppressed the Absolutists in Santarém and began organizing an army to face Cadaval. On February 13, Saldanha joined him. And while these powerhouses made their moves, the unpredictable happened...Queen Maria ran away from Queluz...

According to reports, chronicles and the famous book by Camilo Castelo Branco “A Criada e o Cocheiro” which was based on real events, the Queen had been suspicious of her grandmother because the invitation had been so sudden that in her mind it made no sense especially because it had been clear that Carlota Joaquina despised her. So when she was confined to her room against her will and after hearing her aunts and Leonor complaining about the outrage, she realized her grandmother was trying to use her as a piece of some board game and she hated it. Not to mention that she hated the confinement, so she decided that she would escape for her sake and the Kingdom’s.

Having some knowledge about the harsh way of the world, Maria searched for the best way to get out of the Palace and she quickly realized it was impossible to do it alone, she needed help and the only ones that could help her were the servants and guards. Since she saw some maids feeling pity for her, especially the younger ones, she appealed to the sympathy, pity, patriotic sentiment and knowing how greed human beings were, she promised a financial reward. By February 17, Maria had amassed around her a small group of servants and guards willing to help her escape. Carlota Joaquina had underestimated her granddaughter because of her age and her servants too, especially their loyalties (Carlota was not well-liked by many who saw as her bitter and proud). On that same day, she dressed in simple clothes to conceal her identity and on the pretext of catching some fresh air in the gardens, she and seven maids escaped the precinct as two guards closed their eyes to the scene.

With three maids accompanying her, the Queen met a coachman named António who was in love with one of the maids, Luísa, (or so Camilo de Castelo Branco’s books say) who took them to Santarém. It took two hours before the guards loyal to Carlota Joaquina found Maria missing and they reported it to Carlota Joaquina who was said to have screamed from shame and anger for two hours...Searches were made but they became a laughing stock in Portugal and the world for allowing a 9 years old girl to escape.

After a week of preparation, Saldanha and Terceira had amassed an army of 5 000 men whose command was divided by the two of them. They were to leave for Lisbon on February 20 but on the dawn of the 19th, they were surprised by the arrival of the Queen. Her escape had led to both amusement as stated and worry for obvious reasons and when they asked if she was okay, she replied: “Your Excellencies, I’m better than okay. I had a pleasant journey here and I did not need to sign any documents for the past ten days. Unfortunately, I still do not know the face of my grandmother but I’m more than sure she will not look good with her anger...”

The girl’s good disposition and sharp wit despite her age ended up raising the spirits of the troops as her words spread like the wind. Saldanha is credited to have said this to boost their morale and convictions further. “Gentlemen, we have a Queen worthy of her ancestors! Let us take the capital in her name for the good of Portugal!” As the two Generals left on the planned day and their upcoming arrival reached the ears of the population of Lisbon, they rose in favor of the Queen with the following chants: “Praise the genial Queen who is smarter than the Great Ones in Portugal!” (Louvai a Rainha que é mais genial que os Grandes de Portugal!).

Many did not even know or cared about Liberalism but the Queen...that was another matter altogether...Cadaval tried to suppress the revolts but he had to engage the Generals which he did at the Battle of Olivais, on the outskirts of the capital, was fought on early February 22 and it was won by the Generals who were better commanders, had more troops and were far more motivated. The Duke fled as soon as the table turned against him but he was captured on the following day near the town of Cartaxo by supporters of the Constitutional Charter.

Before making the triumphal march to Lisbon, Saldanha and Vila Flor went to the Palace of Queluz and released the Princesses who were still abashed by what young Maria had done and she replied to them. “Dear aunts, I did nothing more than what my country required of me.” Carlota Joaquina was still there, her shame was such that she refused to leave and accepted her punishment which was being confined in the same room Afonso VI had been confined in the Palace of Sintra where she would die from natural causes or perhaps suicide on January 11, 1830. Ferdinand VII of Spain tried to free her but Portugal refused and tension between both countries rose but no war came.

With the Princesses secured, the heads of the Conspiracy captured, the Liberals entered Lisbon with plenty of cheers though most of these went to the young Queen who despite being in the country for almost just a year, was highly popular and a symbol of Liberalism, struggle against oppression and of hope. As the Queen promised, all those who helped her received a monetary prize and were also employed at the Palace of Ajuda which was her official residence.

Maria II in 1829 in a painting following the Conspiracy​

All the Deputies, Peers and Ministers that had been arrested were released and the remaining Absolutist insurrections, the one in Trás-os-Montes commanded by the Marquis of Chaves, Manuel da Silveira Pinto da Fonseca Texeira, being the hardest one to suppress and lasted all the way to his death on March 7, 1830, after which his troops surrendered. Cadaval was dismissed from the Regency Council and a new slot opened and this time the choice fell on General Luís do Rego Barreto, a ruthless but respected man and supporter of the Charter who took his position as Regent on March 12, 1829. The Cortes also debated whether or not to allow the candidacies of Absolutists for the upcoming Elections and the verdict ended up in favor of forbidding them to join as a political faction so if any wanted to run for the position of Deputy, he had to do so as an Independent. Sebastião Gabriel de Bourbon e Bragança was also barred from entering Portugal and projects to exclude him of the line of succession were also started.

My apologies for how long the Update took, I wasn't happy with the way I handled the whole Conspiracy mostly because I was unsure if a Nine Year Old could pull some of the stunts I wrote but then decided to go with this version and there is plenty of examples in fiction in which kids pull something similar besides I think I did decent in keeping it ambiguous to the truth of some statements by putting a Romance book in the mix. Hopefully, the next Updates will come faster, I'm thinking that next might be smaller and focus in the Empire and then perhaps one for Brazil before I start covering the Elections. If anyone has suggestions especially regarding the Conspiracy I'm all ears. Without further ado, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day.

 

[lusitano 1996]

Really good update , the land from the religious orders could be sold of to private individuals( small farmers ) that would creat more productive agricultural enterprizes , and create a middle class of farmers , and avoid the creation of few coroneis that would control most of the land and generally opresse people , portugal really needs a land reform .

 

[RedAquilla]

Really good update , the land from the religious orders could be sold of to private individuals( small farmers ) that would creat more productive agricultural enterprizes , and create a middle class of farmers , and avoid the creation of few coroneis that would control most of the land and generally opresse people , portugal really needs a land reform .

That would probably be the best outcome but in OTL it didn't go that way...it almost never does, it's the people who can buy them that get them. Though I doubt there will be "coroneis", that's more of a Brazilian thing I believe...

 

[lusitano 1996]

That would probably be the best outcome but in OTL it didn't go that way...it almost never does, it's the people who can buy them that get them. Though I doubt there will be "coroneis", that's more of a Brazilian thing I believe...

Yes probably to optimisic , it is a more brazilian thing , but it also happened in portugal but is wasn t nearly as bad as in brazil , in a small contry like portugal its dificult for someone to have such strong influence in a region without the central government putting a stop to it .

 

[RedAquilla]

The Abandoned and Forgotten Empire (1800 and 1830)

The Portuguese Empire in 1830

Portugal entered the 19th Century with Brazil being its crown jewel, the place where all the opportunities and resources were and due to this, all the remaining Overseas Possessions with the exception of Angola were left abandoned and forgotten. The State of India that had once been so important to the country and where great men made names for themselves was now half-dozen possessions with little prospect of expansion thanks to the presence of other European powers like the British, French and the Dutch.

The wars with France occupied the minds and consequence decisions of the Portuguese politicians while the various fortresses in Africa and Asia fell into disrepair and their garrisons to indiscipline, corruption and their equipment in poor condition. The strong religious component of the Empire, which in its golden years had served so well for Portuguese implementation in several territories, was now in increasing decline.

But the end of the wars and the Revolution of 1820 did not bring the prosperity and stability that was intended, instead, the metropole was plunged into a climate of social unrest and civil strife between Absolutists, Moderated Liberals and Radical Liberals while Brazil was lost and with it, a lot of the country’s revenues that could have saved the Empire. To make matters worse, neither of the Constitutions contemplated the Empire in anything more than mentioning what constituted it. In other words, what were the inhabitants of Overseas? Citizens or non-Citizens? If they were not Citizens, should they ever be allowed to become Citizens?

But the heavy blow that was the Independence of Brazil could have been much worse if what became known as the Brazilian Confederation (Confederação Brasílica) succeeded in accomplishing its goals. The Confederation had been composed by several Angolan towns including Luanda and Benguela and its objective had been to join the Empire of Brazil in its secession and thus maintain the economic model that existed since the 16th Century, supply the huge territory with slaves.

The threat grew larger when the Confederation wished to not only deliver Angola to Brazil but all of the Portuguese Empire in Africa and perhaps even in Asia, with support to the idea being quite substantial in a lot of places. Their downfall was that no one, not even Brazil was interested in their goals being fulfilled so their plan was stopped and the Portuguese troops sent from São Tomé to put down the Confederation and restore order just officially ended them. The episode would, however, remain in the minds of many Portuguese politicians in Lisbon who felt that the Overseas Possessions needed to be better controlled and explored for the well of the Nation.

Cape Verde, Guinea and the Islands of São Tomé and Príncipe:
The Cape Verde Archipelago in Macaronesia was the most consolidated possession of Portuguese Africa precisely because there had been no natives when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th Century. Its excellent strategic location did occasionally bring in other Europeans who wished to occupy the islands but so far Portugal had been able to repel them.

Despite being part of Macaronesia like the Azores and Madeira, Cape Verde was not part of the Adjacent Islands like they were mainly because the population was overwhelmingly black or of mixed descent as well as slaves with whites being a minority. The island’s slaves were transported to the Americas, that is, before the Slave Trade was forbidden north of the Equator in 1815.

Perhaps the biggest problem of the colony was its climate. It was harsh and dry and with each passing year, those negative conditions increased. In the 16th Century, Duarte Pacheco Pereira said that the islands were sterile because they were close to the Tropic of Cancer and had few trees because it rained little. Though not entirely true, the assessment provided a great deal of information about the colony. Before the 19th Century, there had been several periods of severe drought that led to many people abandoning the islands and the already low profitability of the colony diminished even further.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Treasury, António de Saldanha da Gama, wrote that in 1814 Cape Verde depended too much on foreigners to support itself with its basic needs and lived almost exclusively on the harvest and sale of urzela which was bought in its entirety by the Fazenda Real (Royal Treasury) for a fixed price. The Captain-Majors of Cape were in charge of this sale and, exercising considerable abuses, measured the urzela in their own accord and denied the payment in cash to the sellers preferring payments in kind (géneros), leading to considerable losses for the cultivators who lived miserably.

Saldanha da Gama proposed to the Cortes that the Royal Monopoly on the urzela should end and the free trade of the product established so it could both compete in the European market and give profit to those who cultivated it. The Minister also proposed the introduction of new plants and trees more resistant to the lack of water which could also bring other advantages such as the production of fruits, oils and soap. Fishing and salting fish was also brought forward as potential products to modernize the colony, as well as tropical fruits, sugar cane, coffee and oranges. Gama also proposed an increase in the local manufacture of coarse cotton fabrics that could be exported to the Coast of Guinea but unfortunately, his proposals went into deaf ears.

On the Coast of Senegambia, there were three Portuguese possessions: Bissau, Cacheu and Ziguinchor. The presence of the French and the English north of the River Gambia and the latter on the coast of Sierra Leone constituted a threat to Portuguese interests in the region. The British for example tried to establish colonies in the Bolama Islands off the coast of Bissau during the last decade of the 18th Century but luckily for Portugal, they failed.

Furthermore, Portuguese expansion in the region was always stalled by the local chiefdoms mostly Islamic who led frequent revolts against the Portuguese with such ferocity that Bissau had been abandoned for many years. It was this town that suffered the greatest number of attacks even by the Portuguese themselves, having been sieged between 1794 and 1795 by the natives, in 1803 by the local disgruntled garrison and in the worst year, 1811, there were three military revolts, two over unpaid wages and one against the Captain-Major, António Cardoso de Figueiredo e Melo, who refused to allow slavery.

The last major military uprising took place in 1825, in which Captain-Major Joaquim António de Matos had to ask the British for help because Cacheu under João Cabral da Cunha Godolfim was under siege by the Cacanda people. This siege led to nowhere but together with the many military uprisings it showed the weakness of the Portuguese possessions in the region.

On the coast of the Kingdom of Dahomey, the Portuguese held the Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá built during the reign of Peter II between 1680 and 1681 to protect the shipments of slaves from the region. The end of the slave trade however left the fort to its own devices and the Luso-Brazilian Francisco Félix de Sousa took control of it. Sousa maintained the slave trade illegally and ended up becoming an important local lord who rose the Brazilian flag at the time of its independence without Portugal doing anything against it.

The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe were in an even worst condition when compared with Cape Verde. Again, the official end of the slave trade destroyed the most important source of revenues of the islands ever since the production of sugar proved worthless given the competition from Brazil. Under these conditions, smuggling proved to be the only alternative for the poor inhabitants of the islands.

Cape Verde, Guinea and São Tomé e Príncipe

Angola and Mozambique:
After the episode of the Brazilian Confederation, Angola remained more or less pacified and conformed with its situation as a colony of Portugal while Brazil was independent. Portuguese control remained mostly on the coast with them claiming all territories between the Congo in the North and the Cunene in the South but only effectively controlling the lands between Luanda and Benguela. There was room for possible explorations of the interior and with it inland expansion.

The economic connection between Angola and Brazil continued as the colonies south of the Line of the Equator were not included in the ban on the Slave Trade, therefore, slaves continued to leave for the South American country and Angola kept profiting as they had been until then. The trade was so rooted in Angola that even the Administrators of the colony were involved as they considered themselves underpaid by Lisbon and there was no good alternative to it as the colony was also underdeveloped even if it was the most developed out of all others except Goa. Many politicians believed that it would be from Angola that a new Brazil would be built.

Portuguese claims over Mozambique extended from the Bay of Tunge in the North to the Bay of Lourenço Marques in the South. In addition to this, the valley of the River Zambezi from Quelimane in the coast to Tete many kilometers inland was also under Portuguese control thanks to the established Prazos da Coroa where African-Portuguese individuals ruled as feudal lords with their slave armies while recognizing Portugal as their suzerain.

In Tete, there was some trade with local Native Kingdoms and on the coast, Swahili individuals in the service of Portugal guaranteed the commercial dynamism of the region, exchanging gold, ivory and slaves for clothes and other products from India. Curiously, during the early 19th Century Slave Trade had a significant increase in Mozambique going as far as dominating the economy while in the previous centuries slavery was minimum. The British and French also began meddling in the colony, trying to steal Mozambique and its market from Portugal.

Angola e Mozambique

India, Timor and Macau:
The remnants of the Portuguese State of India, Goa, Daman and Diu, were now completely surrounded by British India. During the wars against France, the British tried to occupy Goa multiple times but ended up not doing so. It was, however, impossible for Portugal to expand in this region.

The Goan Administration had accumulated many debts and without support from Lisbon, many local properties were sold to the public market just to pay the salaries of the public employees, a situation that was not registered in the African possessions because of the Slave Trade. Despite it all, the manufactury in Goa was far ahead of the other possessions: there was an important gunpowder factory and a shipbuilding factory that served the State of India. In terms of education, Goa was also decently developed with a Mathematical Academy, a Military Academy and a Medical-Surgery School though in need of serious reforms.

Timor and the neighboring islands had been forgotten for nearly two centuries and it was the missionaries that held the control for Portugal but given the clear secular stance of the Liberals in Lisbon, the number of missionaries decreased and the colony nearly collapsed. The Dutch were the ones providing the Timorese with their basic needs and this ruined the local customhouse and created serious problems of sovereignty because both the Portuguese and the Dutch were disputing the region.

Sandalwood was still profitable as Chinese demand was still large but the British began competing in the market with the Portuguese. Like Mozambique, Timor also saw an increase in Slave Trade when previously it had been nearly non-existent, this was because poverty led many to illegal activities such as piracy, smuggling and slave trafficking but merchants from the Celebes also got involved and even achieved dominance of this growing market.

Macau was somewhat stable due to its links to the Qing Dynasty and being the only port where trade with Europeans was authorized which made it very profitable. The British took advantage of this and the concessions made by the late John VI to smuggle opium into China and to sell their products while also making profits with tea and other Chinese products which they acquired. Gambling and prostitution started to become popular during the early 19th Century due to a growing number of single men settling in Macau and despite the profitability of the colony, it was left to its own device by Lisbon.

India, Timor and Macau

Early Reform Projects:
Abandoned and forgotten were likely the best words to describe the Portuguese Empire during the early 19th Century but some individuals still tried to change this. In 1821, a Deputy named Fernando Tomás presented his so-called urgent measures for the Overseas possessions, namely a modification on the customs regime and the creation of incentives for navigation.

In December 1826, another Deputy, José António Ferreira de Braklami considered Africa as the best solution to fix the country’s dire economic situation as he believed that expanding the Portuguese holdings would create new markets for the metropolitan production such as wine, salt, textiles, footwear and thus bypass the uneven and disadvantageous free-market treaties agreed with the British. Braklami also proposed that the Portuguese Navy should be the one controlling the traffic between the Metropolis and the Overseas Possessions.

In his view, paid labor should be promoted to the detriment of slave labor, as he and a few others saw the latter as an obstacle to production and profit. Expanding the Empire was a good way to provide a sense of direction to the population that had been left without work after the wars and the Independence of Brazil, which Braklami believed should receive travel and land grants in the colonies, to populate them, get them to be more secure and in due time promote education, religious expansion and scientific exploration.

Unfortunately, Braklami’s proposals were presented at a time of instability, the period that went from the death of John VI, passing through the Reactionary Governments, Miguel’s early death, the Liberal Insurgencies, the arrival of Maria II, the controversial actions of the Miracle Government and finally the Absolutist Conspiracy of the Infante which led to being ignored. Nevertheless, he did not give up and got some young politicians like Bernando de Sá Nogueira, a military man, to support his plans and they too would begin to fight for the reformation of the Empire.

The Update took much longer than expected but here it is. It's a context of the Empire so there are no changes from OTL, those will start soon. The next Update will either be a small look at the rest of the world between 1828-1830 or the 1830 Portuguese Elections, maybe both...we will see...Thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day.

 

[lusitano 1996]

Great update , trying to colonize africa with portuguese peasents would be a good idea , in asia portugal could expand a bit , maybe ocupy the whole of timor island ?

 

[RedAquilla]

Great update , trying to colonize africa with portuguese peasents would be a good idea , in asia portugal could expand a bit , maybe ocupy the whole of timor island ?

First, the country needs stability and a decrease in its debt before it can start investing in Africa but I'm planning the early investments for the second half of 1830s in Africa. I also have some plans for an increase of settlers by the 1840s.

For Timor, the priority is to avoid José Joaquim Lopes de Lima or some similar individual to become Governador and sell all of Portugal's interests. Larantuca/Flores could very well become part of the Portuguese Empire and there are few islands around that could also become Portuguese like Sumba but for that, interest in Lisbon must arise. West Timor doesn't seem like it could end in Portuguese hands.

 

[lusitano 1996]

First, the country needs stability and a decrease in its debt before it can start investing in Africa but I'm planning the early investments for the second half of 1830s in Africa. I also have some plans for an increase of settlers by the 1840s.

For Timor, the priority is to avoid José Joaquim Lopes de Lima or some similar individual to become Governador and sell all of Portugal's interests. Larantuca/Flores could very well become part of the Portuguese Empire and there are few islands around that could also become Portuguese like Sumba but for that, interest in Lisbon must arise. West Timor doesn't seem like it could end in Portuguese hands.

Sure , one step at a time , is west timor ocupied by the dutch or something ?

 

[RedAquilla]

Sure , one step at a time , is west timor ocupied by the dutch or something ?

Yes, the Dutch have been in Kupang since at least 1613 while their grip on West Timor increased by 1640s. They also hold the bulk of the islands around Timor except for Flores/Larantuca.

 

[hudi]

buy the rest of timor from the dutch if possible

 

[RedAquilla]

buy the rest of timor from the dutch if possible

Even if Portugal had the money to buy West Timor, I see no reason why they would, they own most of the island and they don't really care about it so wasting money they could use to develop Angola or Metropolitan Portugal seems counterproductive.

What can happen is that the Dutch pay them to get the rights of Solor and other nearby islands and leave them with East Timor and Flores. Further expansions could occur but not in the short-medium term.

 

[hudi]

damn it foild again

 

[hudi]

cuz that way you have colonies in every part of the world all hail lusitania🇵🇹🇵🇹

 

[RedAquilla]

damn it foild again

cuz that way you have colonies in every part of the world all hail lusitania🇵🇹🇵🇹

I know how you feel but in this story will control fewer portions of the world when compared to my other TL but definitely more than OTL. I'm just going from a pragmatic and logical approach which I believe the Governments would have which is that Timor is not really that profitable hence why there is less incentive to invest there when you have Angola and Mozambique with far much potential and given the financial state of the country, they can't go Britannia Rules the World mode, they need to be smart.

 

[Victoro]

pragmatic and logical approach

That is a notch above most of OTL governments for sure...

Specially if we are talking about WWI and WWII levels... Ahem a-tchitaly!