Great stuff , portugal seems to be on a good path , i also like that you seem to be going slowly , portugal shouldnt go from a broke backwater to prospeous superpower , is going to be a long and hard road to get there , cant wait fot he next chapter .
Vivam Lusos Valorosos, A Feliz Constituição - A Portuguese Timeline
- Thread starter RedAquilla
- Start date
Thank you! Portugal is indeed underrated in Alternate History but I also believe most of the countries are. There are just a dozen countries that seem to have most works focused on them.
It's not realistic to go from zero to hero, it's a slow process with up and downs especially when it's 19th Century Portugal we are talking about though it's not that hard to worse than OTL. Thank you for the comment.
The Kingdom: 1838 Portuguese Legislative Elections
1838 Portuguese Legislative Elections
These were the first Elections where the Additional Act of 1836 was in effect so they were conducted in a different way than before. Suffrage was now direct but still limited to those who had enough revenue and could read and write in Portuguese, that is, the active Citizens (those who had a minimum income of 100 000 Réis) elected the Deputies and the Elective Peers in Parish Assemblies. To be a Deputy one needed a net income of 400 000 Réis and to be an Elective Peer, 2 000 000 Réis (or 2 Contos). Between 5% and 10% of the Kingdom’s total population could effectively vote.There were fourteen multi-member Constituencies corresponding to the eleven Provinces of the Kingdom and the three Adjacent Islands (with Cape Verde included for the first time), in which Voters had as many votes as the number of Deputies and Elective Peers to be elected by Constituency. The three Deputies from Portuguese India were elected in this way as well while the remaining Constituencies from Overseas were single-member Constituencies and thus Voters only had one vote. The Elections were done in four rounds. In the first three rounds the Deputies needed an Absolute Majority to have someone elected while in the fourth round, only a Simple Majority was needed.
136 Deputies were to be elected, 4 more than in 1834:
- 114 in Mainland Portugal: 15 in Minho, 14 in Douro, 11 in Trás-os-Montes, 15 in Beira Litoral, 11 in Beira Central, 10 in Beira Interior, 11 in Estremadura, 11 in Lisbon, 6 in Alto Alentejo, 5 in Baixo Alentejo and 5 in the Algarve;
- 14 for the Adjacent Islands: 7 for the Azores, 4 for Madeira and 3 for Cape Verde;
- 8 for Overseas: 3 for Portuguese India, 1 for Guinea, 1 for São Tomé, 1 for Angola, 1 for Mozambique and 1 for Timor, Solor and Macau.
Factions/Political Parties:
NOTE: Some of these ideologies are approximants given what the factions defended.
Results:
Analysis:NOTE: Some of these ideologies are approximants given what the factions defended.
Results:
Against all expectations, the Reformist Party won the Elections for the Chamber of Deputies but was far from the 69 Deputies majority. They were the sole victorious in Minho, Douro Litoral, Greater Lisbon, Azores, Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique and shared the victory in Beira Litoral and Portuguese India. They were also the ones who won in the more populous Municipalities of the country.
The Saldanhistas won in Trás-os-Montes, Estremadura, Madeira, Guinea and São Tomé and shared the victory in the Algarve and Portuguese India. They were also the winners in the House of Peers. The Vilafloristas lost 12 Deputies from their total in 1834 likely due to the changes in political position and the number of Independents also decreased as Political Parties started emerging. The Radicals won 1 Deputy when compared to 1834 but they were the weakest faction.
Despite their victory, the Reformists were threatened by the more than likely possibility of the Saldanhistas and Vilafloristas allying in a coalition. Together they had 48.53% of the Deputies or 66 which was already enough to end the Reformists’ victory but they could easily get even more support from the Independents.
Queen Maria preferred a Government made of Saldanhistas and Vilafloristas and this was the most stable option, however, there was still animosity between both factions so any agreement would take some time to materialize so Saldanha and his followers urged the Queen to nominate a “Caretaker Government” from the Reformists. While Maria had a mild conservative leaning, she wasn’t opposed to her uncle, the Marquis of Loulé nor his supporters forming a Government but she was deeply worried about the backlash of the Vote of No Confidence being used. In the end, she had no choice but to ask her uncle to form a Government.
Had the updates finished and only needing spell checks but I was a bit lazy...anyway, the final part of the 1830s Politics will be published on Friday. I have started a bit about the Economy and Overseas but I'm not sure how that will end so we will see.
For those of you interested in Cessa o Nevoeiro, I have made much progress and I'm aiming at finishing the last three to four war updates before I start publishing them, that way I think I have at least three or four consecutive weeks of updates. I also think I'm finally getting the hang of "more summarize war writing" which is also a very good thing. Anyway, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day.
The Kingdom: 1830s Part 3
The Kingdom: 1830s Part 3
XI (11th) Government of the Constitutional Charter:
“The Caretaker Government”:
Loulé and the Passos brothers knew their Government had its days counted so they tried to go around the situation by asking for the support of the Radicals and Independents. From the latter, they gathered only 4 Deputies as the rest were surely going to support the Saldanhistas/Vilafloristas but they secured the full support of the Radicals but not before promising Government positions to them.
Costa Cabral, in his unofficial position of leader of the Radicals, managed to have his fellow Deputies drop their most radical ideals such as Republicanism but that did not prevent the other Factions from openly criticizing the Coalition, citing that the country would no doubt fall into anarchy. On their hand, the Reformists accused the criticizing Factions of being hypocrites negotiating the future of the country in Palmela’s house even when they lost the Elections.
In an ambiance of political instability and with the Queen and King very concerned with a potential revolt, Loulé, the President of the Council of Ministers nominated his Government which was the first full left-leaning one. The returnees were Passos Manuel who got the Kingdom Affairs, Sá Nogueira with the Navy and Overseas and José da Silva Passos with the Exchequer. The new Ministers were José Travesso Valdez, the Baron of Bonfim, who got the War Affairs; José da Gama Carneiro e Sousa, the Count of Lumiares, who got the Foreign Affairs; João Gualberto de Oliveira who took the recreated portfolio of Industry and Public Works; Costa Cabral with the Justice Affairs and Almeida Garrett with Public Instruction.
Passos Manuel proposed and managed to have the Cortes approve the Municipal Reform of 1838. Unlike the previous ones, this new Reform increased the number of Municipalities ever so slightly because it divided the larger and or the more populous ones into smaller ones:
- The gigantic Municipality of Barcelos, the third most populous of the country was divided into five: Barcelos, Capareiros, Rates, Vila Nova de Famalicão and Cambeses;
- The Municipality of Guimarães was divided in two: Guimarães and São Torcato;
- The Municipality of Vila Real was divided into four: Vila Real, São Miguel de Poiares, Andrães and Pinhão;
- The Municipality of Chaves was divided into three: Chaves, Ervões and Valpaços;
- The Municipality of Bragança was divided in two: Bragança and Vale de Prados;
- The Municipality of Leiria was divided in two: Leiria and Monte Real.
Passos Manuel intended on dividing other Municipalities like Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Viseu as well as abolishing many still small Municipalities north of the River Tagus but he could not harness the necessary support for the measure. He was also unable to pass a new Administrative Code of a decentralizing nature much to his dismay.
His brother José da Silva Passos managed to pass the Monetary Reform of 1838 with unanimous support in the Cortes. This Reform decimalized the Real, following the pattern of most of Europe with the 1 000 Réis (Mil-Reis) coin becoming the basis of large transactions because the Real was worth very little when compared with the Spanish Real de Ocho, the German Thalers, the French Francs or the British Pound, so much that for decades there wasn’t even a 1 Real coin even if it was still the accounting currency in the country.
Industry incentives continued but further reductions in public expenditure were not approved by the Cortes. Plans for the improvement of the lines of communication were made with the calls for studying the potential of the railway being made by many including King Augustus, thanks to his family in the German Confederation, a region where the next method of transportation was becoming very popular.
The very controversial Abolition of Religious Orders Decree of 1838 made by Costa Cabral was surprisingly approved in the Cortes despite staunch opposition, especially in the Chamber of Peers. From that moment forward, no monastery could accept novices and those with less than ten monks were to be closed and the personnel be sent to large monasteries that had more than ten monks.
This left even more assets in the hands of the State. Buildings were usually used to organize schools while everything else was sold at public auction. The most important of these sales were the extensive properties that were bought by the local oligarchs who had the means to acquire them and some rare times by groups of peasants.
However, despite enriching the State’s coffers, reducing the Public Debt and increasing the cultivated area two antagonistic things were observed:
- On one hand, the peasant population found it increasingly difficult to secure their basic needs such as food, firewood and pastures for the cattle;
- On the other hand, to make the land more productive and raise more money, selling it to the rich was the way to go.
Sá Nogueira continued setting the seemingly uncontroversial Overseas expansion while also proposing the construction of hybrid sail and steam ships but this did not even go to the Cortes because José da Silva Passos deemed them as not necessary nor worth the costs. After all, the technology was still much to be desired due to being new.
The Baron of Bonfim had the 1839 Military Education Reform approved which made the Royal Academy of Fortification, Artillery and Drawing the Royal Army School (Real Escola do Exército) (REE) and the Royal Academy of Marine Guards the Royal Navy School (Real Escola da Marinha) (REM). Both acquired a wider range of subjects adapted to the current times and had branches installed in Porto where the local institutions were made part of them.
In addition to training Military Officers, both schools also trained civil engineers, especially the REE. Upon completing the studies, graduates became officers and in the REM it was necessary to complete a year on a ship. Access to the courses of both schools demanded the completion of preparatory studies in the Polytechnic Schools, Military Colleges and Lyceums.
The Fall of the Government:
Negotiations between Saldanhistas and Vilafloristas were somewhat difficult because of the action of Agostinho José Freire from the Vilafloristas and his followers who were trying to get as many concessions from Saldanha as they could. Because they took so long, both factions allowed José da Silva Passos’s 1839 budget to pass with the Saldanhistas voting in favor and the Vilafloristas abstaining.
An agreement was reached in the early spring between both factions and on April 16, 1839, Agostinho José Freire, proposed a censure motion against the XI Government that won with 54% of votes in the Chamber of Representatives and 71% in the Chamber of Peers. It was the first time that a Government fell without a Military action or the Monarch/Regency’s interference and while legal it was not understood like that by the masses.
There were insults exchanged in the Cortes with the Baron of Bonfim having to be escorted out of the Cortes Palace (São Bento Palace) after unbecoming conduct though he was not the only one. In the major cities and towns of the Kingdom where the support for the Reformists was stronger massive revolts erupted and in the largest many members of the RGN even joined the revolt forcing the worried King Augustus I to call the Army to suppress the protests before something worse could happen.
Maria II’s worst fears had been realized and she was deeply worried and considered calling for Elections though with the quick action of her husband, Lisbon was pacified by the army and she ended up nominating Saldanha to form a new Government and among other concessions, she elevated her uncle to become the Duke of Loulé. It wasn’t enough, for the first time since she arrived in Portugal, Maria was being heavily criticized by a very large portion of the population and so was Augustus who in their eyes was serving the Holy Alliance and Absolutism even though he was quite liberal and far more supportive of the Reformists than his wife.
Saldanha and Terceira were warned by the Queen that she would not tolerate any major shifts in policies and that the Reforms passed by the Reformists were to be kept lest the protests and revolts grew in size. She told that if things didn’t calm down, she would call for Elections in 1840 and would not take a no for an answer. The two Marshals were irritated with her demands but they were also concerned with the country’s situation.
XI (11th) Government of the Constitutional Charter
20/01/1838-17/04/1839
Reformist Party/Radicals
20/01/1838-17/04/1839
Reformist Party/Radicals
XII (12th) Government of the Constitutional Charter:
As for the XII Government, Saldanha gave Vila Flor the Kingdom Affairs while the latter’s supporters also took the Foreign Affairs, given to Agostinho José Freire as Palmela excused himself from the Government, believing things to have gotten out of hand; the Navy and Overseas Affairs was given to Manuel Francisco de Leitão e Carvalhosa, Viscount of Santarém and the Exchequer Affairs were given to José da Silva Carvalho.
The Count of Lavradio, another prominent diplomat affectionate with Saldanha criticized him for giving the three most important and powerful positions to the Vilafloristas and got into a bit of conflict with Saldanha because of it, being accused of being an hypocrite, after all, after Palmela refused to Foreign Affairs they were offered to Lavradio who also refused.
The Saldanhistas got the Justice Affairs in the person of Joaquim António de Aguiar, War Affairs in the person of José Jorge Loureiro, Public Instruction in Rodrigo da Fonseca Magalhães and Industry and Public Works in Jervis de Atouguia.
Everything stayed much the same, Silva Carvalho maintained what Silva Passos outlined and concluded his loans, Aguiar maintained Costa Cabral’s reforms, the Viscount of Santarém maintained the same policies as Sá Nogueira because they both shared the same views regarding the Empire. Several Reforms that the Reformists failed to pass and were already addressed were put into motion by the next Government:
Vila Flor passed a more conservative version of Passos Manuel’s proposal to reduce the expenses in the Public Sector, the Viscount of Santarém pressured by the two Marshals approved the construction of three hybrid ships to renew the Portuguese Fleet and set conditions to make Portugal a leading force in this area and Silva Carvalho also sold more of the properties formerly belonging to the Religious Orders.
And this took place while revolts were going on throughout the country. Saldanha and Vila Flor were even forced to lead the Army in some campaigns to pacify the coastal areas where the support for the Reformists was more exacerbated and by 1840 they were able to keep the situation in check so much that the Queen gave up her plans to hold earlier Elections.
Still, the Reformists were trying to capitalize on the situation in their favor. While they publicly pleaded for protests to not turn into revolts that would harm the country and its people they did organize their own protests to criticize the “appropriation of their ideas” and the “O Reformador” journal was by now the best-selling one in the country for the first time in 1840. The Radicals, heavily weaken in the previous Elections, decided to join the Reformist Party as it grew considerably more radical.
The Royal Family:
Prince Peter grew up quickly and healthily, showing himself to be energetic from a young age and also a quick learner. In 1840, when he was about 4 years old, he spoke Portuguese and French to an equal degree and was beginning to learn German. However, the first big development for the Bragança-Beauharnais, as some historians identify the children of the union between Maria II and Augustus I, came from the latter’s side of the family.
In 1836, Prince Michael Pavlovich of Russia, brother of Tsar Nicholas I, made an official visit to Munich where, in addition to visiting the Bavarian Royal Family, he visited Princess Augusta Amelia, Augustus’s mother, and the rest of the Beauharnais, who received him with pomp. The Prince’s reports to the Tsar made the latter invite King Louis I of Bavaria to send a Wittelsbach Prince to Russia to participate in military maneuvers, and the Bavarian refused.
But Nicholas, intending to secure a Bavarian match and not being one to give up, insisted that Maximilian de Beauharnais, the Portuguese King and Brazilian Empress-Dowager’s younger brother, was to come instead. It’s likely that the Tsar saw this as an opportunity to reestablish diplomatic and economic ties with the two Portuguese-speaking nations whose Governments he despised but understood that would he would not be able to change. Not that he felt compelled to anyway...they were very away from Russia and it’s area of influence.
After consulting his sister Augusta, who was delighted to have another son of her showcase his attributes to boost the family’s increasing reputation, Louis I sent his nephew to Russia as a representative of Bavaria (and indirectly Portugal and Brazil). The trip took place in 1837 and Maximilian was warmly received by the Tsar who, in addition to taking him to watch military exercises, also took him through various regions of the Russian Empire.
Upon arriving at Saint Petersburg, Maximilian met Tsarina Alexandra (born Charlotte of Prussia) and the couple’s children and impressed them in the same fashion his older brother had done in Brazil and Portugal, with his appearance and refined education. Very impressed was the Tsar’s favorite child, his daughter Maria Nikolaevna who was two years younger than Maximilian and it seemed like the two of them fell in love.
The unexpected couple faced the problem of the difference in status as Maximilian was more akin to a Count and Maria was an Imperial Princess. Their confessions were also different with Maximilian being a Catholic and his family still associated with Napoleon who was hated in Russia. In their favor was Nicholas I’s opinion of the Bavarian and his daughter as well as his wish to restore relations with Portugal, Brazil and indirectly with Spain which also had shifted from his wing.
He imposed, however, conditions that were similar to those the Portuguese imposed on Augustus namely:
- Residing in Russia;
- Serving the Russian Army;
- Have their children educated to be Russians and Orthodox;
- Accept that the children took the Romanov name instead of Beauharnais.
The decision passed to the Head of the Family, Augustus, who, convinced by the Portuguese politicians eager to restore relations with Russia, even if already in favor of the marriage for he did not believe his brother would get a better offer, authorized the marriage but only if Russia ceased its diplomatic embargo to Portugal (which began in 1829). Nicholas eagerly accepted the demand as he was already planning to do it anyway and so Ambassadors were exchanged by both countries with the Count of Lavradio being the Portuguese choice not only because of his diplomatic skills but also because Saldanha wanted to fix their partnership.
It was Lavradio who represented Portugal at the wedding that took place on July 2, 1839, at the Winter Palace of the Russian capital and where the Tsar spared no expense in the parties that lasted two full weeks. Aside from the massive costs, the Russian population disliked Maximilian because he was, as stated, tied to Napoleon.
Nevertheless, Maximilian received the treatment of Imperial Highness (even higher than his brother’s) and the title of Prince Romanovsky. He was also appointed Major-General of the Russian Army and received an annual pension of 100 000 Rubles while his wife received a pension of 700 000 Rubles and they would also receive a sum of 2 000 000 Rubles to be paid in Russian treasury bonds. The Tsar also ordered the construction and furnishing of a palace for the couple in Saint Petersburg and another near it.
This much wealth generated tensions between Augustus and Maximilian which ranged from envy to narcissism and then into a cut of ties as two branches of the Beauharnais, none of which had the name anymore and represented two different countries with different views as well.
As for the Portuguese Royal Family, Maria II once more became pregnant and again the delivery of the child was difficult and very time-consuming but on September 11, 1839, a girl with light brown hair and blue eyes, strong and healthy, was born. Sumptuously baptized on September 25, the young Princess received the name Maria Leopoldina Augusta Josefa Clara Francisca Luísa Joaquina Isidora Antónia Carolina Isabel da Glória Micaela Gabriela Rafaela de Bragança. Her very long name honored her two grandmothers and her godfather was Louis I of Bavaria and the godmothers were her two living Brazilian aunts Januária and Francisca.
While the Portuguese Succession was more or less secured with Prince Peter and Princess Maria Leopoldina and despite the very hard and long deliveries, Queen Maria wanted more kids...
And here it is, as promised the final Internal Affairs of the Country during the 1830s. The next Update whenever it is will be the Economic and Finances during the 1830s. I want to keep it in just one Update and make it a decade long analysis rather than this format that fits politics more. Anyway, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.
Intrigue is always present just as one's will to fill the pockets, especially in 19th Century Portugal. I'm trying my best to create logical intrigues that could have happened in these circumstances. The reason why I call the 1830s the Stabilization of the Regime is because it's just that, there was no civil war, the marshals didn't open the wasp's nest of military coups, reformations were made through negotiation, etc. The prospects of the country are looking good despite the tensions that are looming around. Spoiler alert: Portugal will definitely be a stronger country than OTL just how much is the question.
I intend to finish my TLs so it will always be back, that or my potential descendants will do it for me...
Portugal seems to be in a pretty goog track , i cant wait to see the developments in the colonies , angola and moçambique could become new Brazils if portugal plays his cards right , could there be any more colonial expansion in this tl ?
I still needed to investigate more about the subject but I have a vague idea of what I want to do with Brazil during the 1830s. From what I know, one of the reasons Peter I returned to Portugal was because of the growing discontent toward him. This is not an option so he will remain in Brazil and have to deal with it and perhaps that will make him more "absolutist" but nothing compared to the likes of his brother or the Holy Alliance. To make things easier for me, I made Peter I die more or less around the time he did in OTL thanks to tropical diseases which also killed his daughter Paula.
It also allows for his second wife to get some sort of political role for an eventual regency for Peter II and I'm thinking about she and Peter I have more than just one daughter. Peter II will have a mother figure that will no doubt make him a happier kid and aside from a few other things I have in mind this is my overall plan that will need some polishing.
As for the slave trade, I don't think it will be any different than OTL, the bans are made around the same time as OTL so in this particular aspect Brazil will not diverge from OTL.
Aside from territories in Africa which are easy to predict, I was thinking of expanding Portuguese control over Flores, Sumba and a few islands in Indonesia though the Dutch clearly have the advantage there and Portuguese interest in the area is still very small and I'm still debating the viability of these expansions. Needless to say but Lopes de Lima's deals will not happen at all. There might be a small expansion in Macau to make it match the size of OTL Hong Kong but I'm not sure. No expansions in Portuguese India or footholds in America.
I had this crazy idea of portugal expanding in the islands close to timor ( not to much ) and even noth australia , i know its not really possible , but it could be cool , i dont know if england had claimed that part of australia at this period .
I already decided that Flores and most of Timor will be under Portuguese control, I'm still unsure about Sumba but I'm thinking it's doable. Smaller islands like Solor and Adonara are tricky because some sources they were under Dutch control and others don't. Australia is off the limits, I feel it's too far away and from my research for the Australian updates in Cessa o Nevoeiro, I know those little islands on the north coast have bellicose tribes and are not worth the trouble, especially when Portuguese interest in this side of the globe is so small.
What’s the plan for Africa? I heard you mentioned something about sending settlers in the 1840’s, a place to probably send them would be into the Angolan Highlands or just Luanda (apparently the islanders would be the best settlers because of the horrible conditions of Cape Verde, Madeira, and the Azores in the 19th century).
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For the 1830s, the plan is for Portugal to reaffirm its control over the Empire, survey the land, make alliances and start sending in colonists. Towns like Luanda, Benguela, Quelimane and others will receive settlers but due to climate and hostility towards settlers, the general area of the settlement will be smaller in the first couple of decades until Portugal is able to control the regions better. The big exception is probably southern Angola, the Namibe and Huíla Provinces where it seems that the native population was smaller and the climate more akin to Portugal. I have made some plans for the area involving as you pointed out, settlers from the Adjacent Islands.
Have you thought about exploring the Zambezi River basin as well? If Portugal does do that, it has a very easy time claiming most of the Pink Map territory, especially with the Angolan settlement.