Alfredo Cardoso de Soveral Martins

Alfredo Cardoso de Soveral Martins (1903)

Alfredo Cardoso de Soveral Martins (born June 7, 1869 in Almacave , Lamego , Portugal , † July 8, 1938 in Figueira da Foz , Portugal) was a Portuguese colonial administrator and naval officer.

Life

In 1885 Martins enrolled at the University of Coimbra .

Martins was Governor of Inhambane ( Mozambique ) from 1898 to 1902 and Governor of Portuguese Guinea from 1903 to 1904 .

With the rank of lieutenant first class (Primeiro-Tenente) in the Navy, Martins took part in the 1903 campaign against Gungunhana , the ruler of Gaza , the last major free Bantu empire in Mozambique. Gaza was conquered and Gungunhana was brought to Portugal.

From February 5 to October 30, 1910, Martins was Governor General of Portuguese Timor and thus the last Governor of the King of Portugal in the colony.

On October 6, 1910, the Portuguese Navy Ministry sent a telegram to Governor Martins with the news of the overthrow of the Portuguese monarchy . On October 8th it was confirmed again by the Portuguese cruiser São Gabriel , which was moored in the port of Darwin . Governor Martins, who had only taken up his post on February 5th with the rank of lieutenant in the Navy (primeiro-tenenteda Marinha) , officially announced the proclamation of the republic on October 30th , the blue and white flag of royal Portugal was overtaken and the Portugal's new green and red flag was set under fire of 21 rounds of salute.

It took until November 5th to adjust the administration to the new situation. This mainly included the appearance and national emblems, such as letterheads for official letters, symbols on administrative buildings, military uniforms and the like. An exception was the Pataca banknotes , which with the royal symbols remained in circulation until 1912. Soveral Martins left Dili in early November after his wife tragically passed away. The office was continued by Martin's secretary, Captain Anselmo Augusto Coelho de Carvalho .

The change to the republic in Portuguese Timor led to confusion among the Timorese and in 1912 it was a trigger for the Manufahi rebellion .

In 1932 Martins became a member of the administrative commission of the Figueira da Foz city council.

Martins was a Knight of the Order of Avis and Officer of the Order of the Tower and the Sword . He was also the holder of the Medalha de Prata de Comportamento Exemplar and Medalha Rainha Dona Amélia (1898).

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Annuario da Universidade de Coimbra", 1885, p. 114.
2. ↑ Campanha contra o Maguiguana nos territorios de Gaza em 1897: Relatorios enviados ao Ministro e Secretario d'Estado doa Negocios da Marinha e Ultramar pelo Commissario Regio da Provincia de Moçambique , Lisbon, Imprensa Nacional, 1898.
3. ↑ Monika Schlicher: Portugal in East Timor. A critical examination of the Portuguese colonial history in East Timor from 1850 to 1912, Appendix II; Source: Gonçalo Pimenta de Castro: Timor, pp. 44–162, Aberag, Hamburg 1996. ISBN 3-934376-08-8
4. ↑ AH de Oliveira Marques : História de Portugal , pp. 627/628, Volume III, Lisbon, Palas Editores, 1984.
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Geoffrey C. Gunn: History of Timor , pp. 91–92, Technical University of Lisbon (PDF file; 805 kB)
6. ↑ Agência Ecclesia: Expulsão dos Jesuítas e das religiosas Canossianas de Timor em 1910 ( Memento of November 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ TT, Ministério do Interior, Gabinete do Ministro, maço 463, pasta 28/1
8. ↑ A Ordem Militar Portuguesa da Torre e Espada. Subsídios para a sua História, Lisboa, 1966, de Maria Alice Pereira de Lima Serrano.

See also

• History of East Timor

predecessor	Office	successor
Gonçalo Pereira Pimenta de Castro	Governor of Portuguese Timor February 5, 1910-30. October 1910	Anselmo Augusto Coelho de Carvalho