João Carlos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun
João Carlos Gregório Domingos Vicente Francisco de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun , 1st Count, 1st Margrave and 1st Duke of Saldanha (born November 17, 1790 in Azinhaga , Portugal , † November 21, 1876 in London) was an important liberal Portuguese statesman and general , who for over half a century played a key role in determining the fate of his country.
Saldanha has held several ministerial posts, he was war (Ministro da Guerra) , Foreign Affairs ( Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros ) and Treasury Minister (Ministro dos Negócios da Fazenda) . He was a total of four times (1835, 1846-1849, 1851-1856 and 1870) Portuguese Prime Minister .
Life
Saldanha was a son of the 1st Count of Rio Maior, João Vicente de Saldanha Oliveira e Sousa Juzarte Figueira , and the D. Maria Amália de Carvalho Daun, a daughter of the Marquis of Pombal , the famous Prime Minister from the time of King Joseph I.
In 1808 Portugal was occupied by Napoleonic troops. The royal family then fled to Brazil , Rio de Janeiro became their new residence. Great Britain sent an expeditionary army under the command of the future Duke of Wellington and William Carr Beresford . A war that lasted until 1811 ensued between the French on the one hand and the British and the remnants of the Portuguese army on the other. Saldanha joined a Portuguese association that fought on the side of the British against the French. During Beresford's campaign to liberate Portugal from the French, Saldanha distinguished himself several times as an exceptional commander.
Saldanha's reputation as a military genius had also reached the Portuguese court in Rio de Janeiro. After the end of the Napoleonic threat, Saldanha was summoned to Brazil by Prince Regent Johann , where he arrived in 1815. At this point in time, Brazil was involved in a military conflict with the Spanish viceroyalty Río de la Plata (later Argentina ) for possession of Uruguay . Saldanha became the commander of the Portuguese-Brazilian troops. He succeeded in taking Montevideo ; the Uruguayan freedom hero Artigas had to go into exile. At the age of 28 Saldanha was appointed general, after the end of the Uruguay campaign, John VI appointed him. to the governor of Rio Grande do Sul .
In 1821, after the liberal revolution had taken place in Portugal , King John VI returned. back to Lisbon. He left his eldest son and Crown Prince Peter behind as regent in Brazil. Peter declared Brazilian independence in 1822 and assumed the title of Emperor of Brazil. Saldanha, although he was a close confidante of Peter I of Brazil, chose Portugal, took his leave of the new Brazilian army and returned to Portugal.
Johann VI died in 1826. Emperor Peter I of Brazil inherited the Portuguese throne, which he ascended as Peter IV. He appointed Saldanha as military commander of Porto . Since Peter was not ready to return to Portugal from Brazil, he appointed his sister Isabella Maria as regent for Portugal.
The main question of Portuguese domestic politics at the time was whether the country should be governed as an absolutist or a constitutional monarchy . The French invasion brought the ideals of the French Revolution to Portugal. As a result of the liberal revolution, the country had its first liberal constitution in 1821, which, however, was revoked in 1824. Since then, liberal supporters, including Saldanha, have called for a return to constitutionalism. Peter IV listened to these demands and in 1826 issued a new constitution, the so-called Charter . However, the regent Isabella Maria and the reactionary politicians around her were against a new constitution and tried to prevent the charter from coming into force. Saldanha used the military power his post as Commander-in-Chief in Porto gave him to put pressure on the regent and force her to finally bring the constitution into effect. In addition, Isabella Maria had to accept that Saldanha would join the government as Minister of War. He acted as a liberal counterpart to the reactionary / absolutist regent and the other government ministers, who were also supporters of absolutism.
Peter failed to rule both of his empires at the same time. He therefore resigned as Portuguese king on May 5, 1826 after only two months of reign, but remained Brazilian emperor. In Portugal his daughter Maria II was to succeed him on the throne. Since she was still a minor at the time of her father's abdication, the reign was initially extended.
Peter had a younger brother, Prince Michael . This shared the anti-liberal, reactionary attitude of the regent. He had already tried in 1824, against the will of his father, the then King John VI., To reinstate the absolute monarchy in Portugal, but failed at that time and was replaced by John VI. was forced into exile in Austria . Peter now wanted to bring the two warring branches of the House of Braganza back together. Michael was supposed to marry his niece Maria as soon as she was of marriageable age. Until then, Michael was to rule the land on behalf of his bride and niece as regent.
Peter's abdication and the expected arrival of Michael disrupted the reactionary forces around the regent in Lisbon. Saldanha was unable to counter this, also because he was weakened by an illness in the decisive months. Isabella Maria therefore dismissed him as minister of war, and the government thus lost its only liberal member. Saldanha, resigned to the course of developments, went into voluntary exile in Great Britain.
In 1828 Michael broke the oath he had previously taken on the constitutional charter, called a traditional meeting of the estates ( Cortes ) and was proclaimed King of Portugal as Michael I. He dethroned his niece and promised bride Maria II. He ruled as the last king of Portugal absolutist. These developments deepened the rifts in Portugal between Michael's supporters, who called themselves “absolutistas” because of their preference for absolutism, and the liberals, who were in favor of a constitutional monarchy and Mary II as queen. Michael cracked down on the Liberals with great severity, and their leaders were forced into exile.
However, Peter was not ready to accept his brother's breach of trust. On April 7, 1831, he also resigned as Emperor of Brazil in order to be able to devote himself entirely to the Portuguese turmoil, assumed the title of Duke of Braganza and went to Europe. The Miguelista War began , as a war between the two brothers and a civil war between absolutistas and liberals.
On June 8, 1832, Peter landed at Porto with a liberal army and thus set foot on Portuguese soil for the first time since 1807. He brought Saldanha back from his British exile. This took over the supreme command of the liberal troops. Together with the later Duke of Terceira , his liberal troops succeeded in wresting the country's two largest cities, Lisbon and Porto, from Michael’s control. Peter allied himself with Great Britain, France and Spain in the Quadruple Alliance and was able to defeat Michael in the decisive battle of Évoramonte . Michael then had to go into exile again. Peter died a short time later, Maria II was declared of legal age by the Cortes and began to rule independently.
However, after the liberals had defeated their opponent, the absolutistas, they quickly fell into two main groups. The contrast was sparked by the question of what the country's constitution should look like. The more conservative section of the Liberals, including Saldanha, wanted to adhere to the constitutional charter given to the country by Peter IV. That is why they were called cartists . The more radical part of the liberals, on the other hand, wanted a new constitution based on the liberal constitution of September 1822; they were called Setembrists . The Queen supported the Cartists, who were in power from 1834 to 1836. During these years it appointed cartist governments in quick succession, but all of them failed due to the opposition of the Setembrists and internal disputes. Saldanha also became Prime Minister for the first time in 1835.
In 1836 the National Guard launched a coup against the last cartistic government of the Duke of Terceira. The charter was repealed and the liberal constitution of 1822 was reintroduced (see September Revolution ). Against her will, the queen had to appoint a Setembrist cabinet, which was dominated by the two leaders of the Setembrists Manuel da Silva Passos and the Marquis of Sá da Bandeira . There were a number of revolts and coup attempts against the Setembrists. B. in July 1837 the so-called uprising of the marshals , in which Saldanha was significantly involved. The uprising failed and Saldanha had to go into exile at short notice.
In 1838 the Constituent Cortes, convened by the Setembrists, passed a new, extremely democratic constitution. To celebrate the new constitution, a far-reaching amnesty was announced, which also included Saldanha. He was therefore able to return to Portugal.
In 1842 the Setembrist period was ended by a coup by António Bernardo da Costa Cabral , who later became the Marquis of Tomar. Costa Cabral ruled the country as a cartist dictator. He was overthrown in the 1846 uprising of Maria da Fonte . For a short time the country again had a moderate Setembrist government with the Duke of Palmela ; but when the queen believed that the rebellion was under control, she reappointed a cartist government. However, she did not dare to make Costa Cabral prime minister again, and instead appointed Saldanha, who served as prime minister for the second time from 1846 to 1849. Saldanha could not prevent the country from sliding into civil war. A Setembrist counter-government was constituted in Porto. It was only with the help of British and Spanish troops that he succeeded in defeating the Setembrists in 1847. As soon as the civil war was over, the Queen dismissed Saldanha as Prime Minister and reappointed her favorite, Costa Cabral (1849), which was extremely unpopular in the country. Although Costa Cabral and Saldanha were both Cartists, Saldanha now went on an opposition course against him, also because Costa Cabral saw him as his most dangerous rival, and tried to completely ignore him politically. In 1851 there was an uprising by parts of the army against Costa Cabral. Saldanha took the lead in the uprising, forced Costa Cabral to resign and was thus head of government for the third time from 1851 to 1856.
In the meantime, political parties had emerged from the two liberal currents: the Cartists became the Regeneration Party , led by Saldanha, and the Setembrists developed into the Historical Party (Portugal, 1852–1876) under the Duke of Loulé . The queen died in 1853 and her son ascended the throne as Peter V. Initially, however, his father Ferdinand von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha led the government for the underage king as Prince Regent. Prince Regent Ferdinand left Saldanha in office as head of government. In 1855 Peter V came of age and took office himself. Much more liberal than his head of government, the young king dismissed Saldanha in 1856 and appointed a government dominated by the historical party under the Duke of Loulé.
From this point on, Saldanha no longer played a significant role in Portuguese politics. He served his country as ambassador in various posts abroad.
In 1870 Saldanha's last operetta-like government came about. This year Saldanha returned to Portugal from abroad. Because of his great merits and because he was not ready to retire despite his old age, King Ludwig I appointed him Minister of War. The Duke of Loulé, who was leading the government at the time, was not ready to allow the now 80-year-old old man to join the government. Saldanha then put on a coup on May 19, 1870, forcing the king to appoint him head of government. After three months, however, this episode was over; Sá da Bandeira overthrew him on August 29, 1870. Saldanha went to London as ambassador, where he died in 1876.
Saldanha was married twice and had five children.
swell
- Saldanha. Retrieved April 21, 2017 (Portuguese).
- References to his life. Retrieved April 21, 2017 (Portuguese).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, João Carlos de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Saldanha, João Carlos Gregório Domingos Vicente Francisco de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun Duke of (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Portuguese politician and general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 17, 1790 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Azinhaga , Portugal |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 21, 1876 |
| Place of death | London |