Paulo Midosi (playwright, 1790)

Paulo Midosi (born July 22, 1790 in Lisbon , † January 19, 1858 in Portugal ) was a Portuguese writer , politician and diplomat . He was mainly active as a playwright . At the same time he was a leading intellectual during the Portuguese Civil War (1832-1834).

Life

Midosi was born the son of an Italian and a Portuguese woman in Lisbon, but was also Portuguese by nationality and saw himself as such. He spent most of his school days in England . In addition to English and his native Portuguese, he also spoke fluent French, Spanish and Italian.

From 1822 he worked as a civil servant in the Portuguese Foreign Ministry . As a supporter of liberalism , he had to leave the country in 1828 and went to England. There, in London , he lived for some time and it was there that his only book, translated into a foreign language (English), was published. He returned to Portugal in 1833. In 1836 he became State Secretary in the Foreign Ministry as a representative of the Minister, in 1838 he became a member of the Portuguese Cortes , the Parliament, initially for the Viseu district in 1839 for the Lisbon district. He ended his political and diplomatic career in 1839 with the post of Portuguese ambassador in Brussels .

He was friends with the world-famous playwright Almeida Garrett and was in contact with Don Pacifico .

As an author, he was best known as a playwright of one-act plays and farces and wrote some libretti . He also worked for magazines such as O Panorama and Archivo Popular .

He had been married since 1812 and had two children. His son Paulo Midosi (son) (1821–1888) became a lawyer and also a playwright.

Midosi died on January 19, 1858 of a serious, undefined, ailment.

Role during civil war and revolution

In the 1820s and 1830s a revolution and civil war took place in Portugal between liberals (left) and absolutists (conservatives) to establish a constitution and realign the rule of the king. This culminated in a civil war from 1832 to 1834. Portuguese of the high bourgeoisie mostly opted for one of the two directions. Almeida Garrett, a close friend of Midosi's, was known as a liberalist. Midosi himself wrote in his most famous work, Quêm o legitimo Rei de Portugal? (Who was the legitimate King of Portugal ?, title of the English edition) that he longs for peace and tranquility in Portugal and hopes - based on pacifist premises - that Portugal would soon find peace in the constant conflicts and wars. He published all of these works on the Civil War either anonymously or under a pseudonym . He also wanted to create an important work for abroad, to explain the conditions in his home country and to put an end to conspiracy theories . Spain and England were mainly involved in the civil war: England on the side of King Dom Pedro IV and his daughter, the later Queen Dona Maria II da Gloria, and Spain on the side of Dom Miguel , the king's brother and absolutist and dictator. It is no accident that Midosi's book appeared in English in England.

Fonts (selection)

Quêm o legitimo Rei de Portugal? Questao Portugueza submetida ao juizo dos homens impecioes. 1828, non-fiction book, historical essay, now a standard work on the Civil War, English edition 1828 in London.
Correspondencia de Portugal. 1830, letters and correspondence.
La dancella de Missoulughi. 1840, farce.
Os logras uma hopedaria. 1841, 1 act, farce.
Uma scena de nosso dias. Farce, 1 act, 1843.
Carta a sua exellencia Lord Palmerston . Letter book with correspondence between Palmerston and Midosi, 1847.
O misanthropo. 1853, 1 act, farce.
O senhor Jose do Capote. Burlesque comedy, 1 act, 1855.
O magnetismo. 2 Acts, Farce, 1857.
To novado em Friellas ou os dias patacoes. 1 act, piece (without year).

Awards (selection)

Royal Council of Portugal
Cadeiras da Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Vicosa, 1835.
Commander of the Order of Christ (Commandante de Ordem do Christo), no year.

swell

personal data
SURNAME	Midosi, Paulo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Portuguese writer, politician and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH	July 22, 1790
PLACE OF BIRTH	Lisbon
DATE OF DEATH	January 19, 1858
Place of death	Portugal