Pedro de Sousa Holstein
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Pedro de Sousa Holstein , (born May 8, 1781 in Turin , † October 12, 1850 in Lisbon ), first Count since 1812, first Marquis of Palmela since 1823 , and Duke of Faial since 1833 (this title became Title converted to Duke of Palmela ), was a Portuguese politician and military officer from the time of the monarchy. He was an important leader of the Cartists , represented the Kingdom of Portugal at the Congress of Vienna , was Portugal's foreign minister several times and, from 1834 to 1835 and 1846, twice headed his country's government. He also served his country as an ambassador in Madrid , Berlin and Rome .
Life
Palmela came from a Danish-Portuguese noble family, he was the grandson of Maria Anna Leopoldine, the eldest daughter of the Danish Duke Frederick William I . His father Alexandre de Sousa e Holstein , the son of Maria Anna Leopoldine, served his country as a diplomat. In his youth he therefore lived with his family in various European cities. From 1791 to 1795 he attended boarding school in Geneva ; then he went back to Portugal to study at the University of Coimbra . A year later he joined the Portuguese army. In 1803, after the death of his father, he was appointed chargé d'affaires at the Portuguese embassy in Rome. He held this office until 1805. During his time in Italy he met Wilhelm von Humboldt and began translating the Lusiads into French, but returned to Portugal the following year.
After Napoleon's troops occupied Portugal in 1807, he stayed in the country and from 1808 took an active part in the battles to liberate his country from the French. Since his strengths were more in the diplomatic than in the armed forces, he was in 1810 by Prince Regent Johann VI. appointed Portuguese representative to the Spanish Crown. In 1812 he became Portuguese ambassador in London, in 1815 he represented the country at the Congress of Vienna , after which he returned to Great Britain. In 1817 he was appointed Foreign Minister. As such, he was supposed to travel to Brazil , as the Portuguese government still resided in Rio de Janeiro . Palmela, who did not feel like exchanging the major European capitals for Rio, delayed his departure on various pretexts until the Liberal Revolution broke out in Portugal in 1821 . Palmela finally traveled to Brazil and returned to Lisbon with the king. On his return he was reappointed Foreign Minister.
When Queen Charlotte Johanna and Prince Michael tried to reintroduce absolutism in Portugal in 1824 , Palmela was briefly imprisoned in the Torre de Belém as a supporter of the constitutionalists . After Johann VI. had been able to prevail against his wife and son, Palmela was ennobled to margrave (marquês) and sent as ambassador to London.
There he was surprised by the dramatic events in Portugal, the death of John VI, the accession and abdication of Peter IV (1826), the reign of Prince Michael, and finally his putsch against his niece and bride Maria II (1828). As soon as Palmela learned of the deposition of Mary II and the coming to power of the absolutists in Portugal, he resigned from his post as ambassador and went to Porto, where he met Saldanha and wanted to take up the liberals' struggle against the absolutists . However, he soon saw that the time was not yet ripe for this, and that the Liberals were still too weak to prevail against Michael. He therefore left Portugal again and went into exile again in Great Britain. This behavior, interpreted by many liberals as "escape", seriously damaged his reputation in liberal circles. In London he met Queen Maria II, who stopped there on her way from Rio de Janeiro to her exile in Vienna .
In the meantime, the future Duke of Terceira had struck a miguelist fleet off the Azores island of the same name on August 11, 1829 . The island was therefore the only part of the Portuguese Empire that was outside the rule of the Miguelists. Terceira recognized Palmela as the head of the liberal Portuguese exile. Peter IV also resigned as Emperor of Brazil in 1831, assumed the title of Duke of Braganza and appointed Palmela head of a Regency Council, which was to reside on the island of Terceira until the liberation of Portugal. Palmela therefore went to the Azores. Together with the Duke of Terceira, he organized the military operation with which the other islands of the Azores could be wrested from the Miguelists. Peter IV went to the Azores himself in the spring of 1832 and took over the chairmanship of the Regency Council from Palmela, Palmela was appointed Foreign and Interior Minister of the liberal counter-government. He then took part in the landing of the troops of Peter IV at Porto , with which the war of Miguelists began. Palmela resigned as foreign minister and went to Great Britain, where he raised funds from members of the Portuguese exile to support the struggle of the liberals. By organizing the necessary funds, Palmela contributed significantly to the victory of the Liberals in the Miguelistenkrieg.
After the victory over the Miguelisten and the renewed accession to the throne of Mary II she appointed Palmela in 1834 for the first time head of government. The first government of Palmela was short-lived, as Palmela was criticized by its opponents for unilaterally favoring its supporters in the allocation of posts. Palmela resigned, but was again foreign minister in the government of the Duke of Saldanha that followed shortly thereafter. After the September Revolution of 1836, Palmela, who, as one of the most important Cartist leaders , was hated by the Setembrists , first had to go into exile. Even the Setembrist government of those years soon had to recognize Palmela's diplomatic skills, and so he was appointed Portugal's special ambassador for the coronation of Queen Victoria . In 1841 he returned to Portugal and became a senator and president of the second chamber of parliament.
After António Bernardo da Costa Cabral had overthrown the last Setembrist government by his coup in Porto in 1842, the queen again appointed a Cartist cabinet under the leadership of Palmela. However, he could not take up his office, the strong man in the country was already Costa Cabral. Just two days later, Palmela was withdrawn from its mandate to form a government. This was first given to the Duke of Terceira, then finally to Costa Cabral, who then ruled the country by dictatorial means until 1846. Palmela supported the cartistic line of the government of Costa Cabral, but not the means that this used in his government. In addition, Palmela's wife became seriously ill during this time; Palmela therefore initially withdrew into private life. After the uprising of Maria da Fonte , which ended the dictatorship of Costa Cabral (1846), the Queen reappointed Palmela as head of government. Palmela was seen as a moderate cartist, his government also included a prominent Setembrist with the Margrave of Sá da Bandeira . However, the queen changed her mind a short time later and appointed a strictly cartistic arch-conservative government under the Duke of Saldanha. This act by the queen led to civil war. Palmela had to go into exile again and did not return until the end of the civil war in 1847. His wife died the following year. Palmela now withdrew completely from political life and died two years later.
Web links
- Entry on Pedro de Sousa Holstein in the online edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (English)
Individual evidence
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| José Antonio de Oliveira Leite de Barros António Bernardo da Costa Cabral |
Prime Minister of Portugal 1834–1835 1846 |
João Carlos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun João Carlos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Holstein, Pedro de Sousa |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Palmela, Pedro de Sousa Holstein Duke of |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Portuguese politician and military from the time of the monarchy |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 8, 1781 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Turin |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 12, 1850 |
| Place of death | Lisbon |