Setembrists
The Setembrists ( Portuguese : Setembristas ) were a political movement within liberalism in Portugal , which was able to gain great influence in Portuguese politics after the September Revolution of 1836.
Origin of Setembrism
When, in 1828, Prince Regent Michael dethroned his niece and bride Maria II , proclaimed himself king and reintroduced absolutism in Portugal, all supporters of a constitutional monarchy , known in Portugal as liberals , opposed the new government. However, when the absolutists were removed from power in 1834 by their defeat in the Miguelistenkrieg , and no longer played a role in the future political development of the country, the liberals quickly split into two camps.
The antagonism was sparked by the question of what the future constitution of the country should look like. There were two models to choose from. During the liberal revolution , a constituent assembly ( Cortes ) drafted the liberal constitution of September 1821. This was initially in force from 1821 to 1824. September is called Setembro in Portuguese ; the supporters of this constitution, who embodied the more radical part of the liberals, were therefore called Setembrists. In 1826 King Peter IV gave the country a new constitution, the so-called Charter . This was much more conservative than the constitution of 1821, since Peter IV had hoped - in vain - that the charter would also satisfy the wishes of the absolutists. The followers of the charter were called cartists .
Since Maria II herself was a follower of the Cartists, she initially appointed various Cartist governments in quick succession after the end of the Miguelist War, but all of them failed after a short time.
The lawyer Manuel da Silva Passos from Porto , the most important leader of the Setembrists, gained more and more the stature of an opposition leader against these cartist governments. In 1836 the Queen appointed the Duke of Terceira , a hero of the Miguelist War and leader of the Cartist movement, as head of government. This acted particularly uncompromisingly against the Setembrists, so that the resistance against the cartistic regime in the country grew.
The Setembrists in government
In the same year the September Revolution finally took place and the Setembrists came to power. The Duke of Terceira had dissolved the Cortes and announced new elections, these were also won by the Cartists according to plan (the elections of that time were manipulated in Portugal), only in Porto and Viseu were Setembrist MPs elected. When they arrived in Lisbon to attend the opening of the Cortes, the population gave them a triumphant welcome. The National Guard then put on a coup against the Terceira government, submitted to the Setembrists and proclaimed the reintroduction of the constitution of 1822. Terceira sent troops against the rebels, but these fraternized with the National Guard. The queen had no choice but to admit the Setembrists into government and to accept the constitution of 1822.
The Setembrists ruled Portugal from 1836 to 1842. In addition to Manuel da Silva Passos, it was above all Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo , the Margrave of Sá da Bandeira, who, as interior minister and later also prime minister, determined the policy of the Setembrists. The Setembrists went through a variety of reforms to shape the country according to their ideas: Manuel de Silva Passos reformed the school system and founded the Academy of Fine Arts and the National Theater, a modern tax system was introduced and slavery in all parts of the empire, thus also in the colonies, abolished. The adoption of a new, extremely democratic constitution in 1838 was of particular importance .
Resistance to the Setembrists
There was manifold resistance against the Setembrist government on the part of the Cartists, who also enjoyed the support of the Queen. Just four weeks after the September Revolution and the Setembrists came to power, a coup took place that went down in history as Belenzada (after the Palace of Belém, a suburb of Lisbon). The queen had withdrawn to this palace and gathered the most important leaders of the Cartists around her. On their advice, they deposed the Setembrist government and appointed a new Cartist cabinet. At the same time, it put the constitutional charter back into force. The National Guard, however, remained loyal to the Setembrists, occupied some strategically important places in Lisbon and cut all communications to Belém. The matter was further complicated by the British, who sent two gunboats into the Tagus River near Lisbon, ostensibly to protect the Queen, who was threatened by the National Guard. This - unwelcome - help led to great problems for the Cartists, as the people got the impression that the English were interfering in the internal affairs of Portugal on the Cartist side. Many cartists also protested against the British intervention. After the Queen saw that she was unable to enforce the new Cartist government against the will of the National Guard, she decided to install a new Setembrist government under the leadership of Sá da Bandeira.
In the years 1837 and 1838 there were further uprisings of the Cartists, for example in July 1837 the so-called uprising of the marshals (which received this name because the two heroes of the Miguelist War, the dukes of Terceira and Saldanha, put up a coup against the Setembrists). The uprising failed and the rebellious marshals - Saldanha, Terceira, Palmela - had to leave the country. Likewise, in 1838 three mutinies in the arsenal in Lisbon failed, which were put down by the Sá da Bandeira government.
The end of the Setembrist government
Even if the Setembrist government was able to crush all uprisings, the constant opposition of the Cartists and the Queen finally demanded their price. Manuel da Silva Passos, the figurehead of Setembrism, had already resignedly withdrew from active politics in 1837. This growing weakness was shown by the fact that the Setembrists could not defend themselves against the fact that in 1839 the Queen appointed António Bernardo da Costa Cabral , later Margrave of Tomar, a leading cartist as Minister of Justice. This then acted practically as a cartist "watchdog" in the Setembrist cabinet. As early as 1841, the Count von Bonfim, the last truly Setembrist government, had failed. Bonfim's successor, Joaquim António de Aguiar , was already close to the Cartists .
On January 27, 1842, Costa Cabral, then Minister of Justice, finally saw his chance. He traveled to Porto, where he proclaimed the reintroduction of the constitutional charter. The Queen was extremely positive about this development, but did not yet dare to openly support Costa Cabral. They appointed a moderately conservative government under the Duke of Palmela, which was only able to stay in power for two days. On February 9, 1842, a cartistic government was appointed under the Duke of Terceira, and this enabled Costa Cabral to enter the government as Minister of the Interior on February 21. Costa Cabral eventually became head of government and ruled the country dictatorially until 1846.
Developments after the end of the Setembrian government
The Historical Party developed from the Setembrists in 1852 and came to power for the first time in 1856. In Portugal a two-party regime developed in which the Historical Party and the Regeneration Party , the heir to the Cartists, took over responsibility for government. The Progressive Party developed from the Historical Party and was to play an important role until the end of the Portuguese monarchy.