Tomás da Fonseca

José Tomás da Fonseca (born March 10, 1877 in Laceiros, Pala municipality, Mortágua district , Portugal , † February 12, 1968 in Lisbon ) was a liberal Portuguese politician and writer who was subjected to severe persecution. He was the father of Branquinho da Fonseca .

Life

Fonseca was born in Mortagua County. As a student, he first enrolled in theology at the University of Coimbra , but left without a degree. He went into politics, first became a member of the provisional parliament in 1910 and then a full member and remained in this capacity until 1916 as a member of the Partida Democratica.He was also brief prime minister under President Teófilo Braga between 1910 and 1911 , and in 1916 he became governor of the district Viseu . He was a staunch advocate of the First Portuguese Republic and a fighter for freedom and democracy, which first put him in opposition to the dictatorship of Sidónio Pais in 1918 and earned him two months in prison . Later, in 1928, he was thrown into prison again as a member of the Movimento Nacional Democratica because he had spoken out openly against the military dictatorship and the rule of General Carmona . The dictatorship banned his books, he was first observed by the secret service PIDE , later interned for a short time in the notorious Tarrafal state prison.

Despite his persecution, he managed to achieve a lot in the field of education and pedagogy. He traveled to France , Belgium and Great Britain as an educational reformer to get an idea of the systems there. As a professor he was head of the Free University of Coimbra and employed at the Conselho de Arte e Arquelogica.

The writer Fonseca was known for his works critical of religion, but also for his stories and poems, as well as for works on art, archeology and democratic culture. He also wrote for countless newspapers and magazines, such as " Mundo ", " Patria ", " Voz Publica ", " Republica" , "Povo" and was editor-in-chief of two other newspapers.

He died in 1968 and is buried in his home district in Mortagua. But even during his funeral, the PIDE was present and observed many of the mourners. Today his home community honored him by having the city library named after him, a street and a bust of him erected. He is the father of the even better known writer of the second literary modernism in Portugal, Branquinho da Fonseca.

Work (selection)

Aquas Novas; without year.
Filha da Labao (novel); without year.
Historia da civilicacao, relecion da a historia de Portugal, 1922;
Fatima (anticlerical work), 1955;
Bancrotto, novel, 1962.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Fonseca, Tomás there
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Fonseca, José Tomás there
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Portuguese politician and writer
DATE OF BIRTH	March 10, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH	Laceiros, Pala Municipality, Mortágua County , Portugal
DATE OF DEATH	February 12, 1968
Place of death	Lisbon , Portugal