The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-11-24 00:00:00

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF
DOM MIGUEL.

The Carlsruhe papers of the 16th announce the death
of a person who once made a great noise in the world,
but shoes very existence has been for the last twenty
years utterly forgotten—Dom Miguel, of Braganza.
He had a stroke of apoplexy on the 14th inst., and
died the same night at Brombach, in the Grand Duchy
of Baden. He was born in October, 1802, and had
consequently completed his 64th year. He was the
third son of King John VI. and of the Spanish
Infanta Charlotte, sister of Ferdinand VII., and
therefore nephew of Don Carlos, so long the Pretender
to the Crown of Spain. When Portugal was invaded
by the French, and the Royal Family emigrated to
Brawl, Dom Miguel was only six years oil On the
death of Queen Maria, in 1816, her son, who had been
proclaimed Emperor of Brazil, was also proclaimed
King of Portugal, but did not return to his European
States until 1821. The education of his son Miguel
had in the meantime been grossly neglected; indeed,
it is said that on his return to Portugal he did not
L know how to lead or write, his sole accomplish-
ment being some skill in fencing. His uncle Don
Carlos of Spain, was simply a bigot; Dona
Miguel was a compound of folly, bigotry, igno-
rance, and wickedness. He had scarcely returned
to his native country when he rebelled against
his father, at the instigation of his mother, who
wanted to restore Absolutism instead of the Constitu-
tional form of government which her husband found
established by the Cortes during his long absence.
Tile rebellion broke out in 1822, but was put down;
Miguel obtained his father's forgiveness on his solemn
promise of never again misbehaving. Promises had
but little weight with such a person. He repeated his
attempt the following year; again sought, and again
obtained pardon, and wee even putted Gerneralieumo

of t

made a thirl attempt,

in 1824, and had some temporary success. Ile arrested
and imitri.tined his father's Ministers, and drove the
King from 1.,i,.b0n. A restoration was soon afterwards
effected, owing to the vigorous interference of the
foreign Anthassadors. This time both Dom Miguel
and his mother Were banished the kingdom. They
at first took up their residence in Paris, and then pro-
cneri,l to Vienna.

King .J,ihn died in 181 i, and his eldest daughter,
Isabella Maria,, was proclaimed Regent. Her brother,
Dom Ped o, who had succeeded to the throne of
Brazil, ana who, as the eldest son, was the legiti-
mate heir to the Crown of Portugal, made
over his rights to the latter kingdom to his
, daughter, Dona Maria da Gloria. Hoping to Put
; an end to the family dissensions which were the scandal
, of Europe, he offered his daughter's hand to his
: brother with the title of Regent —Dona Maria being a
minor. Though the functions of Regent were hardly
compatible with the position of Consort of the Queen
, Regnant, Miguel accepted the offer, and, after much
hesitation, consented to take the oath to the Constitu-
tion. His oath was as little to be relied on as his
promise. One of his first acts on arriving at Lisbon in
1828, was to dissolve the Chambers, and to justify his
usurpation he convoked the old Constituent Corte's— '
for plebiecites were not then in fashion—who pro-
claimed him King. He broke his promise of marrying
his niece, who was on her way to Portugal when
she WWI forbidden to land, and had to proceed to
England with the intention of returning to Brazil.
Geherals Palmella and Villatlor (afterwards Duke
of Terceira) attempted to strike a blow for the
Constitutional Queen. They were defeated and the
insurrection of Oporto put down. The partisans
of Dona Maria repaired to the Wand of
Terceira, the only part of the Portuguese dominions
where her eause was then openly maintained. Dom
Miguel was of ceurse recognized as the legitimate King
of Portugal by his w ' icks Ferdinand of Spain, and by
England asking de facto. On the death of the
QueemMother in 1830, the army and the finances
were found to be in a moat deplorable condition, and
the tyranny and excesses of the madman at the head
of the State became so intolerable that people who
might otherwise have continued under his rule resolved
upon a desperate effort to throw it off. Disaffection
spread rapidly in Portugal, and as France, which had
just made her own revolution, recognized Dona Maria,
her partizans thronged to Terceira. A severe Mow WWI
inflicted on Dom Miguel by the capture of his fleet in
the Tagus by the French Admiral Roussin in 183 L
All these circumstances encouraged Dom Pedro to quit
Brazil and put himself at the head of an expedition ;
against his brother. The first success was the capture
of the Azores, and, soon after, that of the important
city of Oporto, when the constitutional charter wait
solemnly promulgated in the name of Queen Maria IL
Dorn Pedro was aided by a considerable body of
English and Irish volunteers, and Captain, afterwards
Admiral Napier, took or destroyed in the most gallant
manner the Miguelite fleet off Cape St. Vincent, at
the Caine time that the Pedroite General Villaflor
made his triumphal entry into Lisbon, in July,
1833. The struggle lasted for some weeks in the
neightiourhood of the capital • but Dom Miguel was at
last forced to fall back on Keats. There he lost all ;
hope of continuing it any longer. His uncle, Don '
Carlos, who was then near the frontier, and was trem-
bling at the approach of Audit, the Spanish General,
tried to induce him to hold out until such time as he ;
(Don Carlos) could send him an army from Madrid, :
when lie was perwiaded be should soon be installed
King. Miguel, with all his folly, thought the chances I
;of his uncle very slight. The Bishop of Leon, who
afterwards played a considerable part in the Spanish 1
, war, was sent to him. "Sire," he said, "your Majesty
' has still a chance of recovering your crown ; come
with us to Madrid, for it is there you will find it." "1
would not hesitate," was the reply, "but, unfortu-
; 'lately, I am convinced that not &single man would fol.-
, low me." On the 26th of May, 1834, he signed the
1 capitulation of Evora, in which it was stipulated that
I a pension of 2,000/, should be paid him "out of regard
for his high birth •' " and, moreover, that he was at
liberty to dispose of all his private property in For-
tmtal, "on condition of restoring the jewels and other
objects of value which belonged to the Crown or to I
private persons ;" also that he should quit Portugal ,
within fifteen days, and bind himself not to return
either to Portugal or Spain, or attempt to disturb
in any way public tranquillity. In case he broke
the engagement he was to forfeit all right to
the pension. A ship of war was placed at his
disposal for himself and his suite. Miguel signed ;
the capitulation, but with the msntal reserve-
thin of protesting against it, the moment he ;
could do so with safety. He embarked for Genoa, t
and thence proceeded to Rome, where he resided for I t
some years, and where he was treated as King of Por-
tugal. After residing at several places in Germany, :
he finally fixed his residence at the castle of Brom-
bach, near Wertheim, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, 1:
where he died of apoplexy on Wednesday in last week, ;
in the filth of his age. During his stay at Rome he ;
occasionally exhibited feats of strength and endurance I
in the Campagna., and often performed to the amaze-
ment of a circle of friends in his box at the Opera, the
trick of bending a copper &Micro between his thumb
and finger. In 1851, just as his age bordered on fifty, ;
he contracted marriage with a young lady of twenty, ;
the Princess Adelaide of Lowenstein-Wertheim.
Rochefort and Rosenberg, and beestine the father of
six daughters and one son. This once renowned Prince, 1
whom the world seems to have so utterly forgotten, :
continued, however, to reuse something like a grim ;
interete among the simple population of that Main t,
region by the care la- took to have his children born I
and christened on "Portuguese ground," strewing the
floor under the nuptial bed and cradle which first re- I
ceived them, and the pavement under the font at the ;
ckapel, aith earth conveyed from Portugal, the same
handful of mould being regularly produced and care-
fully treasured up on each successive occasion.