El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-07-20
By
Frederic
J. Haskin


was after the wife of king John had
retired to a convent that the war was
brought to an end by Dom Pedro,
with king Alfonso in Punishment in
the Azores. Alfonso had married a
daughter Of the duke of Nemourse.
This spirited and beautiful French
girl, grand daughter of Henry ~.
despised the royal beast TO whom her
family had married her with the great
est pomp for reasons of state. She
fell in love with Dom Pedro. the duke
of Beja, a younger brother of Alfonso,
retired to sconvent, declared that the
marriage had never been consummated
and secured a divorce. Dom Pedro, a
gallant lover and a statesmanlike
prince at 20. shut Alfonso up In a
room in the palace, assumed charge Of
affairs as, regent, brought the 81 years
of war with Spain to an end. married
queen Elizabeth, with the blessing Of
the pope, shipped his idiot brother to
the Azores for safe keeping, and after
Affonso's death became king Pedro II
Pedro's domestic and foreign policies
were constructive and he periodically
married a second time against his will,
after Elizabeth died without issue. In
order that he might leave an heir to
the crown. It was Pedro's statesman
ship that brought about the Methuen
treaty with England when Louis XIV,
accepting the throne of Spain for his
grandson, declared that there would be
no longer any Fyrennees. and the In
dependence of Portugal seemed threat
ened by French aggression This
famous treaty secured the peace Of
Portugal and assured its continued ex-
istence.
John the Educator.
1t was not the Portugal. of old, ag-
gressive, expanding, ambitious without
limit, that the Braganzas ruled. The
gold discoveries in Brazil kept its cof-
fers full The first ton of the prec-
ious metal arrived in Pedro's reign and
was put to good use in increasing the
strength and equipment of the army.
The alliance with England insured the
existence of Portugal, but IL was rec
ognized that its better days were gone
John V, successor of Pedro, ruled con-
structively, and advanced the interests
of education and architecture Lisbon
drinks good water today that comes
through acqueducts constructed at his
order. and the imposing convent at
MARIA was of his building King
Joseph existed in the shadow OF his
great minister the marquis de Pombal,
whose fight TO extinguish the Jesults
was marked by the burning alive OF
father Malha grida, and by the aboli-
ton by the pope Of the Society of
Jesus in Portugal
Two idiots of the Braganza breed
were solemnly crowned king and queen
of Portugal after Joseph's death They
were Maria Francisco and her husband
Dom Pedro, a brother Of her father, TO
whom she had been married in the
hope of ending all disputes as to the
succession. The country was ruled by
Donna Mariana Victoria widow OF
Joseph, who served as regent till the
king died and the queen went quite
mad.
Napoleon Starts War.
Dom John was ruling the country
when Napoleon. having wearied Of at
England, signed the treaty of Fontain-
conquer Portugal was made between
French troops invaded the country
abandoned Lisbon and fled to Brazil
belled and ousted the French while
Dom John was still nominally ruler
of Portugal with his court at Rio de
John " when the crazy queen died.
The revolution Of 1920, and the
drafting of the impractical consti-
reluctantly to Lisbon to supplant
that had succeeded the one he left IN
CONTINUED on Page Eight.]