PORTUGAL.

Portugal, the most westerly kingdom of Europe, is bounded on the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the east and north by Spain. By modern writers we find this country constantly styled in Latin Lusitania ; and it is certain, that anciently a part of Spain went by that name; but it does not by any means appear that the country called by the ancients Lusitania had the same boundaries with the modern kingdom of Portugal. Before the time of Augustus Caesar, Lusitania seems to have been bounded on the north by the ocean, and on the south by the river Tagus; thus comprehending all Galicia, and excluding two out of the six provinces of Portugal. But in the more strict and limited sense of the word, it was bounded on the north by the Durius, or the Douro, and on the south by the river Anas, or the Guadiana; so that it was not quite equal to modern Portugal in length, but considerably exceeded it in breadth.

The commonly received opinion with regard to the etymology of the word Portugal is, that a great number of Gauls landed at Porto, or Oporto, whence it received the name of Portus Gallorum, or the Port of the Gauls ; and that in process of time the name gradually extended over the whole country, being softened, or rather shortened, into Portugal. But the time when this event happened, the reason why these Gauls went thither, and what became of them afterwards, are all particulars which lie buried in oblivion. It is pretended, however, that, upon an eminence which overlooks the mouth of the Douro, there stood an ancient town called Cale, strong and well peopled, but ill suited for trade; and that this occasioned the construction of a lower town or hamlet, which was called Portus Cale, or the haven of Cale, and, in process of time, Portucalia. At length, when this place became so considerable as to be erected into an episcopal see, the bishops subscribed themselves, as the records of ancient councils testify, Portu~ calxnses, the name of the city being transferred to the diocese. It is true that these bishops afterwards changed their title, and subscribed themselves Portuenses, or “bishops of Portu.” But the facts just mentioned are actually recorded in authentic histories; and as the diocese of Portucalia in a great measure contained that little country in which the sovereignty originally commenced, the name extended itself with the acquisitions of the sovereigns, and came to be applied to the whole kingdom, though the diocese itself has changed its name.

Portugal, though even yet but a small kingdom, was originally much smaller. The Spanish and Portuguese historians agree, that Don Alonso, king of Leon and Castille, and son of Don Ferdinand the Great, bestowed his daughter, Donna Theresa, in marriage upon an illustrious stranger, Don Henry, and with her gave him the frontier province, which he had conquered from the Moors, small indeed in extent, but excellently situated, and so pleasant and fertile that it has sometimes been styled Medulla Hispanica, or the Marrow of Spain. To this territory was added the title of Count; but authors are very much divided respecting the time when this stranger came into Spain, and who he was. The more probable opinion appears to be, that he was a grandson of Robert, the first duke of Burgundy. The manner in which he obtained the principality may be briefly related.

The king, Don Alonso, apprehensive that his success in taking the city of Toledo would bring upon him the whole force of the Moors, sent to demand assistance from Philip I. of France, and the Duke of Burgundy, whose daughter he had married. His request was granted by both princes; and a numerous body of troops was speedily collected for his service, having at their head Raymond count of Burgundy, Henry, younger brother of Hugh duke of Burgundy, Raymond count of Toulouse, and many others. In the year 1087 they arrived at the court of Don Alonso, where they were received and treated with all possible marks of esteem; and having in the course of two or three years given great proofs of their courage and conduct, the king resolved to bestow his only daughter, named Urraca, then at most in her ninth year, upon Raymond count of Burgundy, and assigned them the province of Galicia for the support of their dignity. About four years afterwards, Don Alonso, being desirous to express his gratitude to Henry of Burgundy, gave him in marriage a natural daughter of his, born whilst he remained in exile at Toledo, whose name was Donna Theresa; and upon this marriage he conveyed in full property the country which has already been mentioned. The new sovereign, with his consort, fixed their residence in the town of Guimaraens, pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Ave. The remains of an ancient palace belonging to their successors are still to be seen; and on account of its having been anciently the capital, the king granted the inhabitants an immunity from taxes.

The Portuguese, finding themselves now independent, immediately began, like most other nations, to attempt the subjugation of their neighbours. Henry is said to have performed great exploits against the Moors; but the accounts given of t 1 ∙.em are extremely indistinct and unsatisfactory. He died in 1112, and was succeeded by his son Don Alonso, then in the third year of his age. In the minority of the latter the kingdom was governed by the queen-mother Donna Theresa, assisted by two able ministers. During the first nine years of their administration nothing remarkable happened; but, after that period, some differences took place between the queen regent and Urraca queen of Castille. Theresa insisted that some part of Galicia belonged to her in virtue of her father’s will, and therefore seized upon Tuy, an episcopal town, and a place of some consequence. Urraca, having assembled a numerous army, proceeded in person into Galicia, where Theresa was obliged to abandon Tuy, and take shelter in one of her own fortresses. The consequence would probably have been fatal to the new kingdom, had not the archbishop of Compostella, without whose assistance Urraca could perform nothing, demanded leave to retire with his vassals. This offended the queen so much that she threw him into prison; an act of violence which excited such a commotion amongst her own subjects, that the Portuguese were soon delivered from their apprehensions. Theresa immediately afterwards fell into a similar error, by throwing into prison the archbishop of Braga, who had not espoused her cause so warmly as she expected. The bishop, however, was quickly delivered by a bull from the pope, who also threatened the kingdom with an interdict. Soon after this, Urraea died, and all differences were amicably settled at an interview between Theresa and Don Alonso Raymond, who succeeded to the kingdom of Castille. But, in 1126, the king of Castille being obliged to march with the whole strength of his dominions against his father-in-law, the king of Aragon and Navarre, Theresa took the opportunity of again seizing upon Tuy; but the king having soon returned with a superior army, she was again obliged to abandon her conquest.

But the greatest misfortune which befell this princess was a quarrel with her own son, Don Alonzo Enriquez. It does not appear indeed that Theresa had given him any just cause of offence; but 'it is certain that a civil war ensued, [7:18:463] in which the queen’s forces were totally defeated, and herself made prisoner, a situation in which she continued during the remainder of her life. Enriquez having thus attained to the free and full possession of his dominions, made several attempts upon various places in Galicia, but without success; and he was at last constrained to conclude a peace with Alonso, king of Castille and Leon, who had assumed the title of Emperor of the Spams, more especially as his dominions happened to be at that time invaded by the Moors. The number of infidels was so great that the Count of Portugal had but little hopes of subduing them; but a plague having broken out in the Moorish army, they were obliged to retreat, after which he reduced several places belonging to that nation. In the mean time, the Emperor Don Alonso, having made an irruption into the Portuguese territories, destroyed everything with fire and sword. The king of Portugal surprised and cut off a considerable part of his army; but this did not prevent the emperor from marching directly towards him. At the intercession of the pope’s legate, however, all differences were accommodated, a peace concluded, and all places and prisoners taken on both sides were delivered up.

Meanwhile, the progress of the Christian arms in Spain being reported to Abu-Ali Texefien, the miramamolin or chief monarch of the Moors in Barbary, he directed Ishmael, his lieutenant in Spain, to assemble all the forces in the southern provinces, and to drive the Christians beyond the Douro. Ishmael immediately began to prepare for putting these orders in execution; and having added a considerable body of troops which had arrived from Barbary to those whom he had raised in Spain, the whole army was very numerous. He was met by Don Alonso of Portugal on the plains of Ourique, upon the banks of the river Tagus, where Ishmael took all possible means to prevent the Christians passing that river, because his own cavalry, in which consisted the strength of his army, would thus have more room to act. The Portuguese forces were inconsiderable in number in comparison with the Moors; but Ishmael, being too confident of victory, divided his army into twelve bodies, and disposed them in such a manner as might best prevent the flight, not sustain the attack, of the Christians. The consequence was, that his army was overthrown with incredible slaughter, and a vast number of prisoners taken, amongst whom were one thousand Christians of the sect styled Moz-arabians, whom, at the request of Theotonus, prior of the Holy Cross, Don Alonso set at liberty with their wives and children, and procured them settlements in his own dominions.

After this signal victory, gained in the year 1139, Don Alonso was proclaimed king by his soldiers, and ever afterwards retained that title, renouncing all kind of subjection to the crown of Spain. Being very desirous, however, of reducing the power of the emperor, he formed a league with Raymond, count of Barcelona, and regent of the kingdom of Aragon, against that prince. In virtue of this treaty, he entered Galicia with a considerable force on one side, whilst Don Raymond simultaneously invaded it on the other. But neither of these enterprises succeeded. The Portuguese monarch met with a severe check in his expedition into Galicia, where he received a dangerous wound, whilst some of the nobility who attended him were taken prisoners. At the same time, having received intelligence that the Moors had invaded his dominions, he was obliged to retire; but his retreat was not made in sufficient time to prevent the strong fortress of Leiria from falling into their hands. This fortress they demolished, and put the garrison to the sword; but the king caused it to be reconstructed of greater strength than before, and placed in it a more numerous garrison. Yet he undertook nothing farther during this campaign. The war continued with various success till the year 1145, when the king projected an enterprise against Santa-

rem, a strong city, at no great distance from Lisbon. In this he luckily succeeded, and thus gained a considerable tract of country, with a strong barrier to his dominions.

After this success Don Alonso caused himself to be crowned king of Portugal before an assembly of the states, where he also solemnly renounced all dependence upon the crown of Spain; declaring, that if any of his successors should condescend to pay tribute or to do homage to that crown, he ought to be deemed unworthy of enjoying the kingdom of Portugal. The next year the king undertook to recover Lisbon from the Moors; but there are so many fables related of this expedition that it is impossible to come at the truth. All that can be gathered from these accounts is, that he undertook the siege with a small army, and was able to make little progress in it, partly from the strength of the place, and partly also from the numerous garrison by which it was defended. At length, fortunately for Don Alonso, a fleet of adventurers, French, English, Germans, and Flemings, who were on their way to the Holy Land, having anchored at the mouth of the Tagus, he demanded their assistance, as not altogether foreign to their design of making war upon the infidels. His request was readily granted; and, with their assistance, Lisbon was speedily reduced; a conquest which so much enhanced the reputation of this monarch, and brought such numbers to recruit his army, that before the end of the year 1147 he had reduced twelve other considerable cities.

For many years after this, Don Alonso was successful in all his undertakings. He settled the internal government of his kingdom; procured a bill from Pope Alexander III. confirming his regal dignity; undertook many successful expeditions against the Moors; and became master of four out of the six provinces which compose the present kingdom of Portugal. In all his undertakings he was assisted by the counsels of his queen, Matilda, a woman of great capacity, and capable of governing the kingdom in her husband’s absence. By her he had a numerous offspring, including three daughters, the eldest of whom, Donna Matilda, was married to the king of Aragon; the second, Urraca, to Don Ferdinand king of Leon; and the third, Theresa, to Philip earl of Flanders. In 1166, however, the king thought proper, from what cause we know not, to invade the dominions of his son-in-law Don Ferdinand, and to seize upon Limmia and Turon, two cities of Galicia, in which he placed strong garrisons. Elated with his success, he next year marched with a numerous army towards Badajoz, which he invested. On receiving the news of this attack, Don Ferdinand, who had assembled a large army at Ciudad Rodrigo, marched to its relief. But before he came in sight of the fortress it had surrendered to the king of Portugal; upon which Don Ferdinand resolved to besiege his antagonist in his newly-conquered city. Don Alonso perceiving his design, endeavoured to draw out his forces into the field. Though at that time upwards of seventy years of age, he placed himself on horseback, and pushing forward at the head of his horse to get out at the gate, struck his leg against one of the bolts with such violence that the bone was shattered to pieces. This accident occasioned such confusion that the Portuguese troops were easily beaten, and Don Alonso was taken prisoner. He was exceedingly mortified by this reverse, especially as he had no great reason to expect kind treatment from his son-in-law. However, the king of Leon behaved towards him with the greatest respect and affection. He desired him to lay aside all thoughts of business, and attend to his cure; but finding him restless and impatient, he assured him that he expected nothing more than to have things put into the same condition as before the war, and that in future they should live in peace and friendship. To this proposal the king of Portugal most readily assented; but he returned to his dominions before his cure was perfected, and thus became lame all the rest of his [7:18:464]life. This, however, did not abate his military ardour; for his courage transported himinto the field whenever he was called thither by the interests of his subjects. Towards the end of his reign, an opportunity seemed to present itself of obtaining once for all an entire release from the disagreeable pretensions of the king of Leon, who, it seems, had insisted on the king of Portugal doing homage for his kingdom. This was a quarrel between the king of Leon and his nephew Don Alonso king of Castille. The latter solicited assistance from the king of Portugal, which was readily granted. But Don Ferdinand having received intelligence that the infant Don Sancho, the king’s eldest son, was advancing towards Ciudad Rodrigo, assembled his troops with such diligence on that frontier, that being enabled to attack him unexpectedly, he entirely defeated him.

Understanding, however, that Don Sancho was recruiting his forces with great diligence, he suggested that they might be much better employed against the infidels, who remained careless and unprepared, expecting the issue of the contest. Don Sancho did not fail to profit by this advice; and after some movements intended to amuse the enemy, he made a sudden irruption into Andalusia, penetrating as far as Triana, one of the suburbs of Seville. The Moors assembled their forces in order to attack him on his retreat; but Don Sancho having first fatigued them by the celerity of his march, at length chose a strong camp, and, having given his troops time to repose, drew them out and offered the enemy battle. The Moors accepted the challenge, but were entirely defeated; and Don Sancho returned to Portugal loaded with spoil. For some years afterwards the war continued without producing any remarkable event; but, in 1184, Joseph king of Morocco having already transported multitudes of men from Barbary, at length followed in person with a prodigious army, and carried all before him as far as the Tagus. He appeared before the city of Santarem; but having exhausted and reduced his army by unsuccessful assaults on that place, he was attacked by the Portuguese assisted by Ferdinand of Leon, and entirely defeated and slain. By this victory the Portuguese were left at liberty to improve the interior of thcif country, and to fortify their frontiers; but not long afterwards, that is, in the year 1185, the king died, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.

Don Alonso was succeeded by his son Don Sancho I. Of this prince it is remarkable, that before he ascended the throne he was of a restless and warlike disposition; but no sooner did he come to the possession of the kingdom than he became a lover of peace, and began with great assiduity to repair the cities which had suffered most by the war, and to rcpeople the country around them. By his steady attention to the work of restoration, he in a short time quite changed the appearance of his territories, and procured to himself the glorious title of The Restorer of Cities, and Father of his Country. In the year 1189, a fleet, composed for the most part of English vessels, but having on board a great number of adventurers of other nations, bound for the Holy Land, entered the river Tagus.. They were very kindly received and supplied with all kinds of refreshments by Don Sanctio, who took this opportunity of soliciting them to assist him in a design he had formed of attacking the city of Silvas in Algarve, to which they readily assented. Having joined them with a squadron of his own galleys, and marched a body of troops by land, the place was reduced, and the English, according to agreement, were rewarded with the plunder. But in a short time, the Moors from Africa having once more invaded Portugal, the town was several times taken and retaken, until at last Don Sancho, sensible of the difficulties of retaining it, caused it to be demolished. His last enterprise was the reduction of Elvas; soon after which he died, leaving the reputation of being the best economist that ever sat on the throne of Portugal. With the character of being rather liberal than avaricious, he had amassed a treasure of more than seven hundred thousand crowns in ready money, besides fourteen hundred merks of silver, and one hundred of gold plate, which he disposed of some time before his death. He was interred by his own command in the cathedral of Coimbra; and when his body was taken up four hundred years afterwards, that it might be laid in a new tomb, it was found uncorrupted.

The history of Portugal presents scarcely any event of importance till the year 1289; when, in the rcign of Don Denis, a difference commenced with Castillo, which subsisted for a long period. Frequent reconciliations took place; but these were either of short duration, or never sincere. At length, in the reign of John L, Don Juan of Castille, who had also pretensions to the crown of Portugal, invaded that kingdom at the head of the whole force of his dominions, and with the flower of the Castillian nobility entered the province of Alemtejo∙ According to the Portuguese historians, he besieged Elvas, but without effect; a disappointment which enraged him to such a degree that he determined the following year to invade Portugal a second time, and lay waste the country before him. Accordingly, having collected an army of thirty thousand men, he invaded Portugal, and took and ruined several places, whilst King John lay inactive, with a small army, waiting for some English succours which he expected. At last he ventured an engagement with the forces which he had, and, notwithstanding the great superiority of the enemy, obtained a complete victory; after which he made an irruption into Castille, and had the good fortune to gain another battle, which fixed him firmly upon the throne of Portugal. The Castillians were obliged to consent to a truce of three years, which was soon afterwards improved into a lasting peace.

In 1414, King John undertook an expedition against the Moors in Barbary, where he commanded in person; but before he set out, his queen Philippa, the daughter of John duke of Lancaster, died of grief at the thoughts of his absence. The expedition, however, proved successful, and the city of Ceuta was taken from the Moors almost at the first assault; but scarcely had the king left that country, when the princes of Barbary formed a league for the recovery of the place; and though they were defeated by the young princes of Portugal, whom John again sent into Barbary, yet the trouble of keeping it was so great that some of the king’s council were of opinion the town should be demolished. But John, having considered the arguments on both sides, determined to preserve the city; and therefore enlarged and strengthened the fortifications, augmenting his forces there to six thousand foot and two thousand five hundred horse, which he hoped would prove sufficient for repelling the attacks of the Moors.

King John died in 1428, and was succeeded by his eldest son Edward. The latter undertook an expedition against Tangier, in Barbary, but the event proved very unfortunate; the Portuguese being so shut up by the Moors, that, to obtain leave to return to Portugal, they were obliged to give up Ceuta. The king’s son, Don Ferdinand, was left as a hostage for the delivery of Ceuta; but, with the utmost cruelty and injustice, the king and council of Portugal constantly refused to deliver up the place. Many preparations indeed were made for recovering the prince by force; but before any thing could be accomplished the king died in 1430, which put an end to all these designs.

The war with Barbary continued at intervals, but with little success on the part of the Portuguese; and, till 1497, there is no event of any consequence recorded in the history of Portugal. This year, however, was remarkable for the discovery of the passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope. The enterprising spirit of the Portuguese had, for a considerable time before, prompted them to undertake voyages along the coast of Africa; yet, w4ιcn they undertook their first· voyage of discovery, it is probable that [7:18:465]they had nothing farther in view than to explore those parts of the coast of Africa which lay nearest to their own country. But a spirit of enterprise, when roused and put in motion, is always progressive; and that of the Portuguese, though slow and timid in its first operations, gradually acquired vigour, and prompted them to advance alongthe western shore of the African continent far beyond the utmost boundary of ancient navigation in that direction. Encouraged by success, they became more adventurous, despised dangerswhich formerly appalled them, and surmounted difficulties which were once deemed insuperable. When the Portuguese found in the torrid zone, which the ancients had pronounced to be uninhabitable, fertile countries, occupied by numerous nations, and perceived that the continent of Africa, instead of extending in breadth towards the west, according to the opinion of Ptolemy, appeared to contract itself, and to bend eastwards, more extensive prospects opened to their view, and inspired them with hopes of reaching India, by continuing to hold the same course which they had so long pursued.

After several unsuccessful attempts to accomplish what they had in view, a small squadron sailed from the Tagus, under the command of Vasco de Gama, an officer of rank, whose abilities and courage fitted him to conduct this difficult and arduous enterprise. From ignorance, however, of the proper season and route of navigation in that vast ocean through which he had to steer his course, his voyage was long and dangerous. At length he doubled that promontory which had been descried by Diaz, and which, for several years, had been the object of terror and of hope to his countrymen. After a prosperous navigation along the southeast coast of Africa, he arrived at the city of Melinda, and had the satisfaction of discovering there, as well as at other places where he touched, people of a race very different from the rude inhabitants of the western shore of that continent, which alone the Portuguese had hitherto visited. 'These he found to be so far advanced in civilization and acquaintance with the various arts of life, that they carried on an active commerce, not only with the nations on their own coast, but with remote countries of Asia. Conducted by their pilots, who held a course with which experience had rendered them well acquainted, he sailed across the Indian ocean, and landed at Calicut, on the coast of Malabar, on the 22d of May 1498, ten months and two days after his departure from the port of Lisbon. (See the article Gama.)

The samorin or monarch of the country, astonished at this unexpected visit of an unknown people, whose aspect, and arms, and manners, bore no resemblance to those of any of the nations accustomed to frequent his harbours, and who arrived in his dominions by a route hitherto deemed impracticable, received them at first with that fond admiration which is often excited by novelty; but in a short time, from whatever motives, he formed various schemes to cut off Gama and his followers. The Portuguese admiral, however, was not to be overreached by such politics as his. From every danger to which he was exposed, either by the open attacks or secret machinations of the Indians, he extricated himself with singular prudence and dexterity, and at last sailed from Calicut with his ships, loaded not only with the commodities peculiar to that coast, but with many rich productions of the eastern parts of India. He returned to Portugal in two years after his sailing from the Tagus, but with a great loss of men; for out of one hundred and forty-eight persons who sailed with him, only fifty-five returned. The king received him with all possible testimonies of respect and kindness; created him Count of Videgueira; and not only declared him admiral of the Indies, but also made that office hereditary in his family.

The Portuguese entered upon the new career opened to them with activity and ardour, and made exertions, both commercial and military, far beyond what could have been expected from a kingdom of such inconsiderable extent. All these were directed by an intelligent monarch, capable of forming plans of the greatest magnitude with systematic wisdom, and of prosecuting them with unremitting perseverance. The prudence and vigour of his measures, however, would have availed but little without proper instruments to carry them into execution. Happily for Portugal, the discerning eye of Emanuel selected a succession of officers to take the supreme command in India, who, by their enterprising valour, military skill, and political sagacity, accompanied with disinterested integrity, public spirit, and love of their country, have established a title to be ranked amongst the persons most eminent for virtue and abilities in any age or nation. Greater things perhaps were achieved by them than were ever accomplished in so short a time. Within twenty-four years after the voyage.of Gama the Portuguese had rendered themselves masters of the city of Malacca, in which the great staple of trade carried on amongst the inhabitants of those regions in Asia which Europeans have distinguished by the general name of the East Indies, was then first established. This conquest secured to them great influence over the interior commerce of India, whilst, at the same time, by their settlements at Goa and Diu, they were enabled to engross the trade of the Malabar coast, and to obstruct greatly the long-established intercourse of Egypt with India by the Red Sea. In every part of the East they were received with respect; in many they had acquired the absolute command. T hey carried on trade there without rivalry or control; they prescribed to the natives the terms of their mutual intercourse; they often fixed what price they pleased on the goods which they purchased; and they were thus enabled to import from Hindustan, and the regions beyond it, whatever was useful, rare, or agreeable, in greater abundance, and of more various kinds, than had been formerly known in Europe.

Not satisfied with this ascendant which they had acquired in India, the Portuguese early formed a scheme not less bold than interested, of excluding all other nations from participating in the advantages of commerce with the East; and they accomplished one half of what their ambition had planned. In consequence of this the Venetians soon began to feel that decrease of their own Indian trade which they had foreseen and dreaded. In order to prevent the farther progress of this evil, they incited the soldan of the Mam-lukes to fit out a fleet in the Red Sea, and to attack those unexpected invaders of a gainful monopoly, of which he and his predecessors had long enjoyed undisturbed possession. The Portuguese, however, encountered his formidable squadron with undaunted courage, entirely defeated it, and remained masters of the Indian Ocean. They continued their progress in the East almost without obstruction, until they established there a commercial empire; to which, whether we consider its extent, its opulence, the slender power by which it was formed, or the splendour with which the government of it was conducted, there had hitherto been nothing comparable in the history of nations. Emanuel, who laid the foundation of this stupendous fabric, had the satisfaction to see it almost completed. Every part of Europe was supplied by the Portuguese with the productions of the East; and if we except an inconsiderable quantity which the Venetians still continued to receive by the ancient channels of conveyance, our quarter of the globe had no longer any commercial intercourse with India, and the regions of Asia beyond it, except by the Cape of Good Hope.

In September 1522, King Emanuel died of an epidemical fever, and was succeeded by his son John III. The most remarkable transaction of this prince’s reign was the introduction of the inquisition into his dominions. This happened in the year 1525, or, as some say, in 1535. A famine happening to cease in a short time after the Holy Office was introduced, the priests persuaded the ignorant multitude that [7:18:466]it was a blessing from heaven on account of erecting such a tribunal. It was not long, however, before the bulk of the nation perceived what kind of a blessing the inquisition had conferred. But their discernment came too late; for by that time the inquisitors had acquired such power, that it became equally ineffectual and dangerous to attempt disclosing any ’ of their mysteries.

In the mean time Solyman the Magnificent, the most enlightened monarch of the Ottoman race, observing the rising power and opulence of the Portuguese, attributing it to its proper cause, and eager to supplant them, sent orders to the pasha of Egypt to employ his whole strength against the Christians in the East Indies. The pasha, in obedience to these orders, sailed from the Red Sea with a greater naval force than ever the Mahommedans had employed before, having four thousand Janizaries and sixteen thousand other troops on board. Yet, by the courage and conduct of the Portuguese officers and soldiers, all this mighty armament was defeated, and their East India possessions were saved from the danger which threatened them. In Africa, likewise, the king of Fez was baffled before the town of Safi, whilst fresh quarrels breaking out amongst the native princes, gave great relief to the Christians, who had long been obliged to carry on a defensive war, and had more than once been on the very brink of ruin. For a long time indeed their safety had depended solely on the quarrels of the Moors amongst themselves; for such were the envy and jealousy which reigned amongst the Portuguese, that they could never combine heartily in opposing the common enemy; and therefore, had their enemies united against them, they must certainly have been cut off. But whenever the scheriffs quarrelled with each other, one party was sure to have recourse to the Portuguese, who, by sending them a small supply, secured quiet to themselves, and had the pleasure of seeing their enemies destroy one another. Yet in the end even this had bad consequences. For, on the one hand, it kept up a martial spirit amongst the Moors, and on the other it made them acquainted with the Portuguese discipline; so that after every short interval of repose, they not only found them as much enemies as before, but more formidable than ever. The consequence of all this was, that King John began to apprehend that the conquest of Barbary was impossible, and therefore limited his ambition to keeping those few fortresses which he had already acquired; a necessary and prudent measure, which nevertheless displeased the generality of his subjects.

King John exerted himself greatly in the settlement of Brazil in South America, which he brought into a good state, caused several strong towns to be erected there, and took all possible methods to encourage the conversion of the natives to Christianity. He also introduced many regulations for the welfare and happiness of his subjects. The disputes of the nobility about precedency were frequently attended with disagreeable consequences, which made the king resolve to settle them definitively by established rules; and the principles established by him on this occasion have subsisted ever since, and serve in a great measure to prevent such altercations. He had also other designs in his mind, particularly with regard to the reformation of religious persons of both sexes; but, on a close examination of bis affairs, he found that b.is subjects in general had been so much injured by his leaving their concerns to the inspection of his council, that he was thrown by grief into a kind of apoplexy, from which he never recovered. His death happened in June 1557; and he was succeeded by his son Dorn Sebastian III. an infant of three years of age.

After the death of King John, the administration remained in the hands of the queen, grandmother of Sebastian, who behaved with great prudence and circumspection. The Moors, however, supposing that under a minority they might be able to dispossess the Christians of such places as they held in Barbary, laid close siege to Masagan. But the queen regent speedily sent succours, and promised such rewards to those who distinguished themselves, that the Moors, although they brought eighty thousand men into the field, were obliged to abandon the enterprise. This was at first magnified as a conspicuous instance of the queen’s capacity and wisdom; but, in a short time, the natural aversion which the Portuguese have to the government of women, together with the prejudice they had conceived against her country, as being a Castillian, appeared so plainly, and gave her so much uneasiness, thatof her own accord she resigned her authority into the hands of Cardinal Dom Henry, the king’s brother. Dorn Alexis de Moneses was now appointed the governor to the king, and Gonsales de Gomera and two other priests his preceptors. By these instructors the king’s education was totally marred. His governor assiduously inculcated upon his mind that the chief virtue of a king was courage, and that danger was never to be avoided, but always surmounted; whilst his other tutors, instead of instructing him in the true religion, only inspired him with an abhorrence of professed infidels. The consequence was, that he became rash, inconsiderate, and obstinate, displaying all those qualities that conspired to draw upon him the catastrophe which ruined both him and the kingdom.

After the king had grown up to man’s estate, his desire was to distinguish himself against the infidels. He himself intended to conduct an expedition to the East Indies; but the prime minister Alcoçova, who did not choose to attend his monarch to such a distance, substituted Africa in its stead. This expedition the king entered into in the most inconsiderate and absurd manner. He first sent for Dorn Antonio, prior of Crato, with some hundreds of soldiers; next he carried his principal courtiers with him from a hunting match, and without equipages; he then sent for the Duke of Avey-ro, who brought with him such troops as he could collect on so short a warning; and when all these were assembled, the king spent his time in hunting, and slight excursions against the enemy, without doing any thing of consequence, except exposing his person upon all occasions. At length he returned to Portugal in tempestuous weather, and his unexpected arrival was celebrated with the greatest rejoicings.

The trifling success which had attended the king in this expedition served only to inflame him with a greater desire for another; and from the time of his return he seemed to think on nothing else. He was highly delighted also with an accident which furnished him with a pretence for war, of which, however, he stood in no great need. Muley Harnet, king of Fez and Morocco, had been dispossessed of his dominions by his uncle Muley Moloch. At the beginning of this war Dorn Sebastian had offered him the Portuguese troops in Africa, a tender which was rejected with contempt; but now being a fugitive, and having in vain solicited assistance from Philip of Spain, Muley Hamet applied to the king of Portugal; and, that, he might the more easily succeed, he , caused the fortress of Arzila, which his father had recovered, to be restored to the Portuguese. The king was in rapture at this event, and fancied that his glory would exceed that of all his predecessors. He was, however, dissuaded against engaging in this expedition by all his friends. Philip of Spain, having done everything to dissuade him ata personal conference, sent Francisco Aldana, an old and experienced officer, to Morocco; and, at his return, ordered him to attend Dom Sebastian, in order to give him an account of the state of affairs in that country. This he performed with the greatest fidelity, but without any effect. The queendowager and the cardinal united in their endeavours to divert him from this unfortunate enterprise; but he treated them both with so little respect that his grandmother broke her heart; and the cardinal, to show his distaste of the measure, retired to Evora without coming either to court or to council, an example which was followed by many of the nobles. Many of these, however, transmitted remonstrances [7:18:467]to the king on the impropriety of his conduct; and Philip sent to him the Duke de Medina Cell to lay before him once more the reasons why he thought his scheme impracticable, and to put him in mind that he had no hand in pushing him upon his destruction, or of concealing from him the dangers into which he seemed determined to plunge himself and his subjects. Lastly, he received a letter on the subject from Muley Moloch himself, in which that prince explained to him his own right to the crown of Fez, and showed that he had only dispossessed a tyrant and a murderer, who had therefore no rightto his friendship or assistance. TheMoorish princenext assured him that he had no reason to fear either the power or the neighbourhood of the Portuguese; and as a proof of this, as well as a mark of his esteem, he was content to make him a present of some ten miles of arable ground round each of the fortresses he possessed in Africa, viz. Tangier, Ceuta, Masagan, and Arzila. At the same time, he addressed himself to Philip king of Spain, with whom he was on good terms, desiring him to interpose with his nephew Sebastian, that things might yet be adjusted without the effusion of human blood. But the king of Portugal was deaf to all salutary advice; and therefore paid no regard to this letter, nor to the remonstrances of his uncle.

On the 24th of June 1577, he set sail from the bar of Lisbon with a fleet of fifty ships and five galleys, twelve pieces of cannon, and many transports and tenders, making in all near a thousand sail. His troops consisted of nine thousand Portuguese infantry; three thousand Germans; seven hundred Italians, commanded by Sir Thomas Stukeley, an English exile, remarkable for his bravery; two thousand Castillians and three hundred volunteers, commanded by Dorn Christoval de Tuvara, master of the horse, a man of courage, but without either conduct or experience. He touched first at Lagos Bay in the kingdom of Algarve, where he remained for four days; and thence he proceeded to Cadiz, where he was magnificently feasted for a week by the Duke de Medina Sidonia, who once more endeavoured to dissuade him from proceeding further in person. But this exhortation proved as fruitless as the rest; and the king having sailed with a strong detachment for Tangier, ordered Doni Diego de Souza, the commander-in-chief, to follow with the remainder of the army.

The troops landed on the coast of Africa without any accident, and joined at Arzila. Here the king was met by the Scheriff Mulcy Hamct, on whose account he had undertaken the war, who delivered him his son Muley, a boy of twelve years of age, as a hostage, and brought a reinforcement of three hundred Moors. The boy was sent to Masagan under a strong guard; but the father remained in the Portuguese camp. Here it was resolved in a council of war to reduce the town of Larache, but it was disputed whether the troops should proceed thither by land or by sea. Don Sebastian, who espoused the former opinion, finding himself opposed by Muley Hamet, answered him so rudely that he leit his presence in disgust; after which the king’s opinion prevailed, and the army began its march on the 29th of July. As they proceeded, the king received a letter from the Duke of Alba, requesting him to attempt nothing beyond the taking of the town of Larachc. Along with the latter was sent an helmet which had been worn by Charles V.

On the other hand, Muley Moloch, having received intelligence of this formidable invasion, took the field with forty thousand foot and sixty thousand horse, and conducted everything with the greatest prudence, notwithstanding he was so enfeebled by fever that he could not sit upon horseback. Finding reason to suspect that part of his army were desirous of going over to his rival, he proclaimed that such as inclined to join their old master were at liberty to do so. This at once put a stop to the defection, and only a few availed themselves of the liberty which was granted them. Being likewise doubtful of the fidelity of a body of three thousand horse, he sent them to reconnoitre the enemy, by which act of confidence he secured them. Still, however, fearing that his officers might be corrupted by Portuguese gold, he entirely changed the disposition of his army, so that none of his officers commanded the corps to which they had been accustomed, and having new men to deal with, had none in whom they could confide.

Having taken these precautions, he advanced against the Portuguese army with such celerity that he came in sight of them on the 3d of August. On this Dorn Sebastian called a council of war, in which many w ho out of complaisance had dcclared for this march, were now for returning. They were separated from the enemy by a river, but the Moors being masters of the ford, it was impossible to force them immediately from their post; neither was it practicable for them to wait for a more favourable opportunity, because they had no provisions. The foreign officers, on the contrary, were of opinion that fighting had now become necessary, and a retreat dangerous. This, however, was violently opposed by the scheriff, who saw plainly that they ran a great risk of being defeated, and of losing all, whilst, at the same time, they were not certain of gaining any thing of consequence should they prove victorious; whereas, if they withdrew towards the sea, they might entrench themselves till they were relieved by their fleet; and during this interval, if Muley Moloch should die, he looked upon it as certain that a great part of the army would desert to him, which would render him master not only of the kingdom, but of the fate of the Christians also. When he found that the king was bent upon fighting, he only requested that the engagement might be delayed till four o’clock in the afternoon, that, in case of a defeat, they might have some chance of escaping. But even in this he could not prevail; for the king having disposed everything for a battle the next day, was impatient to begin the onset as soon as it was light.

In the mean time, Mulcy Moloch was so sensible of the advantages of his situation, that he was inclined to take the whole Portuguese army prisoners; but finding his disease increase to such a degree that he had no hopes of recovery, he came to the resolution to fight, that his antagonist might not avail himself of his death. The disposition of the Christian army was, through the care of some old officers in Don Sebastian’s service, regular and correct. The infantry were disposed in three lines; the battalion of volunteers formed the vanguard; the Germans, commanded by Colonel Amberg, and the Italians by Sir Thomas Stukeley, were stationed on the right; the Castillian battalions occupied the left, and the Portuguese were in the centre and rear; the cavalry, consisting of about fiftecu hundred men, being partly on the right, under the command of the Duke d’Avegro, to whom the scheriff joined himself with his horse. On the left was the royal standard, with the rest of the cavalry, under the command of the Duke of Barcelos, eldest son of the Duke of Braganza, Dem Antonio, prior of Crato, and several other persons of rank. The king took post at first with the volunteers. Mulcy Moloch also disposed his troops in three lines. The first consisted of the Andalusian Moors, commanded by three officers who had distinguished themselves in the wars of Granada; the second was composed of renegadoes; and the third consisted of the natives of Africa. They were formed in a crescent, with ten thousand horse on each wing, and the rest in the rear, with orders to extend themselves in such a manner as to encompass the Christian army. Muley Moloch, though extremely weak, was taken out of his litter, and set on horseback, that he might see how his commands had been obeyed; and being perfectly satisfied with the situation of his troops, he directed the signal of battle to be given.

The Christians advanced with the greatest resolution, broke the first line of the Moorish infantry, and disordered the second. On this Muley Moloch drew his sword, and would [7:18:468]have advanced to encourage his troops; but his guards prevented him, on which his emotion of mind became so great that he fell from his horse. One of his guards caught him in his arms, and conveyed him to his litter, where he immediately expired, having only time to lay his finger on his lips by way of enjoining them to conceal his death. But by this time the Moorish cavalry had wheeled quite round, and attacked the Christian army in the rear; upon which the cavalry in the left wing made such a vigorous effort that they broke the Portuguese on the right; and at this time the scheriff, in passing a rivulet, was drowned. In this emergency, the Germans, Italians, and Castillians, performed prodigies; but the Portuguese, according to their own historians, behaved indifferently. Attacked on all sides, however, they were unable to resist; and the whole army, except about fifty men, -were killed or taken prisoners. The fate of the king is variously related. According to some, he had two horses killed under him, and then mounted a third. His bravest officers were killed in his defence; after which the Moors surrounding him, seized his person, stripped him of his sword and arms, and secured him. They immediately began to quarrel about the prisoner, upon which one of the generals rodc in amongst them, crying, “What, you dogs, when God has given you so glorious a victory, would you cut one another’s throats about a prisoner ?” At the same time, discharging a blow at Sebastian, he brought the king to the ground, when the rest of the Moors soon despatched him. Others affirm, that one Louis de Brito meeting the king with the standard wrapped round him, Sebastian cried out, “Hold it fast; let ns die upon it ;” upon which, charging the Moors, he was seized, but rescued by Brito, who was himself taken with the standard and carried to Fez. The latter affirmed, that after he was taken, he saw the king at a distance, and ιmpursued. Dom Louis de Lima met him afterwards making towards the river; and this is the last account of his being seen alive.

Immediately after the battle, Mnley Hamet, the brother of Muley Moloch, was proclaimed king by the Moors. The next day, having ordered all the prisoners to be brought before him, the new sovereign gave orders to search for the body of Dorn Sebastian. The king’s valet-de-chambre brought back a body, which he said was that of his master, but so disfigured with wounds that it could not well be known; and, notwithstanding the most diligent search, this monarch’s death could never be properly authenticated. This body, however, was preserved by Muley Hamet, who delivered it up as the body of the unfortunate Dom Sebastian to Philip king of Spain. By the latter it was sent to Ceuta, thence transported to Portugal, and buried amongst his ancestors in the monastery at Belem, with all possible solemnity.

By this disaster, the kingdom of Portugal, from being the most eminent, sunk at once into the lowest rank of the European states. All the young nobility were cut oft'or carried into slavery, and the kingdom was exhausted of men, money, and reputation; so that Dom Henry, w ho assumed the government after the death of his brother Dom Sebastian, found himself in a very disagreeable situation. The transactions of his reign were trifling and unimportant; but after the death of the king a great revolution took place. The crown of Portugal was claimed by three different competitors, viz. the Prince of Parma, the Duchess of Braganza, and Philip of Spain. Whatever might have been the merits of their respective claims, the power of Philip quickly decided the contest in his favour. He found his schemes facilitated by the treachery of the regents, who took the most scandalous methods of putting the kingdom into his hands. Under pretence of inspecting the magazines, they withdrew some of the powder, and mixed the rest with sand; they appointed an agent to repair for succours to France, whence they knew that they could not arrive in time; they dissolved the states as soon as they discovered that they were bent upon maintaining the freedom of the nation; and, under a show of confidence, they sent off to distant places such of the nobility as they suspected.

Philip finding everything in his favour, commanded the Duke of Alva to invade Portugal at the head of twenty thousand men. The people, perceiving that they were betrayed, exclaimed against the governors, and placed on the throne Don Antonio, prior of Crato. But his forces being inexperienced, and his own conduct indifferent, he was quickly defeated by the Duke of Alva, and forced to leave the kingdom. On his flight the whole kingdom submitted, together with the garrisons of Barbary, and also the settlements upon the coast of Africa, in Brazil, and in the East Indies. The Madeiras, how ever, excepting the isle of St Michael, held out for Don Antonio until they were reduced, and the French navy, which came to their assistance, entirely defeated and destroyed.

Philip made his entry into Lisbon as soon as the kingdom had been totally reduced, and endeavoured to conciliate the affections of the people by confirming the terms which he had before offered to the states. These terms were, that he would take a solemn oath to maintain the privileges and liberties of the people; that the states should be assembled within the realm, and nothing proposed in any other states that related to Portugal; that the viceroy or chief governor should be a native, unless the king should give that charge to one of the royal family; that the household should be kept on the same footing; that the post of first president, and all offices, civil, military, and judicial, should be filled by Portuguese, all dignities in the church and in the orders of knighthood confined to the same, the commerce of Ethiopia, Africa, and the Indies, reserved also to them, and to be carried on only by their merchants and vessels; that he would remit all imposts on ecclesiastical revenues; that he would make no grant of any city, town, or jurisdiction royal, to any but Portuguese; that estates resulting from forfeitures should not be united to the domain, but go to the relations of the last possessor, or be given to other Portuguese in recompense of services; that when the king came to Portugal, where he should reside as much as possible, he should not take the houses of private persons for his officers’ lodging, but keep to the custom of Portugal; that wherever his majesty resided, he should have an ecclesiastic, a treasurer, a chancellor, two masters of requests, with inferior officers, all of them Portuguese, who should despatch everything relating to the kingdom; that Portugal should ever continue a distinct kingdom, and its revenue be consumed within itself; that all matters of justice should be decided within the realm; that the Portuguese should be admitted to charges in the households of the king and queen of Spain; that all duties on the frontiers should be taken away; and, lastly, that Philip should give three hundred thousand ducats to redeem prisoners, repair cities, and relieve the miseries which the plague and other calamities had brought upon the people. All these conditions, formerly offered and rejected by the Portuguese, the king now confirmed; but although the Duke of Ossuna, by way of security, had promised them a law, that if the king did not adhere to them, the states should be freed from their obedience, and might defend their right by the sword, without incurring the reproach of perjury or the guilt of treason, this he absolutely refused to ratify.

All these concessions, however, failed to answer the purpose; nay, although Philip was to the last degree lavish of honours and employments, the Portuguese were still dissatisfied. This had also an effect which was not foreseen. It weakened the power and absorbed the revenues of the crown; and, by putting it out of the power of any of his successors to be liberal in the same proportion, it raised only a short-lived gratitude in a few, and left a number of malcontents, to which time was continually adding.
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Thus Philip, with all his policy and endeavours to please, found his new subjects still more and more disgusted with his government, especially when they found their king treating with the utmost severity all those who had supported Don Antonio. The exiled prince, however, still styled himself, “king of Portugal.” At first he retired to France, and there demanded succours for the recovery of his dominions. Here he found so much countenance, that with a fleet of nearly sixty sail, and a considerable body of troops on board, he made an attempt upon Tcrceira, where his fleet was beaten by the Spaniards, and many prisoners being taken, all the officers and gentlemen were beheaded, and a great number of meaner people hanged. Dorn Antonio, however, kept possession of some places, coined money, and performed many other acts of sovereign power; but he was at length constrained to retire, which he did with some difficulty, and returning into France, he passed thence into England, where he was well received; and many fitted out privateers to cruize against the Spaniards under his commission. But after Philip had ruined the naval power of Portugal as well as that of Spain, by equipping the Armada, Queen Elizabeth made no difficulty of owning and assisting Dorn Antonio, and even of sending Sir John Norris and Sir Francis Drake with a strong fleet and a considerable army to restore him. Upon this occasion Don Antonio sent his son Don Christoval a hostage to Muley Hamet, king of Fez and Morocco, who was to lend him two hundred thousand ducats. But Philip prevented this by surrendering Arzila; which, with the unseasonable enterprise against Corunna, and the disputes that arose between Norris and Drake, rendered the expedition abortive; so that, except carrying the plague into England, it was attended with no consequences worthy of notice. Dorn Antonio remained some time afterwards in England; but finding himself disregarded, he withdrew once more into France, where he fell into great poverty and distress; and having at length died in the sixty-fourth year of his age, his body was buried in the church of the nuns of Ave Maria, with an inscription on his tomb, in which he is styled, “king.” He left behind him several children, who, on account of his being a knight of Malta, and having made a vow of chastity at his entrance into the order, were looked upon as illegitimate.

But Dorn Antonio was not the only pretender to the crown of Portugal. The people, partly from love of their prince, and partly from their hatred to the Castillians, were continually feeding themselves with the hopes that Dom Sebastian would appear and deliver them; and in this respect such a spirit of credulity reigned, that they would probably have taken a ncgro for Dorn Sebastian. This humour induced the son of a tiler at Alcobaça, who had led a profligate life, and at length turned hermit, to give himself out as that prince; and having with him two companions, one of whom styled himself Dorn Christoval de Tavora, and the other the bishop of Guarda, they began to collect money, and were in a fair way of creating much disturbance. But the cardinal archduke caused them to be apprehended, and after leading them ignominiously through the streets of Lisbon, he who took the name of Sebastian was sent to the galleys for life, and the pretended bishop was hanged. Not long afterwards, Gonsalo Alvarez, the son of a mason, gave himself out as the same king, and having promised marriage to the daughter of Pedro Alonso, a rich yeoman, whom he created count of Torres Novas, he assembled a body of about eight hundred men, and some blood was spilt before he was apprehended. At length, being clearly proved to be an impostor, this person and his intended father-in-law were publicly hanged and quartered at Lisbon. The punishment, however, instead of extinguishing public credulity, served only to increase it.

About twenty years after the fatal defeat of Sebastian, there appeared at Venice a person who created much more trouble. He assumed the name of Don Sebastian, and gave a very distinct account of the manner in which he had passed his time since that defeat. He affirmed, that he had preserved his life and liberty by hiding himself amongst the slain; that, after wandering in disguise for some time in Africa, he returned with two of his friends into the kingdom of Algarve; that he gave notice of this to the king Don Henry; that finding his life sought, and being unwilling to disturb the peace of the kingdom, he returned again amongst the Moors, and passed freely from one place to another in Barbary, in the habit of a penitent; and that after this he became a hermit in Sicily, but at length resolved to go to Rome, and discover himself to the pope. On the road he was robbed by his domestics, and came almost naked to Venice, where he was known and acknowledged by some Portuguese. Complaint, however, being made to the senate, he was obliged to retire to Padua. But as the governor of that city also ordered him to depart, he, not knowing what to do, returned to Venice, where, at the request of the Spanish ambassador, who charged him not only with being an impostor, but also with many black and atrocious crimes, he was seized, and thrown into prison. He underwent, before a committee of noble and impartial persons, twenty-eight examinations, in which he not only acquitted himself clearly of all the crimes which had been laid to his charge, but entered into so minute a detail of the transactions which had passed between himself and the republic, that the commissioners were perfectly astonished; and, moved by the firmness of his behaviour, his singular modesty, the sobriety of his life, his exemplary piety, and his admirable patience under affliction, they showed no disposition to declare him an impostor. The noise of this was diffused throughout Europe, and the enemies of Spain endeavoured everywhere to give it credit.

The state, however, refused to discuss the point, whether lx was or was not an impostor, unless they were requested so to do by some prince or state in alliance with them. Upon this the Prince of Orange sent Dom Christoval, the son of the late Dorn Antonio, to make that demand; and at his request an examination was instituted with great solemnity. But no decision followed; only the senate set him at liberty, and ordered him to depart from their dominions in three days. By the advice of his friends, therefore, he proceeded to Padua in the disguise of a monk, and from thence to Florence, where he was arrested by the command of the grand duke, who delivered him up to the viceroy of Naples. He remained several years prisoner in the castle Del Ovo, where he endured incredible hardships. At length he was brought forth, led with infamy through the streets of the city, and declared to be an impostor, who assumed the name of Sebastian; at which words he said gravely, “And so I am.” In the same proclamation it was affirmed that he was in truth a Calabrian; but as soon as he heard this he said, “It is false.” He was next shipped on board a galley as a slave, and carried to San Lucar, whence, after being for some time confined there, he was transferred to a castle in the heart of Castille, and never heard of more. Some persons were executed at Lisbon for their endeavours to raise an insurrection in his behalf; but it was thought strange policy, or rather a strange want of policy, in the Spaniards, to make this affair so public without proofs; and the attempt to put down the objection, by affirming that he was a magician, justly excited ridicule and contempt.

The administration of affairs in Portugal, during the reign of Philip, was certainly detrimental to the nation; and yet it does not appear that this proceeded so much from any ill intention in that monarch, as from errors in judgment. His prodigious preparations for the invasion of England impoverished all his European dominions; but it absolutely exhausted Portugal. The pretensions of Dom [7:18:470]Antonio, and the hopes of despoiling their Indian fleets, exposed the Portuguese to the resentment of the English, from which the king wanted power to defend them. Their clamours were not the less loud for their being in some measure without cause. The king, in order to pacify them, borrowed money from the nobility upon the customs, which was the only remedy he had left; and this was attended with fatal consequences. The branches, thus mortgaged, became fixed and hereditary; so that the merchant was oppressed, whilst the king in fact received nothing. This expedient failing, a tax of three per centum was imposed, in the nature of ship-money, for the defence of the coasts and the commerce of the country, and for some years it was properly applied; but it then became a part of the ordinary revenue, and went into the king’s exchequer without account. This made way for diverting other appropriated branches; as, for instance, that for the repair of fortifications, the money being strictly levied, whilst the works were suffered to decay and tumble down; and also that for the maintenance of the conquests in Africa, by which the garrisons mouldered away, and the places were lost. Upon the whole, in the space of eighteen years, the nation was visibly impoverished; and yet the government of Plulip was so incomparably preferable to that of his immediate successors, that his death was justly regretted, and the Portuguese were taught by experience to confess, that of bad masters he was the best.

His son Philip, the second of Portugal and the third of Spain, sat twenty years upon the throne before he paid a visit to Portugal, where the people put themselves to a most enormous expense to receive him. He held an assembly of the states, in which his son was sworn as his successor. Having done all that he wanted for himself, he acquired a false idea of the riches of the nation, from the immoderate and foolish display made during his stay at Lisbon; and having shown himself little, and done less, he returned into Spain, where he acted the part of a good king upon his death-bed, in deploring bitterly that he had never thought of acting it before. The reigns of Philip III. and Philip IV. were characterised by a series of bad measures, and worse fortune. All their dominions suffered greatly; Portugal most of all. The loss of Ormus in the east, and of Brazil in the west, together with the shipwreck of a fleet sent to escort one of merchantmen from Goa, brought the nation incredibly low, and encouraged the Conde Duke to hope that they might be entirely crushed. These are the heads only of the transactions of forty years. To enter in any degree into particulars, would only be to point out the breaches made by the Spanish ministers in the conditions granted by Philip; which, with respect to the nation, was the original contract and unalterable constitution of Portugal whilst subject to the monarchs of Castille, but which notwithstanding, they often flagrantly violated.

The very basis and foundation of their privileges was, that the kingdom should remain separate and independent, and consequently that Lisbon should continue as much its capital as ever. But so little was this observed, that neither promotion nor justice was to be obtained without journeys to Madrid, which was not more the capital of Castillc than it was that of Portugal. The general assembly of estates was to be held frequently, and they were only held thrice in the space of sixty years; two of them being held within the first three years. The king was to reside in this realm as often and as long as possible. Philip I., however, was there but once; Philip II. resided only four months; and Philip III. never at all. The household establishment was suppressed during all these reigns. The viceroy was to be a native of Portugal, or a prince or princess of the blood; yet when any of the royal family bore the title, the power was in reality in the hands of a Spaniard. Thus, when the Princess of Mantua was vice-queen, the Marquis de la Pue bla was sent to assist her in council, and she could do nothing without his advice. The council of Portugal, which was to be composed entirely of natives, was filled with Castillians, as the garrisons also were, though the contrary had been provided. The presidents of provinces, or corregidors, were to be natives; but, by keeping those offices in his own hands, the king eluded this article. No city, town, or district, was to be given to any except Portuguese; yet the Duke of Lerma had Beja, Scrpa, and other parts of the demesnes of the crown, which were formerly appendages of the princes of the blood. None but natives were capable of offices in the courts of justice, in the revenue, in the fleet, or of holding any post civil or military; yet these were given promiscuously to foreigners, or sold to the highest bidder, not excepting the government of castles, cities, and provinces. The natives were so far from having an equal chance in such cases, that no situations in the presidios were ever given to them, and scarcely any in garrisons; and whenever it occurred, in the case of a person of extraordinary merit, whose pretensions could not be rejected, he was either removed, or not allowed to exercise his charge, as happened to the Marquis of Marialva and others. The forms of proceeding, the jurisdiction, the ministers, the secretaries, were all changed in the council of Portugal, being reduced from five to three, then two, and at last to a single person.

By reason of these and many other grievances too tedious to be enumerated, the detestation of the Spanish go- 1 vernment became universal; and in 1640 a revolution took place, in which John duke of Braganza was declared king, by the title of John IV. This revolution, as being determined by the almost unanimous voice of the nation, was attended with very little effusion of blood; neither were all the efforts of the king of Spain able to regain his authority. Several attempts, indeed, were made for this purpose. The first battle was fought in the year 1644, between a Portuguese army of six thousand foot and eleven hundred horse, and a Spanish army of nearly the same number. The latter were entirely defeated; and this contributed greatly to establish the affairs of Portugal on a firm basis. The king carried on a defensive war during the remainder of his life; and after his death, which happened in 1655, the war was renewed with great vigour.

This was what the Spaniards did not expect; for they expressed an indecent joy at his death, hoping that it would ∣ be followed by a dissolution of the government. It would not, indeed, be easy to conceive a kingdom left in more perilous circumstances than Portugal was at this time. The king, Dorn Alonso Enriquez, was a child not more than thirteen years of age, reputed of unsound constitution both of body and mind; the regency was in a woman, and that woman a Castillian; the nation was involved in a war respecting the title to the crown; and the nobility, some of them secretly disaffected to the rcigning family, were almost all of them embarked in feuds and contentions with each other; so that the queen scarcely knew whom to trust or how she should be obeyed. She acted, however, with great vigour and prudence. By marrying her only daughter, the Princess Catherine, to Charles II. king of Great Britain, she procured for Portugal the protection of the English fleets, with reinforcements of some thousands of horse and foot; and at last, in 1665, the war was terminated by the glorious victory of Montesclaros. This decisive action broke the power of the Spaniards, and fixed the fate of the kingdom, though not that of the king of Portugal. Alonso was a prince whose education had been neglected in his youth, who was devoted to vulgar amusements and mean company, and whom the queen for these reasons wished to deprive of the crown, that she might place it on the head of his younger brother Dorn Pedro. To accomplish this object, she attempted every method of stern authority and secret artifice; but her endeavours of every kind were vain. The [7:18:471]Portuguese would not consent to set aside the rights of primogeniture, and involve the kingdom in all the miseries attending a disputed succession.

But after the death of the queen-mother, the infant entered into cabals against the king, of a much more dangerous nature than any that she had carried on. Alonso had married the Princess of Nemours; but being impotent, and less handsome than his brother, that lady transferred her affection to Dorn Pedro, to whom she lent her assistance to hurl the king from the throne. Alonso was compelled to sign a resignation of the kingdom; and his brother, after governing a few months without any legal authority, was in a meeting of the states unanimously proclaimed regent, and vested with all the powers of royalty. Soon after this revolution, for snch it may be called, the marriage of the king and queen was declared mdl by the chapter of Lisbon; and the regent, by a pontifical dispensation, and with the consent of the states, immediately espoused the lady who had been the wife of his brother. He governed, under the appellation of regent, fifteen years, when, upon the death of the king, he mounted the throne by the title of Dorn Pedro II.; and after a long reign, during which he conducted the affairs of the kingdom with great prudence and vigour, he died on the 9th of December 1706.

Dom John V. succeeded his father; and though he was then little more tnan seventeen years of age, he acted with such wisdom and resolution, adhered so steadily to the grand alliance formed against France and Spain, and showed so great resources in his own mind, that though he suffered severe losses during the war, he obtained such terms of peace at Utrecht, that Portugal was in all respects a gainer by the treaty. The two crowns of Spain and Portugal were not, however, thoroughly reconciled until the year 1737; but from this period they became every day more united, which gave much satisfaction to some courts, and no umbrage to any. In this situation of things a treaty was concluded in 175Ó with the court of Madrid, by which Nova Colonia, on the river Plata, was ceded to his Catholic majesty, to the great regret of the Portuguese, as well on account of the value of that settlement, as because they apprehended that their possession of the Brazils would by this cession be rendered precarious. On the last of July the same year, this monarch, worn out by infirmities, died in the sixty-first year of his age, and the forty-fourth of his reign.

lie was succeeded by his son Joseph I., who ascended the throne of Portugal under very favourable circumstances; but his reign, although short, was marked by great national calamities. The most remarkable event which occurred was the memorable earthquake, which, in November 175.5, destroyed one half of the city of Lisbon, and buried thirty thousand people under the ruins. Two hours had scarcely elapsed after this terrible convulsion, when, to aggravate its horrors, flames burst forth from different quarters of the city, and the conflagration raging with terrific violence for three days, Lisbon was completely desolated. The royal family were fortunate enough to escape; but amongst the victims were the Spanish ambassador, and many other persons of distinction. Britain promptly afforded relief to the sufferers; an act of generosity the more honourable to her, as she had every reason to be dissatisfied with the conduct of the king of Portugal. From the commencement of his reign, he had thrown great obstructions in the way of our commerce, evading treaties, and imposing vexatious imposts; and it seemed perfectly clear, that his object was to annihilate the commercial intercourse which had for so many ages subsisted between the two countries. The same spirit of humanity was evinced by Spain; but both nations received an unworthy return, although Britain had most to complain of. The Spaniards were only treated with silent ingratitude, but the English were detested as heretics.

Scarcely had the agitation which these great calamities gave rise to subsided, wΙιen Portugal was again thrown into commotion by a pretended conspiracy against the life of the king. No light has yet been thrown upon this dark transaction. The leading parties involved in it, and the ultimate object which they aimed at, are alike unknown. Suspicion fell on various classes of persons, particularly on certain ecclesiastics, who were said to have been incensed at the reform introduced by Dorn Joseph; on the creatures of Spain, who aspired to the reunion of the two kingdoms under one seeptre; on the Jesuits, who were represented as indignant at the restriction of their ancient privileges; and on a prince of the royal family. All that is knowm with certainty is, that the seaftbld flowed with noble blood; and that the Jesuits, against whom Pombal had artfully inflamed the passions of the multitude, were stripped of their possessions, whilst their expulsion was decreed by the crown. In fact, the members of the company of Jesus were supposed to be at the bottom of every calamity; whether it was a dispensation of Providence, or an act of human depravity. Even the earthquake was boldly ascribed to them. Pombal had sworn their destruction, and the gross ignorance of the people ministered to his vengeance. Another occurrence of this reign was a rupture with the see of Rome, every servant of the pope being expelled from Portugal, and all intercourse between the two courts suspended for about two years. A more important event was the invasion of the country by Spain. This aggression originated in the refusal of the king to join the alliance of France and Spain against England. War was immediately declared against him, and troops marched to the frontiers of his kingdom. The ally whom he had so long neglected, and even deliberately ill used, was appealed to, and not in vain. Troops, arms, and all necessary munitions of war, arrived from Britain; and although the invaders succeeded in capturing Miranda, Braganza, and Almeida, their triumphs were speedily put a stop to by the combined forces of Britain and Portugal. At the instance of the British cabinet, the Count de Lippe was brought from Germany to assume the command of the whole army. This commander was ably assisted in his operations by General Burgoyne, and they had soon the glory of freeing the country from the Spanish army. The consequence of this triumph was a peace, solicited and obtained by the two hostile courts, now hopless of success, and in apprehension of fresh disasters.

The remainder of this king’s reign, extending from the year 1763 to 1777, was occupied by the introduction of measures for social, agricultural, and commercial improvement. He laboured to improve the police and judicial administration, and not without success. He founded schools in the large towns, and improved the system of study in the university of Coimbra. He encouraged agriculture, the fisheries, and trade with the colonies; but in attempting to give a stimulus to home manufactures, by laying such duties on articles of British produce as amounted to an almost total exclusion of them from the Portuguese market, he acted with equal short-sightedness and ingratitude. One monument to his honour, more noble than the statue of bronze which his grateful subjects erected to him in Lisbon during his life-time, remains to be mentioned. This was a decree by which the grandsons of slaves, and all who should be born after the date thereof, were declared free. Although this benefit was confined to Portugal alone, yet, considering the state of matters at the time it was conferred, it must be regarded as an amazing stride in the career of improvement. Joseph I. died in 1777, and was mourned by his people as the best monarch who had swayed the seeptre of Portugal smce the days of Philip I. It must, however, be added, that the administration of Pombal threw a false splendour on the reign of this monarch. In principle a freethinker, in profession a reformer, and in character a cruel and cold∙blooded [7:18:472]tyrant, this man was lauded to the skies by the infidel philosophers of France, because he had expelled the Jesuits from Portugal with every circumstance of barbarity and iniquity. But few or none of his pretended reforms survived his fall, which was hailed with satisfaction by the whole nation; and his name is now remembered only in connection with some of the darkest and foulest deeds recorded in the historical annals of Portugal.

Joseph was succeeded by his daughter Maria, whom the necessities of state had induced her father to give in marriage to his own brother. Such revolting connections are unhappily far from rare in the modern history of Portugal. Some attempts were made to exclude her in favour of a nephew,but they proved completely abortive. Though the abilities of this queen were limited, yet she was actuated by good intentions. Her administration was feeble, but upon the whole beneficial. She followed the example of her father in encouraging national industry and reforming the administration of justice. She founded the Academy of Sciences, and introduced into the convents of friars a compulsory form of education, embracing useful literature, philosophy, and the sciences. She likewise endowed several admirable charitable institutions, and went so far in judicial reform as to abolish the law of imprisonment for debt. In short, had her foreign policy resembled her domestic administration, Portugal would have had no reason to complain of her. Maria was forced into a family compact by her powerful neighbours of France and Spain, by which the influence of the latter was strengthened and confirmed, whilst in the same degree that of England was weakened. This alliance was accompanied by a treaty of limits, which fixed the boundarics of Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru, the arrangement being peculiarly favourable to Spain.

In the year 1792 the queen exhibited symptoms of mental alienation, and John Maria Joseph, prince of Brazil, was appointed regent. One of the first acts of his administration was a declaration of war against the French republic, a step which he was induced to take from his connection with England. But commercial distress, the accumulating debt of the country, and the menacing language which France compelled Spain to adopt towards her neighbour, led to a peace in 1797. In 1799 the malady of the queen appearing to be incurable, the prince was confirmed in the regency, with full regal powers; but he made no change in the policy of the government. The same year he was again encouraged to arm against French aggression, in alliance with England and Russia; the victorious career of the revolutionists having received a severe, although, as it proved, only a temporary check. But the glory of the French arms was restored by the genius of Napoleon. After this conqueror had fully confirmed his ascendency, Spain was under the necessity of declaring war against Portugal in the year 1801; but it was soon terminated by the treaty of Badajoz, in consequence of which Portugal was compelled to cede Olivenza to Spain, and likewise to pay a considerable sum of money. After this the prince enjoyed but a mere shadow of power, and at considerable sacrifices maintained a nominal independence, until at la-t, in 1807, a hostile army under Marshal Junot invaded Portugal; and the house of Braganza was declared by Napoleon to have forfeited the throne. This bold declaration was owing to the prince having refused to seize the English property in his dominions. Having embarked with his family for Brazil, the French general immediately afterwards took possession of his capital, and Portugal sank into the condition of an appendage of France.

General Junot issued a proclamation, in which he declared that justice should be duly administered, tranquillity preserved, and the future happiness of the people solicitously guarded. But these professions were far from satisfying a people of whom the lower classes were dying of absolute want, and two thirds of the merchants were bankrupt. A British force under the Duke of Wellington (then Sir Arthur Wellesley) was promptly despatched to Portugal, where it was joined by a considerable body of national troops, now mustered in the northern provinces, and determined to maintain the struggle for freedom. A junta was immediately established in Oporto, to conduct the government. After some sharp skirmishing between the two armies, the decisive battle of Vimicro,^[1. The operations of the British army in Portugal and Spain having been already narrated at sufficient length in the article Britain, no details will here be given. ] which was fought on the 21st of August 1808, overthrew the power of France in Portugal. The convention of Cintra followed, and the country was evacuated by the French troops. The immediate consequences of this convention, which at the time was severely censured, were highly beneficial. The government displayed an energy which restored subordination, and was felt all over the kingdom. A levy en masse of the whole male inhabitants, from fifteen to sixty years of age, was demanded; but it does not appear that the call was responded to with much alacrity. Towards the close of the year 1808, Madrid having surrendered, and the British army under Sir John Moore having been compelled to retreat through the mountains of Galicia to Corunna, the subjugation of Portugal was again resolved upon by the French. The intelligence of the approaching invasion at first spread consternation and dismay throughout Portugal, for it was in no condition to offer any serious resistance to the force of the enemy that menaced the frontiers. But fresh reinforcements arrived from Britain, and General Beresford, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the armies of Portugal, having established a system of subordination and discipline amongst the troops, confidence was in a great measure restored before a blow could be struck.

Marshal Soult entered the kingdom of Portugal at the head of the French army, after dispersing the Spanish force in Galicia. He was feebly opposed by the Portuguese, who, however, displayed a laudable eagerness to fight. Their commander, General Freyre, was opposed to a regular engagement; but his unruly troops rose in mutiny, and massacred both him and his supporters, under the suspicion of treachery. They were led against the enemy by Baron Eben, a German in the British service, and the battle of Carvalho da Este was fought and lost. Soult then invested Oporto, and although the city had been strongly fortified and garrisoned, it was carried by assault on the 29th of March 1809, after a feeble defence of only three days. Immediately on entering the town, the French soldiery commenced an indiscriminate slaughter of the inhabitants; and although their commander used every effort to repress their fury, the plunder and licentiousness had continued a day and a night before subordination could be restored. The defeat of the Spanish army at Medellin opened an easy road to Lisbon; but the French force was divided into three separate bodies, under three independent commanders, Soult, Victor, and Lapisse, though, from fear of being separately committed, the whole remained inactive, or only engaged in insignificant manoeuvres. Each commander appears to have waited for intelligence as to the movements of the others, and by this delay the capital was saved. Such was the situation of affairs when Sir Arthur Wellesley landed at Lisbon on the 23d of April, and assumed the chief command of the armies of England and Portugal. By a series of brilliant manoeuvres, the British commander compelled the French to abandon Portugal. But Napoleon being pledged to his people and the world to conquer that country, early in 1810 an army of seventy-two thousand men was assembled in the vicinity of Salamanca, [7:18:473]and the command of it intrusted to Marshal Massena. After clearing his way to Portugal, by the capture of several strongly-fortified places, the French general advanced upon Lisbon. But his vigilant enemy had well employed the time afforded him, by preparing a secure asylum for his troops, by which he at once kept his footing in the peninsula, and defended Lisbon against a greatly superior force. This formidable defensive position is celebrated in military annals by the name of the lines of Torres Vedras. The advance of Massena, the battle of Busaco, the stand made at Torres Vedras, the retreat of the French, and their final evacuation of Portugal, will be found described in the article Britain. It is true, that in the subsequent operations of the war, some parts of the kingdom were included in the theatre of hostilities, yet they never extended much beyond the frontiers. During the remainder of the war, however, the troops of Portugal bore an active and creditable part in almost every encounter with the enemy.

On the death of Maria, John VI. ascended the throne of Portugal and Brazil. The establishment of the court of Lisbon in an American settlement, though productive of little good to the mother country, led to important results. In the first place, it induced Brazil to withdraw itself from dependence on England; and, secondly, it paved the way for that colony erecting itself into a separate state. But the influence of England in Portugal continued, and the condition of the kingdom for the present remained essentially unchanged by the transference. The peace of Paris, concluded in May 1814, which, it was believed, would place everything on a proper basis, did not realize the expectations of the nation. Spain evaded the restitution of Olivenza, which had been provided for by the congress of Vienna; whilst, at the same time, Portugal was required to restore French Guiana to France. The court of Rio therefore took possession of the Banda Oriental; but an account of these transactions has been given in another part of this work (See Brazil.) These circumstances rendered the condition of Portugal far from tranquil. The country felt that the order of things had been inverted, and the parent state had become a dependent on her colony. A conspiracy of a very extensive nature was timeously discovered in the army, and its progress checked; but the spirit which generated it was not extinguished. In short, everything was ripening for a fundamental change in the administration and constitution of government; and the Portuguese people were soon afforded an opportunity of showing their dislike of the absence of the court, and the predominance of English influence. The continual bickerings between the commander of the forces and the regency induced Marshal Beresford to repair to Rio de Janeiro, to obtain fresh instructions, and, it might be, fresh powers, from the king; but during his absence that revolution burst forth which completely changed the whole political aspect of the kingdom. ,

The first symptoms of this revolution were exhibited at Oporto on the 24th of August 1820, both the citizens and the army acting in concert. The soldiers swore fealty to the king, the cortes, and the constitution which might be adopted, and the civil authorities declared in favour of the measure. A junta of thirteen members was chosen by acclamation; and a declaration was addressed to the nation,, stating, that the assembling of the cortes and the adoption of a new constitution were the only means of saving the state. On the 15th of September, the day on which it was usual to celebrate the deliverance of Portugal from France, the regency in Lisbon, fearing to assemble such a multitude of people as generally met on that day, resolved to omit the ceremony. But the troops and the citizens met, and deposed the government; declared for,the king, the cortes, and the constitution; and installed a temporary council as a provisional government. Thus a complete revolution was effected, without either violence or bloodshed. The provisional government formed a union with the junta of Oporto on the 1st of October; and one of the earliest acts of this united body was to despatch Count Palmella, the head of the royal regency, to Brazil, with an account of the transactions which had just taken place, and a petition that either the king or the prince royal would return to Europe and assume the sovereignty of Portugal. In the mean while, dissensions of the most inveterate description arose amongst the members of the two juntas. One party, being eager for the immediate adoption of the constitution which had been given to Spain, compelled the supreme junta to declare for, and oblige the troops to take the oath of fealty to, that constitution. But the ascendency of this party was of short duration, and ultimately it was agreed that, for the present, no part of the Spanish constitution should be in force except that which related to the mode of electing the cortes. I his was to choose one deputy for every thirty thousand inhabitants. Clergymen, lawyers, and officers, were the sorts of persons who were chiefly elected, few men of wealth or family being chosen. On the 26th of January 1821, the cortes met, and named a regency and ministry, declared the late insurrections legal and necessary, and abolished the inquisition. On the 9th of March, the articles of the new constitution were adopted almost unanimously. By these, freedom of person and property was guaranteed, and the liberty of the press, legal equality, the abolition of privileges, the admission of all citizens to all offices, and the sovereignty of the nation, were secured. One chamber and a conditional royal veto were likewise resolved upon.

John VI. returned from America, leaving his eldest son, Dorn Pedro, viceroy or regent of Brazil; but the aged monarch found, on his arrival in Europe, greater troubles than those from which he had fled. He was under the necessity of acceding to certain restrictions on his power, imposed by the cortes, before he was permitted to disembark. On landing, he swore to observe the new constitution, and concurred in all the succeeding acts of the cortes. To add to his disquiet, Dom Pedro accepted the dignity of constitutional Emperor of Brazil, in May 1822, and a complete separation took place between the two countries. The constitution of Portugal was finally completed and sworn to by the king on the 1st of October 1822; and, shortly afterwards, the session of this extraordinary cortes closed. The members of the old cortes occupied several months in reorganizing the different departments of the administration; but measures were rapidly maturing for the total overthrow of the new order of things. After several sanguinary engagements, the insurgents were driven from the northern provinces into Spain, and a Portuguese regency was established at Valladolid in May 1823. At the head of the plot for abolishing the new constitution was the queen, a Spanish Infanta; and several of the nobility and clergy were likewise engaged in it. Everything was now ripe for execution. Dorn Miguel violated the promise which he had solemnly given to his father, by becoming the leader of the counter-revolutionists, and inviting the nation to rise under the royal standard against the anarchical policy of the cortes. The greater part of the troops declared for the In-, fant, and John VI., yielding to the force of circumstances, named a new ministry, and declared the constitution of 1822 null and void. Sixty members of the cortes protested against this proceeding; but the king, a mere puppet in the hands of his son, was borne along by the force of the current, without being able to give any effectual check to its course.

The events which subsequently occurred in Portugal are still too recent to have yet assumed their just historical proportions. The object of the queen and the Infant was to induce the king to résumé absolute power; but John VI. firmly [7:18:474] declared his resolution not to comply with this request. The counter-revolutionists, however, began to act independently of his authority. The national guards and militia were disarmed, a censorship of the press was established, many of the staunchest constitutionalists were disposed of by imprisonment or expatriation, and the highest offices were conferred on the absolutists. Finally, a junta, with Palmella at its head, was organized, to draw up a constitution adapted to a representative monarchy. The queen and the Infant, with their followers, exerted their whole energies to prevent the establishment of a constitution. Palmella and his coadjutors drew up a constitutional charter. By this act he rendered himself obnoxious both to the queen and Dorn Miguel, as well as to the absolutist party; and the king, probably more in compliance with their wishes than from his own conviction that the plan was bad, rejected it. The intrigues of the absolutists still continued. Dorn Migucl was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, and, having obtained this office, determined at one blow to extinguish all the hopes of the constitutionalists, and to put an end to the system of moderation, according to which the king continued to act. Upon the 30th of April 1824, Miguel called the troops to arms, and issued proclamations, in which he declared it as his intention to complete the work of the 27th May 1823, and to emancipate the king from the control of free-masons and others by whom he was surrounded. The ministers and other civil officers, to the number of one hundred persons, were on the same day put under arrest; but when the king ascertained what had occurred, he declared that the whole had been done without his orders. As an excuse for his conduct, the Infant said that he had taken these steps for the purpose of frustrating a conspiracy which had been formed against the king’s life. On the representations of the foreign ambassadors, the individuals imprisoned were released; and on the 3d of May the king issued a decree, commanding an immediate investigation of the pretended treason. He also pardoned the Infant for his usurpation of the royal name; but this incorrigible person still acted on his own authority, as if he were absolute sovereign, continuing to arrest obnoxious or suspected individuals. John, finding himself in danger of falling a victim to the intrigues of his son, contrived to escape on board of an English vessel which lay in the Tagus. He deprived the Infant of his command, and summoned him into his presence. The prince obeyed, and having confessed his various delinquencies, received the royal pardon, with permission to travel. The king returned on shore, proclaimed an act of amnesty in favour of the adherents of the cortes of 1820, and, reviving the old constitution of the estates, summoned the cortes of Lamego. A new junta was appointed to prepare a constitution; but the convocation of the old cortes was resisted, and conspiracies were formed against the king and his ministers. The latter were themselves far from being unanimous, chiefly in regard to Brazil, so that a new ministry was appointed in January 1825. Portugal and Brazil assumed a hostile attitude, but atTength John VI. concluded a treaty with the emperor Dorn Pedro I. of Brazil, in which he acknowledged the entire independence of that country, and resigned the sovereignty of it to his son, reserving for himself only the title of emperor. This good-natured monarch, who was incompetent to struggle with the troubles of his age, and the political degeneracy of his nation, died on the lOth of March 1826, having previously appointed his daughter Isabella regent of Portugal.

Isabella for a short time governed Portugal in the name of the emperor of Brazil, Dorn Pedro, who was the legitimate successor to both the European and American possessions of the house of Braganza. On the 23d of April 1826 he granted a constitution to Portugal, which established two chambers, and in some other respects resembled the French charter. Not long afterwards, he surrendered Portugal to his daughter, Donna Maria, as an independent queen, on condition of her marrying her uncle, Dorn Miguel. The prince at once agreed to this arrangement, but, with his characteristic duplicity, resolved on evading its conditions. The absolutists, of whom he was the recognised chief, were still very strong in the country; and a party was formed, the very object of which was to overthrow the constitution, and proclaim Dorn Miguel absolute king of Portugal. The attempt was made, but it proved unsuccessful. A strong British army was landed at Lisbon, and the country, thus-overawed, was in some measure restored to tranquillity. Spain, which had secretly fomented the insurrection, was now forced to yield. In July 1827, Dorn Miguel was appointed by his brother lieutenant and regent of the kingdom. The prince immediately quitted Vienna and returned to Portugal, taking Paris and London on his way. He was much caressed whilst in England, and pledged himself to abide by the terms required by Pcdro. He arrived in Lisbon on the 26th of February 1828, and immediately assumed the administration of the government, at the same time taking the oath to maintain the constitution. But oaths were in his eyes a mere formality of state, involving no moral obligation. He assumed the sceptre as absolute king; changed the ministry to make room for his tools; dissolved the chamber of deputies, which was much too liberal for his view’s; altered the mode of election; and, in short, restored the reign of absolutism. The recall of the British troops removed another obstacle from his path. He convoked the ancient cortes of Lamego, and was in a fair way of carrying everything before him. But the military in general were unfavourable to his projects. The garrison of Oporto declared for Dorn Pedro and the charter; other bodies of troops followed their example; and a corps of six thousand men advanced towards the capital. But they were defeated by a superior force, and the efforts of the constitutionalists were for the present baffled.

The object of Dorn Miguel -was now to consolidate his power, and get himself proclaimed king. The cortes met, and all who were likely to oppose him having been carefully consigned to dungeons, or driven into exile, this body unanimously declared Dorn Miguel lawful king of Portugal and the two Algarves. The pretext by which the cortes endeavoured to vindicate its conduct was, that as Dorn Pedro had become a foreigner, he had neither a right to succeed himself, nor to appoint a successor. On the 4th of July 1828, Dorn Miguel confirmed the decree of the cortes, and assumed the title, as he had already done the powers, of royalty. The punishment of those implicated in the Oporto insurrection followed as a matter of course. An expedition was likewise sent against the refractory islands, which had refused to acknowledge the usurper; and Madeira and the Azores were, with one exception, reduced. The whole dominions of Portugal now became a scene of terror, distrust, and misery, under the sway of this hypocritical and merciless usurper.

In the meanwhile, Donna Maria had set sail from Brazil for Europe; but on arriving before Gibraltar, she found that, under actual circumstances, it would be injudicious, if not dangerous, to land at Lisbon, and accordingly steered for the English shores. She remained some time in London, and during her stay was entertained as queen of Portugal. In August 1829 she returned to Brazil, in which a revolution suddenly deprived her father of his American empire. ∙ Having abdicated a crown which he could no longer retain, in favour of his infant son, the ex-emperor sailed for Europe with his daughter, to assert her claims to the throne of Portugal. Under the title of Duke of Braganza he was hospitably received in England, and instantly set to work in making arrangements for effecting the dethronement of Dom Miguel. The usurper still pursued the same course of oppression, and, not content with confining and despoiling [7:18:475] his own countrymen, he extended his outrages to British and French subjects. In the year 1830 it was calculated that forty thousand individuals were under arrest for political causes alone; and that five thousand persons were concealed in hiding-places in different parts of the country. How many had been devoted to destruction by being sent to the fatal shores of Africa, and how many had voluntarily exiled themselves, it is impossible to estimate. The British government demanded redress for the acts of violence committed against its subjects; and, on this being refused, a British fleet entered the Tagus, and terrified the tyrant into compliance. France acted in a similar manner, and with even more success; demanding an indemnity for the expenses incurred by the expedition. Even'the United States despatched a fleet to Lisbon to obtain satisfaction for injuries done to American commerce. But these repeated humiliations wrought no change in the policy of Dorn Miguel. The petty insurrections which frequently broke out were speedily suppressed by the vigour of the government, or the want of concert in the insurgents; and hence these ebullitions of popular indignation caused him little uneasiness. But his finances were now falling into inextricable confusion. The revenue scarcely sufficing for the household expenses and the maintenance of the troops, ths usurper was driven to all manner of expedients to relieve his necessities. The island of Tcrceira, one of the Azores, resisted his claims; and here a regency was formally installed, with the Marquis of Palmella at its head. From this spot Dorn Pedro issued a decree in favour of his daughter Donna Maria, at the same time representing Dom Miguel in his true character, as a rebel and perjured usurper.

Although neither the government of France nor that of England gave open assistance to Dorn Pedro, both abstained from opposing any obstacles to his measures of recruiting. Many officers of each nation enlisted in his ranks; and towards the end of December three hundred half-pay officers and volunteers sailed for Belleisle on the coast of France, which had been fixed upon as the place of rendezvous. The intelligence of these preparations, whilst it gave encouragement to the constitutionalists, was productive of great alarm to Dorn Miguel, who soon discovered that a considerable portion of his own army was not to be trusted. Lisbon became the scene of anarchy, violence, and bloodshed. A regiment of the line broke oùt into open mutiny, and, dividing itself into three bodies, marched upon three different points, where other troops were stationed, expecting to be joined by them. Butthey were sadly disappointed in this expectation. Several bloody conflicts took place, and the insurrection was ultimately suppressed. Many persons were shot for treason, and every dungeon and fortress in the kingdom was filled with suspected persons. Meanwhile the island of St Michael’s was captured by a force from Terceira, under Villa Flor, one of the members of the regency. Afraid that Madeira would be the next object of attack, Dorn Miguel sent a small armament for its defence; indeed a large one could not well be spared at a time when the preparations of Dorn Pedro threatened to bring the contest nearer home. This prince had prosecuted his measures with great activity and perseverance; nevertheless, his means appeared altogether inadequate for the conquest of a kingdom. His levies consisted of a motley group of raw recruits, men of desperate fortunes or suspicious characters, idle persons whose object was plunder, disbanded troops from Brazil, Portuguese refugees, and the regiments which had so successfully maintained the cause of the young queen in the Azores. But a kingdom was at stake, and Pedro resolved to hazard a descent upon Portugal. The expedition sailed from the island of St Michael on the 27th of June 1832. It consisted of two frigates, three corvettes, three armed brigs, and four schooners, besides transports, and a number of gun boats to cover the landing. An officer who held a commission in the British army undertook the command of the naval department. He had been deprived of his rank as a British officer, but became a Portuguese admiral. The whole army on board did not amount to ten thousand men, scantily provided with artillery, and still more scantily with cavalry.

Dorn Miguel made every preparation in his power to repulse the threatened attack. On the 8th of July Dorn Pedro appeared before Oporto, landed his troops, and took possession of the town, without the loss of a single man. The advantages likely to result from the capture of the second city in the kingdom need not be pointed out, nor was Dorn Miguel ignorant of them. He acted with decision, and immediately menaced Oporto from two points. On the 22d of July an action took place, in which his troops were repulsed, and compelled to fall back; but, on the other hand, Dorn Pedro was not in a condition to follow up the victory. Another attempt in a different quarter was with more difficulty repelled; but the most discouraging circumstance for the invaders was the utter disappointment of the hopes they had entertained that the population of the country would rise in their favour, and that the army of Dorn Miguel would desert its master.

The operations of the naval squadron were attended with little success. Several partial engagements took place between the fleet of Dorn Miguel and that of the young queen under Sartorius; but no advantage was gained on either side. Dorn Pedro had continued to fortify Oporto from the period of his landing; whilst Miguel, with equal industry, was increasing his army, the greater part of which lay on the north side of the Douro. On the 8th of September the Miguclites made an attack upon Villa Nova, the suburb of Oporto, which they carried; and the possession of this place enabled them to harass the city with a constant fire both of musketry and artillery. An attempt to recover this position utterly failed; but a convent which formed part of it still held out against all the efforts of the Miguclites. The city began to be seriously injured by the incessant fire which was kept up from Villa Nova, and all attempts to dislodge the Miguelites from their position proved abortive. On the 29th of September Dorn Miguel made a general assault upon the works with which Oporto was surrounded; but, after manfully maintaining the contest for seven hours, he was compelled to retreat to his former positions. The commanders of Dorn Miguel now changed their tactics. Finding that it was impossible to carry Oporto by storm, they determined to prevent all supplies from reaching the city, by erecting batteries on the Douro, so as to command the bar and channel, and thus prevent all vessels from approaching. They effected their purpose, and Dorn Pedro found himself reduced to the greatest difficulties.

The operations of 1833, like those of the precc'ding year, consisted in partial bombardments across the river, or engagements of detachments, occasionally varied by more regular attacks and sallies to destroy works already erected, or prevent new ones from being raised. The casualties were nor great on either side, nor was any permanent change effected in the relative situation of the armies. Dorn Pedro began the year by placing at the head of his troops the French general Solignac, whom he had created a marshal. A few months afterwards he had a quarrel with his admiral, Sartorius, which for a time threatened serious consequences; but the naval commander being ultimately removed, his place was supplied by another British officer, Captain, now made Admiral Napier. In a short time the latter inflicted a severe blow on Dorn Miguel, by the capture of several of his largest vessels, in as gallant a style as any thing recorded in naval history. In short, the fleet of the usurper was utterly annihilated, and he had now only the land force to look to. Previously to this achievement, a body of queen’s troops [7:18:476]had landed at another point of the coast, and in a few days the whole of the Algarves declared for Donna Maria. This small army, under the command of Villa Flor, now Duke of Terceira, marched upon Lisbon, and on the way completely routed a greatly superior force. The capital rvas deserted by the garrison; the inhabitants rose en masse, and declared Donna Maria their lawful sovereign; and the Duke of Terceira entering Lisbon in triumph, hoisted the queen’s colours on the citadel. Dorn Pedro instantly set sail from Oporto to assume the government, and no sooner had the intelligence reached France and England, than both immediately acknowledged Donna Maria as queen of Portugal.

Great preparations were made for the defence of Lisbon against the Miguelite army, 18,000 strong, which, under Marshal Bonrmont, an experienced general, was now advancing towards the capital. Several attacks were made on the defences during the rest of the year 1833, but the results were unimportant. The liberation of Lisbon led to the recovery of the Cape de Verd Islands, and immediately afterwards Bonavista proclaimed the queen and the constitutional charter. The political measures of Dom Pedro, after assuming the government at Lisbon, were not looked on with a favourable eye. He confiscated the property of all who had served under Dorn Miguel, and was guilty of some other arbitrary acts, which did not tend to strengthen his cause.

The affairs of Dorn Miguel now began to wear a very unpromising appearance. His authority, indeed, was recognised over a large tract of country; but his navy, which secured him reinforcements from abroad, was destroyed, and events had taken place in Spain which prevented the government of that country from affording him any assistance. The first military operation of importance which took place in 1834 was the capture of Leiria, an important town between Lisbon and Coimbra, which capitulated to the queen’s troops on the 18th of February. A battle was lost by the Miguelites near Almoster, where Saldanha was posted; and towns and provinces began to declare for the queen so rapidly, that the cause of the usurper became desperate. He shut himself up at Santarem with a view of keeping up his communications with the frontiers of Spain, whence he expected aid. But from this very point destruction awaited him. It was a singular eincidence, that in Spain as well as in Portugal, an infant queen was supporting her cause by favouring popular privileges, with an uncle for her rival, as a representative of more despotic principles of government. The cause of the two queens being so far the same, a community of interest led to an alliance, to which the courts of Britain and France became parties. Each was recognised as lawful successor to the throne to which she aspired, and they both agreed to employ their arms jointly against their two rivals. Don Carlos was compelled to fly from Spain into Portugal, and thither he was pursued by a Spanish army, which proved even more fatal to Dorn Miguel than to Don Carlos. The Miguelites, seeing all hope lost, rapidly disbanded, and only the miserable remnant of an army remained attached to the usurper. A suspension of arms was agreed to; and on the 26th of May a convention was entered into, by which Miguel formally consented to abandon the country. The terms granted him were, that he should never again set foot either in Portugal or Spain, nor in any way concur in disturbing these kingdoms; that he should leave the country within fifteen days; that he should have a pension of about L.15,000, and be permitted to dispose of his personal property, after restoring the crown jewels and other articles; and, finally, that, by his command, the troops still adhering to his cause should instantly lay down their arms, and the fortresses surrender to the queen. On the 2d of June he embarked for Genoa, where he had no sooner arrived than he issued a declaration, declaring that he had acted under compulsion in relinquishing the throne, and that the transaction was null and void.

The civil war being thus terminated, and the authority of the queen acknowledged all over the kingdom, an extraordinary eortes was assembled on the 14th of August. Without the intervention of this assembly, however, the government had previously adopted legislative measures of great moment. It had declared free trade with all countries; fixed the duties on all foreign imports at fifteen per cent, ad valorem ; reduced all religious houses and regular orders of monks, incorporating their estates with the national domains; changed the state of the currency, and abolished paper money; and made various other sweeping alterations. The measures were well meant, but they were harsh and despotic notwithstanding. After the meeting of eortes, one of the first proceedings of the legislature was to consider how the executive power should be exercised during the minority of the queen. The regency was ultimately conferred on Dorn Pedro, but he did not long enjoy it. He expired on the 22d of September 1834, having, during the latter years of his life, acted a part which the earlier stages of bis career gave the world little reason to expect. Previously to this, the queen had set about the formation of a new ministry, in which she united some of the more moderate constitutionalists with the former ministers. Her marriage with the Duke of Leuchtenberg, the son of Eugene Beauharnois, and the brother of Dorn Pedro’s wife, was soon afterwards resolved upon. A bill to exclude Dorn Miguel and his descendants from the throne of Portugal was passed without one dissentient voice. The budget for the year 1834 showed a considerable deficit, and this forrhed an excuse for treating the British auxiliaries, to whom they owed so much, with the most shameful and disgusting ingratitude.

During the year 1835, Portugal presented a peaceful and even prosperous picture, darkened a little by the intrigues of political parties. The principal object of the cortes was to reduce the public debt, or to convert it into securities which should bear a lower rate of interest than that then paid. The fund which was principally looked to for accomplishing this object was the national property, and measures were adopted for effecting sales thereof. The budget for the year ending 30th June 1836 stated the expected receipts at 8,420,257,408 milreis, and the expenditure at 12,744,161,266, being a revenue of about L.2,200,000, and an expenditure of more than L∙3,000,000. No new taxes were, however, imposed to cover the deficit, because it was expected that the expenditure would decrease, whilst the receipts would remain stationary or rise.

Prince Augustus of Leuehtenberg, the husband of the young queen, having arrived in Portugal in the beginning of the year 1835, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army, a nomination which gave rise to much contention. But death soon cut short the discussion, for the young prince expired on the 28th of March. The chambers, however, did not allow the queen to indulge long in the sorrows of widowhood. The constitutional system depended greatly on a direct succession to the throne, and before the end of the year the queen’s second marriage was arranged. The bridegroom was selected from the house of Saxe-Cobourg (a great nursery for the supply of such wants), and he had the honour to be a nephew of the king of the Belgians.

On the 8th of April 1836, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Cobourg arrived at Lisbon, and on the following day was formally united to his royal spouse. Government now became extremely annoyed by the question, whether the king should be appointed to the command of the army, when it turned out that this was one of the special conditions of the marriage treaty. The proceeding proved very unpopular, not only with politicians, but the country, and materially [7:18:477]hastened a revolution, in which the ministry and the constitution were shipwrecked together. It does not appear, however, that the government anticipated any serious changes, as the country exhibited no dangerous symptoms of discontent, although a good deal irritated by the appointment which the queen had made. Yet the revolutionary plot must have been arranged beforehand, for even the troops of the line were seduced. On the night of the 9th of September 1836, the drums of the national guards beat to arms, and they were soon joined by the garrisons and many influential civilians. An address to the queen was drawn up, requesting her majesty forthwith to dismiss the ministry, to annul the charter, and to proclaim the constitution of 1820. The queen at first hesitated to yield to force, and to recognise statements as to the alleged jeopardy to which the nation was exposed; but she was ultimately compelled to give way. The political constitution of the 23d of September 1822 was declared to be in vigour: but it was at the same time agreed that it should undergo such modifications as circumstances had rendered necessary. A new ministry was immediately appointed, and Prince Ferdinand was deprived of his military commission. But neither the great body of the people nor the more influential classes showed any indications of accordance with the remodellers of government. Almost all the nobility, the superior clergy, and an immense number of persons holding official situations of greater or of less importance, refused peremptorily to take the oaths to the new constitution. The peers, whose existence as a separate legislative assembly was thus abolished, protested to the queen against the measure, and called for vengeance on those who had compelled her majesty to declare it in force. But this only served to irritate the revolutionists. Not long afterwards a counter-revolution was attempted. Commenced without any well-concerted plan, it was prosecuted without energy, and the results were altogether unimportant. At last negotiations being entered into between the queen and the rebels, it was proposed by the court, first, that the general cortes should be immediately convoked, but that the members should be furnished with special powers to make such alterations in the charter of 1820 as were deemed necessary to secure the liberties of the nation and the prerogatives of the crown; and, secondly, that the Chamber of Peers, as it was instituted before the revolution of the 10th of September, should vote upon these alterations, with the exception of those which might relate to the organization of the chambers. To the latter proposition the rebels refused their assent. They likewise demanded of the queen to dismiss her ministers, and form a new cabinet; and she was under the necessity of complying with their demands. Her majesty, indeed, became partially a prisoner in the hands of the democrats, and many of the most distinguished persons of her court sought refuge in voluntary exile.

The principal events which followed these changes were, the economising of the expenditure, the imposition of a tax for the support of the priesthood, the introduction of a uniform system of duties on vessels sailing from Portuguese harbours, the abolition of the slave-trade, and other measures of more or less moment, which had for their object the pacification of the country and the promotion of the general welfare. During the years 1837 and 1838, some provinces of Portugal were kept in constant terror, and, to a certain extent, ravaged by rebel banditti, whose ostensible object was to excite a rising in favour of Dorn Miguel. The most noted of these guerilla chiefs was Re-mcchido, who contrived to muster a formidable gang, and, by his daring exploits, to spread dismay throughout Algarve, the scene of his depredations. A military force was at length sent against him, by which the rebels were completely routed on the 28th of July 1838, and their leader, being taken prisoner, unceremoniously shot.

STATISTICS.

Portugal, the most westerly kingdom of Europe, lies between 36° 55' and 42° 13' of north latitude, and between 6 ’ 15'and 8° 55' of longitude west from Greenwich. According to the geographer Ebeling, its length from north to south is 301 geographical miles, and its breadth from east to west is 128 miles. It is bounded on the north and east by the Spanish provinces of Galicia, Valladolid, Salamanca, Estremadura, and Seville, and on the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean. It has the figure of a parallelogram, with its longest side from north to south.

Portugal has a coast-line of nearly five hundred miles in length, the only province not washed by the ocean being Tras-os-Montes, and Alemtejo is less so than the remaining four. On the north the coast is low at first, but it afterwards becomes rugged and steep. In Beira it again gets flat, sandy, and marshy; in Estremadura it is in one part steep, and in another almost a dead level, and very insecure; in Alcmtejo it is low, being full of rocks and shallows; and although at Cape St Vincent it is high and rocky, as we proceed towards the Spanish frontier the country sinks into low sandy downs. The promontories most worthy of notice are, Mondego in Beira; Carvoeiro de Rocha and Espichel in Estremadura; and San Vincente, Carvoeiro, and Santa Maria, in Algarve. On the low coasts there are inlets of the sea, which afford opportunities for the formation of a number of excellent harbours.

Portugal is only separated from Spain politically, not by natural boundaries or peculiarities. Hence, in all its physical relations it is to be considered as a westerly continuation of that country. The principal chains of mountains are prolongations of those which traverse Spain. In the north, between the Minho and Douro, the country is intersected in various directions by the southerly and westerly procession of the Galician and Asturian mountain ranges, which terminate at. the sea in a steep and broken coast. The provinces situated in this quarter are alternating mountain and high table-land, a continuation of the lofty table-land of Old Castille and Leon. The Serra de Montezinho, near the northern frontier, is a very lofty range, on the summits of which snow not unfrequently remains during the whole year. The lofty peak of Gaviarra, however, which forms part of the Serra de Suazo, is crowned with perpetual snow. This range runs parallel with the river Lima to the sea, where it terminates under the name of the Serra de Estrica. On the left bank of the Lima extends the Serra de Gerez, in the province of Entre Minho e Douro, and, passing into Tras-os-Montes, declines towards the Lower Douro, where it bears the name of the Serra de San Catarina. In this last-named province is the Serra de Amarao, on the left bank of the Tamega, and stretching down almost to the Douro. To the east of it is the plateau of Guarda, between two and three thousand feet in height, and which on the north-east is bounded by the Serra de Montezinho. In the province of Beira extends the Serra de Estrella, a continuation of a chain which traverses Leon and Castille. This mountain ridge consists of granite and layers of sandstone. It presents a shattered and savage aspect, is covered with snow during the greater portion of the year, and in its ramifications encloses the river Mondego∙ Its highest summits are those of Cantaro Delgado and the Malao dà Serra. Northwards it declines gently towards the Vouga, and stretches in a westerly direction to the gates of Coimbra under the name of the Serra de Alcoba. The southerly branch runs through the province of Estremadura, to the mouth of the Tagus, forming the granite mountains of Cintra, which terminate in the sea at the Cabo de Roca. To the south of the mouth of the Tagus stretches the Serra de Arabida, an inferior range. Between the Tagus and the Guadiana the country is elevat¾ [7:18:478]ed, but, gradually sinking towards the Spanish province of Estremadura, is bounded on the south by a continuation of the Sierra Morena of Spain, which mountain chain is here penetrated by the river Guadiana. The Serra de Caldeirao, which afterwards bears the name of the Serra de Monchique, a ramification of the gigantic Morena, extends in a westerly direction to the sea, where it terminates in Cape St Vincent, and completely encloses Algarve. This serra only yields in height to that of Estrella, and to those of Suazo and Montezinho. Its loftiest peaks are Foya and Picoa.

Portugal is therefore a mountainous country throughout, but its profusion of hills and mountains embosom innumerable beautiful and highly-cultivated valleys, and form several fine tracts of table-land. There are, however, two plains of some extent; one to the south of the Tagus, of which that of Santarem forms a continuation, and one on the mouth of the Vouga.

Portugal receives its principal rivers from Spain. The largest are the Tagus, the Guadiana, the Douro, the Lima, and the Minho. The Tagus originates in the Sierra d’Al-baracin, on the borders of Cuença and Aragon, flows at first in a northerly direction, and then turns to the south, but during the most part of its course its general bearing is westerly. After traversing several Spanish provinces, it enters the Portuguese territory near the point where it receives the Sever, separates the provinces of Beira and Alcmtejo, and after dividing Portuguese Estremadura into two unequal parts, falls into the Atlantic. It receives the waters collected between two parallel ranges of mountains, flows through a mountainous country, and its current is much broken by rocks and cataracts. Its waters are turbid, and annually overflow and fertilize the extensive plains in the environs of Santarem and Villa Franca. Lower down it forms many marshes of considerable extent, which yield a large revenue. The length of its course is four hundred and fifty miles. It is affected by the tide a considerable distance above Lisbon, but is only navigable to Abrantes. Its width is so great near its mouth as to make it resemble a vast lake or arm of the sea; and at Lisbon it forms one of the finest and safest harbours in the world. The tributaries which it receives on the north are the Elga, the Pon« sal, and the Zezere; and those from the south are the Sever, the Sorraya, erroneously called Zatas in most maps, and the Canha; but none of these are navigable. The rivers worthy of notice which have their source in Portugal are the Cavado, Ave, Vouga, Mondego, Saado, Odemira, Portimao, and Rio Quarteira. The Cavado rises in the Serra de Gerez, and after traversing the province of Minho, discharges itself near Es-posenda, being only navigable for seven miles. The Vouga has its source in Beira, and after traversing this province, enters the ocean below Aveira. The Mōndego issues in the Estrella, crosses Beira and the plains of Coimbra, and finally joins the ocean near Figueira and Buareos. This is the largest of the rivers belonging exclusively to Portugal, and it is navigable for sixty miles, except in summer, when its waters considerably diminish. Its sands occasionally yield particles of gold. The Saado or Sadao has its source in Alemtejo in the Serra de Monchique, and flows with a north-westerly course towards Estremadura. It becomes navigable from Porto de Rey, and enters the ocean by a large bay to the south of Setubal. The same Serra gives rise to the Odemeira and Portimao, the former being navigable to the town of the same name, and the latter as far up as Silves. The Rio Quarteira has its source in the Serra de Caldeirao, and forms at its mouth the small port which bears its name. These rivers, when swollen by the winter rains, overflow their banks, much to the advantage of the country, for the waters leave a rich deposit behind them. In summer they are very low, and many of the smaller rivers of Portugal are dried up during that season. They are in general much obstructed by rocks and bars of sand at their mouths, by which navigation is greatly impeded.

Portugal possesses no navigable canals worthy of notice. On the coast, especially in Alemtejo and Beira, there are morasses, lakes, and inferior inland seas, none of them being of great circumference. Several mountain lakes on the Serra de Estrella are tepid, throwing up bubbles, without, however, materially troubling the waters, which are of crystal clearness. Portugal is rich in medicinal springs, some of which are used for baths. They consist of gaseous and saline mineral waters, and of sulphureous and chalybeate springs. The most celebrated sulphur and warm baths are the Caldas de Gerez in Minho, the Rainha and the Oeiras in Estremadura, those of Chaves and Anciaes in Tras-os-Montes, of San Pedro do Sul and Penagarcia in Beira, and of Monchique in Algarve. The best chalybeates are at Torro de Moncorvo in Tras-os-Montes, those of Amaranha and Guimaraens in Minho, and of Villas in Estremadura.

Granite composes the highest mountains of Portugal. The entire province of Minho, and the northern portion of Tras-os-Montes, are formed of it; and, besides, it is found in many other parts of the kingdom. Schistus rock, lying over the granite, also covers a large portion of the country. It forms the frontier mountains of Algarve, those of moderate height in Alemtejo, those of Beira in the environs of Castello Branco, and the chain which accompanies the course of the Douro. The primitive calcareous formation forms a continuation of the mountains between Lisbon and Coimbra, as the Serra de Lousaa, Porto de Moz, and Monte Junto, with the Serra de Arrabida, and the mountain chain which reaches to Algarve. Coal is met with in this formation near Buareos, mineral coal at Cape Espichel, and sandstone is sometimes found covering it. The rocks near Lisbon and at Cape St Vincent are of the tertiary formation, more or less mingled with trap. When the granitic rocks blend with schistus, it is by layers; and it is connected with the latter by a stratification, resembling micaceous schistus. The calcareous structure is changed in Tras-os-Montes into a true micaceous schistus; and it is only here that mountains of the latter are seen in a pure state.

Tin mines appear to have been wrought by the Carthaginians in this part of the peninsula; and it is affirmed that mines of tin-stone existed in some granitic mountains of Beira. Mines of gold and silver were wrought in this country by the Romans. During the last century lead ores were worked near Mogadouro, in Tras-os∙ Montes, and in the vicinity of Longroiva, on the banks of the Rio Prisco. In Tras-os-Montes a silver-mine was wrought in the year 1628. Mines of plumbago occur near Mogadouro, and iron-mines in the same country, near Figueira and Torre de Moncorvo. The iron forge of Chapacunha is supplied from them. In Estremadura there are two very old establishments of the same kind, one in the district of Thomar, and the other in that of Figuero dos Vinhos. On the frontier of that province, and of its neighbour Beira, are situated the mines of red oxyde of iron by which they are supplied. Iron indeed is one of the most abundant minerals in the country. The mountains in the neighbourhood of Oporto everywhere give indications of copper and other ores; and at Couna there is a deposit of cinnabar. In Portugal there are also mines of antimony, bismuth, and arsenic. Some of the rivers of this country, as well as those of Spain, arc washed for the gold which they contain; and it is said that in this way large quantities of the precious metal were formerly collected. The river Tagus was anciently celebrated for the particles of gold which were found mingled with its sands; but its greatest riches are now borne on its bosom. Indeed, none of the streams yields a quantity worth much above the labour of collecting it. There is only one [7:18:479]gold-mine in Portugal, situated in a place called Adissa, in the district of St Ubes; but its annual produce is a mere trifle, not reaching twenty pounds weight at an average. Two coal-mines exist; one near Figueira, and the other near Oporto. The country abounds with most beautiful marbles, but they are comparatively little wrought, from the expenses required to bring them to market. Precious stones are found in Portugal, and also quarries of limestone, gypsum, slate, freestone, millstone, black agate, together with immense beds of pyrites and marcasites, potters’ and porcelain clay, and pits of common salt.

Various causes conspire to produce great differences in the climate of Portugal in different situations. The most obvious one is the inequality of the soil; but vicinity to the ocean, and to mountain ranges, which afford shelter from the winds, or expose to the direct influence of the sun, also greatly affect the temperature. The mountain chains in the northern part of the country are very rugged and cold, the limits of perpetual snow being in this latitude under eight thousand feet. This cold region comprises a considerable portion of the provinces of Tras-os-Montes and Beira, and the whole of the northern frontiers of Minho. It is to be observed as a general rule, that the sea-coast of these provinces, as well as that of all the others, is very warm, the heat of summer, however, being tempered by the sea-breezes. The elevated plains and mountains are sterile, and destitute of wood; but the valleys and other low situations have a mild and agreeable climate, and arc for the most part very fruitful. A great part of Minho is especially deserving of notice for its delightful climate. Estremadura, on the other hand, is very hot in summer and very cold in winter; but the high land throughout the whole southern portion of Portugal has an exceedingly agreeable temperature, equally removed from excessive heat in summer and severe cold in winter. Algarve alone has an African climate, but the excessive heat is greatly tempered by the seabreezes. Some striking anomalies occur, such as intense summer heats in elevated situations; but they are to be accounted for from the position and nature of the mountain ranges which environ them, and their distance from the ocean. The warmer parts of Portugal have a short winter and a double spring. The first, which commences in February, is a delightful season. The succeeding months are variable, being in some years hot and dry, and in others cold and rainy. Harvest is gathered in June. Summer commences in the last week of July, and continues till the beginning of September. The heat is then very great, parching up all the vegetation on the plains and sea-coast, so that it is necessary to water plants to preserve them from destruction. But even during this hot season the evenings and nights are fresh and cool, and the table-lands and other elevated parts enjoy a modification of temperature. Rain begins to fall early in October, and the vegetation of spring immediately succeeds to that of autumn. Winter lasts from the end of November till February, but the cold is seldom excessive, except in very elevated situations. In December heavy rains descend, accompanied by violent whirlwinds; it is during this period that the rivers are so liable to overflow their banks. The climate of Portugal, in general, may be pronounced salubrious, particularly along the coasts and on the table-lands. Fevers of various kinds appear to be the diseases most prevalent, but there are disorders peculiar to different localities. Almost all the mountain chains of Portugal show, in extinct and shattered craters, their former volcanic activity; and in many districts, in the country around Lisbon for instance, earthquakes are not unfrequently felt in harvest and winter. The fearful convulsion which destroyed the capital has already been mentioned in the preceding historical sketch. Portugal is rarely visited by violent storms, and thunder is only heard during autumn and

From the great differences of level which Portugal presents, it abounds in every variety of vegetable productions. Forests of birch, oak, and chestnut are abundant; and fruit is everywhere plentiful. Orchards are met with at the foot of large mountain chains; and lower down may be found the cork-tree, kermes, fir, lemon, and orange. The olive is widely distributed, and the vine is cultivated to a great extent. In the warmest regions we find the aloe of America and the date of Africa. Figs, raisins, almonds, melons, watermelons, plums, cherries, peaches, apples, pears, and chestnuts, are all objects of attention. Of grains, those chiefly raised are maize, barley, wheat, and rye; rice is likewise an object of attention in some parts. Potatoes and other vegetables are partially cultivated, together with hemp, flax, and cotton. The Flora of Portugal, although abundant in some parts, presents little that is remarkable. None of the plants of France or Spain, and only a few of those of Italy and Sicily, are found. In the cold regions a few plants similar to those in the west of England are met with. In the warmer districts poppies thrive well, and the coasts of Beira and Estremadura, with the low sandy plains of Alemtejo, are adorned with the cistus and many varieties of heath. On the northern mountains is a tree peculiar to them, which is called azerino.

Portugal is behind almost every nation of Europe in agriculture; and the various improvements which are general elsewhere have here been slowly and but recently introduced. The soil is neither manured nor tilled as it ought to be. The plough is composed of three pieces of wood awkwardly fastened together, and imperfectly aided by the clumsy machinery of wheels. The districts best cultivated are the valleys of the Minho, those of the Oporto wine company of Upper Douro, and some portions of Tras-os-Montes and Beira; the remaining teιτitory remains comparatively uncultivated. Where the soil is properly laboured and attended to, abundant crops of wheat, barley, maize, rice, and rye are produced. But enough is not raised to supply home consumption, about one fifteenth of the quantity used being imported. Artificial meadows are almost unknown, except in Minho. The cultivation of potatoes, however, has rapidly extended over the country, and hemp and flax of excellent quality are raised. But the chief attention of the Portuguese husbandman is directed to the production of those articles which find their most ready vent in foreign countries, or which are raised with the least labour. Of the first sort is their wine, which is produced chiefly in the northern provinces. The quantity usually made is about 80,000 pipes of red, and 60,000 pipes of white. The productions that require but little labour, such as chestnuts, almonds, oranges, lemons, and citrons, are also profusely raised, and, with the onions and garlic, form no small proportion of the aliment of the inhabitants. Olive-trees are plentiful, and the oil expressed from their fruit forms an important article of sustenance; and, though not of a quality or flavour that is relished for the table in foreign countries, it is a considerable article of export.

Generally speaking, cattle are not abundant in Portugal; for, with the exception of the grazing lands of the Minho, the Estrella, and Monte Junto, ajid a few other places, in which a beautiful and large breed of cattle is reared, the feeding is decidedly bad. Very little cheese or butter is made, these articles being mostly imported from England and Holland. Horses are far from being numerous, and they are of a small size, but very active. Mules, however, are or a first-rate breed, and they, in a great measure, compensate the deficiency. Sheep are reared to some extent, and their wool is inferior to none but that of Spain. There are numerous herds of goats, and abundance of swine of a peculiar species. Poultry are plentiful; and bees are bred to some extent. The rearing of silk-worms was once a considerable branch of industry; but the great injury sustain [7:18:480]ed by the mulberry plantations during war has subjected it to many fluctuations. Birds are not numerous; but of wolves, wild cats, wild goats, wild boars, stags, and some other species of large game, there are a few in certain localities. Hares are rare, and rabbits are not so numerous as in Spain. Amphibious reptiles are not common, but vipers and venomous serpents abound in the mountains; the other parts of the country, however, appear to be free from them. There are several species of lizards; the insects of Northern Africa occur on the heaths; the butterflies of the south of France on the sides of the Estrella; and the scarabaei of the north are found on the mountains of Northern Portugal. The rivers are amply stocked with fish, and the coasts literally swarm with them. Pilchards are caught in immense quantities. Another very common fish is the pescada, a species of the gadus. Besides these, the kinds in greatest esteem and abundance are the sea and river eel, the sole, rodovalho, savel, ruivo, safio, cavalla, espada, and others.

The manufactures of Portugal are comparatively unimportant; but the country has in general been underrated in this respect. No comparison can be instituted between its products of this sort and those of more industrious states; but if, notwithstanding the advantages England enjoys, the Portuguese have been able to compete with the English in different manufactures, it maybe concluded that industry cannot be at so very low an ebb as is often asserted. However, almost all the finer fabrics are imported. At Alcobaça and Tomar cottons, at Guarda woollens, and at Guimaraens linens, are manufactured. The best goods that are made in the kingdom, as compared with those of other countries, are the cambrics, shirting and tabic linens, and sewing threads. Glass is manufactured at Leiria, and silk, paper, and other articles elsewhere; whilst in Lisbon there are manufactories of arms, cordage, hats, chocolate, earthenware, tin, copper, lace, mats, ribbands, soap, silk, cottons, with distilleries, tanneries, sugar refineries, and founderies. The Portuguese display considerable skill in working in gold and silver plate; and their taste in cabinet-work is said to be now much improved. Generally speaking, they manufacture most articles of recognised necessity with more or less skill. But neither the mines nor the fisheries are at all attended to as they ought to be. If the former were wrought, their produce might form important articles of commerce; and if the latter were prosecuted, as much fish might be caught as would render the importation of this article unnecessary.

The separation of Brazil from Portugal, together with the loss of her Indian possessions, have reduced the commerce of this country to a mere fragment of what it once was when her ports were the medium through which much of the produce of the east and of the west passed to other countries. Political events have also tended materially to depress the foreign trade of Portugal. Previously to 1820 it was very considerable, but since that memorable epoch in the annals of the country, it has sunk, comparatively speaking, to nothing. The chief articles of exportation are wines, lemons, oranges, figs, almonds, and other dried fruits; salt, oil, sumach, wool, and corkwood. The chief goods imported are wheat and other grains, dried cod, salted meat, butter, cheese, horses, oxen, mules, and other animals, medicinal and drying drugs, linseed-oil, planks, and other kinds of prepared wood, iron, steel, lead, tin, brass, copper, charcoal, tar and pitch, flax, hemp, and silk. Numerous articles of foreign manufacture were wont to be imported, and afterwards re-exported to foreign possessions; but this trade is of course annihilated, or nearly so.

There is a great deficiency of authentic documents regarding the commerce of Portugal. Those which can be relied on relate to periods too far back to admit of their being taken as evidence of the present state of trade, and those of a more recent date are imperfect. The following is a statement of the quantities of British and Irish produce and manufactures imported into Portugal in the year 1835; the declared value is given:—Apparel, slops, and haberdashery, L.13,938; arms and ammunition, L.1293; bacon and hams, L.1479; beef and pork, L.1454; beer and ale, L.2369; printed books, L.935; brass and copper manufactures, L.10,730; butter and cheese, L.94,052; coals, culm, and cinders, L.1561; cordage, L. 165; cotton manufactures, L.796,002; hosiery, lace, and small wares, L.20,998; cotton, twist, and yarn, L.13,338; earthenware of all sorts, L.517l; woollen manufactures, L.350,715; fish, herrings, L.122; glass, L.l 1,753; hardwares and cutlery, L.31,469; hats, L.1990; iron and steel, L.49,484; lead and shot, L.8118; leather, L.6138; saddlery and harness, L.3212; linen manufactures, L.36,184; machinery and mill-work, L.5346; painters’ colours, L.3805; plate, jewellery, and watches, L.l 281; silk manufactures, L.19,485; soap and candles, L.482; stationery, L.9376; refined sugar, L.6840; tin, L.410; tin and pewter wares and tin plates, L.4176; woollen and worsted yarn, L.680; salt, L.150; all other articles, L.39,625. The total declared value of the whole was L.1,554,326. This was rather less than the amount of exports to Portugal during 1834, but more than for any preceding year. The goods imported from France in 1835 were, French and foreign merchandise, raw produce, L.42,284; manufactures, L.236,374; French merchandise, raw produce, L.27,247; manufactures, L.195,546. The total amount was L.501,453, about one third of that of Great Britain. The goods sent to the Portuguese dependencies are included. Portugal exported to Great Britain in 1835, wines of Portugal, 4,163,719 gallons; sheep’s wool, 680,956 lbs.; bees’ wax, eighteen cwts.; brandy, 1084 gallons; 2385 goats’ skins; sumach, forty cwts.; raisins, twenty-four cwts.; olive oil, 270 gallons; oranges and lemons, 95,656 packages; figs, 828 cwts.; bark for tanning or dyeing, 1015 cwts.; cork, 59,910 cwts.; wheat 2157 quarters; and a few other articles. During the same year Portugal sent to France, raw materials and manufactures to the value of L.38,805; articles in a state fit for use or for consumption, L.41,425; total amount. L.80,231. But Portugal carries on trade with many other countries besides Great Britain and France. For her own products she receives from the Netherlands grain, cheese, colours, and dye-stuffs; from the north of Germany grain, linen, iron, tin, brass, and other metallic articles, and toys; from Denmark, grain and timber; from Sweden, grain, iron, steel, copper, and tar; from Russia, grain, hemp, flax, canvass, linen, cordage and tackling, timber, tar, tallow, furs, and the like; from Dantzig, grain, hemp, and timber. There is likewise a considerable intercourse with the United States, the foreign colonies of the kingdom, Brazil, and other places; but we have no data from which to estimate the extent and value of the foreign commerce. The internal trade, at the best unimportant, suffers from the want of good roads. Canals there are none, and the few navigable rivers are not so at all times, so that until proper roads are made or canals formed, the inland commerce of Portugal must continue to be very limited.

The government of Portugal, once of the most absolute kind, is now a limited monarchy. The succession is hereditary, and extends to both sexes. The constitution of the kingdom, a sketch of which was laid before the cortes on the 7th of March 1837, is nearly a verbatim copy of that of 1822, an outline of which has already been given. The exceptions relate to the appointment of the senators, and the separation of the counsellors of state. The mode of election now adopted is the direct instead of the indirect. It is further provided, that no deputy can hold a public situation, and no officer in his district, no bishop in his diocese, nor any priest in his parish, is allowed to be chosen. The king and the royal princes are declared incapable of [7:18:481]holding the chief command of the army or navy. The cortes have the right to choose a new dynasty should the reigning family become extinct. If the assembly of the cortes is dissolved, a new one must be called together within thirty days at the latest. The authority of the cortes is so great that the power of the sovereign is little more than nominal. The management of the affairs of the nation belongs to the counsel of state. There are six ministers, one for each of the departments of foreign affairs, the interior, finance, war and the colonies, marine, and justice. There arc also boards of trade, of navigation, of agriculture, and of manufactures.

For the administration of justice there are two supreme courts of appeal; one at Lisbon, and the other at Oporto. There is also one for each of the provinces of Estremadura, Alemtejo, Algarve, Minho, Tras-os-Montes, Beira, and one for the comarca of Castello Branco in Beira. A court of cassation has been established in the capital. In criminal cases the proceedings are public; in civil matters the parties have the privilege of appointing an arbitrator, who is chosen from a society belonging to each city. Each of the six districts of the kingdom is divided into comarcas or jurisdictions, which are again subdivided into ciudades, villas, and provincial under-courts of justice, called concelhos, houras, contos, julgados, and behetrias, these being distributed in correiçoes, over which a corregidor presides as head judge, and who has a right to speak in the second instance, or court of judicature. The sub-judges are in individual places juizes de for a ; but in all civil and criminal cases they speak in the first instance. In large towns the civil and criminal jurisdiction is under two jtii∑es da for a, one of whom bears the title of juizda cirel, and the other that of juiz da crime. There are also in the towns and villages juizes orfiiιιarios, or juizes dapaz, a sort of justices of the peace. The number of persons connected with the administration of justice, those who have seats in courts, as judges, advocates, and others, is very great, and the course of law is tedious and expensive. The standard authority in matters of law and justice is the royal ordinances which Alphonso V. collected, and Emanuel I. printed. When this juridical code is not suf-fficient, the Roman law is appealed to; and in ecclesiastical matters the canon law is the recognised authority. The religion of the state is the Roman Catholic; but the exercise of all other forms of religion is permitted to foreigners. The supreme head of the clergy is the patriarch of Lisbon, who is always a cardinal. There are fourteen bishops under the archbishops of Braga and Evora, the former bearing the title of primate of the kingdom. The number of ecclesiastics and religious houses was at one time very great. In 1822 there were 132 nunneries, with 2980 nuns, 912 pupils and novices, and 1971 servant-women; and their revenue amounted to 432,189 mil reis. The number of monasteries was 346, containing 5830 persons, who enjoyed an income of 784,513 milreis. The regular orders of monks have been reduced, and some other alterations relating to the church have taken place since Balbi published his Statistical Essay on Portugal, from which the above facts are taken; but we have no authentic data from which to draw up a correct statement of the present condition of ecclesiastical matters in Portugal. Religion has shared in the political fluctuations of the times.

The following is a tabular view of the statistics of Portugal for the year 1835. The number of square miles and fire-places in the provinces and districts is given on the authority of official documents. The population has been estimated by multiplying the number of fire-places by four and a half, which is reckoned a fair average number of souls for each hearth.
[table]

The principal cities and towns having above 10,000 inhabitants are, Lisbon, 250,000; Oporto, 80,000; Elvas, 18,000; Coimbra, 15,200; Setuval, 14,820; Braga, 14,400; Evora, 10,500; Ovar, 10,300. In the colonies, Funchal, 20,000; Villa Nova de Goa, 18,500; Ponta Delgata, 18,000; Soanda de S. Paola, 18,000; Angra, 15,000; Cacheu, 15,000; S. Salvadore, 15,000; Mozambique, 12,340; Macao, 12,000.

The national varieties of the population are, Portuguese, 3,397,050; Free Blacks, 595,000; Gallegos, 50,000; Hindus and Malays, 420,000; Negro Slaves, 20,000; Chinese, 64,800.

The varieties of religion amongst the population are,Catholics, 3,782,050; Brahmins and Buddhists, 400,000; Foiten, 64,800; Fetishes, 400,000.

In the year 1822 the statistics of education in Portugal stood thus. The university of Coimbra, founded in 1279, with six faculties, a preparatory college, sixteen hundred students; eight hundred and eighty-three elementary schools; three hundred and twenty-two Latin, and twenty-one Greek and rhetorical schools, together with twenty-seven for theoretical and moral philosophy. The total number of scholars, exclusive of students, was 3],280. To these are to be added the following establishments; the marine and royal academy at Oporto, which had three hundred and twenty-five scholars; the academy of Lisbon, with about as many pupils; the trades’ school at Lisbon, with a hundred and fifty scholars; the Lisbon royal school for engineering, ar tillery, and drawing, with eighty scholars; and the military school at Luz, near the capital, with two hundred students. At Lisbon there are also a royal college for the nobility, and royal schools for the Arabic language, drawing, and architecture, and another for statuary; also an institution for instruction in copperplate engraving, an academy for teaching music, and some others. Surgery is taught at the university of [7:18:482]Coimbra, and in several royal schools; in St Joseph’s hospital in Lisbon; and in hospitals at Oporto, Elvas, and Chaves. The military school for mutual instruction, which the children of citizens are permitted to attend, had two thousand five hundred and sixteen scholars. There are other academies for instruction in science, geography, Portuguese history, navigation, marine affairs, artillery, and fortification; an institution for the encouragement of literature and other branches of knowledge at Lisbon; an academy for history and antiquities at Santarem; and an academy for scientific instruction in the small county-town of Tomar in Santarem. Portugal has seven botanic gardens, but some of them are of a very humble description; twelve museums of natural curiosities, open to the public; twelve collections of coins and other antiquities; eight observatories; a royal library at Lisbon, with eighty thousand volumes; and the university library of Coimbra, with sixty thousand volumes. In the fine arts the Portuguese have made but little advancement. There are comparatively few printingpresses in the country; and book-printing establishments on a respectable scale are only to be met with in Lisbon, Oporto, and Coimbra. Works of fiction, and books for edification in the Catholic faith, constitute half the yearly literary produce of the Portuguese. On account of their poverty, it has been customary to print scientific works at the royal expense. It is difficult to say whether the press be free in Portugal, at least according to our ideas of freedom. Liberty of the press was established by a decree in the year 1823; but the cortes annulled it, and appointed a commission of censorship.

There are seven orders of knighthood in Portugal, viz. the military order of Christ, established in 1319; the order of San Jago, for civil merit, founded in 1288; the order of Avis, for military merit, established in 1213; the military order of the tower and sword, founded in 1459, and revived in 1805-1808; the order of Villa Vicoa, or the immaculate conception, founded in 1818; the female order of Santa Isabel, established in 1804; and the order of the faith. In 1749, the king of Portugal received from Benedict XIV. the title of rex fidelissimus ; and his Most Faithful Majesty styles himself “king of Portugal and Algarve, of both sides of the sea in Africa, lord of Guinea, and of the navigation, conquests, and commerce of Aethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India.” The heir to the throne is styled Prince Royal; his eldest son, Prince of Beira; the other royal children are called Infants and Infantas of Portugal. The present Braganza line of princes commenced with John IV. who was proclaimed king of 1640. The national escutcheon is a silver shield, with five smaller blue shields lying crossways. On each of these are five silver pennies, placed so as to form a Saint Andrew’s cross. There is a red border containing the armorial bearings of Algrave, which are seven golden castles with blue towers. On the summit of the royal helmet there is a golden dragon; and the shield contains two dragons, each holding a flag, adorned with the emblems of Portugal and Algarve.

The revenues of the state arise from the extensive crownlands, together with the hereditary estates of the house of Braganza, and the possessions of the first three orders of knights, the greater portion of which belongs to the crown. The other sources from which the government income is derived are, the customs, a property-tax levied from citizen and countryman, the tenth part of the amount of all goods sold, the profits of the “cross-bull,” the impost on several requisites of life, the excise, the “decimas” or tithes of the clergy, stamps, lotteries, the mint, and others. Since the separation of Brazil from Portugal, and the attempt of Dorn Miguel to maintain the sovereignty he had usurped, a great disproportion has taken place between the expenditure and the income; the latter being sometimes not equal to the half of the former. The consequence has been the accumulation of a national debt of enormous magnitude for so poor a country, and which there appears to be no immediate prospect of the government being able to extinguish, or even to lessen. We have no information that can be relied on as to its exact amount at present; but as it was stated to be three hundred and twenty-four millions of francs in the year 1832, we are rather below than above the mark in estimating it now, 1838, at four hundred millions of francs, or sixteen millions sterling. The income, as well as the expenditure, but particularly the former, has been subject to great fluctuations. These, however, are mainly to be attributed to the unsettled state in which the country remained for so long a period. In the year 1827, the income was 46,843,975 francs, and the expenditure was 62,162,363, so that there appeared a deficit of 15,292,388 francs. In 1829 the revenue was only eighteen millions, whilst the expenses amounted to forty millions of francs. The following is the budget for 1837-1838:

Income 9,294 cantos, = 55,764,000 francs.

Expenditure 11,214 = 67,284,000 ditto.

Deficit 1,920 cantos, = 11,520,000 francs.^[3. Weimar Almanac for 1838. ]

According to a decree dated on the 4th of January 1837, the organized army consists of, the infantry, thirty battalions, twenty of which are infantry of the line, and ten jagcrs, in all 21,560 men; the cavalry, eight regiments, four being lancers and four jagers, in all 3680 men; and the artillery, four regiments, and three batteries for the neighbouring islands, consisting of 2232 men. The combined military force of Portugal, therefore, amounts to 27,472 men; and there is, besides, an army of militia about 27,000 strong.

According to an official document of the year 1835, the naval force consisted of two ships of the line, four frigates, six brigs, eight schooners and cutters, eight gun-boats, eight transports, eight packet-vessels, and two steam-boats, in all forty-six sail.

The inhabitants of Portugal are generally a robust, yet not an industrious people. They are enterprising and persevering, patient in adverse circumstances, excessively attached to their own religion and customs, and, though temporary circumstances may seem to indicate the contrary, they retain a high sense of loyalty to their monarch, and of submission to their spiritual superiors. The Portugese language is derived from the Latin, of which it contains a great proportion of words, though mixed with many others of Arabic origin. In the construction of its sentences it very much resembles theCastillian; but the pronunciation of the syllables differs considerably,being in general less guttural; and there are many words introduced which seem peculiar to itself, and the derivation of which it is difficult to trace, though probably they are to be found amongst some of the tribes on the coast of Barbary. (r r.r.) [7:18:483]