“The growth of a middle class brings greater social
stability and better changes for the flourishing of democracy.”
As mentioned above, Portugal’s society lacked the presence of a large middle class. This fact was of great importance for the further development of the country. First of all, it is necessary to have a definition for “middle class”, whereas two different definitions are to distinguish: One the one hand there is the economic definition, describing people with a middle-income. In this aspect, military officers, merchants, industrialists or professors fit into that rank. On the other hand there is the socio-cultural aspect, regarding the structures of society based on behaviour and attitude. In this view the intellectual elite does not count as middle class but rather to the nobility. A remarkable characteristic of Portuguese middle class was, that it tended to imitate the nobility in order to become part of it. Due to the fact that owning land was of high status and the desire to become noble was extremely high, the enriched middle class bought land as soon as possible to enjoy a similar status. People could be ennobled, and as soon as they reached a certain prestige, they disdained any manual labour, distanced themselves from lower classes and had a rather conservative attitude. This attempt to be superior to lower classes, eliminates them from the middle class terminology and decreased the number of people belonging to the middle class, while enlarging the gap between the two classes (Library of Congress).
Only in the cities of Oporto and Lisbon, not dominated by the conservative structures of the countryside, industrialization was increasing. The emerging middle class, mainly closely linked intellectuals and industrialists, favoured liberalism for the increase of their rights, status, independence and the non-interference of the state in the economy (Library of Congress).In the course of events, the cities gained and centralized power .It would be the upper middle class elite of the cities to overthrow the ancien régime (Birmingham, 1999, p.147).
How Did Liberal Ideas Enter the Country?
Before the Portuguese managed to overthrow any of the old structures, they first needed liberal influence. In the late eighteenth century, during the French Revolution “[Portugal] remained mostly unperturbed” (Anderson, 2000, p.126). This was due not only to its geographical location at the western edge of Europe but also because neighbouring Spain functioned as “buffer zone” or filter for the new and revolutionizing ideas that spread in the rest of Europe. The clergy could suppress any new ideas with the help of the inquisition as long as it was obeyed and not threatened from neighbouring countries. Although Queen Maria I (r.1777-1792) had a strong hand enforcing their conservative ideas, she could not stop “the smuggling of censored newspapers” (Library of Congress) and despite the fact that “any differences of opinion in matters of faith (…)were not discussed (…), French ideas began to filter into Portugal.” (Periodical Literature (Portugal))
But censorship and suppression made it impossible to exchange liberal ideas openly, and many secret societies, called Freemasons were founded. The situation changed when the Peninsula Wars emerged and the country’s forces had to concentrate on external threats, and their attention drifted away from internal affairs. The occupation of the French and the English imported further liberal ideas, and the liberal centre developed in Porto.(Library of Congress)
Several times, the French, cooperating with the Spanish, intended to annex parts of Portuguese territory to their country: In 1801 the War of Oranges broke out, where French and Spanish forces were defeated by the Portuguese in alliance with the British army. When Napoleon struggled with Britain in 1804, the latter established a naval blockade to the French. In 1807 Napoleon invaded Portugal which had declared itself neutral, when it, against the French order, continued trade with the British. With the attack of the French, the Portuguese Royal Family fled to Brazil and the control over internal issues was even more limited. The French who occupied Portugal where at first welcomed by the liberal elite of industrialists, who hoped for the enforcement of social and economical reforms. But the French did not want to support liberals and even started to persecute them. Concerning their power in Europe, they hoped for support from the nobility and clergy who had been left behind by the royal family in a state of desperation. In 1808, a national rebellion broke out among the population who had suffered throughout history from suppression by external powers, revitalizing their national consciousness (Birmingham,1999, p.105).
Nationalism - A Strong Element in Portuguese Society?
The slogan cuius regio eius natio is significant for the development of Portuguese nationalism. With the reconquest of the last territories from the Muslims by Afonso Henriques in 1249, Portugal became an early sovereign state (Library of Congress). Therefore, borders existed from the earliest days and nation-building started “within a framework identical with the state’s frontiers”(Peter,1996, p.14), people living within the borders of the territory became automatically the nation of the Portuguese monarchy; “the political nation was created from above” (p.14) ,did not derive from the will of the people but from the king. Consequently, Portugal was no nation in the views of Karl Deutsch who argued that “a nation is the outcome of a national movement”(p.6). Although it was not the population’s will to create a nation, national consciousness nevertheless existed. Due to constant external threats, the Portuguese population developed a national feeling by “[defining] their national identity through distinction from or comparison with neighbours” (p.12). “[Encounters] with the alien (…)make [them] aware of [their] close ties”(p.12). Nevertheless the Portuguese people were bound together by the same language, culture, history, politics and religion- all facilitated social communication and further led to a strong national consciousness (pp.8). In the case of Portugal it might be best to speak from patriotism, stressing the emotional attachment to one’s mother country (p.2). Religion played a crucial part in the development of nationalism: In the time of Muslim domination it was a remedy to express national consciousness and to distinct from suppressors (Library of Congress). During time being, it developed into a weapon of the upper classes to defend their position and to maintain the old order while manipulating the lowest class and eventually making Portugal losing track of European competition.
Now, one can question if the broad population, that is the lowest class, had a national consciousness at all, or if they only depended on their religious belief, which would have nothing to do with their mother country? Since religion and national consciousness are hard to distinguish in this context, one can speak of religious nationalism in the case of Portugal (Peter, 1996, p.23).
The British - Saviour or Suppressor?
With the help of the British, the French could be defeated in 1808 and the prince regent -residing in Brazil - designated the British officer Beresford to reorganize the Portuguese army and control the country. The Portuguese population, drifting from one occupation to the next, was not in favour of this action (Anderson, 2000, p.128).
After the three Napoleonic Wars, in 1807,1809 and 1810, had destroyed not only the countryside and treasures but also almost annihilated the economy, the country was nearly at its end. The population, living in the devastated country, was worn out and upset with their situation. General Gomes Freire de Anrade, leader of the strongest Freemason, opposed the absolutist rule of Beresford whom he unsuccessfully tried to assassinate. His execution by Beresford led to a increasing disgust of the British occupation - especially in the army - and ushered the way to the rebellion of 1820. Beresford fled to Brazil to consult the king (p.129).
Liberals vs. Absolutists - the Proclamation of the Republic
During the revolution of 1820 the middle class won the local military and established a provisory government. A constitutional monarchy was created in Portugal, stressing liberal ideas, claiming that sovereignty rested in the nation, whereas the nation included only the literate males of the middle class, about nine percent of the population (Library of Congress). Joao VI returned from Brazil and swore to uphold the constitution since he was anxious not to lose Portugal as his realm. Despite his father’s action, his son, Pedro IV, stayed in Brazil, broke with his mother country and claimed himself Emperor of Brazil in 1822. Absolutist Miguel, also son of the king, returned but refused to maintain the constitution, opposing the decreased rights of the monarch (Anderson, 2000, p.131). Meanwhile, the conservative upper class of the country increased their influence, hence, the liberal ideas could not be carried out and Joao VI abolished the constitution in1822, upholding the monarchy until his death in 1826 (p.131).
Pedro IV, Emperor of Brazil, succeeded his father and in order to calm the situation between the divided elite, he tried to satisfy both Liberals and Absolutists with his new Constitutional Charter. The latter was a revised constitution giving the ruler more power as before, since he kept the right to veto decisions and to dissolve Parliament. Members of the governmental institution could be both liberal and absolutist; the cortes was divided into upper and lower chamber while only the latter was elected by the town assemblies (Library of Congress). Having introduced the new solution he abdicated on condition that his charter was accepted. His brother Miguel was to marry his daughter Maria II and had to act as regent until she reached the age to ascend the throne herself (Anderson, 2000, p.132).
In 1828 Miguel gained power, but although swearing the oath on the charter, he reinstated absolutistic structures, backed by the nobility and the clergy. Pedro maintained the Azores, followed by persecuted liberals. In 1832 Pedro entered Portugal with his supporters, a civil war broke out, also called the War of Two Brothers, eventually sending Miguel into exile. Pedro restored the constitutional monarchy, and enforced the secularisation by dismissing bishops and abolishing monasteries (Library of Congress).
Under Luís I the two political parties, Progressives (absolutist) and Regenerators (liberal), agreed in 1856 on a rotation system of government where the parties took turns in power, called rotativismo. A time of peace was introduced where infrastructure, education and communication could be improved and in which political debates were openly discussed. “But open debate proved to be unsettling in Portugal’s depoliticised society”(Library of Congress). Since the political parties were no parties in the modern sense, including an electorate of just one percent of the population, the Socialists from the broad illiterate masses organized themselves, and a small Republican Party was assembled, putting their efforts on realizing the nationalistic idea of universal (male) suffrage. In 1906 no faction could achieve a majority in the parliament and the rotation system of government collapsed. Carlos I dissolved the parliament giving the anti-republican dictator Joao Franco the right to govern. Disapproved from the Republicans and supported by military coups, his dictatorship ended with the assassination of the king in 1908. Joao Franco left into exile but the attempts to create a stable government failed, because of the strong factionalism between the Regenerators and the Progressives. The Republicans, supported by army officers, used the situation, and on October 5, 1910 they threw over the monarchy. “Lisbon changed hands uneventfully, and the rest of the country accepted telegraphic instructions to haul down the royal flag and hoist the republican one”(Birmingham, 1999, p.148). After eight centuries of monarchy, Portugal was proclaimed a republic with unlimited equal rights (p.148).
Conclusion
While the structure in the countryside remained conservative and the emergence of a broad middle class did not emerge, liberal ideas only reached the cities through the occupation of the French and the British. Aiming for increased rights and independency, also concerning the economy, the bourgeoisie managed to realize a constitutional monarchy. However, disputes over governmental forms led to a constant instability. The lower classes in the urban areas, still illegitimate to participate in politics, started to form political units and had a chance to overthrow the government. Eventually, the Republic could be proclaimed. This event has only little influence on the broad masses of society, still trapped in their tradition of agrarian cultivation, the gap between city and country structures increased: Portugal indeed was a state of two nations.
List of references
Anderson, James M.(2000). The History of Portugal. Westport, Connecticut. London: Greenwood Press
Barraclough,G.(1964). An Introduction into Contemporary History. Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-020827-5
Berube, Margery S.(2002). The American Heritage College Dictionary. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
Birminham, David.(1999).A Concise History of Portugal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Heywood, Andrew.(2002).Politics. New York: Palgrave Foundations
Library of Congress(1993)
Periodical Literature(Portugal).(2002)
Peter, Alter.(1996). Nationalism. London: Arnold
Rule by the talented; the principle that rewards and positions should be distributed on the basis of ability (Heywood 2002,p.44)
A philosophical movement of the eighteenth century that emphasized the use of reason to examine accepted doctrines and traditions, it brought about many humanitarian reforms.(Berube, 2002, p.466)
Taken from Library of Congress
“An international fraternal organization with secret rites and signs” (Berube 2002, p.552), supporting liberal ideology
Latin, meaning: who reigns is the nation
Portugal was from 1808-1821 under English protectorate
Assembly consisting of the members of the three estates
A system in which one faction govern as long as possible and then hand over the power to the other (Library of Congress). Both “parties” therefore had to have similar intentions and only minimal differences in their ideas . if not, political parties would not hand over the power out of free will.
“ Republicanism: The principle that political authority stems ultimately from the consent of the people; the rejection of monarchical and dynastic principles”(Heyswood 2002,p.430)
