Chapter X: Insurrection in Portugal (2)

About noon, on the ensuing day, the alarm bells were rung again, drums beat, trumpets sounded, and preparations were again made for an immediate engagement with the enemy. They were at Os Carvalhos, it was said, eight miles off. There was some foundation for this report. The Juiz at Oliveira de Azemeis was in expectation and fear of the French, and not having received the bread from Porto which he had been ordered to have in readiness for them, had sent to this town and to the adjacent villages, to embargo all that could be found. Troops and volunteers now hurried forward with the utmost alacrity, and in the utmost disorder. This was a critical moment for Cardoso: if he went abroad, to put himself at the head of the forces, as his duty required, there was the risk of being again accused and endangered as a traitor: if, on the other hand, he forbore to appear, the very forbearance would be interpreted as a proof of disaffection to his country. After some hours of indecision, he could not bear to remain inactive, and incur the reproach to which it must needs subject him at such a time, and forth he went. He had not gone far before a poor fellow, whom a party of _Ordenanças_ upon some suspicion had seized, met him, and implored his protection. Cardoso inquired into the case, and finding the man innocent, gave orders to release him. His authority was disputed, and presently he himself was reproached and seized as a traitor. Some were for putting him to death upon the spot; and though others insisted upon carrying him before the Bishop, it appeared very doubtful whether he would reach the palace alive. When they met a priest upon the way, the mob called upon him to confess this traitor, who was about to die, and Cardoso himself cried out for absolution, seeing nothing but death before his eyes. The Bishop was convinced of his innocence, but could neither persuade the populace, nor command them; nor could he save Cardoso’s life by any other expedient than that of allowing him to be thrown into one of the worst dungeons of a Portugueze prison. In that miserable confinement ♦NEVES, III. 192–196.♦ he remained till the heat of these tumults had abated; he was then released, and honourably distinguished himself afterwards.

♦DISTURBED STATE OF THE PEOPLE.♦

Meantime Porto was in a frightful state of insubordination. The people readily enrolled themselves, but, as if intoxicated with joy, they celebrated their deliverance instead of labouring to secure it: and men who ought to have been practising the drill, or erecting batteries and throwing up trenches, were beating drums, ringing the bells, and wasting powder in empty demonstrations of bravery. The city was illuminated during three successive nights, and they seemed so little aware of the tremendous conflict in which they were engaged, that they were about to march to war as to a festival. From this delusion the Bishop roused them by an appeal well adapted to those for whom it was intended. “Portugueze,” he said, “in the name of Heaven and of Jesus Christ, listen to a government which loves you, which desires your happiness, and is labouring for it! Their turbulence, he told them, their insubordination, their waste of powder, only exposed them to the enemy, who would come upon them by surprise, and surely destroy them, if they would not listen to their rulers and obey orders. Strength without order was like the bull, who, strong as he is, is brought to the ground by a weak hand, with the aid of dexterity and a cloak. Their endeavour should be to be unseen and unheard, that they might the more fatally be felt; ... to conceal their movements, that they might strike when the blow was not expected. The government conjured them, by every thing which was most sacred in heaven and earth, to subject themselves to discipline, and obey their officers. Where they were posted there they were adjured to remain till the time for action arrived: they who were first in the field would diminish the number of the enemy when they engaged them; the second body, when they arrived, would weaken the French still farther; the third would complete their destruction. But if all hurried on tumultuously, all would be lost.” The populace by this time had fired away so much powder, and spent so much of their animal spirits in rioting, and hurrying here and there upon so many false alarms, that they were disposed to listen to this advice. Tranquillity was produced by exhaustion; and to preserve it, order was given that the alarm bells should not be rung till the cathedral ♦NEVES, III. 196–198.♦ began, and that whenever that was necessary, a flag should be hoisted on the tower by day, and a torch by night, to distinguish it from the fire-bell.

♦THE JUNTA CONCLUDE AN ALLIANCE WITH THE JUNTA OF GALICIA.♦

Subordination being now in some degree restored, the Junta entered with alacrity upon their arduous duties. They raised a loan, and imposed new taxes, as the exigencies of the time required; among others a duty of four _mil reis_ upon every pipe of wine which was exported. Two deputies were sent to England; and an alliance was concluded with the Supreme Junta of Galicia, the nearest of the newly constituted authorities in Spain; Galicia engaging first to assist in liberating Portugal, and Portugal promising, ♦NEVES, III. 199.♦ after her own deliverance should be accomplished, to co-operate in expelling the French from every part of the Peninsula. Wild as this promise appeared to the French, and to those shallow statesmen by whom the French were regarded as invincible, and the power of Buonaparte not to be resisted, it was faithfully performed by the Portugueze, and fulfilled to the letter of the bond. The Junta of Porto had another object to accomplish, more difficult, and at that time not less important, than an alliance with Spain. Other Juntas were now springing up in the north of Portugal at the first hope of deliverance, and unless these were induced to acknowledge that at Porto as supreme, all plans of defence would be frustrated by the jealousy of contending authorities. One had been formed ♦ITS AUTHORITY IS ACKNOWLEDGED THROUGHOUT THE NORTH OF PORTUGAL.♦ at Viana on the same day; others at Torre de Moncorvo, Miranda, and other places of less note; all these submitted readily to the superiority which was claimed. Braganza was not so willing to resign its pretensions. The intrusive government had not been re-established in that city, notwithstanding the efforts of its adherents, and the apparent assent of General Sepulveda. Their penitent letters to the French ministry were stopped at Villa Real, where the people proclaimed their lawful Prince; and when the Braganzans, upon tidings of the second insurrection at Porto, formed a Junta, and required obedience to its edicts, its authority was disowned there. Sepulveda was so offended at this, that he sent Brigadier Manoel Pinto Bacellar to arrest Francisco da Silveira Pinto da Fonseca, then a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, who had taken the lead at Villa Real. Bacellar acted with more prudence than the general who sent him, and endeavoured by amicable means to bring about a good understanding; and Silveira, disregarding the orders of one who had so far been found wanting, that he had at least professed submission to the French after having once thrown off their yoke, crossed the Douro, to spread the revolution in the province of Beira. Sepulveda found as little obedience in Torre de Moncorvo and some other Juntas in that district, when he issued a circular order requiring that every town which was entitled to a voice in the Cortes should send a deputy to assist at the provincial Junta of Tras os Montes, the title which that of Braganza had assumed. Opposed in their pretensions on that side, after contesting the authority of the Porto Junta, concluding a treaty with it, and then again disputing with it, and arraigning its measures, the Junta of Braganza ended at length in ♦NEVES, III. 151–162. 180–185.♦ obeying the advice of the Bishop of Porto, which was repeated in strong terms by Sepulveda, and dissolving itself.

♦THE INSURRECTION EXTENDS TOWARDS COIMBRA.♦

The whole of Tras os Montes and of the province between the rivers had now declared against the intrusive government, and acknowledged the Junta of Porto. The same spirit was spreading in Beira. Aveiro declared itself, and a plan was formed for surprising the French in Coimbra, an undertaking of more importance than danger. The details are curious, as showing the disposition of the people, the insignificance of their means, and the disorderly manner of their proceedings. A patrole of armed peasants had been sent out from Porto upon the Coimbra road, to obtain intelligence of the enemy, concerning whom nothing certain was known. Dr. José Bernardo de Azevedo, of the order of Avis, hearing upon what service these persons had been sent, represented to the Junta how little likely it was that such a set of men should act with discretion; upon the first news of the enemy they would hurry back without ascertaining their numbers, position, and probable movements; or if they ventured to approach them, would most probably fall into their hands. He ♦JUNE 22.♦ offered to obtain the desired information himself, knowing the country well, and accordingly laying aside his habit, set off with one servant on horseback. When he arrived at Oliveira de Azemeis, he met the greater part of the patrole on their return in triumph; they had failed to arrest the Juiz as they intended, but they had caught a lawyer, and were dragging him to Porto as a suspected person. They had however sent four of their party forward on the Coimbra road, in pursuance of their original object, and José Bernardo proceeding on his journey, overtook them at Mealhada, a village about twelve miles from Coimbra. Exulting that they had advanced so far without meeting the French, and encouraged by what they heard from the people of Mealhada, that the enemy had only a handful of men in Coimbra, and most of them invalided, they resolved to fall upon them, by surprise if possible, that very day. A reformed colonel of militia at Ois undertook to bring thirty armed ♦NEVES, III. 200–205.♦ men; the people of Mealhada volunteered their services, and the two parties were to meet at Carquejo, half way on their march.

♦SCHEME FOR SURPRISING THE ENEMY IN COIMBRA.♦

When the men of Mealhada began to prepare for their expedition, there were some whose hearts failed them, and the contagion spread. José Bernardo, however, by reproaching and threatening some, encouraging and praising others, with the seasonable administration of fruit and wine, and the zealous help of a serjeant of the _Ordenança_, mustered some thirty peasants, with about twenty muskets, the rest were armed with pikes and sickles and other such instruments; and when they set off many of the others followed, ashamed to be left behind. The party from Ois not having arrived when they reached Carquejo, José Bernardo ordered his people to halt for them there, and suffer no person to pass toward Coimbra, while he and two others went on to reconnoitre and form the plan of attack. He found no difficulty in entering the city and obtaining all the information he desired. The French soldiers in Coimbra did not amount to an hundred men, and of these not more than forty were capable of service. There was a rumour that 1200 Spaniards were on the way against them. This the inhabitants were more likely to believe than the French, who, relying upon their Emperor’s fortune, the terror of the French name, and the submission of the Portugueze, were living to all appearance in full confidence of security. Satisfied with this intelligence, and without venturing to concert any co-operation in the city, José Bernardo returned as far as the Bridge of Agua de Maias, and sent to hasten the march of his motley volunteers.

♦THE FRENCH IN THAT CITY ARE MADE PRISONERS.♦

When they were not far from this bridge, they were seen by a patrole of four horsemen, two French and two Portugueze, who clapped spurs to their horses, in order to cross the bridge before them and give the alarm. The insurgents, however, equally on the alert, got between them and the bridge, and addressed them with the _quem vive_? Napoleon, was the answer, and two pistols were fired upon them without effect. A general discharge was returned, which killed two of the patrole and mortally wounded another. The fourth, who escaped unhurt, was a Portugueze; he threw himself off his horse, cried out, _Viva o Principe de Portugal!_ and joined his countrymen. The wounded man was a Frenchman: the insurgents, with a humanity not to have been expected at such a moment, left one of their number to assist him, and he was afterwards removed into the city, and there humanely and carefully attended; but to his latest breath he reviled the Portugueze, and the last hope which he expressed was, that ample vengeance would be taken for his blood. The French guard at the gate of S. Sophia hearing the guns, and seeing a number of men approach, fired among them, and fled to their quarters in the College of S. Thomas. The Portugueze followed close: they were fired upon from the windows without effect, for the French were too sensible of their own weakness to make any regular defence; the doors were forced, and they quietly laid down their arms, and suffered themselves to be bound, ♦NEVES, III. 207–212.♦ happy to receive no worse treatment from such an assemblage, ... for by this time the whole rabble of Coimbra had collected.

♦THE JUIZ DO POVO TAKES THE COMMAND.♦

Having thus easily succeeded, the first thought of José Bernardo and his comrades was to obtain the sanction and assistance of some legal authority for their future proceedings. The courage, and perhaps the disposition, of the magistrates was doubted; but the _Juiz do Povo_ was an officer whom tumultuous times had heretofore forced into importance, and the _Juiz do Povo_ was now called for. José Pedro de Jesus, a cooper by trade, who held the office, happened to possess a rare union of upright character, activity, and good sense. He came forward, assumed a power which was willingly recognized, and exercised it in a manner which at once gratified the populace and satisfied the wishes of cooler minds. First he lodged the French safely in prison, then distributed among the people the arms of those cavalry regiments belonging to the northern provinces, which Junot had disbanded. In the depôt with these weapons a flag was found with the royal arms. It was carried in triumph through the streets, while the exulting people hastened to uncover the shield of Portugal upon the public buildings. The bells from all the colleges and convents and churches of that populous city pealed in with the acclamations of the people, and heightened the excitement and agitation of their spirits. Bonfires were kindled, as in old times, in defiance of Junot’s prohibition: the night of St. John’s had always been a festival in Coimbra, but never before had it been celebrated with such uproar and overflowing joy. Some barks on the river, laden with provisions for the French in Figueira, were seized during the night; and in the morning it was deemed prudent to march off the prisoners to Porto, under a strong escort, lest the magistracy, in their fear, ♦NEVES, III. 214–217.♦ should release them, and again reduce the city to submission.

♦ORDER RESTORED IN COIMBRA.♦

This apprehension, however, was ill founded. The _Juiz de fora_ came forward to act in the national cause; the students and lecturers formed themselves into an academical corps; and the Vice-Rector of the university, Manoel Paes de Aragam Trigoso, took upon himself the civil authority, in compliance with the wish of the inhabitants. They would have vested the military command in General Bernardim Freire de Andrade, whom the Prince, before his departure for Brazil, had appointed to the command at Porto. Not choosing to exercise it under the intrusive government, he was living privately at Coimbra; but being now summoned by the Bishop and Junta of Porto to his proper station, he declined for that reason the present nomination. The people next thought of D. Miguel Pereira Forjas, but he chose rather to follow Bernardim as his quarter-master general. They then chose Bernardim’s brother, Nuno Freire de Andrade, making him, however, subordinate to Trigoso. The men who thus accepted offices of authority discharged a most perilous duty to their country. They were not, like their countrymen in Tras os Montes and between the rivers, secured in some degree by distance from the French, and within reach of assistance from Spain, or, if need were, of an asylum in that kingdom. Nor would Coimbra be like some of the smaller towns, overlooked as unworthy of vengeance. Next to the capital itself there was no place in Portugal where a terrible example would so deeply impress and intimidate the nation: it was within easy reach of the enemy, from Almeida as well as from Lisbon, and all military means of defence were ♦NEVES, III. 219–223.♦ wanting: a few pounds of powder were all that could be found in the city, and not one piece of cannon.

♦PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE.♦

On the other hand, more talents and enterprise, such as the times required, might reasonably be expected in Coimbra than in any other of the Portugueze towns. It was a populous and flourishing university, the only one in the kingdom: here therefore the flower of the Portugueze youth would be found, just at that age when they would be most willing and fit for service; and of that rank, and in that place, where national and generous feelings would have their strongest influence. If any where heads to plan and hands to execute might be found, it would be here. Accordingly no exertions were wanting. Chemists made gunpowder, geometricians directed works of defence, old soldiers were employed, some in making cartridges, others in training volunteers; mechanics were ♦NEVES, III. 223–225.♦ set to work in whatever manner they might be most useful; bridges were broken down, roads broken up, means made ready for defending the streets, if the enemy should enter the city, and a strict police established.

♦SUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION AGAINST FIGUEIRA.♦

When one day had been passed in these arrangements and preparations an expedition was planned against Figueira da Foz, a small town and fort at the mouth of the Mondego, on the right bank, seven leagues from Coimbra. The French had a garrison of an hundred men there. Forty volunteers, who were almost all students, under the command of Bernardo Antonio Zagalo, ♦JUNE 25.♦ a student also, set out at evening, in hope of capturing this important point: they relied upon increasing their numbers on the way, and they took with them authority from the governor to raise the country as they went. Zagalo, with four horsemen, took the right bank, the rest of the party the left: they met at Montemor o Velho, and marching all night, appeared with the reinforcements which they had gathered, now some 3000 in number, before Figueira, at seven in the morning. The enemy were taken by surprise; they were dispersed about the town, when they saw this multitude approach; but immediately retiring into the fort, they prepared for defence. The place might have been easily defended against a crowd of peasants, more of whom were armed with pikes and reaping-hooks than with fowling-pieces, and who were likely, upon the slightest loss or disgust, to abandon their enterprise as precipitately as they had engaged in it. But the French, relying too confidently upon the submission of the Portugueze, had neglected to store the fort with provisions; and Zagalo summoned them, saying he knew they had not food for more than four-and-twenty hours, and that if they did not surrender they should all be put to the sword. Contrary to his usual policy, Junot had given the command of this fort to a Portugueze lieutenant of engineers; this person demurred at surrendering, because his family were at Peniche, in the power of the French. But, wanting either the will or the ability to exert himself in the enemy’s service, he remained inactive and confounded, till the following day, when Zagalo received positive orders from Coimbra to return immediately with all his people. This enabled the commander to obtain terms which might be pleaded to save his credit; and he capitulated on condition that the garrison should be allowed to cross the river with their arms and knapsacks, but without powder and ball; and to march unmolested to Peniche, the nearest strong place in possession of the French. Upon these terms the fort was given up; but the peasantry searched the men when they were embarking, and finding that some of them had concealed a few cartridges, declared that the conditions were broken: they themselves were desirous of breaking them, and therefore gladly found this pretext; and the ♦NEVES, III. 226–233.♦ French would have been massacred if the students had not exerted themselves to protect them, and lodged them safely as prisoners at Coimbra.

♦LOISON ORDERED TO MARCH FROM ALMEIDA TO PORTO.♦

A report of Loison’s sudden approach had occasioned the order for recalling Zagalo. General Count Loison had been sent in the latter end of May, with 4000 troops, to Almeida, in pursuance of positive and repeated instructions from Murat when exercising the command in Madrid. He was to concert his movements with Bessieres, and, if necessary, to join him; he was to observe Salamanca, and secure Ciudad Rodrigo, if that were practicable. But the Spaniards were too much awakened to be again deceived or surprised by the French; and Loison having remained at Almeida from the 5th of June till the 16th, received orders from Junot to march upon Porto, take the command in that city, and keep the northern provinces in subjection. He had previously got possession of Fort Conceiçam. Each party seems at this time to have been strangely ignorant of the movements and means of the other: Loison apprehended that an enemy’s force might render it impossible for the French to maintain this fort; he therefore directed General Charlot, whom he left with the command at Almeida, to remove thither the guns from Conceiçam, keep it as long as he could, and destroy the works if he should be forced to evacuate ♦JUNE 17.♦ it. He then began his march with two regiments of light infantry, fifty dragoons, and six pieces of ♦THIEBAULT, 148–150.♦ artillery. A battalion of light infantry was to set out from Torres Vedras, and reach Porto at the same time.

On the fourth day he reached Lamego without the slightest resistance, and on the following morning crossed the Douro by the ferry at Regoa, and reached Mezam-frio, meaning to sleep there. ♦HE TURNS BACK FROM MEZAM-FRIO.♦ His advanced guard was on the way to Amarante, which is only forty miles from Porto, when news was brought him while he was at dinner that the mountaineers were defending the pass at Os Padroens da Teixeira; and presently a second ill messenger arrived with intelligence that his baggage was attacked at Regoa. These operations had been ably planned by Silveira, and were well executed. In so strong a country he deemed it better to turn back than to proceed at the risk of being surrounded by an armed population. An ambuscade among the vineyards at Santinho annoyed him greatly on his way toward the Douro, and he himself was slightly hurt. The Portugueze, when they were dislodged, retreated to the heights; the French took up a position for the night, and in the morning sacked the villages of Pezo and Regoa, where neither age, nor infirmity, nor sex, nor childhood, were spared by them; for Loison was one of those men after Buonaparte’s own heart, who, being equally devoid of honour and humanity, carried on war in the worst spirit of the worst ages, plundering and massacring without shame and without remorse. He now understood that Porto, which he had expected to find discontented indeed, but passive and in subjection, had thrown off the yoke; that a Portugueze officer, with whom he maintained a secret correspondence, had been fain to abscond from that city; that the disbanded soldiers had reassembled; and that the insurgent peasantry, in such numbers as to be truly formidable, were moving ♦THE PEASANTRY HARASS HIS RETREAT.♦ against him from all parts of the two northern provinces. The news of his retreat was presently known throughout the whole country between the Tua and the Cavado; expresses and telegraphs could not have communicated it more rapidly than it was spread by the voluntary bearers of good tidings. One column came from Villa Real, one from Amarante, a third from Guimaraens; a motlier assemblage had never taken the field; ... the commonest weapons were pikes and long poles armed with reaping-hooks at the end; and there were as many abbots, monks, friars, and parochial clergy in command, as officers. The three columns united at Regoa, too late to impede or molest the French in their passage of the river. The enemy halted for part of the night at Lamego, and resumed their retreat at two in the morning. The Portugueze came up with them that day at Juvantes, and harassed them during three days. The total want of discipline, order, and authority, rendered their great superiority of numbers unavailing; and after they had reached Castro d’Airo, dispersing as irregularly as they had collected, they gave up the pursuit, less in consequence of the loss which they sustained in a few brisk encounters, ♦NEVES, III. 235–248. THIEBAULT, 150–1.♦ than because they were too numerous to find sustenance, and every man was eager to report the retreat of the enemy and the share he had borne in the success. F. José Joaquim de Assumpçam, a friar of orders gray, distinguished himself in this expedition, by his activity, his strength, and his unerring aim.

♦HE GOES TO VISEU.♦

The loss on either side, in this pursuit, appears not to have been great; the pursuers were too disorderly and too ill armed to make any serious impression upon the enemy, and the French were not strong enough to act upon the offensive with effect. They lost two pieces of artillery, and some of their ammunition and baggage; and a few rich uniforms which fell into the hands of the Portugueze were suspended as trophies in the churches of N. Senhora da Oliveira at Guimaraens, and of S. Gonçalo de Amarante, in the town which was under his peculiar patronage. Being freed from his pursuers, Loison, sending part of his force by the road of Moimenta da Beira, which was the shorter but rougher line to Almeida, took himself the way of Viseu. This ♦ALARM AT COIMBRA IN CONSEQUENCE OF HIS MOVEMENTS.♦ was the movement which alarmed the people at Coimbra, and induced them to recall Zagalo from Figueira. It was not improbable that his intention was to march upon that important city, and there place himself in communication with Lisbon: his own judgement would dispose him ♦THIEBAULT, 152.♦ to this, and indeed no fewer than five-and-twenty dispatches, instructing him so to do, had been sent, not one of which had reached him. But he had received an exaggerated report of the proceedings in Coimbra, brought by some partizans of the French, who had fled to save their lives, on the night of the insurrection, when their houses were broken open, during the suspension of all order and authority. Their testimony concerning the temper and unanimity of the inhabitants could not be doubted; it was ♦NEVES, III. 217.♦ added, that they were busy in constructing formidable works of defence, and that an auxiliary force of 12,000 Spaniards was expected there. Such strange events were now every day occurring, that nothing seemed too extraordinary to be believed; and Loison, it is thought, in consequence of these rumours, judged it best ♦HE RETURNS TO ALMEIDA.♦ to change his purpose, and return to Almeida. The Portugueze general who commanded in Beira resided at Viseu; upon the approach of the French he summoned the magistrates and members of the _Camara_, and they determined not to oppose a premature and unavailing resistance. Loison, though notorious for rapacity, in the most rapacious army that ever disgraced its profession and its country, was at this time sensible how desirable it was, if possible, to obtain a character for moderation and equity. He encamped his troops for the night without the city, in the open space where the fairs were held, took up his own lodging in the general’s house, and on his departure the next day, paid for every thing with which the men had been supplied. He also released three or four prisoners, who, in the late skirmishes, had fallen into his hands. At Celorico, where an insurrectionary movement had commenced, it was suspended by the prudence of the magistrates and the just fears of the people, till the enemy had passed by. The peasantry of the adjacent country were less cautious; they appeared in arms upon the heights, and Loison therefore sent two companies to burn the village of Souropires. Being now within easy reach of Almeida, and knowing that the country about Trancoso and Guarda was in a state of insurrection, his intention was to employ ♦THIEBAULT, 152.♦ himself in reducing it to submission; but here the only one of the numerous dispatches from Lisbon which reached its destination found him, and, in pursuance of its orders to draw nearer the capital, he hastened to Almeida, to make the ♦NEVES, III. 249–253.♦ necessary arrangements for his march. On the way he began to sack the city of Pinhel, which the inhabitants had deserted at his coming; but upon the tidings that a corps from Tras os Montes had arrived at Trancoso, and that Viseu was now in arms, he hastened forward, and on the 1st of July re-entered Almeida.

♦Insurrection at Olham.♦

When Loison, upon the first apprehension of danger, was sent to occupy Porto, General Avril was instructed, at the same time, to take possession of Estremoz and Evora, for the purpose of holding Alem-Tejo in subjection, and to give orders for securing Algarve. General Maurin commanded for the French in this kingdom, as it is designated, the smallest but richest province in Portugal: owing to his illness the command had devolved upon Col. Maransin, who received instructions to occupy Mertola as well as Alcoutim, for guarding the Guadiana against the Spaniards; and to protect the coast from Faro, the greatest port in that province, to Villa Real, the frontier town, at the mouth of the river. Maransin, however, was not left at leisure to do this. Junot’s proclamation, announcing the seizure of the Spanish troops, expressing his satisfaction with the Portugueze for their peaceable deportment, and promising to instruct them in the art of war, had been fixed upon the church door at Olham, a small fishing village about four miles from the city of Faro. The governor of Villa Real, Col. José Lopes de Sousa, happening to be in that village on the day of the Corpo de Deos, as he was going into the church stopped to see what the people were reading. The language of that proclamation proved how little Junot understood the character of the nation to which it was addressed; it wounded that high sense of national honour for which the Portugueze are remarkable, and Lopes, giving way to an honourable feeling of indignation, tore the paper down, and trampled upon it; then turning to the bystanders, exclaimed, “Ah, Portugueze, we no longer deserve that name ... we are nothing now!” But they answered, that they were still Portugueze, and swore that they were ready to lay down their lives for their religion, their Prince, and their country. Though the impulse had thus been given, and the determination of the parties formed, they did not neglect the religious duties of the day, but entered the church peaceably, and attended mass. That done, they proclaimed the Queen and Prince Regent in the porch, and called upon Lopes to be their general. He without delay prepared an address to the people, and sent for two pieces of artillery and some powder from an island at the bar of Armona, and from Fort Lorenzo on the bar of Faro. These were secured before the French in Faro could hear of the projected insurrection. Two agents also went off to the English squadron; the means which were at the commandant’s disposal had probably been all disposed of to the Spaniards; they proceeded therefore to Ayamonte, and performed their errand with such good speed, that on the following night they returned to ♦NEVES, III. 270–275.♦ Olham with 130 muskets from the Junta of that city.

♦SUCCESS OF THE INSURGENTS.♦

The greater part of Maransin’s force was stationed at Mertola, the rest was at Tavira and Villa Real, except 200 men at Faro. But before the news reached Faro a larger body of fishermen and peasantry had collected than 200 men could with any prudence have attacked. The French therefore sent for reinforcements from Villa Real and Tavira. From the latter place fourscore men embarked for Faro in three caics. The fishermen of Olham, confident in their skill upon the water, set out to intercept them under Captain Sebastiam Martins Mestre, one of those persons who had opened a communication with the English fleet and with Ayamonte. So little were the French prepared for such an encounter, that they surrendered without resistance, and thus the insurgents obtained a seasonable supply of arms. They were not long allowed to enjoy their victory; about 200 French arrived from Villa Real to assist their countrymen at Faro, and they marched against Olham. The Portugueze met them half way, and disposed an ambuscade to receive them: their own eagerness prevented its success; but they behaved so well in a skirmish which ensued, that the enemy thought it not prudent to advance. This was the third day of the insurrection, and the people of Faro had as yet made no manifestation in its ♦THE CHAMBER OF FARO ISSUE AN EDICT AGAINST THEM.♦ favour. The chamber of that city had, on the contrary, issued an edict against the insurgents, for what it denominated a riotous and scandalous attempt against the security of the nation, saying that their conduct would brand the Portugueze with the infamous stain of ingratitude, and warning them against the severe punishment which awaited them if they persisted in their frantic and desperate attempt. This edict was posted up in Olham; and it so evidently affected the people, in whom great excitement and fatigue had now produced proportionate exhaustion, that ♦NEVES, III. 275–281. OBSERVADOR PORTUGUEZ, 332, 333.♦ Lopes and Mestre, who had been hurt in the skirmish, thought it prudent to carry their prisoners to Spain, and go themselves to solicit aid from the Juntas at Ayamonte and at Seville.

♦INSURRECTION AT FARO.♦

Maransin, not aware of their departure, and anxious to lose no time in suppressing a spirit the consequences of which he had so much reason to dread, sent out three pieces of cannon to his detachment, and for want of French troops, a party of fifty Portugueze artillerymen, under Lieutenant Belchior Drago, an officer much more inclined to act against the enemies of his country than with them. Meantime the commander of the French, having learnt that the people of Olham were wavering, succeeded in obtaining a conference with some of them, and proposed terms. He promised them a free pardon, if they would return to their obedience; said that they should be protected in their fishery, and that even Lopes himself should be no otherwise punished than by forbidding him to appear in that place. The persons to whom these conditions were propounded listened to them willingly, and expressed an opinion that the people would probably assent, if the Portugueze authorities in Faro gave their sanction to the proposals. Some of the magistrates accordingly went to conclude this agreement with the Prior of Olham, a zealous Portugueze, to whom, in the absence of Lopes and Mestre, the insurgents looked as their proper counsellor and ruler. But at this moment, when the French by mere authority had nearly quelled the insurrection, the spell was broken, and they were made sensible that they had relied too confidently upon the terror of their name. A few Faro-men met in the shop of one Bento Alvares da Silva Canedo, and determined, while the French troops were absent, to raise the city against them. They hired a fellow for a few moidores to give the signal, by chiming the bells of the Carmo church at a certain hour, in the manner usual in that country when prayers are solicited for a woman in labour. They who had concerted the scheme sallied into the streets, and proclaimed their native Prince; the populace gathered together at that welcome acclamation; a colonel of artillery joined them, and sent advice to Belchior Drago, who immediately returned to the city with his detachment; two of his brothers, both in the Portugueze service, appeared in the same cause, and the rest of the native troops without hesitation ♦THE FRENCH EXCLUDED FROM THAT CITY.♦ did the same. The French, when they would have re-entered the city to restore order, found cannon planted against them by men who knew how to use them; and, being repulsed in two attempts, retreated towards Tavira. Their magazines, their military chest, and all their papers, were taken[14], General Maurin, sick in bed, was necessarily left to his fate; and the populace would have killed him in their first use and abuse of power, if some humaner spirits had not interfered to preserve him. The Bishop also exerted ♦OBSERVADOR PORTUGUEZ, 333–335.♦ himself to prevent this inhumanity, and had him ♦NEVES, III. 282–289.♦ transferred to the episcopal palace for security.

♦A JUNTA FORMED AT FARO.♦

On the following morning an assembly of the people was held in the Alto da Esperança. The magistrates, the Bishop and his chapter, the clergy, the monks and friars, (who had all taken arms), the troops and the nobles, met and solemnly proclaimed their lawful Prince; the _Quinas_ were hoisted, and an oath was taken that they would each to the last drop of his blood defend the rights of the house of Braganza. Circular letters were dispatched to all the towns and villages in Algarve. The next day some instances of insubordination, and the reasonable apprehension of an attack, induced one of the canons to propose, and the people to consent, to the appointment of a Junta. The Chamber nominated seven electors for the nobles, and as many for the people, the chapter seven for the clergy, and the army seven for themselves. By these electors eight members were chosen, two for each of the four orders, and the Conde de Castro-Marim was appointed president. This nobleman had been governor and captain-general of Algarve at the time of the invasion; under the intrusive government he resided as a private individual at Tavira, and the popular desire of re-establishing the order of things to which they had been accustomed, was shown in nominating him to the presidency, as it was indeed in all the circumstances of the insurrection throughout ♦THE INSURRECTION SPREADS THROUGH ALGARVE.♦ Portugal. Emissaries were now sent to the east and west: in the west there were no enemies, and within eight-and-forty hours the acclamation was effected in Loule, Sylves, Lagos, at the fort of Sagres, and in the little towns to the north of Cape St. Vincent. From the east there was reason to apprehend an attack; the enemy, who had been compelled to retire from Faro, had retreated to Tavira, and had been joined there by a detachment from Mertola. But the English squadron was in sight; and the French commander, knowing how inadequate his whole force was to the dangers which menaced it, knew also that Algarve might, with little inconvenience, be left to itself, and that his business was to place himself in communication with the ♦THE FRENCH RETREAT TO MERTOLA.♦ troops in Alem-Tejo. He therefore withdrew to Mertola, and the people of Tavira, rising as soon as the enemy retired, harassed them on the way. Juntas, subordinate to that of Faro, were now formed in Tavira, and in other smaller places; a red riband upon the right arm was assumed as the badge of patriotism, and they who ventured to appear without it were in no small danger from the people; but though many persons were insulted and menaced, and some imprisoned as partizans of the French, the better orders exerted their influence with such effect, that no blood was shed. Preparations were made for defending the passes of the mountains which divide Algarve from Alem-Tejo; and accredited agents were sent to Ayamonte, Seville, and Gibraltar. Arms were without delay supplied from all these places, and from Gibraltar a considerable quantity of ammunition. A circumstance, however, occurred, which seemed likely at first to occasion a misunderstanding with the Spaniards; for the Portugueze, upon the retreat of the French, having thrown up some works at Castro-Marim, the Spaniards crossed the river and destroyed them. This measure, so rash, and in appearance so hostile, was occasioned by an apprehension that the French might return there, which they had made a demonstration of doing before they ♦THE PEOPLE OF ALGARVE FORM A TREATY WITH SEVILLE.♦ abandoned Tavira. It was soon explained, when each people had so strong an interest in being upon the best terms with each other, and a formal ♦NEVES, III. 290–303.♦ treaty was concluded with the Junta of Seville.

Before the insurrection in Algarve had succeeded, and even before it was known beyond the mountains, the same national feeling had ♦INSURRECTION AT VILLA-VIÇOSA.♦ manifested itself in Alem-Tejo at Villa-Viçosa, the place of all others where the national and loyal feelings of a Portugueze would be most elevated by local associations, having been the residence of the Braganzan family during the Spanish usurpation. Early in the month the inhabitants had been exasperated by the passage of a French escort through the town, with the contributions that had been levied in that _Comarca_ and the plate of the churches. They were farther irritated by an order for the militia to repair to Elvas at a time when Kellermann hoped to employ them against the Spaniards at Badajoz. But Elvas, where the main body of the French in Alem-Tejo were stationed, was only four leagues distant; there was a strong detachment still nearer, at Estremoz, and a French company was quartered among them, in the castle: they knew not that any movement for the recovery of their country’s independence had been made; nor, owing to their peculiar situation, were there any people in Portugal by whom it could be made with so little hope or possibility of success. Thus they had borne oppression, and might have continued to bear it, if their oppressors, in the wantonness of power, had not added insult to wrong. There was an image of N. Senhora dos Remedios, which, after having by a supernatural declaration of its own pleasure, changed its name, ♦SANTUARIO MARIANO, T. VII. 571, 579.♦ made sundry voyages to and from India, and travelled from one place to another in Portugal during more than fourscore years, had at length obtained a settlement at Villa-Viçosa, in a chapel of its own, where, being in high odour for its miraculous powers, it was visited with peculiar devotion on its own holyday, the 19th of June, by the people of that town, and the adjacent country. The history of this idol might excite a mournful smile for human weakness, not without indignation at the systematic frauds which have been practised upon a religious people. The French were too irreligious to see any thing in it but matter of mockery; and some of the soldiers, placing themselves in a gateway near the chapel, amused themselves with deriding the Portugueze, who were going there to worship, in ignorance indeed, and in delusion, but in simplicity and sincerity of heart. Some of the peasants resented this insult by manual force; more Frenchmen came to help their comrades, more Portugueze to support their countrymen; the scuffle became serious, for life or death, ... the bell of the _Camara_ was rung, the ♦NEVES, III. 305–309.♦ French retired into the Castle, and succeeded in closing the gate, which had been so well secured with iron in old times, that the people were neither able to break it open, nor to hew it in pieces. This was towards evening, and the riot continued all night.

♦THE FRENCH ENTER THE TOWN.♦

The town was now in open insurrection. Messengers set off to solicit succour from Badajoz, and General Francisco de Paula Leite, who had lately governed the province, was called upon to take the command, which he absolutely refused, knowing that this tumult must inevitably end in the destruction of those who engaged in it. Antonio Lobo Infante de Lacerda, an old officer, and then Sargento-Mor of the militia, regarding consequences less, set his life fairly upon the die; he took the lead, and stationed marksmen upon the top of the Conceiçam church, and in other points which commanded the Castle. Owing to these dispositions several of the French fell. Meantime the news reached Estremoz, where Kellermann and Avril both happened to be: fifty dragoons, with half a battalion of infantry, and two pieces of cannon, were immediately dispatched to rescue their fellows. A poor countryman, by name Ignacio da Silva, was in Estremoz at the time; seeing their movements, he easily divined their intention; good will gave him good speed, and running the ten miles, he brought intelligence of their march to Villa-Viçosa in time for Antonio Lobo to make preparations for receiving them. He stationed some forty men, all for whom fire-arms could be found, upon the walls, and towers, and houses, at the entrance from the Borba road; the enemy, informed of, or divining this design, took another entrance. The way was soon cleared by their field-pieces. General Avril and Colonel Lacroix entered the town in pursuit of the routed multitude, the bayonet was used, with little mercy or discrimination, 200 persons were killed in the ♦OBSERVADOR PORTUGUEZ, 335.♦ streets, many more in the country, twelve prisoners ♦NEVES, III. 309–315.♦ were put to death as ringleaders in what the French called rebellion, and the place was given up to pillage for one hour.

♦LOBO GETS POSSESSION OF JURUMENHA.♦

The messengers from this unfortunate town had been joyfully received at Badajoz; and Moretti, the officer who had performed the perilous service of conferring with General Carraffa in Lisbon, was dispatched with a corps of Portugueze refugees which had been formed under protection of the Spanish fortress. They had arrived at Olivença on their way, when Antonio Lobo arrived there also, escaping with about a score companions from the carnage. Instead of returning with ill news, as a man of ordinary spirit would have done, Moretti inquired whether some useful enterprise might not be attempted; and they determined upon getting possession of Jurumenha, knowing how important it was that the Portugueze loyalists should possess a place within their own border, which had the name of being fortified, when the French were in no condition to attack it. It was occupied by a Portugueze garrison, but the governor partook so little in the honourable feelings of his nation, that he had that day seized some fugitives from Villa-Viçosa, and sent them prisoners to Elvas, requesting at the same time a French garrison for his security and that of the place. He understood the temper of his own people; but Moretti and Lobo knew it also, and calculated upon it. Sixteen Portugueze, concealing their arms, entered as if upon ordinary business; eight proceeded to seize the governor, the others took their station in the gates, and admitted their party just in time to point the artillery of the place against the French, who had been ordered from Elvas to occupy it without delay. Moretti now obtained farther assistance from Badajoz, and discretionary powers: on the other hand, Kellermann sent a second party to recover Jurumenha; but supposing the force which defended it to be much stronger than in reality it was, they returned without venturing to attack it. This greatly encouraged the Portugueze, and more than counterbalanced the effect of their slaughter at Villa-Viçosa. Emissaries and proclamations were sent from hence throughout ♦NEVES, III. 316–320.♦ the province; and the people, exaggerating the importance of the place, looked to it with confidence as a strong point of support in their own country.

♦A FRENCH DETACHMENT SENT FROM MERTOLA TO BEJA.♦

The news from Algarve, spreading at the same time, elevated their spirits; and the state of the country soon became such, that the French couriers were every where intercepted. Colonel Maransin, with his troops, had now effected his retreat to Mertola, from whence, for the purpose of restoring a communication with Estremoz and with Lisbon, he sent a detachment of 100 foot and thirty dragoons to Beja. That city was originally a settlement of the Kelts, possessed next by the Carthaginians, afterwards the Pax Julia of the Romans, a Moorish corruption of which name has been euphonized to its present form. It was taken from the Moors by the first king of Portugal, restored from its ruins and fortified in the thirteenth century by Affonso III. and beautified by his son, King Diniz, with his characteristic magnificence, of which the walls with their forty towers, and the fine castle, bore testimony in their ruins. Here, as in all the other cities of Alem-Tejo, there was a melancholy air of decay, less owing to the long and destructive struggle with Spain, in which that province had been the great scene of action, than to the peculiar circumstances which depressed its agriculture, and that inhuman persecution of the New-Christians, by which the largest part of the commercial capital in Portugal had either been annihilated by confiscations, or driven out of the kingdom. Still, however, it contained some ten or twelve thousand inhabitants, and was a place of considerable importance in that thinly peopled province. It stood on the highest part of an elevated and extensive plain, conspicuous from a distance, and commanding a wide prospect on all sides, the heights of Palmella and even of Cintra being distinctly visible. The immediate country, where it is cultivated, is fertile, and the situation in high repute for its salubrity. Eventful as the history of Beja had been, it was now to undergo as severe a calamity as any with which it had been visited in the unhappiest ages of Spain.

♦JUNE 23.

THE PEOPLE RISE AGAINST THEM.♦

The French detachment entered the city without opposition, passed the night there, and on the next day ordered quarters and provisions to be made ready for the whole body of troops in Mertola, who, they said, were about to follow them. Their demand was received in such a manner by the people of Beja, who were now acquainted not only with the state of Spain, but with the nearer events in Algarve and at Jurumenha, that the French deemed it prudent to march out, and take a position in the open country, not far from the walls. This encouraged the populace; and, like all mobs, becoming cruel as they felt themselves strong, they murdered two soldiers whom the French indiscreetly sent into the city for provisions. Ignorant of their fate, the commander supposed they had been imprisoned, and threatened, if they were not immediately set free, to release them by force. The people then riotously demanded arms, that they might rush out and attack the enemy. The magistrates remonstrated with them in vain, and on the following ♦JUNE 25.♦ morning the Corregidor, finding that farther delay would only endanger his own life, distributed among them such weapons as could be collected, and taking the safest course for himself, set off to solicit aid from the Junta of Ayamonte, the nearest authority by which it could be supplied. The Provedor and the Juiz de Fora thought it their duty to avert, if possible, the immediate danger: they went out to the French, entreated them not to attack the town, and promised them supplies; the enemy were easily entreated, because they were not strong enough in reality for any such attempt: the magistrates then endeavoured to make the people ratify what they had undertaken for them; all reasoning was in vain, and to save their own lives they left the city. But here also private malice availed itself of public troubles to effect its own ends; a messenger recalled them, upon the plea that they were wanted to give orders for collecting provisions, in fulfilment of their agreement; for the Corregidor having departed, there was no person to take upon himself that business. Deceived ♦NEVES, III. 323–327.♦ by this treacherous message, they returned, and were butchered by a ferocious mob, who knew not that they were made the brutal instruments of individual revenge.

♦BEJA SACKED BY THE FRENCH, AND SET ON FIRE.♦