HERCULANO de CARVALHO E ARAUJO, ALEXANDRE. - Writer, poet, literary critic and the greatest Portuguese historian, b. in Lisbon on 28 March 1810, d. at Vale de Lobos (Santarem) on 13 Sept. 1877. Forced into exile by the temporary triumph of D. Miguel, he became acquainted with the currents of thought that were gaining ground in other European countries.
He was among the initiators of the Romantic movement in Portugal, to which he introduced the historical novel. His writings, the struggle he waged against the stipulation of the Concordat between Portugal and the Holy See (1857) and against foreign religious orders, his denial of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and of papal infallibility, led to violent polemics with the clergy and the placing of his *Estudos sobre o casamento civil* on the Index (17 Dec. 1866).
H. undertook the publication of the *Portugaliae Mon. Hist.* and of a monumental *Historia do Portugal* left unfinished (1097-1279). He also founded the journal *Panorama*, which occupies an important place in the history of Portuguese printing and culture. Also noteworthy is his *Historia da origem e do estabelecimento da Inquisição em Portugal*.