MIGUEL I, Maria Evaristo of Braganza, King of Portugal. - Second-born son of John VI of Portugal and younger brother of Pedro, first emperor of Brazil, b. 26 Oct. 1802 in Lisbon, d. 14 Nov. 1866 in the Castle of Bronnbach (Germany). In 1823, while his father was still alive, he took part in an insurrection aimed at re-establishing absolute government in Portugal. King John VI abolished the constitution, though without winning the trust of the most reactionary elements of the country, who in Apr. 1824, by a new coup d'état, proclaimed M. king. The intervention of England and other foreign powers in favor of the deposed sovereign completely nullified the advantages obtained by M.'s supporters, and he was forced to go abroad.

On the death of John V (1826), Pedro, the legitimate heir and successor, in order to contribute to the pacification between liberals and absolutists, had the crown transmitted to his daughter Maria Gloria, on condition that she marry

M., who in turn was to swear an oath on the new liberal constitution granted by Pedro. M. accepted; but, having returned to Portugal in 1828 as regent, he considered himself released from every obligation toward his brother, proclaimed himself sovereign and began an anti-liberal absolutist policy, which led to civil war. In 1834 he was again forced to leave the country, never to return to it. During his reign the Catholic Church enjoyed the protection of the State, and the preceding anti-ecclesiastical policy came to a halt. The Jesuits too, expelled in the time of the Marquis of Pombal, were recalled.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: A. Herchen, Dom M. I., König von Portugal. Sein Leben und seine Regierung, Luxembourg 1908; Oliveira Lima, Dom M. no trono, 1828-33, Coimbra 1933; H. V. Livermore, A history of Portugal, Cambridge 1927, passim. On relations with the Holy See, cf. J. Schmidlin, Pozgeschichte der neuesten Zeit, I, Munich 1933, passim.

Silvio Furlani

@incollection{ec8_miguel_i_maria_evaristo_di_bra, author = {Furlani, Silvio}, title = {Miguel I, maria evaristo di braganza, re del portogallo}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VIII}, pages = {986--987}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/miguel-i-maria-evaristo-di-braganza-re-del-portogallo} }

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Miguel I, Maria Evaristo of Braganza, King of Portugal

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