Sebastiao de Melo, son of a country squire became the most powerful man in Portugal
Marquis de Pombal
King Joseph admired him and made him minister of foreign affairs, Queen Marie hated him and had tantrums at the very mention of his name. Who was this Marquis de Pombal?
Early Life
On May 13,1699, a country squire, Manuel de Carvalho e Ataide and his wife Theresa de Mendonca e Melo presented the world with Sebastiao José de Carvalho e Melo in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. He was raised in the fashion of the times and did a short stint in the army. He married Teresa de Mendonca e Almada against her family's wishes and went to live on his estates in Pombal when his in-laws made their lives unbearable. His wife died in 1737.
Rise to Power
In 1738, Sebastiao de Melo was appointed Ambassador to London and in 1745 was given diplomatic duties in Vienna. A favorite of Maria Anna of Austria, consort queen of Portugal, he soon married the daughter of the Austrian Field Marshal Daun. He returned to Portugal in 1749 and following the death of King John V, who was not fond of him, and the coronation of Joseph I, who was fond of him, he was appointed minister of foreign affairs.
His rise to power was very rapid and by 1755 de Melo was prime minister of Portugal. His rule was strict and fair, imposed upon all classes whether rich or poor. He successfully implemented English economic measures in Portugal, abolished slavery in the colonies of Portuguese India, ended discrimination between various Christian sects, restructured the country's tax systems and reorganized the armed forces. Such sweeping changes soon won him a number of enemies, especially amongst the nobility.
Earthquake
On November 1, 1755 a disastrous earthquake, estimated at 9 on the Richter scale, struck Lisbon. The city was razed to the ground and 90,000 people killed from a population of 275,000. A tsunami followed and fires burned for five days destroying 85% of the capital. Sebastiao de Melo and the royal family were out of the city at the time and escaped injury.
De Melo swiftly took control of the situation. His first actions were to put out the fires and bury the corpses. This latter action saved the city from the epidemic that usually followed disasters in those times. Within a year reconstruction was well under way. Downtown Lisbon was specially designed by architects and some of the first earthquake resistant buildings in the world were constructed there.
Sebastiao de Melo's power increased after the earthquake to almost dictatorial proportions. His unpopularity with the nobility reached a climax in 1758 when an attempt was made on the life of the king. De Melo's reaction was swift and terrible. The Duke of Aveiro and the Tavora family were accused of attempted regicide and executed. Every person involved in the conspiracy was prosecuted. His swift actions crushed all opposition and his grateful king named him Count of Oeiras in 1759.
Change of Fortune
For the rest of his reign, de Melo was without opposition. He was created Marquis de Pombal in 1770 and continued to rule Portugal until the death of Joseph I in 1779. His fortunes changed abruptly then for the new ruler, Queen Maria I, who had never forgiven him for his destruction of the Tavora family, withdrew him from political office. Her hatred of him was so intense that she would have tantrums at the mention of his name. She even issued a restraining order against him that did not permit him within 20 miles of her royal presence.
Despite suffering royal disfavor, the Marquis de Pombal died peacefully on his estates in May 1782 at the age of 83. He is regarded as one of Portugal's greatest statesmen and in 1925 efforts began to raise funds to erect a statue to him. It stands today in Marquis de Pombal Square in downtown Lisbon.
Bibliography
Maxwell, Kenneth, Pombal - Paradox of the Enlightenment, Cambridge 1995.
Encyclopedia Brittanica
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia
