The Tavora affair was a political scandal of the 18th century Portuguese court. The events triggered by the attempted murder of King Joseph I of Portugal in 1758 ended with the public execution of the entire Tavora family and its closest relatives in 1759. Some historians interpret the whole affair as an attempt by the prime minister Sebastião de Melo (the later Marquis of Pombal) to limit the growing powers of the families of the high nobility. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Joseph I (Portuguese José), the Reformer (Port. ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1759 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Marquis of Pombal, or Marquês de Pombal, (13 May 1699 - 15 May 1782) was a Portuguese politician and statesman, prime minister of king Joseph I of Portugal throughout his reign. ...

Prelude

In the aftermath of the Lisbon earthquake on November 1, 1755, that destroyed the royal palace, King Joseph I of Portugal lived in a huge complex of tents and barracks installed in Ajuda, on of the outskirts of the city. This was the centre of all political and social Portuguese life. This 1755 copper engraving shows the ruins of Lisbon in flames and a tsunami overwhelming the ships in the harbor. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Joseph I (Portuguese José), the Reformer (Port. ...

Although with less spectacular accommodations, the tents of Ajuda were the home of a court as glamorous and rich as the Versailles of Louis XV of France. There the king lived surrounded by his staff, led by the prime minister, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, and was entertained by his peers, the Portuguese high nobility. Versailles, formerly the unofficial capital city of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. ... Louis XV (February 15, 1710 – May 10, 1774), called the Well-Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1715 to 1774. ... The Marquis of Pombal, or Marquês de Pombal, (13 May 1699 - 15 May 1782) was a Portuguese politician and statesman, prime minister of king Joseph I of Portugal throughout his reign. ...

The prime minister was a strict man, born the son of a country squire, with a grudge against the old nobility that despised him. Clashes between him and the nobles were frequent and tolerated by the king, who trusted Sebastião de Melo for his competent leadership after the earthquake, and who was held in contempt by his peers.

Joseph I was married to Mariana Vitoria of Borbón, princess of Spain, and had four daughters. Despite an attested happy family life (the king loved his daughters and enjoyed playing with them and taking them to nature walks), Joseph I had a favourite mistress: Teresa Leonor, wife of Luis Bernardo, the heir of the Tavora family.

Marchioness Leonor of Tavora and her husband Francisco Assis, Count of Alvor (former viceroy of India), were the heads of one of the most powerful families in the kingdom, connected to the houses of Aveiro, Cadaval and Alorna. They were also among the bitterest enemies of Sebastião de Melo. Leonor of Tavora was a political woman, preoccupied with the affairs of the kingdom, handed, in her perspective, to an upstart with no education. She was also a devoted Catholic, with strong affiliations to the Jesuits, having one of them, Gabriel Malagrida, as her personal confessor. The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

The Tavora affair

In the night of September 3, 1758, Joseph I was riding an unmarked carriage in a secondary and unfrequented road in the outskirts of Lisbon. The king was returning from an evening with his mistress to the tents of Ajuda. Somewhere along the way two to three men intercepted the carriage and fired on its occupants. Joseph I was shot in an arm, and his driver was badly wounded, but both survived and returned to Ajuda. Drawing of Vieira Lusitano, portuguese painter of the 18th century, depicting the regicide attempt on the life of José I of Portugal in 1758. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Immediately Sebastião de Melo took control of the situation. Concealing the attack and the king's injuries, he proceeded with a swift enquiry. A few days afterwards, two men were arrested for the shootings and tortured. The men confessed their guilt and stated that were following orders of the Tavora family, which was plotting to put the Duke of Aveiro in the throne. Both were hanged the following day, even before the attempted regicide was made public. The broad definition of Regicide is the deliberate killing of a king, or the person responsible for it. ...

In the following weeks the Marchioness Leonor of Tavora, her husband, the Count of Alvor, as well as all of their sons, daughters and grandchildren were imprisoned. The conspirators, the Duke of Aveiro and the Tavoras' sons-in-law, the Marquis of Alorna and the Count of Atouguia, were arrested with their families. Gabriel Malagrida, the Jesuit confessor of Leonor of Tavora was also arrested.

They were all accused of high treason and attempted murder of the king. The evidence presented in their common trial was very simple: a) the confessions of the executed killers; b) the murder weapon that belonged to the Duke of Aveiro and c) the assumption that only the Tavoras would have known the whereabouts of the king in that evening, since he was returning from a liaison with Teresa of Tavora, who was also arrested.

The Tavoras denied all charges but were eventually sentenced to death. Their estates were confiscated by the crown, their name erased from the peerage and their coat-of-arms outlawed. A modern coat of arms is derived from the mediæval practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ...

The original sentence ordered the execution of all of them, including women and children. Only the intervention of Queen Mariana and Maria Francisca, the heiress to the throne, saved most of them. Maria I Francisca, (English: Mary I), the Piteous (Port. ...

The Marchioness, however, was not spared. She and her other defendants who had been sentenced to death were publicly tortured and executed on January 13, 1759 in a field near Lisbon. The king was present along with his bewildered court. The Tavoras were their peers and kin, but the prime minister wanted the lesson to be learned. January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1759 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Afterwards, the ground was salted to prevent future growth of vegetation. Nowadays, this field is a square of Lisbon, called Terreiro Salgado, the salty ground.

Gabriel Malagrida was burned at the stake a few days afterwards and the Jesuit Order declared outlaws. All its estates were confiscated and all the Jesuits expelled from Portuguese territory, both in Europe and the colonies. (The movie The Mission portrays the expulsion of a Jesuit community from the Southern region of Brazil, then a Portuguese possession.) The Alorna family and the daughters of the Duke of Aveiro were sentenced to life imprisonment in monasteries and convents. The Mission is a 1986 film which tells the story of a Spanish Jesuit priest who goes into the South American jungle to convert the Native Americans, who must defend his charges against the cruelty of Portuguese colonials. ...

Sebastião de Melo was made Count of Oeiras for his competent handling of the affair, and later, in 1770, was promoted to Marquis of Pombal, the name by which he is known today. 1770 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Marquis of Pombal, or Marquês de Pombal, (13 May 1699 - 15 May 1782) was a Portuguese politician and statesman, prime minister of king Joseph I of Portugal throughout his reign. ...

Discussion

The guilt or innocence of the Tavoras is still debated today by Portuguese historians. On one hand, the unpleasant relations between the high nobility and the king are well documented. The lack of a male heir to the throne displeased most of them and, indeed, the Duke of Aveiro was an open option.

On the other hand, some refer to a coincidence: with the conviction of the Tavoras and Jesuits, all the enemies of Sebastião de Melo disappeared and the nobility was tamed. Moreover, the Tavoras' defendants argue that the attempted murder of Joseph I might have been a random attack by highway robbers, since the king was travelling without guard or signal of his rank on a dangerous Lisbon road. Another clue to innocence is the fact that none of the Tavoras or their allies tried to escape from Portugal in the days following the attack.

Aftermath

Guilty or not, the Tavora executions were a devastating event to Portugal. In a time when the death penalty was already in disuse, the execution of an entire prestigious family was a shock. The future queen Maria I of Portugal was so affected by the events that she abolished the death penalty (except in wartime) as soon as she came to the throne. Portugal was thus the first country in the world to do so. Maria I Francisca, (English: Mary I), the Piteous (Port. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ...

The Queen's dislike for her father's prime minister was absolute. She removed him from all his powers and exiled him from Lisbon. A royal decree further reinforced the banishment, stating that the Marquis of Pombal was forbidden to come within 20 miles of the Queen.

See also: Marquis of Pombal - Joseph I of Portugal - Maria I of Portugal The Marquis of Pombal, or Marquês de Pombal, (13 May 1699 - 15 May 1782) was a Portuguese politician and statesman, prime minister of king Joseph I of Portugal throughout his reign. ... Joseph I (Portuguese José), the Reformer (Port. ... Maria I Francisca, (English: Mary I), the Piteous (Port. ...

Image File history File links the Tavora family tree File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...