João Pinheiro Chagas (1 September 1863 – 28 May 1925; Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w piˈɲɐjɾu ˈʃaɣɐʃ]) was a Portuguese politician, literary critic, propagandist, editor, and journalist.[2][3] He was heavily involved in several rebellions condemning the monarchy and disseminating materials via pamphlets and newspaper in support of the Portuguese Republican Party.[4][5] He was among the leaders of the 5 October 1910 revolution and the Lisbon Regicide, and later served as Ambassador to Paris, and twice as interim prime minister of the Portuguese First Republic.[4][6]
João Chagas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Portugal | |
| In office 3 September 1911 – 12 November 1911[1] | |
| President | Manuel de Arriaga |
| Preceded by | Provisional Government |
| Succeeded by | Augusto de Vasconcelos |
| Ambassador of Portugal to France | |
| In office 25 April 1911 – 31 December 1923 | |
| Nominated by | Provisional Government |
| Preceded by | Tomás de Sousa Rosa |
| Succeeded by | António Joaquim Ferreira da Fonseca |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 3 September 1911 – 12 November 1911 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | António José de Almeida |
| Succeeded by | Silvestre Falcão |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 3 September 1911 – 12 October 1911 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Bernardino Machado |
| Succeeded by | Augusto de Vasconcelos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 September 1863 Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil |
| Died | 28 May 1925 (aged 61) Estoril, Portugal |
| Political party | Portuguese Republican (1890–1911) Independent (1911–1925) |
| Occupation | Diplomat, editor, journalist, political analist, politician, writer |
| Signature |  |
Biography
Early years
Chagas was born 1 September 1863 in Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil to João Pinheiro Chagas and Maria Amélia Rosa Pereira.[4][7] His father was a Portuguese emigrant with ancestral ties to Portuguese refugees from Beiras who fled to Brazil during the Liberal Wars.[8] On his paternal side, Manuel Pinheiro Chagas was his cousin and his son Mário was his first cousin once removed.[8] His mother was an Indigenous American.[8] The family relocated to Lisbon when Chagas was a child and he was orphaned at a young age.[8][2]
Writing career
Chagas could not afford to attend university, so he moved to Porto at age 16 and began his writing career.[8][4] At times, he wrote under the pseudonym João Rimanso or Ivan.[9] His first publication was in O Primeiro de Janeiro in Porto; he later moved back to Lisbon to collaborate with Temps, Correio da Manhã, and O Diá.[4][10][8]
At the end of the 19th century, Chagas founded La Marseillaise (1896—1898), O Berro (1896), Branco e Negro (1896—1898), A Paródia (1900—1907), and A República Portuguesa,[8][6] and became director of Brazilian newspaper O Paiz (1898) and the Portuguese publications A Lanterna (1899) and Batalha (1900).[4][8] While incarcerated in Angola, he headed the prison's newspaper (1896—1897).[8] La Marseillaise closed in 1898 due to censorship laws and Chagas' known allegiance to the Republican Party.[8] When he returned from exile, he founded A Portuguesa (1893), which he considered a revival of La Marseillaise.[6]
All of the newspapers he founded, directed, and contributed to were anti-monarchy propaganda tools; his articles were extremely controversial and led to him being arrested several times.[6][5]
Political activism
During his early years in Porto, he met and befriended several members of Life's Vanquished.[6] He became more critical and more deeply involved with the Republican Party as a result.[6] In 1891, he published an article in A República Portuguesa that was controversial enough to get him arrested and jailed for 10 days.[7] Within days, he participated in and helped plan a rebellion, and his sentence was increased to 4 years in prison or 6 years in exile.[6][4][11] Chagas was originally bound for Luanda but was transferred to Moçâmedes after one day.[11] He escaped within a few months and traveled to Paris before returning to Portugal in 1892, where he was arrested again.[11][7] While in prison, he continued to petition against governmental oppression of rights and wrote extensively about his experiences, making him the only primary source from a Portuguese prisoner from that period.[11][6]
He was freed from prison in 1893 due to an amnesty resulting from the 1890 British Ultimatum.[10] He lived in Porto, Brazil, and Madrid for varying lengths of time before being arrested again in 1896, and again in 1908 for his involvement in the Lisbon Regicide.[8][6][7] He participated in the 5 October 1910 revolution not long after.[10]
Political career
The Portuguese First Republic was established in 1910, and Chagas' governmental career began.[6] His first role was an ambassador to Paris; he did, however, resign twice due to political disagreements with his supervisors.[6][10] He served as both prime minister and Interior Minister for 70 days in late 1911 and again in 1915.[4][10][2] While in Paris, he continued to keep a critical eye on Portugal's political decision-making.[2] During the Republic's early days, Chagas met with Sir Lancelot Carnegie of Britain, Portuguese War Minister Freire de Andrade, and French diplomat Émile Daeschner to keep himself informed.[2] He was very critical of Portugal's lack of involvement when World War I broke out and was one of the delegates who led the Republic to join the war in 1916.[6][2]
Final years and death
Following the 1915 May 14 Revolt, Chagas was nominated to succeed Manuel de Arriaga's role as president of Portugal.[6] Senator João José de Freitas disagreed with this decision and attempted to assassinated him.[4] He shot several times at a car Chagas was traveling in with his wife in Entroncamento.[4][10] Chagas' head was shaved and he lost an eye in the attack.[10] He withdrew from politics during his recovery and turned down the presidential nomination, preferring instead to continue working as an ambassador in Paris.[7][6] He kept this role until he retired in 1924, with the exception of 1917—1918 during the period of Sidónism.[10][2][6] Chagas died on 28 May 1925 in Estoril, Cascais, Portugal.[4][6]
He died of aortitis and is buried in the Alto de São João Cemetery.[12]
Honours
Chagas served as part of the Portuguese delegation at the Versailles Peace Conference and the League of Nations.[10][6] He was also a co-founder of the Portuguese Association of Journalists and the Porto Men of Letters, and became a Freemason in 1896.[13][4] In 1919, he was awarded a Gold Cross from the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword.[6]
He is the namesake for a road in Lisbon and a garden in Porto.[14][15]
Bibliography
During his lifetime, Chagas wrote at least 15 books and many more journal articles and pamphlets:[5]
| Year | Original title | Title in English (Approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1894 | Diario de um condemnado politico | Diary of a Political Convict |
| 1897 | De Bond. Algunas aspectos da civilisaçaõ brasileira | Some aspects of Brazilian culture |
| O crime da sociedade | Society's crime | |
| 1898 | Na Brecha (Pamphletos) | The Gap (Pamphlets) |
| 1900 | Trabalhos forçado | Forced labour |
| 1905 | Bom-Humor | Good spirits |
| Homens e Factos 1902—1904 | Men and Facts 1902—1904 | |
| 1906 | As minhas razões | My reasons |
| Posta-restante (Cartas a toda a genta) | Remaining notes (Letters to everyone | |
| Vida Litteraria (ideias e sensacoes | Literary life: Ideas and sensations | |
| 1907 | João Franco. 1906—1907 | |
| 1908 | 1908. Subsidios criticos para a historia da dictadura | 1908. Critical subsidies for the history of the dictatorship |
| 1908—1910 | Cartas Politicas | Political notes |
| 1915 | A ultima crise. Comentários a situação da Republica Portuguesa | The last crisis: Comementary on the Portuguese Republic |
| Portugal perante a Guerra. Subsidios para uma pagina da Historia Nacional | Portugal before the war. Subsidies for a page in National History | |
In 1929, four years after his death, Diario de João Chagas was published.[5] He wrote the prefaces for Guedes d'Oliveira's 1890 Gazetilhas; and Luciano Fataça's 1895 A revolução de Cuba.[5] He co-wrote Historia da revolta do Porto de 31 de Janeiro de 1891 (depoimento de dois cúmplices) with Ex-Tenente Coelho.[5] He was also a translator; works included prose from Jacques Offenbach's operetta Os Bandidos and Adolphe d'Ennery's play Martyr.[6][5]
References
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
