Pombaline Era
| Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves |
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| Reino de Portugal e dos Algarves | ||||||||||
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| Capital | Lisbon | |||||||||
| Languages | Portuguese | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |||||||||
| Government | Absolute Monarchy | |||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Restoration War | 1640 | ||||||||
| • | Treaty of Lisbon | 1668 | ||||||||
| • | Treaty of San Ildefonso | 1777 | ||||||||
| Currency | Portuguese real | |||||||||
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The kingdom of Portugal from the restoration of the House of Braganza in 1640 until the end of the reign of the Marquis of Pombal in 1777 was in a period of transition. Having been near its height at the start of the Iberian Union, the Portuguese Empire continued to enjoy the widespread influence in the world during this period that had characterized the period of the Discoveries. By the end of this period however, the fortunes of Portugal and its empire had declined, culminating with the Távora affair, the catastrophic 1755 Lisbon earthquake, and the accession of Maria I, the first ruling Queen of Portugal.
The opulent use of Brazilian gold, the absolutist regime, the movement toward the independence of Brazil, the Methuen Treaty and the Lisbon earthquake contributed to the collapse of Portugal's position in Europe and the world. These events, those at the end of Aviz dynasty, and the period of Iberian Union forced Portugal to depend on its colonies, first India and then Brazil. This shift from India to Brazil was a natural consequence of the rise of the Dutch as well as the British Empire. A similar shift occurred after Brazil gained its independence, which caused Portugal to focus more on its possessions in Africa.
The early 18th century, known as the Pombaline Era after Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal, was a period of dictatorship and wide-ranging reforms. The Marquis of Pombal was appointed by Joseph I, who had little inclination to rule. He initiated many reforms intended to modernize the country and attacked the power of the privileged nobility and clergy, notably in the case of the Távora affair and the expulsion of the Jesuits. He was also the leader of the reconstruction of Lisbon after the earthquake in 1755. However, historians also argue that Pombal’s "enlightenment," while far-reaching, was primarily a mechanism for enhancing autocracy at the expense of individual liberty and especially an apparatus for crushing opposition, suppressing criticism, and furthering colonial economic exploitation as well as intensifying book censorship and consolidating personal control and profit.
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