João Pinheiro Chagas (1 September 1863 – 28 May 1925; Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w piˈɲɐjɾu ˈʃaɣɐʃ]) was a Portuguese politician, literary critic, propagandist, editor, and journalist.[1][2] He was heavily involved in several rebellions condemning the monarchy and disseminating materials via pamphlets and newspaper in support of the Portuguese Republican Party.[3][4] He was among the leaders of the 5 October 1910 revolution and the Lisbon Regicide, and later served as Ambassador to Paris for 14-years, and twice as interim prime minister of the Portuguese First Republic.[3][5]
João Chagas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Portugal | |
| In office 4 September 1911 – 13 November 1911 | |
| 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 4 September 1911 – 12 November 1911 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | António José de Almeida |
| Succeeded by | Silvestre Falcão |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 4 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, Neutral Municipality, 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 edit
Early years edit
Chagas was born 4 September 1863 in Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil to João Pinheiro Chagas and Maria Amélia Rosa Pereira.[3][6] His father was a Portuguese emigrant with ancestral ties to Portuguese refugees from Beiras who fled to Brazil during the Liberal Wars.[7] On his paternal side, Manuel Pinheiro Chagas was his cousin and his son Mário was his first cousin once removed.[7] His mother was an Indigenous American.[7] The family relocated to Lisbon when Chagas was a child and he was orphaned at a young age.[7][1]
Writing career edit
Chagas could not afford to attend university, so he moved to Porto at age 16 and began his writing career.[7][3] At times, he wrote under the pseudonym João Rimanso or Ivan.[8] 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.[3][9][7]
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,[7][5] and became director of Brazilian newspaper O Paiz (1898) and the Portuguese publications A Lanterna (1899) and Batalha (1900).[3][7] While incarcerated in Angola, he headed the prison's newspaper (1896—1897).[7] La Marseillaise closed in 1898 due to censorship laws and Chagas' known allegiance to the Republican Party.[7] When he returned from exile, he founded A Portuguesa (1893), which he considered a revival of La Marseillaise.[5]
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.[5][4]
Political activism edit
During his early years in Porto, he met and befriended several members of Life's Vanquished.[5] He became more critical and more deeply involved with the Republican Party as a result.[5] In 1891, he published an article in A República Portuguesa that was controversial enough to get him arrested and jailed for 10 days.[6] 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.[5][3][10] Chagas was originally bound for Luanda but was transferred to Moçâmedes after one day.[10] He escaped within a few months and traveled to Paris before returning to Portugal in 1892, where he was arrested again.[10][6] 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.[10][5]
He was freed from prison in 1893 due to an amnesty resulting from the 1890 British Ultimatum.[9] 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.[7][5][6] He participated in the 5 October 1910 revolution not long after.[9]
Political career edit
The Portuguese First Republic was established in 1910, and Chagas' governmental career began.[5] His first role was an ambassador to Paris; he did, however, resign twice due to political disagreements with his supervisors.[5][9] He served as both prime minister and Interior Minister for 70 days in late 1911 and again in 1915.[3][9][1] While in Paris, he continued to keep a critical eye on Portugal's political decision-making.[1] 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.[1] 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.[5][1]
Final years and death edit
Following the 1915 May 14 Revolt, Chagas was nominated to succeed Manuel de Arriaga's role as president of Portugal.[5] Senator João José de Freitas disagreed with this decision and attempted to assassinated him.[3] He shot several times at a car Chagas was traveling in with his wife in Entroncamento.[3][9] Chagas' head was shaved and he lost an eye in the attack.[9] He withdrew from politics during his recovery and turned down the presidential nomination, preferring instead to continue working as an ambassador in Paris.[6][5] He kept this role until he retired in 1924, with the exception of 1917—1918 during the period of Sidónism.[9][1][5] Chagas died on 28 May 1925 in Estoril, Cascais, Portugal.[3][5]
He died of aortitis and is buried in the Alto de São João Cemetery.[11]
Honours edit
Chagas served as part of the Portuguese delegation at the Versailles Peace Conference and the League of Nations.[9][5] He was also a co-founder of the Portuguese Association of Journalists and the Porto Men of Letters, and became a Freemason in 1896.[12][3] In 1919, he was awarded a Gold Cross from the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword.[5]
He is the namesake for a road in Lisbon and a garden in Porto.[13][14]
Bibliography edit
During his lifetime, Chagas wrote at least 15 books and many more journal articles and pamphlets:[4]
| 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.[4] He wrote the prefaces for Guedes d'Oliveira's 1890 Gazetilhas; and Luciano Fataça's 1895 A revolução de Cuba.[4] He co-wrote Historia da revolta do Porto de 31 de Janeiro de 1891 (depoimento de dois cúmplices) with Ex-Tenente Coelho.[4] He was also a translator; works included prose from Jacques Offenbach's operetta Os Bandidos and Adolphe d'Ennery's play Martyr.[5][4]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g Novais, Noêmia (2010). "João Chagas: Itinerários de um intelectual republicano". Intellèctus. 9 (2). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "João Pinheiro Chagas (1863-1925)" (in Portuguese). Fundacao Mario Soares Maria Barroso. n.d. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "João Pinheiro Chagas". issuu (in Portuguese). Correiro da Venezuela. 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Romero Magalhães, Joaquim. João Chagas: a escrita como arma.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Brandão, Lucas (24 December 2017). "João Chagas, o jornalista da República" (in Portuguese). Comunidade Cultura e Arte. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "João Chagas (1863-1925)" (in Portuguese). University of Porto. n.d. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "João Chagas, o jornalista panfletário". Público (in Portuguese). 28 August 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ Silva, Joao. Entertaining Lisbon: Music, Theater, and Modern Life in the Late 19th Century.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Carta de João Chagas para Manuel Teixeira Gomes" (in Portuguese). Museu da Presidência da República. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d Coates, Timothy J. (2018). "The Depósito de Degredados in Luanda, Angola: Binding and Building the Portuguese Empire with Convict Labour, 1880s to 1932". International Review of Social History. 63 (S26): 151–167. doi:10.1017/S0020859018000263. S2CID 149673434.
- ^ "Livro de registo de óbitos da 6.ª Conservatória do Registo Civil de Lisboa (23-01-1925 a 30-06-1925)". Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo. p. 159, assento 397.
- ^ Oliveira Marques, A. H. de (1985). Delta (ed.). Dicionário de Maçonaria Portuguesa. Lisboa. p. 335.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Código Postal da Rua João Chagas" (in Portuguese). Codigo Postal. n.d. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ Bessa, Carolina (3 January 2022). "A história do Jardim João Chagas (ou Jardim da Cordoaria, como é conhecido)" (in Portuguese). Porto Secreto. Retrieved 31 January 2022.