132 



PORTUGAL. 



Marshal 

 Sou't de- 

 feated. 



Marshal 

 Massena 

 enters For- 

 tngal. 



lish forces, must eoon have been realized, and Portugal 

 fallen a prey to htr ambitious and unprincipled invad- 

 ers. These armies, however, being thus disunited, 

 tearing to be severally committed, and not knowing 

 the views and operations of each other, lost the pre- 

 cious moment for action, in suspense, inactivity, or 

 petty movements. Soult, indeed, having entered Por- 

 tugal on the north, took Chaves and Oporto with great 

 slaughter, and gained several important advantages. 

 Victor and Lapisse, having at length united their 

 forces, had forced the passage of the Tagus, and were 

 making rapid advances towards Lisbon. But this 

 success was but of short duration. Chaves and Oporto 

 were soon recaptured. A decisive victory was gained 

 over Soult on the banks of the Douro, attended with 

 the loss of the greater part of his army: and, aban- 

 doning all his artillery and wheel-carriages, he was 

 himself obliged to flee beyond the frontiers of the 

 kingdom, whither he was soon followed by Victor and 

 Lapisse, without having accomplished any thing either 

 to undermine in any degree the resources of Portugal, 

 or afford them the hope of greater success by a subse- 

 quent invasion. 



Another attempt, however, the French yet resolved 

 to make. Massena entered (1810) Portugal with an 

 army of 72,000 men, which could be opposed only by 

 about 50,000, one half of which number was composed 

 of young Portuguese levies, devoid of tkill or expe- 

 rience. Almeida was besieged and taken ; Coimbra 

 fell without opposition ; and the enemy was thus ad- 

 vancing with great rapidity to the capital. But the 

 British and Portuguese armies were not in the mean 

 time inactive. The route by which Massena meant to 

 force his way to the capital having become apparent, 

 the rival commander placed his forces in such posi- 

 tions as were most likely to frustrate his intentions; 

 all roads that might favour his progress were destroy- 

 ed; cannon were planted on the most inaccessible 

 parts to harass his march ; and the inhabitants of a 

 district of nearly 2000 square miles, on the banks of 

 the Tagus, in the neighbourhood of Lisbon, where 

 this defensive position was taken up, were directed to 

 retire with what of their substance they could convey, 

 and to destroy what could not be removed, so that no 

 support might be afforded the army of the enemy. 

 And these precautionary steps were attended with 

 complete success. So soon as the French general 

 came within sight of the formidable works by which 

 he was to be opposed, he made an instant halt, struck 

 with dismay and astonishment; and having remained 

 without any movement for a month, (during which 

 ^time he was much harassed by the irregular Portuguese 

 'troops) he retrograded towards Santarem. He was 

 followed by the British to Cartaxo, where the two ar- 

 mies remained in sight of each other for nearly five 

 months without coming to any decisive engagement. 

 The English in the mean time received abundant sup- 

 plies of provisions from Lisbon; while the French, 

 after having exhausted the country in their rear, were 

 experiencing scarcity and famine to such a degree, 

 that their ranks were rapidly thinning with hunger. 

 From this circumstance, and with a loss of 30,000 

 men, they were obliged to retreat ingloriously into 

 Spain in a state of the most squalid and ghastly 

 wretchedness. Nor was the condition of those Portu- 

 guese less miserable, who, driven from their homes, 

 had retired into the woods or mountains, where they 

 were doomed to spend the winter months without 

 shelter, in the oj-.en air, and subsisting merely on roots 



and herbs. Many of them (lied in consequence of Portugal; 

 their sufferings: while those who survived returned to u- * 

 their desolate homes with bodies emaciated from hun- 

 ger, and with intellects impaired by the fears and the 

 miseries of their unhappy and perilous situation. The 

 French having received some reinforcements at Sala- 

 manca, returned again to Portugal, to prevent Al- 

 meida from falling into the hands of the British; but 

 having completely failed in the attempt, they found it 

 necessary soon to retreat ; and with this expedition French 

 the scene of war closed in Portugal; for though some driven from 

 portions of the frontier districts were afterwards in- * >oltu a '- 

 eluded in the theatre of hostilities, yet the subsequent 

 events of this important war belong rather to the his- 

 tory of Spain than of Portugal, to which article we re- 

 fer our readers for a more ample analysis of this inter- 

 esting subject. 



Though Portugal, after the battle of Waterloo, and Revolu- 

 the dissolution of the government of Bonaparte, enjoy- tion. 

 ed external peace, the state of the country was by no 

 means tranquil. Symptoms of dissatisfaction, indeed, 

 soon became manifest. The absence of the court, the lit- 

 tle influence enjoyed by the regency, the urgent calls for 

 money from the provinces, a large standing army, and 

 its command, in a great degree, continued in foreign 

 hands, formed the most powerful circumstances that led 

 to the convulsions that were soon to ensue. Portugal 

 felt that the order of nature was inverted, and that 

 the parent state had become a dependant on her own 

 colony. Conspiracy was first manifested in the army. 

 10,000 men, having been ordered to embark for Brazil, 

 revolted, and showed so much determination that the 

 regency was compelled to yield to their wishes. This 

 was the first step in a revolution, which, in 1 820, gave 

 to Portugal a new aspect, and which, much to the ho- 

 nour of the inhabitants, was effected. without bloodshed. 

 This revolutionary spirit next manifested itself in Oporto, 

 in a regiment under the command of Sepulveda, a native 

 general, who was supported by the other officers, and, as 

 is supposed, by the civil authorities of the city. A pro- 

 vincial junto of thirteen members were immediately 

 chosen. As Sepulveda advanced towards Lisbon, the 

 number of the insurgents rapidly increased; and the 

 junto of Oporto followed him and held their sittings. 

 The regency, in the mean time, acted with great inde- 

 cision. On the 2yth of August, they published a 

 proclamation, denouncing the transaction that had 

 taken place at Oporto, and calling on all ranks to op- 

 pose the progress of the rebels; and in three days af- 

 terwards, issued another, in which they directed the 

 assembling of the Cortes according to the ancient con- 

 stitution. An event, meanwhile, occurred, which to- 

 tally frustrated the plan projected by the regency. 

 It had been usual to celebrate on the 15th of Septem- 

 ber, the deliverance of Portugal from the French in. 

 vaders ; but, owing to the convulsed state of public af- 

 fairs, the regency thought it dangerous to assemble 

 such a concourse of people as usually met on that day. 

 The army, however, instigated by the native officers, 

 resolved not to omit the ceremonj-, but paraded the 

 streets without orders; and ere they separated, depos- 

 ed the government, and nominated a temporary coun- 

 cil to administer the affairs of the nation. The junto 

 of Oporto, and this council, however, entertained dif- 

 ferent sentiments respecting the changes that ought to 

 be adopted. The former, in the first place, gained the 

 ascendancy, and voted the adoption of the Spanish 

 constitution as settled by the revolution, which had 

 recently taken place in that kingdom. But this ascen* 



