The 1820 revolution, brought about through the insurrections of 24 August and 15 September, in Porto and Lisbon respectively, was a momentous and decisive event in the creation of modern Portuguese constitutionalism.
The aims that motivated the magistrates, merchants and military men who were at the heart of this liberal revolution were clearly stated by its main protagonists, in the various manifestos and statements published at the time, namely: to depose the regency that governed in the name of King João VI, who was resident in Rio de Janeiro; to demand the monarch’s return to Lisbon; and to entrust a provisional governmental junta with the preparation of a summons to the Cortes, or parliament, with a view to producinga Constitution. The rst step was thus taken in building a newregime of constitutional monarchy in Portugal, without the principles of loyalty to King João VI and faith in the Catholic religion ever coming into question.
This eruption of revolutionary movements in 1820 was possiblethanks to a combination of multiple cyclical and structural factors,prominent among which was the dissatisfaction of various socialsectors with the politically fragile situation of the kingdom andits domains, as well as what was regarded as the permanence of obstacles that prevented the full development of national capabilities. The social and political privileges of members of theclergy and nobility and the presence of English o cials in key posts in the political and military administration – justi ed by the helpprovided during the French invasions – were particular reasons for discontent among the leaders of the revolution.
The establishment of a new regime of constitutional monarchy and a new way of exercising sovereignty created institutional and political conditions for the dismantling of the economic and social structure on which the old regime was based, at the same time as fostering the conviction that it was possible to build a new, regenerated model of development.
Despite having the fundamental aim of producing a constitutional code, the Cortes of 1821-1822 discussed and legislated on themost diverse areas of social life, seeking to give the form of law to everything that lacked regulation, trying to respond to the multiple requests from a high-spirited civil society that was keen to ndsolutions to problems in the individual and collective context. The freedom of the press gave vibrant expression to multiple projects and ideas that reached the public sphere and fed debate on themost suitable constitutional framework.
The Constituent Courts of 1821-1822 served as a tool for change,they ripped Portuguese society apart and took a decisive step inthe construction of a modern constitutional monarchy that wouldassert itself decisively with the liberal victory in the wake of thecivil war of 1832-1834.
In celebrating the bicentenary of this founding moment, it is important to recognise and emphasise, repeatedly, that the liberal revolution of 1820 was an occurrence that mobilised aspirations and inspired essential changes that cleared the way for the formation of contemporary Portugal.
José Luís Cardoso
