Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/759

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

PORTUGAL T39 where several prosperous establishments have been founded, though chiefly under the direc- tion of foreigners. Manufactories of cotton, wool, silk, paper, chemicals, earthenware, and candles are among the more important estab- lishments formed since 1860. There are like- wise saw mills and rope factories ; and porce- lain, lace, copper and tin ware, ribbons, em- broidery, hats, fine soaps, glass, and wicker- work are extensively manufactured. Ship building is carried on with some success at Lisbon and in other ports. Tobacco manufac- ture is a government monopoly, and is ex- clusively confined to Lisbon. In 1856 there were but two banks in all Portugal ; in 1873 their number had increased to 15. The gov- ernment of Portugal is a constitutional mon- archy, hereditary in the female as well as the male line. The constitution is based upon the Carta de ley granted by Dom Pedro IV. in 1826, and revised by the cortes in 1832. An additional act was made under date of July 5, 1852. The legislative power is vested in a cortes consisting of two houses, one of peers and the other of deputies ; the peers are named for life by the crown, and the deputies are chosen by electors, who must have a yearly in- come of not less than $100. The administra- tion is conducted by seven ministers, who form the cabinet. For judicial purposes Portugal is divided into 105 districts, in each of which there is a judge, from whose decision there is an appeal to superior courts at Lisbon and Oporto. These judges remain but six years at one place, and are appointed by the crown. Beneath them are inferior classes of judges, who are elected by the people for two years. Trial by jury is established in criminal cases, and also in civil unless the parties agree to a trial by the judge exclusively. The finances of the kingdom are confused, and there has been no budget for the past 30 years without a deficit. The revenue for 187l-'2 amounted to $20,310,832, as follows: from di- rect taxation, $7,588,732 ; indirect taxation and customs, $10,600,612; deductions from civil list and salaries, $591,140; national domains, and miscellaneous, $1,530,348. The total ex- penditures were $24,015,605, distributed as follows: ministry of finance, $3,843,414; of interior, $2,018,181; of justice and religion, $635,034 ; of war, $3,751,199 ; of marine and the colonies, $1,248,519; of foreign affairs, $274,972 ; of commerce and public works, $1,- 404,062 ; interest on home debt, $4,810,969 ; interest on foreign debt, $4,731,505 ; expendi- tures extraordinary, $1,297,750. The national debt originated in 1796, when a loan of $4,- 500,000 was contracted ; on Nov. 30, 1873, it amounted to $364,165,000, with an annual in- terest of $11,080,000. Nearly half of these amounts represents the foreign debt, mainly to Great Britain. The loan contracted in 1832 by Dom Miguel, and other portions of the na- tional debt, have from time to time been re- pudiated, and the interest on the aggregate debt has not unfrequently remained unpaid ; and sometimes, when the interest on the home debt has been paid, that on the foreign debt has not. By royal decree of Dec. 18, 1852, the interest on the whole national debt was reduced to 3 per cent., the creditors protest- ing in vain. The army on Jan. 31, 1874, con- sisted of 24,544 infantry (officers and men), 4,242 cavalry, 2,797 artillery, and 666 engi- neers, besides 1,767 municipal guards. The colonial troops amounted to 7,847. The navy in 1874 comprised 23 steamers with an aggre- gate of 109 guns, and 16 sailing vessels with 44 guns. It was officered by a vice admiral, 5 rear admirals, and 38 captains, and manned by about 3,000 sailors and marines. The Ro- man Catholic is the religion of the state, but all sects enjoy perfect freedom of worship. The ecclesiastical hierarchy includes the patri- arch of Lisbon, who is always a cardinal, and to a certain extent independent of the pontifi- cal see of Rome, the two archbishops of Evora and Braga, and 16 bishops, two of whom are for Madeira and the Azores. The patri- arch's authority over the bishops is little in- ferior to that of the pope ; but the bishops are appointed by the crown and confirmed by the holy see. All the conventual establishments of Portugal (632 monasteries and 118 nunneries, with over 18,000 monks and nuns, and an in- come of about $5,000,000 yearly) were sup- pressed by decree of May 28, 1834, and their property confiscated. A few religious estab- lishments still exist, but the inmates are in ex- treme poverty. There are Protestant churches at Lisbon and Oporto; but the Protestants, who are for the most part foreigners, are said not to number over 500. By a decree of Sept. 20, 1844, the primary schools are divided into elementary and higher. Primary instruction is compulsory, but the law is rarely enforced. In 1870 there were 1,950 male schools, with 104,000 pupils, and 350 female schools, with 28,000 pupils. Higher instruction is given in the lyceums, of which there is one in each dis- trict." Lisbon and Oporto have each a school of medicine and a polytechnic school. The university of Coimbra is the highest education- al establishment in the kingdom. There is a royal academy of sciences, founded in 1778, and the gremio litterario in Lisbon. Portugal was anciently inhabited by Celtic tribes, and was early visited for commercial purposes by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Greeks. The Romans, who called it Lusitania from its chief tribe the Lusitani (see LUSITANIA), ef- fected its subjugation about 140 B. C., and held it as a province till the 5th century of the Christian era, when it was overrun by the Vis- igoths and other northern barbarians. Early in the 8th century it was conquered by the Arabs or Moors, from whom it was partly re- covered toward the close of the llth century by Alfonso VI., king of Leon and Castile. About 1095 Alfonso gave the country be- tween the Minho and the Douro to his son-m-