José Acúrsio das Neves

José Acúrsio das Neves (14 December 1766 – 6 May 1834) was a politician, magistrate, historian, essayist and pioneer of studies on the Portuguese economy. He was a precursor of industrialism in Portugal. He stood out as a reformist politician, who adhered to conservatism, a staunch defender of Miguelism, and as one of the main critics of political liberalism in the Cortes of 1828. His writings on political economy and contemporary history are notable and still current. On August 27, 1810 he was elected member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon.

Biography

Early life and education

José Acúrsio das Neves was born at Cavaleiros de Baixo, in the then municipality of Fajão, today the municipality of Pampilhosa da Serra, close to Coimbra. He was born into a wealthy family, then resident in the still called "White House" of Cavaleiros de Baixo, son of António das Neves and Josefa da Conceição. His paternal grandmother, Antónia das Neves, was from Sarzedo, and his maternal grandmother, Isabel Antão, was from Janeiro de Cima. The family had a chapel built in honor of Our Lady of Grace, which is already mentioned in a deed dated May 31, 1782.

In a path typical of the rural oligarchies of the time, he embarked on the study of Law, enrolling at the University of Coimbra in 1782, studying at the Faculty of Law. After completing his course in 1787, he began a career in the judiciary, an activity he would maintain for almost his entire life.

Career overview

His first important appointment in the judiciary occurred in 1795, when he was sent to the city of Angra, then capital of the Captaincy-General of the Azores, as a juiz de fora, a position he held notably between 1795 and 1799. That year he was elevated to Corregedor, a position he held from 1799 to 1802, participating, under the terms of the Captaincy's regulations, in its government. This happened, among other occasions, in the period between March 20 and October 30, 1799, in which he presided over the final phase of the Interim Government that had governed the Azores since December 1793. On that last date, the new Captain general D. Lourenço José Boaventura de Almada, Count of Almada, arrived in Angra, who assumed governance.

He remained in the Azores until 1807, the year in which he returned to Lisbon, after completing his appointment as magistrate. That year he married Delfina Maria das Neves, widow of his uncle and well-off woman, born in Sarzedo, in the municipality of Arganil.

Shortly afterwards, Portugal was invaded by the Franco-Spanish armies commanded by Junot and D. John VI and his court fled to Rio de Janeiro. Faced with this situation, José Acúrsio das Neves reacted with outrage to what he considered as the collaborationism of the Regency of the Kingdom and a large part of the Portuguese intelligentsia and military, starting an intense pamphleteer activity in favor of patriotic agitation against the invading forces.

Once the Provisional Junta of Porto was formed and resistance to the invader began, he retired to his homeland, where he maintained intense activity in favor of the resistance. His Patriotic Works date from this period, a set of pamphlets designed to strengthen popular resistance against the French, including the Manifesto of Reason against French Usurpations Offered to the Portuguese Nation, Sovereigns and Peoples and Salvation of the Fatherland. Proclamation about Your Honor and Your Duty in the Current Circumstances of the Monarchy. Some of these books were translated in Spain and were widely distributed there.

After the first invasion was repelled and sovereignty was reestablished, albeit with limitations, José Acúrsio das Neves saw his patriotism and the notoriety achieved in previous years recognized, being appointed to an important set of positions in the economic area. It was thus that in 1810 he was chosen as Judge of the Oporto Court of Appeal, accumulating the positions of deputy and secretary of the Royal Board of Commerce, Agriculture, Factories and Navigation, deputy of the direction of the Royal Silk Factory and Works of the Free Waters, and deputy of the Settlement Board for the funds of the extinct Grão Pará and Maranhão Company. He also collaborated in the drafting of the new Civil Code.

He was, however, honored by the then prince regent Miguel I as a Knight of the Order of Christ and the Order of Our Lady of Conception of Vila Vicosa. In recognition of his scientific work, on August 27, 1810 he was elected member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon.

The appointments received in 1810, all in the economic area, were decisive in the experience and political thinking of Acúrsio das Neves. It was after this executive experience in managing some of the most important economic institutions of the time that he began, from 1814 onwards, to publish his main works on political economy and it was from this experience that he derived many of his data and demonstrations.

Attentive to scientific and technological progress, as his work Cosmological, Geographical and Historical Entertainments (1826) demonstrates, he defended the use of the steam engine from an early age, seeking to contribute to the improvement of the country's productive structure, proposing to the Board of Commerce, as early as 1818, its introduction in Portugal.

Not forgetting the trauma of the French invasions, and not forgiving the collaborationism and lukewarmness of many of the powerful people of the time, he published a monumental General History of the Invasion of the French in Portugal, and the Restoration of this Kingdom (1810–1811), in 5 volumes, the which, given the proximity of the events and the presence in places of power of many of those criticized, sparked heated controversy. One of the most drawn out and violent was the one maintained with Lieutenant General Francisco de Borja Garção Stockler, who would become Captain General of the Azores, which lasted for more than a decade, involving epistolary exchanges and the publication of several denials and justifications.

Of a conservative nature, with the Liberal Revolution of 1820, he began an intense work of political struggle, publishing several works between 1821 and 1824 in opposition to Vintism, which is why in 1821 he was dismissed from the main positions he held.

Despite his opposition to the new policies, he was elected deputy for Arganil to the General and Extraordinary Cortes in 1822, having a prominent position in parliamentary activity.

Later life and assassination

After the Constitution of 1822 was suspended, he left through Vilafrancada, and was readmitted to the Board of Commerce, from where he was dismissed again in 1824, and was then arrested for participating in the attempted traditionalist coup d'état of April 29, 1824, the famous Abrilada.

After the death of D. John VI, he was readmitted to his positions in 1826. Once D. Miguel's government was installed, he was appointed Literate Prosecutor of the city of Lisbon at the Council of the Three Estates (1828), having played an important role in legitimizing D. Miguel I as king.

The speech he gave at the meeting of the Cortes of 1828, held at the Palace of Ajuda, on June 24, 1828, became famous. In that speech by Acúrsio das Neves, given before the Council of the Three Estates, the doctrine contained in the Letter Patent of 1642, a fundamental law of the State, which the king himself could not change without the consensus of the nation, which is then invoked as the basis for the acclamation of Prince D. Miguel I as King of Portugal.

There Acúrsio das Neves explains the reasons that, according to the ancient constitution of the monarchy, based as always, in the first half of the 19th century, on the Cortes of Lamego, made D. Miguel I the legitimate king, and D. Pedro IV a usurper. But the most important part of the speech refers to the maintenance of the monarchy of divine right, in accordance with the will also expressed by the Holy Alliance, formed after the Napoleonic wars by Russia, Austria and Prussia, to which only the liberal Great Britain was opposed.

After the Civil War broke out, and a cholera epidemic emerged in Lisbon in 1833, he took refuge in Caldas da Rainha, where he wrote the bulletin for D. Miguel's army.

Considered one of D. Miguel's most important supporters, persecuted by the victorious liberal forces, he took refuge first in his homeland and then in Sarzedo, Arganil, his wife's place of birth, where he was killed on May 6, 1834, in a haystack. where he had seek refuge.

Thought

It was during the years 1821 to 1828 that Acúrsio das Neves's political thought best revealed itself, as at the same time he revolted against the Vintists, because "instead of following the path taken by experience, they took to the air spaces of abstraction, to subvert everything with their vain theories, and so vain, that they remind us of the ingenious thoughts of the author of Gulliver's story about the government of Laputa", is concerned with the need to ensure that power does not tend towards despotism as "rulers always tend to increase, concentrate your power; and from here it comes that the democratic Government tends towards the aristocratic, the aristocratic towards the oligarchic, the latter towards the monarchical, and finally towards the despotic."

For him, despotism is "that monstrous type of Government, where a single person, without law and without rules, moves everything by his will and recognizes no other principle than the will of whoever governs, either just one, or many, because the distinctiveness consists in the nature of the Government itself, and not in the number of people who exercise it."

For Acúrsio das Neves, in despotism everything is prostituted to those who govern; There is no emulation and they do not want men for jobs other than men who are servile and flattering. Despite these opinions on despotism, José Acúrsio das Neves is considered by many, along with Friar João dos Prazeres and the Marquis of Penalva, one of the main ideologists in Portugal of enlightened despotism and its application in the economy, particularly in aspects relating to trade and industrialization.

In terms of economic thought, Acúrsio das Neves was a reformist, who defended the strengthening of the State apparatus and the creation of structures that would allow for the supported development of agriculture and industry. Despite having supported D. Miguel's political orientation and the recovery of the absolutist regime in Portugal, from an economic point of view he generally aligned himself with the economic theories of the liberals.

He was a defender of industrialization, in contrast to the old agrarian theories of the physiocrats who intended to reduce the country to an agricultural economy and the mercantilists who proposed currency as the support of national wealth, since, according to him, "industry is the only thing that can save us, because only industry provides wealth, the main basis of strength and prosperity for people. But industry does not strengthen unless aided by a good Government, and on a terrain free from obstacles, and suitably prepared through wise institutions and well-meditated reforms."

In line with Adam Smith (1723–1790) and Jean-Baptiste Say (1767–1832), he considered it necessary to stimulate private industry and defended state support for economic activity in general. He proposed as essential to achieving this objective the creation of literary and economic associations and the creation of public libraries, as a way of raising the cultural and technological level of populations and thus creating conditions for entrepreneurship and economic growth.

In taxation, he defended moderate protectionism, with the defense of national production against foreign competition, especially English competition, but with the free movement of products throughout the country, and the abolition of morgadios for a better distribution of rural property. He also favored the reduction or elimination of rents on farmers and the use of uncultivated land and investments in agriculture as a way of increasing the productivity of the agricultural sector. Paradoxically, or perhaps not, these same measures were the basis of the liberal reform, essentially constituting the lines of force of the reform attempted by Mouzinho da Silveira (1780–1849).

Despite his brilliant political career and his fame as a thinker and economist, the circumstances at the end of the civil war meant that he died alone and abandoned and that his work had to wait many decades to be rediscovered.

Today, having republished his works, José Acúrsio das Neves is considered one of the most brilliant and lucid thinkers of the Portuguese 19th century and a precursor of modern economic theories in Portugal.

Works

Throughout his life, José Acúrsio das Neves maintained an intense intellectual activity, writing numerous works that, despite their diversity, can be grouped into three main categories: political economy; contemporary history; and political intervention or controversy and patriotic exaltation in the face of the French invasions. His last published work, Cosmological, Geographical and Historical Entertainments, from 1826, does not fit into any of the categories mentioned above, but demonstrates the author's scientific culture, showing that, despite the political turmoil in which Portugal found itself, Acúrsio das Neves kept an eye on scientific developments in Europe.

His first known work was published in 1794 and consists of a eulogy to the president of the Court of Appeal, Luís de Vasconcelos. The majority of publications appeared, however, between 1800 and 1830, with the most significant, particularly with regard to works of an economic nature, concentrated in the period from 1814 to 1821.

Most of the texts are included in the collection Complete Works of José Acúrsio das Neves, with introductory studies by António Almodovar and Armando de Castro, published by Edições Afrontamento in 6 volumes (1983–1989).

Political economy

• Memória Económico-Política sobre a liberdade do Comércio dos grãos com a sua aplicação às Ilhas dos Açores (a manuscript from 1800, published in 1941)
• Variedades sobre objectos relativos às artes, comércio e manufacturas consideradas segundo os princípios da economia política (1814, 1817; 2 volumes)
• Memória sobre os meios de melhorar a Indústria Portuguesa, considerada nos seus diferentes ramos (1820)
• Memória sobre alguns acontecimentos mais notáveis da administração da Real Fábrica das Sedas desde o ano de 1810, e sobre o seu restabelecimento. Dirigida à Corte do Rio de Janeiro em 1819 (1821)
• Noções Históricas, Económicas e Administrativas sobre a produção e manufactura das Sedas em Portugal, e particularmente sobre a Real Fábrica do Subúrbio do Rato, e suas Anexas (1827)
• Considerações Políticas e Comerciais sobre os Descobrimentos e Possessões na África e na Ásia (1830)

History

• Reflexões sobre a Invasão dos Franceses em Portugal (1809)
• História Geral da Invasão dos Franceses em Portugal, e da Restauração deste Reino (1810–1811; 5 volumes)

Political pamphlets

• Manifesto da Razão contra as usurpações francesas oferecido à Nação Portuguesa, aos Soberanos e aos Povos (1808)
• A Voz do Patriotismo na Restauração de Portugal e Espanha (1808)
• O Despertador dos Soberanos e dos Povos (1808)
• Post-Scriptum ao Despertador dos Soberanos e dos Povos (1809)
• A Salvação da Pátria. Proclamação sobre a sua honra e o seu dever nas actuais circunstâncias da Monarquia (1809)
• Observações sobre os recentes acontecimentos das Províncias de Entre-Douro-e-Minho e Trás-os-Montes (1809)
• A Generosidade de Jorge III e a ambição de Bonaparte, Wellesley e os Generais Franceses (1809)
• Discurso sobre os principais sucessos da Campanha do Douro oferecido aos ilustres guerreiros que nela se distinguiram (1809)
• Paráfrase ao Capítulo XIV do Livro de Isaías (1809)
• Cartas de um Português aos seus concidadãos sobre diferentes objectos de utilidade geral e individual (1822)
• Manifesto em que o Desembargador José Acúrsio das Neves expõe e analisa os procedimentos contra ele praticados pelos ex-regentes do Reino, e os seus fundamentos (1822)

Miscellanea

• Ao Il.mo E Ex.mo Senhor Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, do Conselho de Sua Majestade e Presidente do Desembargo do Paço em sinal de gratidão O. D. C. (1794)
• Elogio Fúnebre do Marquês de La Romana, D. Pedro Caro de Sureda, recitado na Assembleia Ordinária da Academia Real das Ciências de Lisboa de 23 de Fevereiro de 1811 (1811)
• Entretenimentos Cosmológicos, Geográficos e Históricos (1826)

See also

• History of Portugal (1777–1834)

References

Almodovar, António (1983). "O Pensamento Político-económico de José Acúrsio das Neves: Uma Proposta de Leitura." In: Obras Completas de José Acúrsio das Neves, 1. Porto: Edições Afrontamento, pp. 15–60.

Almodovar, António (1985). "Acúrsio das Neves e a Penetração da Economia em Portugal." In: Obras Completas de José Acúrsio das Neves, 3. Porto: Edições Afrontamento, pp. 81–110.

Almodovar, António (1989). "Acúrsio das Neves: Um Pensamento e o Seu Contexto." In: Obras Completas de José Acúrsio das Neves, 6. Porto: Edições Afrontamento, pp. 7–25.

Almodovar, António (1995). A Institucionalizaçao da Economia Política Clássica em Portugal. Porto: Edições Afrontamento.

Alves, Luís Marques (1978). "José Acúrsio das Neves, o “Liberalista” colonizador," Revista História, No. 1, pp. 351–59.

Araújo, Ana Cristina (2022). Resistência Patriótica e Revolução Liberal, 1808-1820. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra.

Amzalak, Moisés Bensabat (1920). A Economia Política em Portugal. O Economista José Accúrsio das Neves. I – Bio-bibliografia. Lisboa: Oficina do Museu Comercial.

Amzalak, Moisés Bensabat (1921). A Economia Política em Portugal. O Economista José Accúrsio das Neves. II – Doutrinas Económicas. Lisboa: Oficina do Museu Comercial.

Campos, Fernando (1931). O Pensamento Contra-revolucionário em Portugal (século XIX). Lisboa: J. Fernandes Júnior.

Campos, Fernando (1946). José Acúrsio das Neves: O Historiador, o Economista, o Panfletário. Lisboa: Edições Gama.

Castro, Armando (1983). "José Acúrsio das Neves, um Doutrinador da sua Época Historicamente Atrasado." In: Obras Completas de José Acúrsio das Neves, 1. Porto: Edições Afrontamento, pp. 61–136.

Castro, Armando (1985). "O Sistema Económico Conceptual de José Acúrsio das Neves." In: Obras Completas de José Acúrsio das Neves, 3. Porto, Edições Afrontamento, pp. 5–79.

Graça, Luís (1998). A Promoção e o Banimento Político em Portugal, no Tempo de José Acúrsio das Neves (1766-1834). Lisboa: UCP.

Laranjo, José Frederico (1976). Economistas Portugueses: Subsídios para a história das Doutrinas Económicas em Portugal. Lisboa: Guimarães Editores.

Loureiro, Fernando Pinto (1954). José Augusto Acúrsio das Neves: Percursor do Industrialismo em Portugal. Coimbra: Coimbra Editora.

Tengarrinha, José (1981). "Neves, José Acúrsio das (1766-1834)." In: Dicionário de História de Portugal, 4. Porto: Editorial Figueirinhas, pp. 379–80.

Vicente, António Pedro (1989). "José Acúrsio das Neves: Panfletário Antinapoleónico." In: Ler História, No. 17. Lisboa: Teorema, pp. 113–27.

External links

• Works by José Acúrsio das Neves at Gallica
• Works by José Acúrsio das Neves at Hathi Trust