José Maria Xavier de Araújo

José Maria Xavier de Araújo (1786 – 1858) was a jurist and magistrate. He was a deputy to the General and Extraordinary Cortes of the Portuguese Nation in 1821–1822, elected by the Minho constituency. He was a member of the Sanhedrin and the Freemasons. Araújo collaborated with various periodicals and wrote memoirs about the Liberal Revolution of 1820.

Biography

José Maria Xavier de Araújo was born in the town of Arcos de Valdevez, the son of the councillor and appellate judge Francisco Xavier de Araújo.

After completing his primary education in his home town, he left for Coimbra, where he graduated in Canons. After completing his studies at the University of Coimbra, he entered the magistracy, developing a career that led him to the post of Provider of Justice at the comarca of Viana do Castelo, a position he held in 1820 when he joined the revolt led by Fernandes Tomás on August 24, 1820. A member of the Sanhedrin, he was one of the most prominent figures in the 1820 revolution.

Between August 24 and November 15, 1820, he was part of the Junta Governativa do Porto, the governing body established by the revolutionaries in the city of Porto. He was elected a deputy to the General and Extraordinary Cortes of the Portuguese Nation, a position he held in 1821 and 1822, becoming notable in parliamentary debates for belonging to the minority that was fighting for the legislative power to be organized into two chambers.

In 1823, as a result of the Vilafrancada, he went into exile in Spain, only returning to Portugal in 1834, when the Civil War ended, and he was appointed judge of the Lisbon Commercial Court.

In 1850, he was appointed judge of the Court of Appeal of Oporto, where he died in 1858. His funeral eulogy was delivered by Manuel Fernandes Tomás at the Literary and Patriotic Society of Lisbon, in a session held on November 27, 1858.

Xavier Araújo was a nobleman of the Royal Household and was awarded the Order of Christ. His contributions were published in various periodicals and pamphlets, the most notable being Revelação e Memórias para a História da Revolução de 24 de Agosto de 1820 e 15 de Setembro do mesmo ano. First published in 1846, the work was reprinted in 1883 and in 2009.

Works

• Revelações e Memórias para a história da revolução de 24 de Agosto de 1820, e de 15 de Septembro do mesmo anno (1846; 2009)

References

• Borges Grainha, Manuel (1976). História da Franco-Maçonaria em Portugal: 1733-1912. Lisboa: Vega.
• Silva Dias, Graça da; José Sebastião da Silva Dias (1980). Os Primórdios da Maçonaria em Portugal. Lisboa: Instituto Nacional de Investigação Científica.