Alçadas (special tribunals)

Extraordinary events, generally of a political nature, that were regarded as attacks on the laws or institutions in force led to the creation of special tribunals. Armed with powers that were at times discretionary, these tribunals conducted rigorous inquiries and passed their sentences in the very places where the abuses or the offences had occurred. These improvised but fearsome tribunals came to Madeira several times; on some occasions only magistrates came, with wider powers than ordinary ones, to investigate and judge crimes or events that the central government considered deserving of more effective and exemplary punishment. ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra) mentions some of these alçadas and several magistrates who came here invested with extraordinary powers to try certain cases, and we have already referred to this in the article Judicial Administration.

It seems that until Philippine rule (Spanish Habsburg rule over Portugal, 1580–1640) the sphere of action of these magistrates was not so broad, nor were their powers so unlimited. They were hampered and obstructed by the extraordinary, almost sovereign prerogatives and privileges enjoyed by the donataries, who often imposed their interference despotically, curtailing the jurisdiction of the alçadas through violence and harassment. It is true that royal power and other circumstances, as we have already pointed out, had gradually and considerably reduced the power of the captain-donataries. Nevertheless, traditional usages and customs, the old privileges and perhaps above all the distance from the central government encouraged the abuse of authority, which showed itself from time to time.

We shall give a brief account of some of the alçadas, or magistrates with equal powers, that came to this archipelago from the time of the Spanish yoke onwards, dwelling in particular on the ominous alçadas of 1823 and 1828, which inflicted on us the greatest harassment and the most unspeakable reprisals.

The high court judge (desembargador) João Leitão (see that entry), the first governor of Madeira under Philippine rule (Spanish Habsburg rule over Portugal, 1580–1640), came with discretionary powers to try those who had shown themselves hostile to Philip II, but we do not know how he carried out this mission or what sentences, if any, he passed. Elsewhere we shall say something about Philippine government on this island, a very interesting period of our history; it is certain, however, that the material for a complete study of the subject is scarce, beginning with the acts of the special judicial commission (alçada) entrusted to Dr João Leitão.

It was again because of demonstrations hostile to the rule of the Philips that the high court judge Francisco Cardoso was sent to Funchal in 1611. The outcome of the special judicial commission with which he came invested is not known. All that is known is that the governor-general of the time was reprimanded by higher authority for meddling in the commission’s powers.

In 1614, and already before then, serious accusations had been made about the poor administration of public affairs on this island, some cases of killing and other grave abuses and scandals. This led Philip III, by royal letter (carta régia) of 29 November of that year, to appoint Dr Gonçalo de Sousa, a high court judge of the Casa da Suplicação (supreme court of appeal in Lisbon), to come to Madeira with the powers of a special judicial commission, in order to try and pass sentence on those accusations and punish the criminals. The work of the judicial inquiry (devassa) was in vain, because those it targeted fled and went into hiding, escaping the reach of justice.

It seems that these crimes were of the utmost gravity, because, since they had gone unpunished, a new special judicial commission came to this island 13 years later to carry out the sentences passed by the high court judge Gonçalo de Sousa. By royal letter of 13 October 1627 this commission was entrusted to Dr Estêvão Coelho de Meireles, who also came to investigate other crimes committed after 1614. This magistrate had very broad powers; only death sentences had to be confirmed by the Casa da Suplicação. In the proceedings of the judicial inquiry he was assisted by the judge of pious bequests (juiz dos resíduos) of this archipelago. We do not know the nature of the sentences passed or whether they were ever carried out.

Shortly after Portugal was freed from the Castilian yoke, the corregedor (royal district magistrate) of the judicial district (comarca), Gaspar Mousinho, was murdered on this island; we know none of the detailed circumstances of this sad event. For this reason the high court judge Jorge da Costa Osório came to Madeira in 1644 to hold a judicial inquiry. He passed sentence, but we do not know what it was.

The popular sedition of 1668, which deposed the governor and captain-general Dom Francisco de Mascarenhas, arrested him and subjected him to the greatest humiliations, brought to this island a special judicial commission invested with extraordinary powers, presided over by Dr João de Meneses Coutinho, which conducted the judicial inquiry in 1669. To avoid needless repetition, we refer the reader to the article Sedition of 1668, where this subject is set out at greater length.

With special jurisdiction, in the form of a special judicial commission, the high court judge Domingos de Matos Cerveira was in Madeira in 1683, having come to investigate the serious accusations made against the superintendent (provedor) and other officials of the royal treasury.

Serious conflicts arose between the diocesan prelate Dom Friar José de Sousa Castelo Branco on one side and the governor and captain-general João da Costa e Ataíde and the superintendent of the royal treasury (provedor da fazenda) Manuel Mexia Galvão on the other. In 1702 the central government had the case investigated by the high court judge Diogo Sálter de Macedo, who passed sentence, ordering that the superintendent be ‘harshly reprimanded’ in the Council chamber, in the presence of its officers, and then sent away from the city for a period we cannot specify.