Antas (Count of)
Original title: Antas (Conde das)
Francisco Xavier Pereira da Silva, later Count of Antas, came to Madeira in 1828 to help Governor Travassos Valdez resist the Miguelist invasion, then left with him for England.
Major Francisco Xavier Pereira da Silva, later Count of Antas, who won great distinction in the campaigns for liberty, was in Madeira in 1828 to assist the governor and captain-general José Lúcio Travassos Valdez in the defence he was preparing against the attack of the Miguelite (supporter of the absolutist King Miguel) squadron. Pereira da Silva had arrived in Funchal from England on 20 August 1828 and was at once placed in charge of defending several strategic points on the heights of Caniço (‘reed’). The liberal forces, however, were compelled to yield to the invading troops, and this officer, together with Valdez and others, boarded the English corvette Alligator and sailed for England.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01-
A Miguelist expedition under Colonel José António de Azevedo Lemos landed at Machico and occupied Madeira, proclaiming absolutism; Governor Valdez and liberal leaders took refuge aboard the British frigate Alligator.
-
Francisco Xavier Pereira da Silva arrived at Funchal from England to aid the liberal defence.
Place
Places mentioned · 03
Abroad
- Caniço
Santa Cruz. Heights he was charged with defending.
Caniço is a parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz, lying on the boundary between the captaincies of Funchal and Machico. Its early settlers included Gaspar Rego, Vasco Fernandes Rego and Álvaro de Ornelas, whose family founded morgados there; its alcaide and judge were appointed by the Funchal senate. The parish includes the Garajau statue, the Jesuits' Socorro residence and the Quinta do Barão da Conceição.
- England
United Kingdom. Whence he came and where he fled.
England appears in the Elucidário as the first main market for Madeira embroidery and the main importer of Madeiran wicker. It was also the source of most butter consumed in Funchal in the early nineteenth century. It was a chief refuge for liberal emigrants fleeing Miguelist persecution, and several Madeirans studied or served as diplomats there.
- Funchal
Where Pereira da Silva arrived on 20 August 1828.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
People
People mentioned · 02-
Liberal major, later Count of Antas, who organised defences at Caniço against the Miguelists in 1828.
- José Lúcio Travassos Valdez1787–1862
Governor and captain-general of Madeira who prepared the 1828 defence against the Miguelist squadron.