Azevedo (Dr Domingos Olavo Correia de)
Original title: Azevedo (Dr. Domingos Olavo Correia de)
Biographical entry on Dr. Domingos Olavo Correia de Azevedo, a Funchal magistrate who became the third and last Administrador Geral (district governor) of Madeira in 1841. It recalls his firm refusal to hand over the seized smuggling vessel Bernarda to a British warship.
Career and the Bernarda affair
He was a magistrate in one of the judicial districts of Funchal when, by decree of 26 March 1841, he was appointed Administrador Geral of Madeira, administrator-general (administrador geral) being the title then held by district governors; he was the third and last to hold that office here under that name. He took office on 2 April 1841. He was elected substitute deputy for Madeira, and also substitute senator, for the legislative session of 1838 to 1840.
John Adams Dix, in his work entitled Um inverno na Madeira (A Winter in Madeira), speaks of Dr Domingos Olavo in the most complimentary terms and states that he was a native of Madeira, which does not seem to us to be accurate.
During his administration an incident occurred that forms an interesting episode in Madeiran history and should not be entirely forgotten.
Having been caught smuggling in Madeiran waters, the patacho (small two-masted merchant vessel) Bernarda was seized by the maritime customs service, forced to put in at the landing place of Funchal and sold here at public auction under the customs laws of the time. Shortly afterwards, on 8 August 1841, the English war brig Savage, commanded by Lieutenant Bowquer, entered our bay. In the name of Admiral Walpole, commander of the British forces at Gibraltar, he demanded the immediate surrender of the patacho Bernarda, threatening reprisals if his demand were not promptly met. The authorities maintained an absolute refusal, and their firm stance was praised by the government in Lisbon.
Domingos Olavo Correia de Azevedo died in Lisbon on 9 March 1855.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 03-
Domingos Olavo Correia de Azevedo served as substitute deputy and senator for Madeira in the 1838–1840 legislative session.
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Domingos Olavo Correia de Azevedo was appointed Administrador Geral (civil governor) of Madeira by decree of 26 March 1841 and took office on 2 April.
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The British brig Savage entered Funchal bay demanding the return of the seized vessel Bernarda, which the authorities refused.
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Dr Domingos Olavo Correia de Azevedo died in Lisbon.
Place
Places mentioned · 03
Abroad
- Funchal
Seat of the comarca where Azevedo served and port where the Bernarda was sold.
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.
- Gibraltar
United Kingdom. Base of the British forces that demanded the Bernarda.
British port to which the Empress of Austria was escorted on leaving Madeira and to which Padre Macedo was deported in 1823. Dr Joaquim de Menezes e Ataide died of plague there in 1828. It was the base of the British forces that demanded the Bernarda.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Place where Azevedo died and seat of the government that praised him.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
People
People mentioned · 04-
Magistrate and third and last Administrador Geral of Madeira from 1841, who refused to surrender the seized vessel Bernarda to the British.
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Commander of the British brig Savage, which demanded the return of the Bernarda in August 1841.
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Author of 'A Winter in Madeira', who praised Azevedo and claimed, doubtfully according to the Elucidário, that he was Madeiran.
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Commander of British forces at Gibraltar in whose name the Bernarda's return was demanded.