Occupation of Madeira by British troops

Anyone moderately versed in Madeiran history knows that this island was twice occupied by British troops: the first time from July 1801 to January 1802, and the second from December 1807 to October 1814.

Everyone knows that the English alliance plunged us into the hazards of the Napoleonic Wars. Yet our part in the campaigns against France brought not the slightest advantage to our country, which was not even represented at the Congress of Vienna when the terms of peace were discussed. Among the humiliations we then suffered was the first occupation of Madeira. It was carried out in the name of protection and defence, but in fact it amounted to an outright conquest, as the documents of the period clearly show; they leave not the slightest doubt about the designs behind that occupation.

On the morning of 24 July 1801 a small British squadron appeared in the harbour of Funchal. It consisted of the ship of the line Argo, the frigate Carrysfort, the brig Falcon and five further transport ships, under the command of Commodore Bowen, and carried some 3,500 soldiers and officers commanded by Colonel Henry Cliton. Several officers landed at once and, after a brief conference with the British consul José Pringle, the consul went straight to the Governor and Captain-General, Dom José Manuel da Câmara. He informed him of the orders he had received from the commanders of the British forces, whose sole purpose in coming to Madeira was to protect and defend it against a supposed attack by French ships.

The Governor could not have been more surprised. Not only did he consider the arrival of the squadron and the stationing of the troops among us unnecessary, but he had also known nothing whatever of their coming, and the affair caused the greatest indignation throughout the island. Dom José Manuel da Câmara nevertheless complied with the orders conveyed by the British consul, for he was convinced that the slightest resistance on his part would mean the immediate bombardment of the city. All this can be clearly inferred from the report Dom José Manuel sent to the central government.

John VI’s government was no less surprised. It gave our representative in London the necessary instructions to lodge a vigorous protest with the British government against the occupation of Madeira and to demand the immediate withdrawal of the troops, especially after Napoleon had adopted a more benevolent attitude towards Portuguese affairs.

While the negotiations dragged slowly on in London, Colonel Cliton set about finding more suitable and comfortable quarters for his troops. At first they were scattered among the various fortresses; later they occupied the Jesuit College (Colégio dos Jesuítas), then serving as the diocesan seminary, as well as a number of private houses, whose owners and occupants were turned out. Nor did he fail to interfere improperly in local government and administration, oppressing the inhabitants of this island with harsh measures that revealed the true tyranny of intruding masters.

After the preliminaries of the Peace of Amiens were signed on 1 October 1801, our representative in London pressed again, and more forcefully, for the evacuation of the British forces from Madeira. Only at the beginning of 1802, however, did the British government order Colonel Cliton to withdraw from this island, and the troops embarked on 25 January 1802. Seven years later the island was again occupied by British troops, and this time the occupiers’ rule here was more complete and more absolute. There can be no doubt that England proceeded to take definitive possession of the archipelago, and it is truly remarkable how our skilful diplomacy, through its efforts in London and other European centres, succeeded in restoring Madeira to Portuguese possession.

On 24 December 1807 a British squadron anchored off Funchal. Commanded by Admiral Samuel Hood, it consisted of four ships of the line, four frigates and sixteen transports, and carried two infantry regiments of a thousand men each and two companies of artillery, the troops being under the command of Major-General William Carr Beresford.

Once the troops had landed, the British general lost no time in demanding that the governor and captain-general of Madeira, Pedro Fagundes Bacelar de Antas e Meneses, immediately surrender the archipelago. Since any resistance was impossible, the governor promptly agreed, and the capitulation was drawn up without delay. Its first article contained the clause that ‘the island of Madeira and its dependencies shall be handed over to the commanders of the forces of His Britannic Majesty, to be held and governed by His said Majesty with the same rights, privileges and jurisdictions as the Crown of Portugal has enjoyed them until now.’ This deed of capitulation, consisting of 7 articles, was signed on 26 December by Pedro Fagundes and Beresford. On the 30th of the same month Beresford issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of the island, which is transcribed in ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra) and is in many respects a most interesting document.

This time the occupation was more complete and absolute than the first. It caused great and painful surprise in Rio de Janeiro, to which the court had moved shortly before, and at our legation in London, and diplomatic efforts began at once to obtain whatever redress was possible for the harm the occupation had done to Madeira. Domingos António de Sousa Coutinho, later Count of Funchal and our representative in London, a man of talent and energy, made the most diligent efforts to have the island handed back. After a stubborn struggle he secured the return of the entire civil administration to the Portuguese Government, while Major-General Beresford kept charge of all military matters and of whatever related directly to them.

Governor Pedro Fagundes resumed his post at the end of April 1808 and reoccupied the Palácio de São Lourenço (St Lawrence Palace), from which he had been ousted. In practice, however, the British occupation continued, though softened by the diplomatic negotiations conducted by Portugal’s distinguished representative in London and set down in the convention of 16 March 1808.

On 17 August 1808 half of the British troops stationed here, namely one infantry battalion and one artillery company, left for Lisbon under Beresford’s command, and Colonel Mead came to command the British forces that remained in Funchal. In July 1812 Colonel Mead was replaced by Major-General Gordon, who stayed here in command of the British forces until they left Madeira on 3 October 1814.

During these seven years of foreign occupation there were several clashes between the senior authorities of the archipelago and the commanders of the British forces, caused by the latter’s encroachment on powers that belonged exclusively to the governors and captains-general. Prominent among them was the one provoked by a flagrant violation of our sovereignty, when General Beresford had a British soldier who had killed a fellow countryman hanged on our territory.

Even after the European war had ended, the British troops remained in Madeira, contrary to the express letter of the treaties and to the promises solemnly made to our ambassador in London. Only after repeated representations by the Portuguese Government did they embark at Funchal, on 3 October 1814, bound for England under the command of Major-General Gordon, as stated above.

As a fitting tribute to the memory of this illustrious diplomat, one of the new streets of the city of Funchal was named after him. See Funchal (Marquis of).