Militia / Milicia

When Madeira was discovered and settled, as Dr. Azevedo states, it was still in the feudal period of the people's militia 'in which weapons were a privilege of a few, and almost everyone was subjected.' 'Each donatary,' the same author continues, 'was in his captaincy, the leader, the captain, and the nobles who had received the lands were subordinated to him; and to the nobles, or lords, the lower settlers, who, in times of peace, were almost adscripted colonists of the lands, and in times of war, obligated men-at-arms.' Following the feudal period, the period that Dr. Azevedo calls monarchical followed, in which the king, availing himself of the right to demand military service from his able-bodied vassals, 'broke with the warlike preeminences of the donataries and nobles, leaving them only with the burdens.' The first decree in which the king directly demanded this service from both the nobles and the people of Madeira dates back to March 25, 1500, for an expedition to Africa. However, when the donatary João Gonçalves da Câmara respectfully objected to the orders issued by the central power, based on ancient rights that could not be disregarded, another letter was issued in the same year revoking the previous one in relation to this island, and ordering the residents not to leave it 'unaccompanied,' so that they could guard and defend it in case of need. The monarch was perhaps temporizing with the donatary, as he might not have considered himself sufficiently strong to consolidate royal power on this island, but this lasted only a short time, as on May 12, 1509, the king ordered, by a letter issued from Évora, that the nobles, knights, esquires, good men, and people of the city of Funchal should arm themselves and provide horses, as their services might be necessary at any time. The creation of the modern Madeiran militia cannot be attributed to this decree, as it only ordered the arming of the people without providing them with military organization, but we can consider the publication of this decree as the subordination of the elements with which this island could contribute to the defense of the country to royal power. The watchtowers, which were made by the people in small strong houses, purposefully built to resist the sea and avoid surprises, were, in the opinion of Dr. Álvaro de Azevedo, more than the prelude to the militia later known as the 'ordenanças,' as they were the very 'ordenanças,' with slight differences, thus marking the limit of the feudal and monarchical periods in the history of the Madeiran militia. The watchtowers were regulated in 1567, by a decree from King Sebastian, and much earlier, in 1515, there were bombardiers here, to whom privileges were then granted. In 1532, a chief musketeer was appointed for this island, who later had the authorization to appoint musketeers for the towns and places, and from the charter of March 2, 1497, it is seen that before this date there was an armory in Madeira, where arms were manufactured. According to the regulations of December 10, 1570, the 'ordenanças' were divided into companies, grouped by 'capitanias-mores.' Each 'capitania-mór,' says Dr. Azevedo, had a 'capitão mór,' who was the commander; a 'sargento mór,' his immediate subordinate; and later, an aide. Each 'capitania' had a captain and an ensign, without royal patent, a sergeant, a bailiff, a clerk, and ten squad leaders. The donataries, or the chief constables in the lands they had, were natural chief constables; in other lands, they were elected by the council, just like the rest of the officers, in all lands until this privilege of election was reduced, for those without a donatary, by the charter of October 18, 1701, to mere information, with the king, or the donataries in their lands, granting the patents, but only the king could revoke them.' We do not know if all the entities that, according to the regulations, should have had the 'ordenanças' companies existed in Madeira, but there are several documents showing that there were chief constables and chief sergeants here, as well as aides to the chief constables. As early as 1575, there must have been 'ordenanças' on the island, as there is a diploma from that time granting a salary increase to the chief sergeant-major of Funchal. Dr. Azevedo believes that the watchtowers we referred to earlier eventually merged into the 'ordenanças.' At the beginning of the 19th century, the 'ordenanças' constituted a third-line force, with the following 'capitanias-mores' in Madeira: Funchal, Câmara de Lobos, Campanário, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol, Madalena, Calheta, Porto do Moniz, S. Vicente, Ponta Delgada, Porto da Cruz, Machico, Santa Cruz, and Caniço. 'Subsequent to the Castilian dominion,' says Dr. Álvaro de Azevedo, 'the Portuguese militia, until 1809, had four reforms or renewals: 1st, that of King João IV, decreed in a court session in 1641, with two types of troops, the paid and the auxiliary, leaving all the other people in the 'ordenanças,' which were like a recruiting ground; 2nd, that of King João V, established by the charter of November 15, 1707, called the new 'ordenanças'; 3rd, that of King José I, developed in the regulations (1763-1766) called the Conde de Lippe's, as this reform was inspired by this illustrious general, then commander of the Portuguese troops; and 4th, finally, that of 1806-1809.' In addition to the fourteen 'capitanias-mores' we referred to earlier, at the beginning of the 19th century, the archipelago had a first-line artillery battalion, with six companies and 727 men, an auxiliary artillery battalion with fifteen companies and 2171 men, and three militia regiments, those of Calheta, Funchal, and S. Vicente, each with ten companies and about 800 men. All these forces, except the first-line artillery battalion, were militias, with the auxiliary artillery and the three militia regiments constituting the second line, and the 'ordenanças' the third line of the Madeiran troops. Of the militia forces that existed in the archipelago, only Porto Santo had an artillery corps, with four companies, created in 1805. The 'ordenanças' were abolished by Philip II, at the request of the Cortes of Tomar, and reinstated in 1623, but apparently, the decree that abolished them did not apply to Madeira, where they existed until the decree and letter of August 22, 1821, which again dissolved them, as well as the militias. Reinstated by the law of July 13, 1823, both were finally ended by the decrees of July 14 and 20, 1832, which only took effect in this island after the proclamation of the liberal government in 1834. From a report presented to the Government in 1754 by the Captain-General Manuel Saldanha de Albuquerque, and from what is published about the role played by the militias at the time of the taking of Madeira by the Miguelistas in 1828, it is seen that these troops were not recommended in those times for either discipline or military valor, which had distinguished the militias that, in the time of the donataries, had come to the aid of our African fortresses threatened by the Moors, and even those that in ancient times had sometimes defended the island from the assaults of its external enemies. Despite the organizational apparatus that characterized the militias of the 18th and 19th centuries, only the caricature and the abuses reached the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, says Dr. Azevedo, 'ending in a swarm of lord captains, lieutenants, and ensigns, whose patents are still, in rural settlements, vain memories and respected pretexts for distinctions and consideration.' In the first quarter of the 19th century, the chief constable and the chief sergeant-major, the main leaders of the 'ordenanças,' were appointed by the council, being chosen 'among the people of governance and nobility, wealthy in goods and of sound Christianity.' Luís Teixeira Doria was the last chief constable, and Aires de Ornelas Cisneiros was the last chief sergeant-major in the captaincy of Funchal, both appointed in 1828.

The captains and sergeants-majors were exempt from holding governance positions, that is, from being councilors, almotacés, etc., etc.