The Enigma of the Portuguese Constitutional Supplication of 1808

Abstract

The Constitutional Supplication of 1808 was the first attempt to introduce modern constitutionalism in Portugal, but to no avail. As a matter of fact, the petition addressed to Napoleon Bonaporte, in the context of the first French invasion (1807/08), requesting a French king and a constitution similar to that of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, was short-lived, due to the end of the French occupation. Moreover, the French invasions and the popular resistence to them generated a movement of anti-French rejection that led to the massive destruction of the official documents of this period. In 1810, Acúrsio das Neves forged a version according to which the Supplication had been prepared in secret by a group of “afrancesados” (people influenced by French ideas) and presented by the judge of the people of Lisbon to the Junta dos Três Estados of the kingdom, in May 23, 1808, with no further development. This article challenges this traditional version, which has prevailed for more than two hundred years, and proposes a different interpretation about the origin and importance of the Portuguese Constitutional Supplication.

Fecha de envío / Submission date: 21/06/2022        

Fecha de aceptación / Acceptance date: 12/09/2022