Miguelist

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In the history of Portugal, a Miguelist (in Portuguese Miguelista) was a supporter of the legitimacy of the king Miguel I of Portugal. The name is also given to those who supported absolutism as form of government, in opposition to the liberals who intended the establishment of a constitutional regime in Portugal.

Miguel was regent to his niece Queen Maria II of Portugal, and potential royal consort. However, he claimed the Portuguese throne in his own right once, according to the so-called Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom, his older brother Pedro IV and therefore his daughter, had lost their rights from the moment that Pedro had made war on Portugal and become the sovereign of a foreign state (Brazilian Empire).

This overall led to a difficult political situation, during which many people were killed, imprisoned, persecuted or sent into exile, and which culminated in the Portuguese Liberal Wars between authoritarian Absolutists (led by Miguel) and progressive Constitutionalists (led by Pedro).

In the end, Miguel was forced from the throne and lived the last 32 years of his life in exile.

Miguelism is not only based on the question of who should legitimately sit on the Portuguese throne. It also defends the traditional principles of a conservative monarchy based in Roman Catholic values and in the absolute power of the king, against the Enlightenment values.

Miguelist Braganzas

King Miguel I was exiled following the Convention of Evora-Monte (1834), which put an end to the Liberal Wars. The throne was retaken by his niece, Queen Maria II, and a liberal regime was settled.

In exile, the former king married a wealthy Bavarian heir, princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. This marriage was the origin of the new Miguelist branch of the Braganzas and their descendants include not only the current claimant to the Portuguese crown, as well as the monarchs of Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and other claimants to former European monarchies (Habsburgs, Austria-Este, Savoy, Wittelsbach, Bourbon-Parma, Thurn und Taxis, Ligne).

Finally, this Miguelist branch, became the sole Braganzas representative when King Manuel II of Portugal (the last male Braganza from the senior liberal branch) died without issue and, naturally, his Miguelist cousin Duarte Nuno, was his closest Portuguese relative and heir.

List of Miguelist claimants to the Portuguese throne since 1834

Claimant	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Miguel I 1834–1866 (Legitimist claimant)		26 October 1802, Lisbon son of João VI and Carlota Joaquina of Spain	Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg 24 September 1851 7 children	14 November 1866 Esselbach aged 64
Miguel, Duke of Braganza 1866–1920 (Legitimist claimant)		19 September 1853, Kleinheubach son of Miguel I and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg	Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis 17 October 1877 3 children Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg 8 November 1893 8 children	11 October 1927 Seebenstein aged 74
Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza 1920–1976 (Legitimist claimant) 1932–1976 (Royalist claimant)		23 September 1907, Seebenstein son of Miguel, Duke of Braganza and Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg	Maria Francisca of Orléans-Braganza 15 October 1942 3 children	24 December 1976 Lisbon aged 69
Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza 1976–present		15 May 1945 Bern son of Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza and Maria Francisca of Orléans-Braganza	Isabel, Duchess of Braganza 13 May 1995 3 children

Genealogical Chart

On the family tree below, the Miguelist branch is clearly identified on the right-hand side.

See also

• Descendants of Miguel I of Portugal
• Carlism