João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, 1st Viscount of Almeida Garrett (; 4 February 1799 – 9 December 1854) was a Portuguese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and a peer of the realm. A major promoter of theater in Portugal he is considered the greatest figure of Portuguese Romanticism and a true revolutionary and humanist. He proposed the construction of the D. Maria II National Theatre and the creation of the Conservatory of Dramatic Art.

Biography

Garrett was born in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, the son of António Bernardo da Silva Garrett (1739–1834), a fidalgo of the Royal Household and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

of the Order of Christ, and his wife (they were married in 1796) Ana Augusta de Almeida Leitão (b.

, c. 1770). At an early age, around 4 or 5 years old, Garrett changed his name to João Baptista da Silva Leitão, adding a name from his godfather and altering the order of his surnames. In 1809, his family fled the second French invasion carried out by

Soult Marshal General of France, Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman. He was a Marshal of the Empire during the Napoleonic Wars, and served three times as P ...

's troops, seeking refuge in

Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the Roma ...

Terceira Island Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. While in the Azores, he was taught by his uncle, Dom Frei Alexandre da Sagrada Família ( Faial, Horta, 22 May 1737 –

Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...

, 22 April 1818), also a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, then the 25th Bishop of Angra (1816–1818) and former

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

and

Timor Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...

; his two other uncles were Manuel Inácio da Silva Garrett,

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of Angra, and Inácio da Silva Garrett, also a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

of Angra. In childhood, his

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

Brazilian

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

Rosa de Lima taught him some traditional stories that later influenced his work. In 1818, he moved to

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

to study at the

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

law school. In 1818, he published ''O Retrato de Vénus'

a work for which was soon to be prosecuted, as it was considered "materialist, atheist, and immoral"; it was during this period that he adopted and added his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

de Almeida Garrett, who was seen as more aristocratic. Although he did not take active part in the Liberal Revolution that broke out in

in 1820, he contributed with two patriotic verses, the ''Hymno Constitucional'' and th
''Hymno Patriótico''
which his friends copied and distributed in the streets of Porto. After the " Vilafrancada", a reactionary

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

led by the Infante Dom Miguel in 1823, he was forced to seek exile in England. He had just married the beautiful Luísa Cândida Midosi who was only 12 or 13 years old at the time and was the sister of his friend Luís Frederico Midosi, later married to Maria Teresa Achemon, both related to theatre and children of José Midosi (son of an Italian father and an Irish mother) and wife Ana Cândida de Ataíde Lobo. While in England, in

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, he began his association with

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

, being subject to the first-hand influences of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

, as well as to that of Gothic aesthetics. In the beginning of 1825, Garrett left for France where he wrote ''Camões'' (1825) and ''Dona Branca'' (1826), poems that are usually considered the first Romantic works in Portuguese literature. In 1826, he returned to Portugal, where he settled for two years and founded the newspapers ''O Portuguez'' and ''O Chronista''. In 1828, under the rule of King Miguel of Portugal, he was again forced to settle in England, publishing Adozinda and performing his tragedy ''Catão'' at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth

Together with Alexandre Herculano and Joaquim António de Aguiar, he took part in the Landing of Mindelo, carried out during the Liberal Wars. When a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

was established, he briefly served as its

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

; upon his return, he was acclaimed as one of the major

s of Liberalism, and took initiative in the creation of a new Portuguese theatre (during the period, he wrote his historical plays ''Gil Vicente'', ''D. Filipa de Vilhena'', and '). In 1843, Garrett published ''Romanceiro e Cancioneiro Geral'', a collection of

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

; two years later, he wrote the first volume of his

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

''O Arco de Santana'' (fully published in 1850, it took inspiration from

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame''). ''O Arco de Santana'' signified a change in Garrett's style, leading to a more complex and subjective prose with which he experimented at length in ''Viagens na Minha Terra'

(''Travels in My Homeland'', 1846). His innovative manner was also felt in his poem collections ''Flores sem Fruto'' (Flowers without Fruit, 1844) and ''Folhas Caídas'' (Fallen Leaves, 1853). Ennobled by Dona

Maria II of Portugal Dona Maria II (Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga de Habsburgo-Lorena e Bragança; 4 April 1819 – 15 November 1853) also known as "the Educator" () or as ...

in 1852 with the title of 1st

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

of Almeida Garrett, he was

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

for only a few days in the same year (in the cabinet of the Duke of Saldanha). Almeida Garrett ended his relationship with Luísa Midosi and divorced in 1835 (who later remarried Alexandre Desiré Létrillard) to join 17-year-old Adelaide Deville Pastor in 1836 – she was to remain his partner until her early death in 1839, leaving a daughter named Maria Adelaide, whose early life tragedy and illegitimacy inspired her father to write the play '' Frei Luís de Sousa''. Later in his life he became the lover of Rosa de Montúfar y Infante, a Spanish noblewoman daughter of the 3rd Marques de Selva Alegre, wife of Joaquim António Velez Barreiros, 1st

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

and 1st

de Nossa Senhora da Luz and twice (277th and 286th)

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa, and Minister and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

, whom he celebrated at his last and probably best poetry book ''Folhas Caídas''. Garrett died of cancer in Lisbon at 6:30 in the afternoon of 9 December 1854. He was buried at the Cemetery of Prazeres and, on 3 May 1903, his remains were transferred to the national pantheon in the Jerónimos Monastery, where they rest near to those of Alexandre Herculano and Luís Vaz de Camões. Despite the wish that it went to his natural daughter, one of the reasons why he accepted it, his title passed on to the descendants of his brother Alexandre José da Silva de Almeida Garrett (7 August 1797 – 24 October 1847), fidalgo of the Royal Household, who was a partisan of King Miguel I of Portugal for all his life, and wife (m. 16 June 1822) Angélica Isabel Cardoso Guimarães (2 February 1803 –). He also had a sister Maria Amália de Almeida Garrett, who married in the Azores where they were then living with Francisco de Meneses de Lemos e Carvalho (

, 20 September 1786 –) and had female issue. Honour: Portugal issued a set of 4 postage stamps in honor of Joao Baptista da Silva Leitao de Almeida Garrett on 7 March 1957.

List of works

* 1819 - Lucrécia (Lucretia) * 1820 - O Roubo das Sabinas (poem written in youth, published in 1968) (The Rape of the Sabine Women) * 1820 - Mérope (theater) (Merope) * 1821 - O Retrato de Vénus (poetry) (The Portrait of Venus) * 1821 - Catão (theater) (Cato) * 1825 - Camões (poetry) (Camoens) * 1826 - Dona Branca (poetry) (Lady Branca) * 1828 - Adozinda (poetry) * 1829 - Lírica de João Mínimo (poetry) (João Mínimo's Lyric) * 1829 - O tratado "Da Educação" (A Treatise on Education) * 1830 - Portugal na Balança da Europa (Portugal on the scales of Europe) * 1838 - Um Auto de Gil Vicente (theater) (Gil Vicente's Auto) * 1842 - O Alfageme de Santarém (theater) * 1843 - Romanceiro e Cancioneiro Geral, tomo 1 * 1843 - Frei Luís de Sousa (theater) (Brother Luís de Sousa) * 1844 - Miragaia * 1845 - Flores sem fruto (poetry) (Fruitless Flowers) * 1845 - O Arco de Sant'Ana I (fiction) (The Arch of Sant'Ana I) * 1846 - Falar Verdade a Mentir (theater) (Speaking the Truth by Lying) * 1846 - Viagens na Minha Terra (fiction) (Travels in my Homeland) * 1846 - D. Filipa de Vilhena (theater) * 1848 - As profecias do Bandarra ( Bandarra's Prophecies) * 1848 - Um Noivado no Dafundo (A Wedding in Dafundo) * 1848 - A sobrinha do Marquês (theater) (The Marquis's Niece) * 1849 - Memórias Históricas de José Xavier Mouzinho da Silveira (Historical Memories of José Xavier Mouzinho da Silveira) * 1850 - O Arco de Sant'Ana II (fiction) (The Arch of Sant'Ana II) * 1851 - Romanceiro e Cancioneiro Geral, tomo 2 e 3 * 1853 - Folhas Caídas (poetry) (Fallen Leaves) * 1853 - Fábulas e Folhas Caídas (poetry) (Fables and Fallen Leaves) * 1854? - Helena (fiction) * 18?? - Afonso de Albuquerque * 1871 - Discursos Parliamentares e Memórias Biográficas (Parliamentary Speeches and Biographical Memories)

Biography

List of works

External links