''Devourism'' () was the pejorative term to describe the political regime which established itself in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

following the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War () and the War of the Two Brothers () was a civil war in Portugal that lasted from May 1828 to May 1834, fought between liberal progressive constitutionalists (led by former King P ...

, particularly during the period from 24 September 1834 to 9 September 1836, while the

Constitutional Charter of 1826 The Charter of 1826 or ''Carta Constitucional'', often simply referred to as the ''Carta'', was the second constitution in Portuguese history. It was given to the country in 1826 by King Dom Pedro IV. The constitution remained in force, with th ...

was in effect. It was intended to convey a sense of unprincipled greed, whereby leading politicians spent public funds in abundance to secure personal gain for themselves or their associates. The term was coined after a piece of legislation was drafted on 15 April 1835, which provided for the sale of national property and property of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and facilitated their disposal among leading members of the liberal party. One of the great reforms of this period was the reform of local administration, which divided the country into seventeen districts on 25 April 1835), also creating three new districts

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

and the

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. The position of Civil Governor was established, with postholders choosing mayors, who in turn chose parish commissioners. These reforms, with their substantially centralising effect, were used to steadily remove radicals from positions of power and replace them with those who had favoured the cause of

Miguel I '' Dom'' Miguel I (26 October 1802 – 14 November 1866), known by several nicknames, was the King of Portugal between 1828 and 1834. He was son of King John VI and Queen Carlota Joaquina. Following his exile as a result of his actions ...

and the return of an absolute monarchy.

Devourist Governments

First government: Duque de Palmela

The first Devourist government took office on the day King Pedro IV died, on 24 September 1834. Led by the Duque de Palmela, it was composed of conservatives and the late king's associates in the

Grand Orient of Portugal The Grand Orient of Portugal (''Grande Oriente Lusitano'') is a symbolic Masonic Obedience founded in 1802, thus being the oldest Portuguese Masonic Obedience. Its first Grand Master was Sebastião José de São Paio de Melo e Castro Lusignan, ...

Masonic lodge. After 28 April 1835, Palmela was succeeded by the

Count of Linhares Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. The members of the government were:

Second government: Duque de Saldanha

The second Devourist government took office on 27 May 1835 and served until 18 November. On assuming the premiership the Duque de Saldanha removed all those described disparagingly by those loyal to the late King Miguel as ''chamorros'' (i.e. liberals) and opened up cabinet membership to a wider range of masonic lodges: and Duque de Loulé, more radical members of the Maçonaria do Sul lodge now served alongside and from the Grande Oriente Lusitano as well as Rodrigo da Fonseca Passos Manuel, who named various members of the Maçonaria do Norte, of which

Passos Manuel Manuel da Silva Passos (5 January 1801 – 16 January 1862) was a Portuguese jurist and politician, one of the most notable personalities of 19th-century Portuguese Liberalism. He is more commonly referred to as Passos Manuel, due to the way he ...

was a member, to positions as civil governors and council administrators. Saldanha's government fell for two main reasons. The first had to do with a heavily-contested decree of 3 November which auctioned off publicly owned estuarine lands of the Tejo and

Sado River The Sado () is a river in southern Portugal; it is one of the major rivers in the country. It flows in a northerly direction (the only major Portuguese river to do so) through from its springs in the hills of Ourique before entering the Atlanti ...

. The other was the sending of the Auxiliary Division to Spain at the request of its government to support

Isabel II Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

against her uncle Carlos, who was claiming the throne. The members of this government were:

Third Government:
José Jorge Loureiro José Jorge Loureiro (23 April 1791 – 1 June 1860) was a Portuguese soldier and politician at the time of the monarchy. Career He was studying law at the University of Coimbra when the Invasion of Portugal began, which prompted him to join ...

The third Devourist government took office on 18 November 1835 with Saldanha once again as its leader, until 25 November. It lasted until 20 April 1836. Its stated purpose was to defend ‘morality, the economy and freedom from special interests.’ To demonstrate their commitment, ministers reduced their own salaries by one half, in contrast to the approach of the previous Fonseca administration. The Loureiro government fell following the failure of Finance Minister Francisco António de Campos to secure a majority for his budget. The government was composed of:

Fourth Government: Duque da Terceira

The fourth and final government was led by the Duque da Terceira, and lasted from 20 April to 9 September 1836. It was essentially aristocratic in composition, characterised as ''chamorro'' and full of ''palmelistas'', and dominated once again by the Grand Orient Lodge. Among the measures it took was the closing down of the radical leftist . To improve security it created a Municipal Guard for Porto and strengthened the Municipal Guard in Lisbon. When arson destroyed the Royal Exchequer, it was assumed that the government itself was responsible, seeking to conceal its misspending. The Devourist period came to an end in September 1836 with the September Revolution. The opposition representatives from the north of the country arrived in Lisbon on 9 September, prompting a popular revolt which the National Guard joined. On 11 September the Duque da Terceira resigned, and the Queen took an oath to the Constitution of 1822. This was the start of “Setembrismo.” The ministers of the Terceira government were:

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