D. Luís do Rego Barreto, 1st Viscount of Geraz do Lima (28 October 1777 – 7 September 1840), better known as General Luís do Rego, was a Portuguese nobleman, military officer and colonial administrator who distinguished himself in the fight against the Invasion of Portugal by the French in 1807, and was Governor of Pernambuco from 1817 to 1821, when he was deposed.

Early life

Natural son of António do Rego Barreto, army officer,

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the 2nd Count of Bobadela when he was ''governor das armas'' of

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

, was legitimized by his father in 1786, enlisted in 1790 at age 13, at the Infantry Regiment of Lippe, the Lisbon garrison, being lieutenant when the French invaded Portugal in 1807. Having asked to resign when the Portuguese army, it was reorganized in early 1808, he returned to

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a concelho, municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo District, Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2021 was 85,778, in an area of . The urbanized are ...

. When

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 ...

rose against collaboration with the French occupiers, Luís organized a provisional government '' junta'' in

, who promoted him to major and instructed to organize the 9th Infantry Regiment, garrison of the city.

Peninsular War

Organized the 4th Caçador Battalion of Beira, in

Viseu Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the Viseu District, district of the same name, with a population of 100,105 inhabitants in the entire municipality, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões Interm ...

, having participated with him in the 1808–1811 campaigns, the Battle of Buçaco, in 1810, to

Battle of Pombal The Battle of Pombal (March 11, 1811) was a sharp but ultimately indecisive skirmish fought at the Pombal, Portugal, eponymous town during André Masséna, Marshal Masséna's retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras, the first in a series of ...

, in the beginning of the withdrawal of the army of Masséna, and the

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro At the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalemate ...

in 1811. Participated in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and, as commander of 15th Infantry Regiment, the Siege of Badajoz. Was present at the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...

in 1812 and the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

in 1813. Their performance in the

Siege of San Sebastián The siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a sie ...

was critical, able to cross the gulf separating the allied army from the fortress with his regiment and scaled the walls, managing to take it in September 1813. Luís commanded the 3rd Portuguese Brigade of the Army until 1815.

Governor of Pernambuco

In 1817 he was appointed governor of the

Captaincy of Pernambuco The Captaincy of Pernambuco or New Lusitania () was a hereditary land grant and administrative subdivision of northern Portuguese Brazil during the colonial period from 1534 to 1821, with a brief interruption from 1630 to 1654 when it was part of D ...

. He was hated by the local population, because he used violent methods to repress the separatist revolt that broke out there. He promoted hangings, quartering of bodies, firing squads, deaths by fire, desecration of corpses and rapes. Many of the executed individuals were innocents. With the change of government that took place in Portugal in 1820, he did fulfill the orders of constitutional government in Lisbon. Victim of an assassination attempt, he returned to Portugal in 1821.

Back in Portugal

Luís do Rego was appointed ''governador das armas'' of Minho by the constitutional government, he was in charge of crushing the revolt of the 2nd Count of Amarante, future Marquis of Chaves, who defeated Amarante in February 1823. With the '' Vilafrancada'' reimposing the absolutist regime in Portugal, he was removed from office and deported to

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), officially Figueira da Foz City (), often called simply Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

, and retired in the following year. He reentered the army during the regency of

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 ...

, he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in 1827. Arrested during the reign of King Miguel, he managed to escape to Spain, returning after the

Concession of Evoramonte The Concession of Evoramonte, also known as the Convention of Evoramonte,Smith, p. 398 is a peace treaty signed on 26 May 1834, in the town of Evoramonte, Alentejo, between the Constitutionalists and the Miguelites, that ended the Portuguese ...

. Appointed member of the Supreme Council of Military Justice in 1834, he was reappointed governor of weapons of Minho during the ''setembrismo'', who appointed him senator for

, during the short duration of the 1838 Constitution. The ''setembrista'' government of Maria II awarded him the title of Viscount of Geraz do Lima on 27 April 1835.

Promotions and Units

Sources

http://www.arqnet.pt/exercito/regobarreto.html (''translated'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Barreto, Luis do Rego 1777 births 1840 deaths Portuguese generals Portuguese military commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Portuguese military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Peninsular War 18th-century Portuguese military personnel 19th-century Portuguese military personnel People from Viana do Castelo Viscounts of Portugal