Manuel Gomes da Costa

Last updated
1926–1926Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐnuˈɛlˈɣomɨʒðɐˈkɔʃtɐ] ) or just Gomes da Costa (14 January 1863 – 17 December 1929), was a Portuguese armyofficer and politician, the tenthpresident of Portugal and the second of the National Dictatorship.

Contents

Gomes da Costa had a distinguished military career in the country's colonies, from 1893 to 1915, in India, Mozambique, Angola, and São Tomé, having served under the command of Mouzinho de Albuquerque. After World War I, in which he rose to greater prominence in the command of the 1st Division of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, he became actively engaged in politics, in staunch opposition to the dominant Democratic Party.

In 1926, he was involved in the military and political movement that resulted in the 28 May 1926 coup d'état that inaugurated a new conservative, authoritarian regime. Following the military coup, Gomes da Costa deposed moderate José Mendes Cabeçadas, who had received executive and presidential power from the removed Prime Minister António Maria da Silva and President Bernardino Machado, briefly holding the headship of government and of state in the summer of that year, until he was himself removed by another coup, to be replaced by Óscar Carmona.

Early life

Gomes da Costa was born to Carlos Dias da Costa and Madalena de Oliveira; he grew up with two younger siblings, Lucrécia and Amália. He began his military career at the Colégio Militar at age 10.

Generals Tamagnini and Gomes da Costa, together with General Haking. Generais Tamagnini Hacking e Gomes da Costa.jpg
Generals Tamagnini and Gomes da Costa, together with General Haking.

Military career

As a soldier, he stood out in colonial campaigns in the African and Indian colonies. After Portugal had entered the First World War (See: Portugal in the Great War ) on the Allied side in early 1917, he commanded the Second Division of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps. During the Battle of the Lys on 9 April 1918, the CEP lost 400 dead and around 6,500 prisoners, a third of its forces in the front line. Gomes da Costa's division was hit particularly hard and was all but wiped out. [2]

For his command in the war, he was made a general and a Grand Officer of the Military Order of Avis. [3] Two years later, on 5 October 1921, he received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Avis. [4]

Gomes da Costa and his troops march victorious into Lisbon on 6 June 1926. Desfile de tropas 28 de Maio 1926.jpg
Gomes da Costa and his troops march victorious into Lisbon on 6 June 1926.

1926 coup

A convinced monarchist, Gomes da Costa had consorted with people of various political convictions. That, and his reputation as a soldier, led to his choice by right-wing revolutionaries to lead the 28 May 1926 coup d'état in Braga that overthrew the Portuguese First Republic, after General Alves Roçadas, their original choice, had fallen fatally ill.

After the success of the revolution he did not assume power at first, entrusting the posts of President of the Republic and President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) to José Mendes Cabeçadas, the leader of the revolution in Lisbon. Soon the coup leaders disliked the attitude of Mendes Cabeçadas, a choice of the previous president Bernardino Machado and still sympathetic towards the old republic. [5] He was replaced by Gomes da Costa in both posts in a meeting in Sacavém on 17 June 1926. The new government was the first to include the later prime minister and dictator of Portugal, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, as finance minister.

Overthrow and exile

Gomes da Costa's government lasted about as long as Cabeçadas', because it was overthrown by a new coup on 9 July the same year. This attempt was initiated by João José Sinel de Cordes and Óscar Carmona, after Gomes da Costa attempted to have Carmona removed as minister for foreign affairs. [6] Although more conservative than Cabeçadas, Gomes da Costa had no desire to institute a long-term military regime, which brought him into conflict with Carmona and others in the most conservative and authoritarian faction of the military leadership.

Carmona succeeded Gomes da Costa as President of the Republic and of the Council of Ministers under the pretext that Gomes da Costa was "unfit for office." Gomes da Costa was exiled to the Azores Islands, but also promoted to Marshal of the Portuguese Army. [7] In September 1927, he returned to mainland Portugal, already very ill; he died a few months later.

Personal life

On 15 May 1885 in Penamacor Gomes da Costa married Henriqueta Júlia de Mira Godinho (Lagos, Santa Maria, 1863–1936), by whom he had three children. Gomes da Costa was the father-in-law of Pedro Francisco Massano de Amorim, Governor of Gaza, Angola, Mozambique and India.

Statue in Braga Gomes da Costa.jpg
Statue in Braga

Honours

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnation Revolution</span> 1974 revolution in Portugal and its colonies

The Carnation Revolution, also known as the 25 April, was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Lisbon, producing major social, economic, territorial, demographic, and political changes in Portugal and its overseas colonies through the Processo Revolucionário Em Curso. It resulted in the Portuguese transition to democracy and the end of the Portuguese Colonial War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcelo Caetano</span> Prime Minister of Portugal from 1968 to 1974

Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano was a Portuguese politician and scholar. He was the second and last leader of the Estado Novo after succeeding António de Oliveira Salazar. He served as prime minister from 1968 to 1974, when he was overthrown during the Carnation Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardino Machado</span> Portuguese president and politician

Bernardino Luís Machado Guimarães, GCTE, GCL, was a Portuguese political figure, the third and eighth president of Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Craveiro Lopes</span> Portuguese president and politician

Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes was a Portuguese Air Force officer and politician who served as the 12th president of Portugal from 1951 to 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidónio Pais</span> 4th President of the First Portuguese Republic (May–Dec 1918)

Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais was a Portuguese politician, military officer, and diplomat, who served as the fourth president of the First Portuguese Republic in 1918. One of the most divisive figures in modern Portuguese history, he was referred to by the writer Fernando Pessoa as the "President-King", a description that stuck in later years and symbolizes his regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">António de Spínola</span> Portuguese president and politician

António Sebastião Ribeiro de Spínola,, was a Portuguese military officer, author and conservative politician. During the Estado Novo he became one of the most senior military commanders, leading military operations against independence movements. After the Carnation Revolution organised by under-ranked military captains, he was invited to be the first President of Portugal. His role in Portugal's transition to democracy was polemic, particularly regarding his role in leading the 11 March 1975 attempted coup and the terrorist organisation Movimento Democrático de Libertação de Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Óscar Carmona</span> Portuguese president and politician

António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona was a Portuguese Army officer and politician who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1926 to 1928 and as the 11th president of Portugal from 1926 until his death in 1951. He also served as the Minister of War, in late 1923 and in 1926, and as a Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1926.

This is a historical timeline of Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humberto Delgado</span> Portuguese general, diplomat and politician (1906–1965)

Humberto da Silva Delgado was a General of the Portuguese Air Force, diplomat and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Mendes Cabeçadas</span> Portuguese president and politician

José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior, OTE, ComA, MPCE, commonly known as Mendes Cabeçadas, was a Portuguese Navy officer, Freemason and republican, having a major role in the preparation of the revolutionary movements that created and ended the Portuguese First Republic: the 5 October revolution in 1910 and the 28 May coup d'état of 1926. In the outcome he became the minister of finance for one day only on 30 May 1926, then becoming interim minister for foreign affairs for two days between 30 May and 1 June, after which he again became the minister for finance on the same day. He served as the ninth president of Portugal and prime minister for a brief period of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco da Costa Gomes</span> Portuguese president and politician

Francisco da Costa Gomes, ComTEGOA was a Portuguese military officer and politician, the 15th president of Portugal.

<i>Ditadura Nacional</i> 1926–1933 government of Portugal

The Ditadura Nacional was the name given to the regime that governed Portugal from 1926, after the accession of General Óscar Carmona to the posts of Prime Minister and President, until 1933. The period of military dictatorship that started after the 28 May 1926 coup d'état is known as Ditadura Militar in Portuguese. After adopting a new constitution in 1933, the regime changed its name to Estado Novo. The Ditadura Nacional, together with the Estado Novo, forms the historical period of the Portuguese Second Republic (1926–1974).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">28 May 1926 coup d'état</span> Military overthrow of the First Portuguese Republic, establishing the Estado Novo regime

The 28 May 1926 coup d'état, sometimes called 28 May Revolution or, during the period of the corporatist Estado Novo, the National Revolution, was a military coup of a nationalist origin, that put an end to the unstable Portuguese First Republic and initiated 48 years of corporatist and nationalist rule within Portugal. The regime that immediately resulted from the coup, the Ditadura Nacional, would be later refashioned into the Estado Novo, which in turn would last until the Carnation Revolution in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domingos Oliveira</span> Portuguese general and politician

Domingos Augusto Alves da Costa Oliveira was a Portuguese general and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Vicente de Freitas</span> Portuguese politician

José Vicente de Freitas, 2nd Baron of Freitas GCTE ComA GCA was a Portuguese military officer and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artur Ivens Ferraz</span> Portuguese politician and military officer

General Artur Ivens Ferraz, was a Portuguese military officer and politician. He served in the Portuguese Expeditionary Force during the Portuguese participation in World War I, in France. He was later Governor-General of Portuguese Mozambique, and was Minister of Trade, Colonies and Finances. He also served as Prime Minister from 8 July 1929 to 21 January 1930. He later occupied the post of general administrator of the Army and head of the Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">António de Oliveira Salazar</span> Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968

António de Oliveira Salazar was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the Ditadura Nacional, he reframed the regime as the corporatist Estado Novo, with himself as a dictator. The regime he created lasted until 1974, making it one of the longest-lived authoritarian regimes in modern Europe.

Events in the year 1926 in Portugal.

References

  1. ↑ Braga, Paulo Drumond (2010). "Os Presidentes da República Portuguesa : sociologia de uma função".
  2. ↑ Rodrigues, H. "Portugal in the Great War". France at War. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Gomes da Costa in Artigos de apoio Infopédia [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2016. Accessed 28 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Presidência da República Portuguesa. Accessed November 28, 2014.
  5. ↑ Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses (2016). Salazar. A Political Biography. New York: Enigma Books, p. 31.
  6. ↑ Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses (2016). Salazar. A Political Biography. New York: Enigma Books, pp. 31-32.
  7. ↑ Gomes da Costa in Artigos de apoio Infopédia [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2016. Accessed 28 December 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 "Cidadãos Nacionais Agraciados com Ordens". Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas. Retrieved 28 January 2017.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Gomes da Costa at Wikimedia Commons

His Excellency Marshal
Manuel Gomes da Costa
GOA GOTE GCA
General Manuel Gomes da Costa (1918) - Photographia Vasques.png
Gomes da Costa in 1918
10th President of Portugal
In office
17 June 1926 [1]  –9 July 1926		 Acting Minister of the Interior
Political offices
Preceded by President and
Prime Minister of Portugal
1926		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.