32-479: Alentejo Province ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐlẽˈtɛʒu] ) is one of the six historical provinces of Portugal . The province took its name from the Portuguese além Tejo , meaning "Beyond the (River) Tagus". It covers the historical and cultural region Alentejo . It was created in 1832, and was divided into Alto Alentejo Province and Baixo Alentejo Province in 1933. This Portugal location article
64-408: A junta geral , that acted as an organ of the local government, elected by the citizens of the province. The provinces continued to be divided into comarcas or subprefeituras (English: sub-prefectures ), which functioned as an area of jurisdiction of sub-prefects, who represented the prefect. Parallel with this system, the territory is divided into concelhos (English: municipalities ), each led by
96-402: A provedor (or representative of the prefect) and assisted by the câmara municipal (English: municipal chamber or municipal council), which were elected by its citizens. These reforms resulted in the extinction of a number of smaller municipalities (due to lack of population or finances). The elimination of these municipalities were complemented by the appearance of the administrative parish,
128-433: A deliberative body, the conselhos provinciais (English: provincial councils ). Created in 1936, the new provinces did not correspond to the traditional comarcas or provinícias . The new territories were based on studies made by Amorim Girão, a geographer, who divided continental Portugal into 13 "regiões naturais" (English: natural regions ). The provinces were: These eleven provinces corresponded each to one of
160-424: A grouping of districts, without any administrative or military significance, and like 1832, they continued to function as a statistical and referential units of geography. The Estado Novo adopted, from its beginning, a policy of regionalisation of the country, which was written into the 1933 Constitution , creating new provinces, within an executive body, the juntas de provincia (English: provincial junta ) and
192-676: A monarch is disputed. The House of Aviz , known as the Joanine Dynasty , succeeded the House of Burgundy as the reigning house of the Kingdom of Portugal. The house was founded by John I of Portugal, who was the Grand Master of the Order of Aviz . When King John II of Portugal died without an heir, the throne of Portugal passed to his cousin, Manuel, Duke of Beja . When King Sebastian of Portugal died,
224-502: A short time, and were replaced by the 1835 reforms heralded by the Liberal victory of 1834. The prefectures and junta gerais of the provinces were abolished, the comarcas/sub-prefectures were transformed into districts, while the sub-prefectures were retooled as governadores civis , assisted by a district junta geral . The debate over the importance of provinces only arose from fears that there would be an excessive concentration of power in
256-508: A subdivision of the latter, which was administered by the comissário de paróquia (English: commissioner of the parish ), and assisted by the junta de paróquia (English: parish council ). The eight prefectures (provinces) were: Meanwhile, each of the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores were constituted as individual provinces: Prefecture of Madeira and the Prefecture of the Azores (which
288-579: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Historical provinces of Portugal The term " provinces " ( Portuguese : províncias ) has been used throughout history to identify regions of continental Portugal . Current legal subdivisions of Portugal do not coincide with the provinces, but several provinces, in their 19th- and 20th-century versions, still correspond to culturally relevant, strongly self-identifying categories. They include: The islands of Azores and Madeira were never called "provinces". The first provinces, instituted during
320-636: The Afonsine Dynasty , was the founding house of the Kingdom of Portugal. Prior to the independence of Portugal, the house ruled the feudal County of Portugal , of the Kingdom of Galicia . When Afonso Henriques declared the independence of Portugal, he turned the family from a comital house to a royal house which would rule Portugal for over two centuries. During the Reconquista , the Afonsine Dynasty expanded
352-522: The Miguelist branch of the house of Braganza became the pretenders to the throne of Portugal. They have all been acclaimed king of Portugal by their monarchist groups. The monarchs of Portugal all came from a single ancestor, Afonso I of Portugal , but direct lines have sometimes ended. This has led to a variety of royal houses coming to rule Portugal, though all having Portuguese royal lineage. These houses are: The Portuguese House of Burgundy , known as
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#1732854727670384-529: The Partido do Porto , a military division, under the responsibility of the military governor was instituted to include areas of the provinces of Entre-Douro-e-Minho and Beira in order to connect these provinces. After the Liberal Revolution of 1820 , there were many proposals to reform the administrative divisions of the country. But, due to Miguelist counter-revolutions, these reforms were delayed. In 1832,
416-661: The comarca , but which were governed/administered by nominated feudal regents. In 1790, these ouvidorias were transformed into comarcas, with corregedores nominated directly by the Crown . By 1801, the provinces included the following administrative divisions: In parallel with these comarcas (the administrative and judicial regions), the provinces began to be subdivided into almoxarifados , (English: fiscal districts ) and emprovedorias (English: health/social districts ), in order to manage imports/exports and finances, as well as health and social issues, respectively. Similarly, in 1758,
448-478: The crown of Castile and waged wars in order to enforce their respective claims. Ferdinand I managed to be recognized as King of Galiza in 1369, although his dominance of the region was short-lived. When the House of Habsburg came into power, the kings of Spain , Naples , and Sicily also became kings of Portugal. The House of Braganza brought numerous titles to the Portuguese Crown some honorary, such as
480-413: The Kingdom instituted a system of governadores das armas (English: military governors ), whose jurisdiction coincided with the provincial territories. This division between military and civic authorities were maintained until the administrative reforms of 1832. Until the end of the 18th century, feudal territories of the clergy or nobility, were referred to as ouvidorias , whose function was similar to
512-616: The Kingdom of Portugal, was itself a province of the Kingdom of León . During the Reconquista , the Iberian kingdoms established an administrative system, based on the older Visigothic lines, which were themselves just a carry-over from the Romans. The kingdoms were divided into provinces or counties, headed by a local governors (referred to as a count, duke or prince), who also subdivided the land administratively into smaller parcels, headed by lieutenants. The first County of Portugal , or Portucale ,
544-484: The Liberal government-in-exile in the Azores, decreed the establishment of a new system for Portugal, which would approximate the already existing provinces of Portugal. In actuality, one new province was established Douro , based on the territory of Partido do Porto , and which began to function with all the rights and privileges. In addition, the Provinces would begin to function throughout the national territory, including
576-528: The Roman occupation of the Iberian peninsula, divided the peninsula into three areas: Tarraconensis , Lusitania and Baetica , established by Roman Emperor Augustus between 27 and 13 B.C. Emperor Diocletian reordered these territories in the third century, dividing Tarraconesis into three separate territories: Tarraconensis , Carthaginensis and Gallaecia . At that time Tarraconesis included northern Portugal, Gallaecia and Asturias . What would develop into
608-588: The acclamation of Philip II of Spain as Philip I of Portugal in 1580, officially recognized in 1581 by the Portuguese Cortes of Tomar . Philip I swore to rule Portugal as a kingdom separate from his Spanish domains, under the personal union known as the Iberian Union . The House of Braganza , also known as the Brigantine Dynasty , came to power in 1640, when John II, Duke of Braganza , claimed to be
640-538: The archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira , as well as the overseas territories (the Portuguese colonies in Africa, India and Southeast Asia). In comparison with the period before the 17th century, the provinces of 1832, or prefeituras (English: prefectures ), began to operate as administrative units, led by a prefeito (English: prefect ) who was a representative of the central government. These prefects were assisted by
672-507: The attribution of the title of Rex Fidelissimus (His Most Faithful Majesty), and royal titles, such as King of Brazil and then de jure Emperor of Brazil . After the demise of the Portuguese monarchy, in 1910, Portugal almost restored its monarchy in a revolution known as the Monarchy of the North , though the attempted restoration only lasted a month before destruction. With Manuel II's death,
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#1732854727670704-404: The country southwards until the definitive conquest of Algarve with Sancho II and the establishment of the Kingdom of Algarve , in 1249 , under Afonso III . When Ferdinand I died, a succession crisis occurred between 1383 and 1385. Ferdinand's daughter Beatrice of Portugal was proclaimed queen and her husband John I of Castile proclaimed king by the right of his wife . Her legitimacy as
736-563: The denomination official in 1951. These provinces were: Portuguese Crown This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal , in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution . Through the nearly 800 years in which Portugal was a monarchy, the kings held various other titles and pretensions . Two kings of Portugal, Ferdinand I and Afonso V , claimed
768-403: The hands of governmental officers ( Portuguese : prefeitos ). The adoption of the 17 districts (1835) instead of eight provinces was an attempt to dissolve such power. The older provedores begin to act as the municipal administrators, and parish commissioners become regedores (removing the ecclesiastical reference from their use). The provinces continue to appear in the lexicon, but only as
800-461: The jurisdiction of the civil governors . In 1959, as local governments, the provinces were extinguished. They were only referred to as regional references, while the districts, once again, became the local reference, the juntas distritais and conselhos distritais inheriting the functions of the former provinces. In the early 20th century, Portugal reclassified its overseas colonies as " overseas provinces " ( províncias ultramarinas ), making
832-440: The late 16th century, the comarcas would start to be referred to as províncias (English: provinces ). Each comarca was headed by an administrative and judicial magistrate, which represented Royal power in each jurisdiction of the country. These magistrates were, initially, called tenents (English: lieutenants ), later meirinhos-mores and finally, corregedores . These six comarcas, with some changes, would be maintained as
864-555: The natural regions developed by Amorim Girão, with two exceptions: the natural regions of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro and the natural regions of Beira Alta and Beira Transmontana were united respectively into the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province and the Beira Alta Province . In comparison with the 1835 provinces, the limits of these new provinces did not correspond with the district borders, which were maintained under
896-413: The principal administrative division of country until the 19th century. Around the 17th century, the provinces were subdivided into individual comarcas or correições (English: corrections ), with their own corregedor (English: law judges ), and the provinces, as an administrative and civic role, began to be used as a statistical unit. Meanwhile, at the same time that its administrative role ceased,
928-594: The rightful heir of the defunct House of Aviz, as he was the great-great-grandson of King Manuel I. John was proclaimed King John IV, and he deposed the House of Habsburg in 1640 during the Portuguese Restoration War . The Habsburgs continued to claim the throne of Portugal until the end of the war in the Treaty of Lisbon (1668) . The descendants of Queen Maria II and her consort, King Ferdinand II (a German prince of
960-513: The throne passed to his Grand-uncle, Henry of Portugal (he might be called Henry II because Henry, Count of Portugal , father of Alphonso I of Portugal , was the first of that name to rule Portugal). When Henry died, a succession crisis occurred and António, Prior of Crato , was proclaimed António of Portugal. The House of Habsburg , known as the Philippine dynasty , was the house that ruled Portugal from 1581 to 1640. The dynasty began with
992-495: Was a fiefdom of León, under Alfonso III of León , which was succeeded in the 12th century by the Second County of Portugal, paving the way for the independent Kingdom of Portugal. After the 15th century, the new Kingdom of Portugal was divided into six great administrative units, referred to as comarcas . From north to south, they were: The comarca of Entre-Tejo-e-Odiana would later be renamed as Comarca of Alentejo , while by
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1024-412: Was itself subdivided into Angra and Ponta Delgada sub-prefectures, known as Prefecture Ocidental and Oriental in 1833). In addition the colonies were reorganized into provinces of Cabo Verde and Guiné , Angola , Mozambique , Índia , São Tomé and Príncipe and Macau and Timor , each with their own prefect and junta geral, equivalent to the national division of provinces. The 1832 system lasted
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