Miguel I of Portugal - Definition and Overview

King Miguel of Portugal (October 26, 1802 - November 14, 1866) was the second son of King John VI of Portugal.

Miguel was an avowed conservative and admirer of Metternich's Austria. He led two revolts against his father in the 1820s, earning himself a sentence of exile at one point. In 1826 he was betrothed to his young niece Maria II. Miguel subsequently proclaimed himself regent (February 26, 1828) and then took the throne as sole monarch (June 23, 1828) at which time he overthrew Pedro IV's constitution.

Miguel sought to gain international backing for his regime, but the Duke of Wellington's government in the United Kingdom fell in 1830 just before it could afford formal recognition. In 1831 Miguel's brother Pedro abdicated the throne of Brazil and occupied the Azores from whence he launched naval attacks on Portugal. After a three-year civil war, Miguel was forced to abdicate at Evoramonte (May 26, 1834) and was sent into exile by the victorious Pedro.

Miguel lived the rest of his life in exile. In 1851 he married Princess Adelheid of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, by whom he had six daughters and a son, also Miguel, Duke of Braganza, who was the grandfather of the present day Portuguese pretender, Dom Duarte. Miguel died in Germany in 1866.