Santarem, Manuel Francisco de Barros e Sousa, Visconde de. Memorias para a historia, e theoria das Cortes Geraes, que em Portugal se celebrarao pelos Tres Estados do Reino ordenadas, e compostas no anno de 1824. Parte 1.

€ 1,500.00

First edition: the first volume of Santarem's important and early study of the Cortes Gerais (General Courts) of Portugal. The cortes formed the royal Parliament of Portugal, consisting of the representatives of three estates. Santarem describes the history of the Portuguese Cortes through documents drawn from the Portuguese Royal Archives (Torro do Tombo), covering election processes, sessions, consultancies, etc.

The second Visconde de Santarem (1791-1856), who specialized in paleography and diplomatics, is known as one of the most important historiographers of 19th century Portugal. He has been called "the greatest figure in the history of Portuguese cartography" (Cortesão, History of Portuguese Cartography I, 23); in fact, it was Santarem who coined the term "cartographia". He served as state archivist, diplomat, and minister of the overseas territories in Portugal until 1833. In 1807, he went to Brazil with the royal family, where he became interested in historical studies and began to collect and study documents and manuscripts regarding the relations between Portugal and foreign countries. When he had to relocate to Paris for political reasons in 1833, he continued his studies on Portuguese history, especially on the role of the country in the Age of Discovery. Although he spent the remainder of his life in Paris, his standing with the Portuguese government later improved to the point that the government funded many of his publications, and appointed him Keeper of the Torre do Tombo without requiring him to return.