Collection of 16 autograph letters, all but 3 signed, to Luiz de António Abreu e Lima (1787-1871), 1º Visconde and 1º Conde de Carreira. On paper, in Portuguese.

, , 1829-1846.. 4° and 8º, unbound. Written in ink, in a small, even, legible hand. Foldlines. Very fine. 16 letters, a total of 60 pages of text on 31 leaves. The final three letters lack at least one leaf each. *** Collection of 16 letters from the Barão (later Conde) de Rendufe, a high-ranking diplomat, to the Visconde (later Conde) de Carreira, a friend and contemporary in a similar position, with frank comments on the Portuguese scene during the Lutas Liberaes and their aftermath, 1829-1846. Rendufe provides witty, energetic eyewitness accounts of military actions, debates in the Portuguese parliament, a society wedding, and much more.By 1829, when the first letter of this collection was written, Simão da Silva Ferraz de Lima e Castro (1795-1857), Barão de Rendufe, was a rising star in the Portuguese diplomatic corps due to his dramatic actions during the battles between liberals and absolutists. In 1823, as corregedor for the Rossio neighborhood of Lisbon, Silva Ferraz supported D. Miguel in the Vilafrancada movement to overturn the Constitution of 1820. As a reward he was named intendant-general of police in Lisbon. Soon, however, his habit of mitigating the punishment of liberals earned him the enmity of D. Miguel and his mother, D. Carlota Joaquina. In the Abrilada of 1824, when D. Miguel as commander-in-chief rebelled against D. João VI, Silva Ferraz suffered a mock execution and was thrown into prison after refusing to provide information on discussions between D. João and foreign powers. Upon D. João’s return, Silva Ferraz was named to the Conselho da Fazenda and elevated to the rank of Barão de Rendufe. Resigning from the police, he began his diplomatic career with a post to the Netherlands.After D. Miguel usurped the crown in 1828, Rendufe traveled throughout Europe seeking support for D. Maria II. Two of the letters in this collection, written in London in 1829, are from this period.Rendufe eventually sailed to the Azores to join the expeditionary force that D. Pedro was gathering to reinstate D. Maria II. The army landed at Mindelo, near Porto, in 1832. Porto was besieged by D. Miguel’s forces for a year, during which time Rendufe was dispatched once again to gather support for D. Maria from other European nations. Seven letters in the collection date from this period, offering insights into the organization of the expeditionary force and a frank look at those who were in charge. After D. Miguel was sent into exile, Rendufe was elected deputy to the Cortes. Three letters from Lisbon, dated 1834-1836, describe events in the capital and elsewhere in Portugal.Rendufe continued to ascend the diplomatic ranks. From February 1842 to November 1845 he served as Minister Plenipotentiary to Berlin, and during part of this period (1844) he was also Portuguese representative to the court of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, whose duke had married D. Maria II in 1836. He negotiated treaties of commerce and navigation with Prussia in 1844 and with several other German states in 1844 and 1845. When the Maria da Fonte movement broke out in April 1846, Rendufe was sent as minister plenipotentiary to Madrid. There he negotiated a treaty whereby the Spanish and English intervened to prevent D. Maria II from being deposed. A letter written in July 1846 from Madrid discusses uprisings in Vila Viçosa, Beira Alta, Minho, and Belém.Rendufe’s last diplomatic assignment was as Portuguese minister in Paris. Having retired in 1848, he married a wealthy Belgian noblewoman the following year. In 1852 he was elevated to the rank of Conde de Rendufe.Rendufe’s correspondent was Luiz de António Abreu e Lima (1787-1871), 1º Visconde and 1º Conde de Carreira. After serving in the army Abreu e Lima entered the diplomatic corps, with stints in London, Russia, and the Netherlands. D. Miguel dismissed him in 1828, but Abreu e Lima explained to the Dutch that he represented D. Maria, not D. Miguel. The queen’s government in exile in the Azores sent him in 1830 as the queen’s minister plenipotentiary in London. Abreu e Lima was named Visconde de Carreira by D. Maria in 1834. He was later tutor and chamberlain to the eldest sons of D. Maria II and D. Fernando II, the future kings of Portugal D. Pedro V and D. Luiz I. D. Luiz named him Conde de Carreira in 1862, in thanks for negotiating details of D. Luiz’s marriage to D. Maria Pia de Saboia, princess of Sardinia and Piedmont.The collection comprises 16 letters, of which the last 3 are incomplete. The contents are:1. London, 8 June 1829. (4º, 1 l. text, 1 l. with address and remains of wax seal). Reports the news from the Azores (S. Miguel), mentions the involvement of Spain and other powers in the Lutas Liberaes.2. London, 11 August 1829. (4º, 1 l.). Mentions that the Duke of Cumberland (fifth son of King George III, and eventually senior male-line descendant, who became King of Hanover in 1837) is gaining adherents.3. Angra (Azores), 25 April 1832. (4º, 2 ll.). Mentions the blockade, the expeditionary force, and the Hymno Constitucional.4. Ponta Delgada (Azores), 15 May 1832. (4º, 3 ll.). Complains of bad communication, mentions Mousinho (de Albuquerque) and the military situation in Terceira, and discusses at some length the organization of the Exercito Libertador. [The army landed near Porto in July.]5. Porto, 21 July 1832. (4º, 2 ll.). A summary of the army’s actions, with frank comments about various participants; mentions Trás-os-Montes and the Miguelistas in Braga.6. Falmouth, 23 August 1832. (4º, 1 l.). Mentions a steamship that will be leaving soon, D. Miguel’s navy, and Portuguese emigrants.7. Porto, 20 September 1832. (8º, 2 ll.). Mentions Almeida Garrett, the Visconde de Santa Marta, artillery, and forays. [This was during the siege of Porto by D. Miguel’s army, which started in July 1832 and lasted about a year.]8. Porto, 3 February 1833. (8º, 4 ll.). Mentions Lamego, Penafiel, a bombardment, and an attempt to persuade the Spanish government to refrain from a certain action. Several British names appear: Badcoc, Parker, Stratford, Canning.9. N.p., 11 May 1833. (8º, 2 ll.). Mentions chronic shortages of gunpowder and troops, and the use of artillery.10. Lisbon, 15 November 1834. (4º, 2 ll.). A lively account of a 2-day parliamentary debate, with reports of who said what to whom, and mention of Leonel Tavarez and the Duque de Palmella. [By this point D. Pedro had died, D. Maria II assumed the throne, and the Duke of Palmella was her prime minister.]11. Lisbon, 23 April 1836. (4º, 2 ll.). Mentions his sources of information, events in Valença, D. Maria II calling a Conselho d’Estado (a certain minister is condemned as a traidor and o diabo a quatro), Freire, and Carvalho.12. Lisbon, 16 July 1836. (4º, 2 ll.). Mentions an attack on King Louis Philippe of France, the travels of D. Maria II and her consort, Carvalho choosing his cabinet, and the actions of the Câmara Municipal.13. Madrid, 8 July 1846. (8º, 2 ll.). Mentions revolts in Vila Viçosa, Beira Alta, Minho, and Belém. [This became known as the Maria da Fonte movement.]14. Paris, 22 August [no year]. (4º, 2 ll., LACKING at least 1 leaf at the end). Mentions the queen and Luis de Camara, Paraly-Barbosa, Francisco; includes anecdotes about someone’s wedding.15. LACKING at least one leaf at the beginning, with place and date. (4º, 1 l.). Mentions Aguiar as an enemy of the Duque de Palmella, Mo[u]zinho (de Albuquerque), the Marquês de Saldanha, the Conde de Villa Real and the Conde de Rio Maior.16. LACKING at least one leaf at the beginning, with place and date. (4º, 2 ll.). Mentions the departure of the Amélia from Fayal, Terceira, S. Miguel, 3 divisions of the army, the retreat from France, and General Saraiva.*** See Grande enciclopédia XXV, 104-5 for Rendufe and VI, 14-15 for Carreira.