Joaquim António de Aguiar

Who was Joaquim António de Aguiar?

Joaquim António de Aguiar was a Portuguese politician. He held several relevant political posts during the Portuguese constitutional monarchy, namely as leader of the Cartists and later of the Partido Regenerador. He was three times prime minister of Portugal: between 1841 and 1842, in 1860 and finally from 1865 to 1868, when he entered a coalition with the Partido Progressista, in what became known as the Governo de Fusão.

He also served as minister of justice during the regency of Peter IV and in that capacity issued the 30 May 1834 law which extinguished "all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses of the regular religious orders". Their vast patrimony was taken over by the Portuguese State and incorporated into the Fazenda Nacional. This law and its anti-ecclesiastical spirit earned Joaquim António de Aguiar the nickname "O Mata-Frades".