Women Incarcerated by order of king Miguel: The Memoirs of Mariana de Almeida Portugal, Countess of Ribeira Grande

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of King Miguel's political persecutions of women from Portuguese constitutionalist families, focusing on the Countess of Ribeira Grande, who spent two years imprisoned in a convent. As a typical Portuguese aristocrat of her era, her affiliation to a constitutionalist family and early widowhood made her a prime target for the regime. Her autobiographical narrative, the only known case from this context of captivity, was published approximately a century after its writing and resembles earlier female spiritual autobiographies, particularly its emphasis on her family's loyalty to the Royal family and her exemplary religious conduct. Additionally, this also returns insights into the relationships between liberal women and Catholicism.