Miguel

Iglesias, Miguel, 1822-1901, president of Peru (1881-85). A general, he fought in the war with Chile (see Pacific, War of the), distinguishing himself in the defense (1881) of Lima. Because the government failed to meet Chilean demands, Iglesias, supported by Chile, assumed the presidency and accepted the harsh terms of the Treaty of Ancón (1883). Many Peruvians refused to acknowledge him as president, and a revolution led by Cáceres was successful. Defeated in the ensuing election, Iglesias left the country.

Lerdo de Tejada, Miguel, d. 1861, Mexican liberal statesman, a leader of the Revolution of Ayutla, cabinet member under Juan Álvarez. As minister under Comonfort, he initiated the Ley Lerdo (1856), a law providing for the forced sale of all real property of the Roman Catholic Church. He helped draft the constitution of 1857 and later drew up a law nationalizing church property. His laws, disastrous failures in his day, were essential parts of the reforms of Benito Juárez. His younger brother, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, 1820?-1889, also an important liberal in the Revolution of Ayutla, was for years a close associate of Juárez. He succeeded as provisional president after the death of Juárez (1872). A revolt under Porfirio Díaz, begun in 1871, was put down. The reform laws were incorporated in the constitution (1874). Order was restored for a time, but when, in 1876, Lerdo procured the consent of congress to his continuance in office, a new revolt began, again led by Porfirio Díaz. Lerdo's forces were defeated, and he fled to New York City, where he died.

Primo de Rivera, Miguel, 1870-1930, Spanish general and dictator. After a rapid and brilliant military career in Cuba, the Philippines, and Morocco, he became governor of Cádiz (1915), then in turn captain general of Valencia, Madrid, and Catalonia. From Catalonia he staged a coup in Sept., 1923, dissolving the Cortes and then establishing, with the full approval of King Alfonso XIII, a military directory. The constitution of 1876 as well as civil liberties were suspended. The military dictatorship was replaced by a civil one (1925); both ruled quite moderately, without the brutalities and extreme repression that characterized later dictatorships. Primo de Rivera ended the war in Morocco (1926), introduced many measures aimed at economic modernization and administrative reform, and launched an ambitious program of public works, but his rule aroused the opposition of anarcho-syndicalists, Catalan regionalists, and all liberals. An uprising in 1929 by the liberals did not succeed, but various political and economic failures of the regime soon led to his resignation (Jan., 1930). He died in exile in Paris.

Hidalgo y Costilla, Miguel, 1753-1811, Mexican priest and revolutionary, a national hero. A creole intellectual, he was influenced by the French Revolution. As parish priest of the village of Dolores, Hidalgo attempted to improve the lot of the natives. Under his direction the indigenous peoples set out olive groves and vineyards, built a porcelain factory, engaged in the silk industry, and began other forbidden projects. As a result he antagonized the government and was also brought before the Inquisition to be tried for heresy, but the case was suspended.

When Napoleon invaded Spain and captured Ferdinand VII, the aftermath in Mexico, as in other South American countries, was the birth of separatist movements. Hidalgo was one of a group of creoles who met at Querétaro and planned a revolution. The plot was soon discovered, but he took a bold step and openly adopted the cause of independence. On Sept. 16, 1810, he issued the Grito de Dolores [cry of Dolores], launching the revolt against Spain. Hidalgo gathered an immense army of local Indians. With the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe (see Guadalupe Hidalgo) as his standard, he injected religious zeal into the insurrection, but the Indians' cry for freedom and land was just as fervent. Ignacio Allende and other creole officers who had taken part in the conspiracy now brought colonial militia into Hidalgo's ranks, and certain radical creoles also joined. The church and the landowning creoles remained hostile.

Success attended Hidalgo's ill-organized army: Guanajuato, Guadalajara, and Valladolid fell to the revolutionaries, and they set out for Mexico City. They defeated a royalist force at Monte de los Cruces (Oct. 30, 1810) but did not pursue their victory. Rather, on Hidalgo's orders, the insurgents turned away from the capital and, retiring northwestward, were routed at Aculco. At Guadalajara, Hidalgo reorganized the army that was sent forth only to be crushed by Calleja del Rey, the royalist general, at Calderón Bridge (Jan. 17, 1811). Hidalgo, Allende, and the other leaders made their way north, hoping to reach the United States, but were betrayed and captured. Hidalgo, after being degraded (defrocked) by the Inquisition, was shot. His schemes for social reform, exemplified in the emancipation of slaves, the cessation of the tribute tax, and the return of the land to the indigenous Indians, had come to nothing, but the war for Mexican independence continued; leadership of the movement was passed on to Morelos y Pavón.

López de Legaspi, Miguel: see Legaspi, Miguel López de.

Alemán, Miguel, 1902-83, president of Mexico (1946-52). Son of a revolutionary general, Alemán became a highly successful lawyer and a champion of Mexican labor. He was governor of Veracruz from 1936 to 1940 but resigned to manage the presidential campaign of Manuel Ávila Camacho, under whom Alemán held (1940-45) the ministry of the interior. Elected president in 1946, Alemán became the first civilian president of Mexico since Francisco I. Madero. He changed the name of the official government party from National Revolutionary party to Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI), to indicate the permanent status of the revolution. Alemán's administration was characterized by a vigorous program of modernization and increased investment to improve the infrastructure. He improved communications and education, and generally raised the standard of living.

Juárez Celman, Miguel, 1844-1909, president of Argentina (1886-90). After political service in the province of Córdoba, he became president for a six-year term. Speculation, flagrant under his predecessor Julio A. Roca, now reached its height, and the administration was notorious for corruption. Political opposition to his government increased after he left his party. A revolt in July, 1890, was suppressed, but Juárez Celman was forced to resign (Aug., 1890). He was succeeded by Carlos Pellegrini.

de la Madrid Hurtado, Miguel, 1934-, Mexican public official, president of Mexico (1982-88). As minister of planning and budget in the cabinet of José López Portillo, he was influential in planning the utilization of Mexico's oil wealth to promote economic growth. Known as a conservative technocrat, he was chosen (1981) as the candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) and was elected in 1982. His presidency was marked by economic difficulties and an earthquake (1985) that caused significant damage to the capital. He participated in the blatant vote fraud by the PRI that assured the election of his successor, Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

Delibes, Miguel, 1920-, Spanish novelist, short-story writer, and journalist, b. Valladolid. He is known for his descriptions of provincial and rural life and for his psychological analysis of middle- and lower-class characters. Among his many works are La sombra del ciprés es alargada [the shadow of the cypress is extended] (1947), Diario de un cazador [diary of a hunter] (1955), Smoke on the Ground (1962, tr. 1972), Five Hours with Mario (1966, tr. 1988), The Wars of Our Ancestors (1974, tr. 1992), 377A, madera de héroe [377A, the stuff of heroes] (1987), Loco (1988), Diario de un jubilado [diary of a pensioner] (1995), and The Heretic (1999, tr. 2006). He was awarded Spain's highest literary honor, the Cervantes Prize, in 1994.

Miguel, 1802-66, Portuguese prince; son of John IV of Portugal and younger brother of Pedro I of Brazil. He led an unsuccessful revolt against his father in 1824. On John's death (1826) the Portuguese succession was in dispute. The liberals supported Pedro, who was in fact recognized as King Peter IV, but the reactionary absolutists favored Miguel for the throne. Pedro abdicated in favor of his daughter, Maria II, and betrothed her to Miguel, who agreed to act as regent for her under a constitutional charter issued by Pedro. Miguel accepted this arrangement, but immediately upon taking power he convened (1828) a nonconstitutional Cortes and took the crown it offered him. The liberal leaders gathered forces and established themselves in the Azores. Pedro joined them in 1832, and they sailed to Oporto. There Miguel besieged them until an English sea force in the employ of the liberals destroyed (1833) his fleet. By 1834 his cause was lost, and he agreed to leave Portugal. He later denounced his capitulation, and although he himself took no part, there were several attempted Miguelist risings during Maria's reign.

Induráin, Miguel (Miguel Angel Induráin-Larraya), 1964-, Spanish bicycle racer. In a career lasting from 1985 to 1997, he dominated European racing, winning the Tour de France, the sport's best-known competition, five years in row (1991-95), becoming the first to win that many consecutively. Induráin was noted for his leg power and excelled in short time trials; he won the gold medal in the time trial at the 1996 Summer Olympic games.

Costa i Llobera, Miguel, 1854-1922, Catalonian poet and orator. In 1888 he was ordained a priest in Rome, where he developed a love of Latin literature. Costa i Llobera's works are serious and contemplative, and they exerted a strong influence on Catalonian literature in general. His masterpiece is Horacianes [poems in the manner of Horace] (1906). Among his other works are De l'agre de la terra [from the bitterness of the earth] (1897) and Tradiciones i fantasies [traditions and fantasies] (1903).

Covarrubias, Miguel, 1902-57, American artist and writer, b. Mexico City. Largely self-taught, he went to New York City in 1923 and won prompt recognition as a brilliant illustrator, stage designer, and caricaturist. His drawings and caricatures for Vanity Fair and the New Yorker are superb examples of his early work. He also was a noted muralist and lithographer. In the late 1920s he became interested in ethnology. His first major book, The Island of Bali, appeared in 1937. He later wrote three excellent studies of the life and art of Native Americans, Mexico South (1946), The Eagle, the Jaguar, and the Serpent (1954), and Indian Art of Mexico and Central America (1957).

Hernández, Miguel, 1910-42, Spanish poet, b. Orihuela. A completely self-taught writer, he absorbed the influence of the poets of the Golden Age and of the generation of García Lorca. His poetry, both tender and vigorous, reflects his own experience with war, death, and social injustice. His works include Cancionero y romancero de ausencias (1939; tr. Songbook of Absences, 1972).

(born Sept. 29, 1864, Bilbao, Spain—died Dec. 31, 1936, Salamanca) Spanish philosopher and writer. He served twice as rector of the University of Salamanca (1901–14; 1931–36); he was dismissed first for espousing the Allied cause in World War I and later for denouncing Francisco Franco's Falangists. Though he also wrote poetry and plays, he was most influential as an essayist and novelist. In The Tragic Sense of Life in Men and Peoples (1913), he stressed the role spiritual anxiety plays in driving one to live the fullest possible life. His most famous novel is Abel Sánchez (1917), a modern re-creation of the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The Christ of Velázquez (1920), a study in poetic form of the great Spanish painter, is a superb example of modern Spanish verse.

Learn more about Unamuno (y Jugo), Miguel de with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Jan. 8, 1870, Cádiz, Spain—died March 16, 1930, Paris, France) Spanish general and dictator of Spain (1923–30). A military officer from 1888, he served as military governor of Cádiz (1915–19), Valencia (1919–22), and Barcelona (1922–23), where he firmly suppressed disorder. Believing the parliamentary system to be corrupt, he took power in a coup in 1923, dissolved the Cortes (parliament), and suspended constitutional guarantees. He successfully ended the Moroccan War (1927), settled labour disputes, and undertook public works, but he failed to implement agrarian reforms. Increasing discontent with his repressive government and lack of support from the army forced him to resign in 1930. José Antonio Primo de Rivera was his son.

Learn more about Primo de Rivera, Miguel with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Sept. 29?, 1547, Alcalá de Henares, Spain—died April 22, 1616, Madrid) Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet, the most celebrated figure in Spanish literature. After studying in Madrid, Cervantes joined the Italian infantry, fought the Turks at Lepanto, and was captured with his brother and sold into slavery in Algiers for five years. Back in Spain, his chronic financial problems and tangled affairs led to brushes with the law and brief imprisonment. While in tedious civil-service employment, he wrote the pastoral romance La Galatea (1585) and plays, poetry, and short stories, to small success. His marvelous creation Don Quixote (1605, 1615), brought immediate success and literary eminence, if not riches. It parodies chivalric romances of the day with the comic adventures of a bemused elderly knight who sets out on his old horse, Rosinante, with his pragmatic squire, Sancho Panza. Often considered the first and certainly one of the great novels, it has influenced many writers and inspired numerous creations in other genres and media. Cervantes also published a large set of eight comedies and eight interludes for the stage (1615) and the romance The Labors of Persiles and Sigismunda (1617).

Learn more about Cervantes (Saavedra), Miguel de with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Jan. 8, 1870, Cádiz, Spain—died March 16, 1930, Paris, France) Spanish general and dictator of Spain (1923–30). A military officer from 1888, he served as military governor of Cádiz (1915–19), Valencia (1919–22), and Barcelona (1922–23), where he firmly suppressed disorder. Believing the parliamentary system to be corrupt, he took power in a coup in 1923, dissolved the Cortes (parliament), and suspended constitutional guarantees. He successfully ended the Moroccan War (1927), settled labour disputes, and undertook public works, but he failed to implement agrarian reforms. Increasing discontent with his repressive government and lack of support from the army forced him to resign in 1930. José Antonio Primo de Rivera was his son.

Learn more about Primo de Rivera, Miguel with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born May 8, 1753, near Pénjamo, Guanajuato, Mex.—died July 30, 1811, Chihuahua) Mexican priest, called the father of Mexican independence. Ordained in 1789, he had an uneventful early career. In the town of Dolores (now Dolores Hidalgo), he joined a group plotting independence from Spain in the light of Napoleon's invasion of that country. On Sept. 16, 1810, when his group was betrayed, he rang the church bell and addressed his parishioners with his Grito de Dolores (“Cry of Dolores”), calling them to revolution. Thousands of Indians and mestizos joined him, and he succeeded in capturing Guanajuato and other cities in the region before reaching Mexico City, where his hesitation led to their defeat and his execution. The martyred Hidalgo became a potent symbol of the independence movement that eventually succeeded, and each September 16—now celebrated as Mexico's Independence Day—the president shouts a version of the Grito de Dolores from the National Palace balcony.

Learn more about Hidalgo (y Costilla), Miguel with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Miguel II of Braganza (full name Miguel Maria Carlos Egídio Constantino Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga Francisco de Paula e de Assis Januário de Bragança) (September 19, 1853- October 11, 1927) was the Miguelist claimant to the throne of Portugal from 1866 to 1920. He used the title Duke of Braganza.

Biography

Miguel was born in Kleinheubach Castle near Miltenberg, Bavaria, during the exile in Germany of his father, former King Miguel I of Portugal. His mother was Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.

By the Portuguese law of banishment of 1834 and the constitution of 1838 Miguel was forbidden to enter Portugal. Therefore, he was educated in Germany and Austria. He was a member of the staff of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and took part in the occupation of Bosnia. It is said that the emperor liked Miguel immensely and granted him the privilege of extra-territoriality that allowed him to remain Portuguese, despite the rejection of Portugal.

Miguel held the rank of a colonel in the 7th Austrian Regiment of Hussars. During World War I, he held the rank of Lieutenant General (Feldmarschalleutnant) in the Austrian army. He resigned in 1917 when Portugal entered the conflict on the opposite side, and spent the rest of the war as a civilian in the Order of Malta. After the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Miguel and his family were thrown into relative poverty.

On 31 July 1920, after quarrels with his eldest son (who contracted a controversial marriage to an American heiress), Miguel II abdicated his claims as king of Portugal in favour of his third son, Duarte Nuno, who was 13 years old at the time.

Miguel died in Seebenstein, on October 11 1927. He is buried at Kloster Maria Himmelfahrt in Bronnbach.

Marriages and children

Miguel's first marriage, with Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis (May 28 1860 - February 7 1881) took place on October 17, 1877 in Regensburg. They had three children.

• Prince Miguel of Braganza, Duke of Viseu (1878-1923), married Anita Stewart
• Prince Francis Joseph of Braganza (1879-1919)
• Princess Maria Teresa of Braganza (1881-1945) married Prince Karl Ludwig of Thurn und Taxis

After the death of his first wife he married for a second time on 8 November 1893 at Kleinheubach with Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenborg (1870-1935). They had eight children.

• Princess Isabel Maria of Braganza (1894-1970), married Prince Franz of Thurn and Taxis
• Princess Maria Benedita of Braganza (1896-1971)
• Princess Mafalda of Braganza (1898-1918)
• Princess Maria Ana of Braganza (1899-1971), married Prince Karl of Thurn and Taxis
• Princess Maria Antónia of Braganza (1903-1973), married Sidney Ashley Chanler
• Princess Filippa Maria of Braganza (1905-1990)
• Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (1907-1976)
• Princess Maria Adelaide Manuela Amélia Micaela Rafaela of Braganza (born Saint-Jean-de-Luz, January 31, 1912), married in Vienna on November 13, 1945 Dutch Nicolaas Johannes Maria van Uden (Venlo, March 5, 1921 – Lisbon, February 5, 1991), a Medical Doctor, son of Adrian van Uden (Gerren, May 7, 1893 – December 24, 1959) and wife Cornelia Antonia Baaijeens (Gorichen, September 7, 1897 – June 15, 1979), daughter of Nicolaas Baaijeens (son of Johannes Baaijeens and wife) and wife Helena Dam, and had issue

Honours

Miguel was a knight of the Bavarian Order of St. Hubert and of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece.

External links

• The Royal Family of Portugal - House Bragança

|- |}