Португалиялық сардар, саяхатшы және монархист саясаткер: Энрике Митчелл де Пайва Кабрал Кусейру

19/20th century Portuguese soldier, colonial governor, and politician

Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Cabral Couceiro (30 December 1861, in Lisbon – 11 February 1944, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese soldier, colonial governor, monarchist politician and counter revolutionary; he was notable for his role during the colonial occupation of Angola and Mozambique and for his dedication to the Monarchist Cause during the period of the First Portuguese Republic through the founding of the Monarchy of the North.

He was born to José Joaquim de Paiva Cabral Couceiro, a notable engineer in the Portuguese Army and Helena Isabel Teresa Mitchell, an Irish Protestant who converted to Catholicism (after being educated in a convent in France). Following her widowed father's death, the 20 year old Helena Mitchell worked for a time in Madrid, before taking residence in Portugal as the governess to the Viscount do Torrão's children. It was as the children's teacher that she met the engineer José Couceiro and later married, giving birth to two daughters (Carolina and Conceição) and their only son Henrique. Helen Mitchell was a militant Catholic, and the young José was raised in a strict authoritarian environment, where he read little of the popular literature, never went to the theater, attended mass daily and similarly read Imitação de Cristo daily in preparation of the "ultimate sacrifice". Similarly, his life was quite regimented: he went to sleep at 11 and woke at 6 in the morning, fenced for an hour, went to mass, had two hours training on horseback daily, and regularly shined his boots, brushed his suits and cleaned most of his personal items. Helena Mitchell instilled in her son a religious zeal and military regime; at the age of 11 she gave him a copy of the History of the Crusades, Ivanhoe and he read and re read a copy of Don Quixote, while fostering ethos of the medieval knight: austerity, valor, abstinence, service to God and to country.

Destined by family upbringing to join the military, after concluding his preparatory studies in Lisbon (January 14, 1879), at 17 years of age, he volunteered for service in the 2nd Cavalry's Royal Lancers Regiment, a position that he served in until 1880. At that time he transferred to the 1st Artillery Regiment, and enrolled in the Military Academy at the Escola Politécnica de Lisboa ("Polytechnic University of Lisbon"), where he studied artillery between 1881 and 1884 as an officer candidate. On June 24, 1881, at 19 years of age, on the eve of being promoted to ensign, he fired five shots from his service revolver wounding Luís Léon de la Torre. The attack, which occurred in the Chiado area of Lisbon, was provoked by a shoulder bump against the defendant which provoked an insulting and offensive profanity to [Couceiro's] dignity. For this simple insult, which in the eyes of Paiva Couceiro was without sufficient reason, he drew his Army revolver and fired five shots (three that actually hit) into the victim. In October, Couceiro responded to the charges of the Council of War to the crimes of attempted murder and the use of a prohibited weapon. In a unanimous decision, the council did not find attempted murder charges had been proven, but yet sentenced him to two years in a military prison, later (on April 7, 1882) to be commuted to six months in addition to time served. He was summarily released from the military prison at the Fort of São Julião da Barra on October 7 and returned to the Military Academy (on October 26, 1882). The events of his imprisonment did not affect his career; on January 9, 1884, he was promoted to second lieutenant in artillery and served in the venerable 1st Artillery Regiment in Campolide, Lisbon. While there, he joined a group of young officers who practiced the "military arts" of that period, that included fencing and riding. He was later promoted to second lieutenant (on January 27, 1886), and finally to captain (on July 4, 1889), wherein he volunteered for a commission in the Portuguese colonies in Africa (a consequence of the Berlin Conference that divided sections of Africa between European states).

Paiva Couceiro arrived in Luanda, Angola on September 1, 1889, and was immediately appointed commander of the Irregular Cavalry Squadron in the village of Humpata (which was originally created by Artur de Paiva to combat bands of guerrillas along the plain of Moçâmedes). He did not remain at this outpost for long; apparently he was unsatisfied with his subordinates, their methods and inferior level of discipline, but was able to utilize them in a campaign to retrieve missing cattle, instead of hiring local Boer mercenaries, which had been the custom. By January he was in the village of Belmonte, in Bié, on a mission that took him along the Cuando River, to Cuito and then to the Lialui along the Zambezi River (a trek of thousands of kilometers across savannah), in order to negotiate with Lewanika, chief of the Barotze tribe. The growth of the Portuguese occupation force in the Angolan interior was part of the administration's attempted to implement their Pink Map to explore and expand their serfdom over the peoples of the central African interior. After some resistance, the colonial administration began a military campaign to pacify groups that had resisted initial token gestures of friendship and gifts, a process that Paiva Couceiro participated in energetically. For the chief's recognition of Portuguese sovereignty over his territories, Paiva Couceiro brought with him a colonels tunic and sword, textiles, gold, velvet, boxes of Porto wine and arms, which were to be delivered in 300 crates when the Governor of Angola canceled the project. This was a consequence of the 1890 British Ultimatum that removed all Portuguese imperial illusions to sovereignty in south central Africa, and made the trip dangerous and useless. Couceiro himself dropped the use of "Mitchell" from his name out of spite. Meanwhile, he visited the Vila Teixeira da Silva, colonial outpost in Bailundo, site of two Protestant missions (one English, the other American) and where the Portuguese explorer António da Silva Porto lived. Arriving with 40 heavily armed soldiers from Mozambique he constructed an outpost and intimidated the local tribe (fearful of them constructing a fort in the area). After some time, unimpressed with Couceiro's reasons and mindful of the existing hostility between England and Portugal, the chief Dunduma sent Couceiro his own ultimatum. Familiar with the local tribes, the explorer Silva Porto was convinced to defuse the tensions. But his personal failure to resolve the conflict, and suffering from a loss of dignity and honor from the confrontation with the chief, and from a general pessimism associated with the British Ultimatum, caused Silva Porto to wrap himself in a Portuguese flag and attempt suicide by lighting several barrels of explosives. After Silva Porto's death, Paiva Couceiro and his troops installed themselves briefly in Belmonte, but surrounded by forces of the chief of Bié, he was forced to withdraw to Bailundo. After remaining along the road to Cambane, he received orders from Governor General Guilherme de Brito Capelo to follow the Angolan arm of the Okavango River to Mucusso (a trip of 2,600 km over uncharted lands), determine the navigability of the river and enforce the sovereignty of Portugal (which was under threat from English forces). His caravan began its journey on April 30, 1890, and included an interpreter (Joaquim Guilherme Gonçalves), ten Mozambican soldiers, three quartermasters and 90 attendants, who traveled into areas occupied by 16 chiefs with different cultures and in environments that had, until then, not been visited by Europeans. There voyage ended on July 30 in the village of the chief of the Mucusso tribe. But, they resolved to continue their exploration to the islands of Gomar, 65 kilometers away, and returned by river until the Fort of Princesa Amélia, in Bié (arriving on October 14 after five months). His expedition earned him the title of Knight of the Order of the Tower and Sword on December 18, 1890. On returning to Bié, he joined with Artur de Paiva's Irregular Cavalry Squadron in the punitive expedition to arrest chief Dunduma (or N’Dunduma), who had given him the ultimatum six months earlier. Artur Paiva brought with him 300 indigenous tribesmen, 70 Boer mercenaries, Portuguese volunteers and a group of auxiliaries made up of Zulu and Damaran peoples. After 30 days of bombardments and attacks, in which Couceiro noted Portuguese justice was imposed, the Barotze surrendered their chief. On terminating this operation he was charged with subjugation of the region of Caranganja and to explore the deposits of salt along the eastern margin of the Cuanza River (wherein he produced detailed reports on the 12 day 453 kilometer expedition). At the end of this campaign he returned to Belmonte, with a fever. Owing to his condition, on February 17, 1891, the Minister of the Navy terminated his commission and ordered him to return to Lisbon. In honor of his service, the people of the region of Belmonte Cuito Benguela gave him a diamond studded replica of his Order of the Tower and Sword knighthood. Received in Lisbon, he was honored for his military activities and for opening up the Angolan interior, for which he received the title of Grand Officer in the Order of the Tower and Sword (on May 29, 1891).

His award did not include a promotion, and after a short time in Lisbon, he was detached to the 3rd Artillery Regiment in Santarém where he remained between August 1891 and August 1892. He returned to the 1st Artillery Regiment in Lisbon after this experience. Generally unhappy with life in Lisbon, he requested a temporary assignment transfer to the Spanish Foreign Legion, which was in service in Melilla during the Battle of the Riff mountains, in Morocco. He distinguished himself, receiving the Spanish Military Merit Medal, but returned once again to Lisbon at the end of his tour; once again undeserving of a promotion, (which never appeared), Paiva Coucerio's detachment of 37 officers and 791 soldiers (that included 300 Angolans) were attacked on the morning of February 2. There was confusion in the Angolan ranks and the lines broke, but Couceiro and the other officers were able to rebuild the ranks. Between 4 and 8 Portuguese soldiers and 20 Angolans, while 200 Tongas were killed in the battle. The column remained in the field for three days, and on March 5 they marched into Amboane and then Lourenço Marques on March 6 (where they remained for a month). In another demonstration of his violent tendencies, while in Lourenço Marques he assaulted three journalists (two British and an American) who he believed were hostile to Portuguese interests. He was publicly reprimanded by António Enes, although Enes later confessed that he reprimanded Couceiro "with the desire to kiss him". Enes, and his cabinet, were meanwhile working on a methodical plan to reestablish the dominion of the "King's lands"; he began with occupying the islands at the mouth of the Komati River (Xefina Grande, on February 29, and Xefina Pequena), while Freire de Andrade fortified Marracuene and on the first days of April, Caldas Xavier, devastated the island of Benguelene. On April 25, Freire de Andrade and Couceiro left Lourenço Marques with a column of 172 men and two cannons, to build a bridge over the River Incomati to the island of Incanine. After a number of accidents in May, the bridge was complete and a detachment of 400 men headed by the officers entered the Magaia in the direction of Mapungo which the Portuguese sacked and burned. Similarly, on April 18, the detachment destroyed Macaneta, home of a tribe headed by a European educated local named Finish. These attacks forced many of the locals to flee to the lands of Gaza, ruled by chief Gungunhana; as Couceiro wrote:

"With our victories we have won vassals, more prestige! What a cruel sarcasm: the populations emigrate from a liberal administrative territory and governed humanitarianly by the Cross and Law and gather in the corrals of the last wild patriarch aboriginal". As a part of an overall plan to circle and defeat Gungunhana, Couceiro marched 270 Europeans, 50 Angolans, five cannons, and three rapid firing guns to the southern border of Vátua lands in late June. Near the former fort of Stokolo, about 12 kilometers from the main road, Paiva Couceiro and Freire de Andrade built an outpost (Ponto X) and bridges without any conflict from the Cossine or Vátua tribes. On July 17, he recaptured the Portuguese outpost in Magude, and completed another bridge on July 24. Meanwhile, Enes was not having too much success in trying to encircle the tribal lands of Gungunhana. He protested to him, through his intermediaries José Joaquim de Almeida and Aires de Ornelas, and requested he surrender rebels Mahazulo and Matibejana, as well as insisting that the chief accept two or three posts on his lands, in exchange for the immediate removal of Portuguese troops along his frontiers. Although Enes had been counseled against starting a war with Gungunhana, Couceiro and Freire de Andrade insisted, at the end of June, that they should advance towards Cossine (within the Vátua lands) and begin the war against the chief. This perturbed the chief; near Cossine were many Vátua tribesmen, and in Magul, the provisional base of Matibejana. On August 23, Paiva Couceiro received orders to attack and arrest the rebel Matibejana. He advanced with 1,000 men along the swampy river, while a contingent of auxiliaries pillaged the neighboring villages and massacred the inhabitants. What was later known as the Battle of Magul, demonstrated acts that were more cavalier than operationally strategic. When this did not occur, and after several days of inactivity, the gathered tribesman attacked directly the Portuguese lines, which resisted with only 5 dead and 27 injured (the tribes lost 300–450 in total). Although not a strategic victory, it did establish Portuguese military supremacy and turned the tide of the Luso African skirmishes For his actions, in August 1895, Paiva Couceiro was made Knight of the Order of São Bento de Avis, for his actions. Although he demonstrated extraordinary physical courage, he placed his forces in unnecessary harm, but was to become a celebrity and feted with local honors, particularly after the imprisonment of Gungunhana:

"We will see if the victory of Magul will be the defeat of Gungunhana; the defeat, probably, in the district of Lourenço Marques if it wasn't for Paiva Couceiro, probably, we would lament even today the great disgrace." At the conclusion of these operations, Paiva Couceiro left Lourenço Marques (December 18, 1895). Arriving in Lisbon in February 1896, he was proclaimed Benemérito da Pátria ("Honored of the Fatherland"), by unanimity of the Royal Court, recognized for his contribution to Gungunhana's later imprisonment he was made Commander of the Order of the Tower and Sword, and provided with an annual pension of 500$000 réis. In addition, he was made honorary adjunct do camp to King Carlos I of Portugal, integrated into the Royal Military House, and received the Gold Medal for military valor, and the Queen D. Amélia Silver Medallion for combat during the Mozambique campaign.

In 1905, after general elections on February 12 (37th Legislative Elections) and when it became clear the King Carlos I of Portugal resolved to finally support governmental reforms made by João Franco's government, Paiva Couveiro and other "Africanists" (such as Freire de Andrade, Aires de Ornelas, Ivens Ferraz and João Baptista Ferreira) decide to register as candidates in the Liberal Regenerator Party. The right wing newspaper, Alamanque proclaimed of Paiva Couceiro "the nobility of his personage and immaculate candor [was enough that the Portuguese] would never lose their confidence in the future of the race". He ran in the elections to the 39th Legislature (on August 19, 1906), representing the 15th district in eastern Lisbon (from 1906–1907). In 1906, he was a member of the Comissão Parlamentar do Ultramar ("Parliamentary Commission on Overseas Territories"); between 1806 and 1907, he sat on the Comissão Parlamentar de Administração Pública ("Parliamentary Commission on the Public Administration and also the Comissão Parlamentar da Guerra (Parliamentary Commission on War); his roles on these commission were initially in issues related to the colonies and the military, but grew to include opposition to progressive politics and to the support of issues that were clearly anti democratic. When discussing the colonies, in particular Angola, he was very passionate, defending that the colonial was the unique resource to make this small Portugal large/important. His legislative career was cut short when, on May 2, 1907, the government leader João Franco, resolved to distance himself from the progressives and through the support of the King, he suspended the Parliament and governed as a dictator. As opposition republican and anarchist groups grew rapidly, Paiva Couceiro's politics became more radical: he advocated a traditional monarchial system that was anti parliamentarian and without political parties. He served, from 1907 to 1909, as the 89th Governor of Angola. His devotion to the monarchist cause earned him several periods of exile, both before and after the coming of the dictatorial New State (Estado Novo) of António Salazar (1933).

On May 1, 1907, the Colonial governor of Angola, Eduardo Augusto Ferreira da Costa, died. Under the suggestion of King Carlos, the new Minister of the Navy, Aires de Ornelas, one of Paiva Couveiro's Africanist comrades, invited him to accept the prestigious colonial position; being a supporter of João Franco had helped his nomination. He accepted it on May 24, 1907, becoming the interim Colonial governor (since his title as Captain did not permit him to obtain the formal title immediately). He arrived in Luanda on June 17, 1907. His objectives were clear: occupy, explore and garrison the territory until the most remote frontiers, to guarantee security and prevent external interference; promote economic development in the colony, creating cheap, rapid communication to fix Portuguese colonists, providing local work for the indigenous and reducing the weight of protectionism and urban monopolies; and allow the local provincial government to resolve issues autonomously, without the interference of the central government. Although a difficult task, the period of his tenure was marked by progress: fact that was made clear by the following Colonial Governor, José Norton de Matos and confirmed by the historian René Pélissier During this period, in addition to public works, he personally commanded military campaigns to pacifiy the regions of the Cuamato tribe and municipality of Dembos (in Cuanza Norte). He was also responsible for diversifying the economy (90% of which was dependent on rubber and coffee), the expansion of railway lines and the advance into the interior territories. After João Franco's government fell in 1908 (a victim of the events around the assassination of King D. Carlos and his heir Prince Luís Filipe), Paiva Couceiro maintained his position until July 22, 1909, after realizing many public works. His eventual resignation was the result of mounting frustrations between his colonial government and the Regenerator government of Venceslau de Sousa Pereira de Lima. He left Launda in June 1909, notwithstanding the protests from the local European settlers, who wanted him to continue on in the position. Arriving in Lisbon at the beginning of July, during the period of D. Manuel II of Portugal's final months, he received the commission to command the Grupo de Artilharia a Cavalo de Queluz ("Queluz Mounted Artillery"). While Portuguese politics was embroiled in constant scandals, in particular the allegations of fraud in the Crédito Predial Português, Paiva Couceiro remained relatively separated from these conflicts, occupied with his aspirations of obtaining a promotion to Major.