Tema: The First Queen Of Bristol Rhode Island Was 100% Portuguese

The First Queen Of Bristol
Rhode Island Was 100% Portuguese
By Manuel Luciano da Silva, M.D.

The Queen of England, Catherine of Braganza, was born in Vila Viçosa, Alto Alentejo, Portugal, on November 25, 1638, on St. Catherine's Day. At that time, Portugal was still under the rule of King Philip III of Spain, having lost her independence to Spain from 1580 to 1640. Within 25 months of Catherine's birth Portugal would finally liberate herself from 60 years of Spanish subjugation.


The Palace in Vila Viçosa, Alentejo, where Princess Catherine of Braganza was born, on November 25, 1639 -- 75 miles east of Lisbon.



In 1635, the Spanish King nominated the Duchess of Mântua as his vice-queen in Lisbon. She lived in the Government Palace with her lover, Miguel de Vasconcelos, who executed the duties of Secretary of State. He had control of the entire government and was truly hated by the Portuguese people who considered him a traitor.
Catherine's father, Dom John, the Eighth Duke of Braganza, along with 40 revolutionaries (Restauradores), gloriously restored the independence of Portugal on the morning of December 1st, 1640. The Restauradores seized the palace, mortally wounded Vasconcelos and threw his dying body out the window of the Ribeira Palace. His body landed in the public plaza where the crowd terminated his life while patriotically shouting: "Liberty! Liberty! Long live King Dom John IV!"

King John IV when he was proclaimed King of Portugal, December 1st, 1640

When the future king consulted his wife about the plans for the restoration of the independence of Portugal, she responded: "I rather be a queen for one hour than a duchess the rest of my life. It is more worthwhile to die as a queen than to die in servitude." Young Catherine suddenly found herself the daughter of the new King of Portugal and her formidable mother, Duchess Luiza de Gusmão.
MARRIAGE PRIZE Later, the young princess Catherine would serve as a marriage pawn to Charles II, the King of England, in order to reinforce the alliance between England and Portugal. This alliance was originally cemented by the marriage of Dom John I and Filipa of Lencaster, the granddaughter of the King of England, which was held on February 2nd, 1387. Now this diplomatic marriage between Catherine and Charles II of England had for its main purpose that Portugal obtain ready support from the British in case of aggression by Spain or Holland after the restoration of the Independence of Portugal.
THE YOUNG QUEEN CATHERINE OF ENGLAND The marriage of Catherine of Braganza and King Charles II of England did not take place until a contract between the two nations was signed on June 26, 1661. This contract was very advantageous for England. Catherine's dowry was the largest ever registered in world history. Portugal gave to England two million golden crusados, Tangier and Morocco in North Africa, Bombay in India and also permission for the British to use all the ports in the Portuguese colonies in Africa, Asia and the Americas. As a result of this agreement England took her first immense step toward gaining control of all the oceans and ultimately to create her maritime empire.



Queen Catherine dressed as a bride.
The marriage took place in Portsmouth, England, on May 31, 1662. First by a secret ceremony with a Catholic ritual, demanded by Catherine, and immediately following, publicly, by an Anglican ceremony. Catherine was not fluent with the English language and therefore always conversed with her husband in Spanish.

TEA, FORK AND TANGERINE

Because of its contact with the courts of the Far East such as Japan, China and Macao, the Portuguese Court was at that time one of the most sophisticated in Europe. This Portuguese Queen of England was accompanied by her maids of honor and with them introduced the "Five O'clock Tea." To the British Court the Queen Catherine also introduced the use of the fork in ceremonial banquets together with Port and Madeira wines. She also introduced tangerines, which she loved, to Great Britain. Tangerines, oranges and grapefruits are fruits which originated in China and were brought by the Portuguese navigators to Lisbon. Tangerines in China are called mandarins. Queen Catherine's mandarin plantations were located in Tangier. For this reason when the delicious fruits arrived in London from Tangier they were called tangerines instead of mandarins.
Catherine faced many hardships in the British Court not only because of the new language but also because of the many intrigues motivated by the disputes between Catholics and Anglicans. She was not fortunate with her husband because he had many mistresses and fathered more than fifteen bastard children. In the History of England, Charles II is known as the "Merry Monarch." Catherine herself was pregnant four times, but her pregnancies were all unsuccessful leaving no heirs to the throne.
Today she is honored by the British. Her portrait hangs in a prominent Chamber of Windsor Castle, home of the British monarchy.
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King Charles II and Queen Catherine

THE CITY OF NEW YORK Two years after the wedding of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza, the British captured from the Dutch the City of New Amsterdam and immediately changed its name to New York City in honor of the Duke of York, brother of King Charles II. From that moment on, the two largest boroughs of the big city were called: King's and Queen's. Today the King's Borough is called Brooklyn, (with an area of 89 square miles), and the Queen's Borough is still called Queen's (with an area of 127 square miles), making it the largest of the five boroughs of this famous city.
In 1992 a plan was approved to erect a statue to Queen Catherine of Braganza, on the section of the Queen's Borough that faces the United Nations. This new statue of the famous Queen has become possible through the efforts of an organization called "Friends of Queen Catherine, Inc." (2 Wall Street, New York City). It is presided over by Mr. Manuel Andrade E. Sousa of the Portuguese Trade Commission.
HOUSE OF BRAGANZA
The House of Braganza was founded in 1401. It began with the marriage of Dona Beatriz Pereira Alvim, daughter of Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira (the hero of the Battle of Aljubarrota), and Dom Afonso, the Eighth Count of Barcelos, the natural son of King John I. The House of Braganza was later dissolved in 1483 by King John II when he ordered the decapitation of the Third Duke, Dom Fernando, and seized all his property. Thirteen years later King Manuel I restored the House of Braganza and increased its land holding. From the time the Eighth Duke of Braganza became King John IV (1640) the House of Braganza continued to be the royal power in Portugal for 270 years or until 1910. At the end of King Manuel II's reign (1910), the republican form of government was introduced.
HOW MANY BRISTOL'S?
How many Bristols are there in the world? Besides the City of Bristol in England, there are 30 other localities with the name of Bristol in the United States and Canada. It is interesting to note that there are no Bristols either in Africa or in Australia. In the United States there are 27 localities with the name Bristol, spread throughout 24 states.
The City of Bristol in England, 100 miles west of London, has an area of 42 square miles and a population of half a million. Bristol, Rhode Island, the eldest daughter of the British Bristol, has an area of 21 square miles and a population of 25,000. Bristol, England was founded in the year 1050, incorporated as a town in 1155, and became progressively famous because of its commerce and navigation.
Bristol, Rhode Island, was founded in 1680, by four wealthy Boston merchants: John Walley, Stephen Burton, Nathaniel Byfield and Nathaniel Oliver. Together they bought the Mount Hope Lands from the Plymouth Colony. These lands extended from Mount Hope on the east to Narragansett Bay on the west, and six miles to the north. This peninsula of 21 square miles cost them eleven hundred pounds.
At that time New England was a colony of England. It was Charles II of England who granted permission for the purchase of the Mount Hope Lands. The document was signed at Windsor Castle on June 12, 1677. The four owners of Bristol immediately set about to develop an urban plan. They traced perpendicular streets and avenues and divided the land into lots for houses, farms, schools, churches, parks, cemeteries and government buildings. Even today we are amazed by the magnificent rectilinear plan designed more than 300 years ago.


Click on map for larger view. Map of Bristol drawn in 1682 showing the Royal Streets of King Street, Queen Street and Charles Street and the projection to Catherine Street. A close look at the map will identify lots owned by John Walley, Stephen Burton, Nathaniel Byfield and Nathaniel Oliver, as well as Benjamin Church, the Indian fighter of the Plymouth Colony (lots on both sides of Queen St.)
BRISTOL’S ROYAL STREETS In honor of King Charles II and Queen Catherine, the founders of Bristol, Rhode Island, gave royal names to three major streets in town as "King Street", "Queen Street" and "Charles Street". After the American Independence their names were changed into: "King Street" became Church Street, and "Queen Street", was changed to Constitution Street and "Charles Street" became State Street. There is some speculation that Catherine lived on, when her name was applied to Catherine Street, as an extension of "Queen Street", on east of Wood Street.
This is the first time that "King Street" and "Queen Street" were discovered to be associated with Charles II and Catherine of Braganza since they were first named in 1680. For this reason I can state that: The First Queen of Bristol, Rhode Island, was indeed Portuguese!
If time permitted, I would investigate further in the historical societies along the Atlantic Coast of the U.S.A. and Canada, the early street names in towns founded during the reign of Catherine and Charles II. I have a hunch that there are many more "Queen Streets" out there. Catherine was Queen of England for 23 years from 1662 to 1685, when the King died.
PERCENTAGE OF PORTUGUESE
If the first Queen of Bristol was 100% Portuguese, fate has dictated that Bristol , Rhode Island has the highest percentage of Portuguese and their descendants. According to the 1990 census, 78% of Bristol's population is of Portuguese origin. This is impressive when compared to other well-known Portuguese-American cities such as Fall River (58%) and New Bedford (63%). It was interesting to learn that the percentage of Italo-Americans in Bristol was 9% and that the descendants of British, French, Jews and Latino-Americans comprise the remaining 13%.
Portuguese-Americans in Bristol do not count just as numbers. The Portuguese and their descendants have taken a very active part in the social, educational and political life of Bristol. They have quickly become Americanized while celebrating their Portuguese heritage. Besides St. Elizabeth's Church, they have established historical, musical, and sports organizations along with the century old Dom Luiz Filipe Beneficial Association. This organization was named after Prince Dom Luiz Filipe of Portugal who was related to the family of Queen Catherine of Braganza, the first Queen of Bristol.
The connection between Bristol Lands and North America to Portugal dates back many years before Catherine became Queen of Bristol. Based on the discovery of the latitudes of "The Nautical Chart of 1424," the Portuguese navigators sailed along the Narragansett Bay more than 576 years ago and later discovered Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, before August 22, 1424!
We should recall that it was in Bristol, R.I., that the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. constructed the "U.S. Navy's NC-4 Flying Boat" which was the first airplane to make made an Atlantic crossing, on May 1919, landing on Fayal Island (Azores) and then on to Lisbon, Portugal, well before Charles Lindberg crossed the Atlantic, in 1925.
NARRAGANSETT BAY, A PORTUGUESE MUSEUM
Bristol is located in the heart of Narragansett Bay, which has an area 10% greater than Lisbon Harbor in Portugal. When we explore its historical sites we can consider the Bay a Portuguese Museum:
(1) On the southwestern corner we find the ruins of the Portuguese Ninigret Fort where an open breach cannon and sword of the 15th century were found. These were typical armaments during the Corte Reais voyages between 1472 and 1511.
(2) Since 1989, on the eastern part of the entrance to the Bay, stands erected a new Monument to the Portuguese Navigators. This was a gift from Portugal whose configuration was inspired by the design of the Prince Henry School of Navigation at Sagres founded 1n 1418.
(3) The Portuguese Tower of Newport, consisting of eight arches, is similar to the main altar of Charola, in Tomar, Portugal, headquarters of the Portuguese Cross of the Order of Christ, sponsor of all Portuguese voyages of discovery.
(4) The Portuguese Touro Synagogue, the oldest Jewish synagogue in North America, founded by Portuguese Jews and now registered as National Historical Monument.
(5) The Portuguese National Coat of Arms and the Corte Reais Coat of Arms are displayed at the Jamestown entrance of the Newport Bridge.
(6) The Mount Hope Bridge in Bristol, named after Mount Hope where the Wampanoag (White) Indians had their headquarters. These Indians used Portuguese words and had Portuguese names.
(7) The Braga Bridge in Fall River, named in memory of Charles Braga, a Portuguese-American, who was the first American casualty of World War II. He died December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor.
(8)The Statue of Prince Henry the Navigator in Fall River, inaugurated in 1940.
(9) Dighton Rock Museum (Berkley, Massachusetts) which lodges the Dighton Rock with Portuguese inscriptions containing: (1) four Crosses of the Order of Christ, (2) the Portuguese Coat of Arms, (3) the name of the Portuguese Navigator, Miguel Corte Real, and (4) the date 1511.
PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE
If Queen Catherine of Braganza were to visit America she would learn that Portuguese is the tenth most spoken language in U. S. A. Portuguese is the second most spoken in the State of Rhode Island.
Portuguese is today the fifth most spoken in the world! First is Chinese; second, English; third, Russian; fourth, Spanish; and fifth, Portuguese! But Portuguese is in third place in the Americas: first is English, second Spanish and third Portuguese.
Queen Catherine would be proud of the Portuguese in America and especially of the Portuguese-Americans in Bristol. She would be proud of their well-kept homes and flower gardens, their economic and social achievements and their active participation in the Fourth of July Parade, the biggest and most patriotic parade in America.
QUEEN’S RESTING PLACE
King Charles II died in 1685. Queen Catherine of Braganza, like so many emigrants, longed to return to her homeland. On January 29, 1693 she arrived in Lisbon, 30 years after she had departed as a young bride to England. She was greeted with a celebration and fireworks.
On two occasions she became Regent of the Portuguese Government. She died on December 31, 1705 at the age of 67, in the Monastery of Redondo in Alentejo, today an excellent Pousada (Hotel). Her body rests at the National Royal Pantheon in the Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Fora, Lisbon, Portugal.
Today, as the saudosa and nostalgic memory of the First Queen of Bristol sails through the centuries, it still lingers in the historical beggining of this American town, the most beautiful and patriotic Bristol, Rhode Island, U. S. A.
STATUE OF QUEEN CATHERINE IN NEW YORK CITY


Click on photo for a larger view
To coincide with the 300th Anniversary of the naming of the Borough of Queens, so named in honor of the Queen Catherine, a non profit organization, "The Friends of Queen Catherine" under the leadership of Manuel Andrade e Sousa , founder and president, in 1992 began a campaign to raise funds to build a huge statue of Queen Catherine 45 feet high to be placed in the Borough of Queens opposite to the United Nations.
The sculptress for the Catherine's statue is the world famous, Audrey Flack, of New York City.





Manuel Andrade e Sousa, President and Founder. He is also the author of the best book on Queen Catherine entitled "Catherine of Braganza, Princess of Portugal, Wife of Charles II" Illustrated with many color photos. Distributed by Howell Press, Inc. 1147 River Road, Ste 2, Harleysville, VA, 22901



The arrow indicate the local where the statue of Queen Catherine is going to be placed, opposite to the United Nations












Firs Queen of Bristol

Portuguese American R&B singer Teena Marie