Alexandre de Gusmão (17 July 1695 in Santos – 9 May 1753 in Lisbon) was a colonial Brazilian diplomat. He is regarded as one of the best diplomats of his time, chiefly for his role in negotiating the Treaty of Madrid in 1750 (revoked in 1761), when Portugal and Spain were attempting to delimit their territorial possessions in South America and Asia.
Born in the city of Santos, he may be considered one of the precursors of the application of Enlightenment principles to international relations, adopting the principle of uti possidetis, according to which each state has the right to the land that it actually occupies, as well as the idea of "natural boundaries", which suggests the use of prominent geographical accidents – such as rivers and mountain ranges – to set the limits between states.
He graduated in Law and was the representative of Portugal to various states, among which Rome, where he came to be invited to join Pope Innocent XIII's court. He was also a brother of Bartolomeu de Gusmão, a priest and naturalist recalled for his early work on lighter-than-air airship design (balloons).
Earth showing Tordesillas Line in purple and Saragossa line in green. Portugal was to develop its Empire in the centre of the map and Spain on the two sidesSpanish and Portuguese Empires during their personal union (1581-1640) Red/Pink - Spanish Empire Blue/Light Blue - Portuguese Empire
During the period of the Iberian Union (1580–1640), due to the Portuguese dynastic succession crisis, Portugal and all its territorial possessions in Africa, Asia and the Americas came under the control of the Philippine Dynasty, of Spain. Because both countries had come under the same rule, there ceased to be boundaries between their territories in their colonies, which had been established by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) in America and the Treaty of Zaragoza (1529) in Asia. Hence, the colonial explorers (bandeirantes) from the Portuguese colony of Brazil expanded westwards into the centre of the continent, occupying what was once Spanish and Amerindian territory. In Asia, on the other hand, Spanish explorers expanded to occupy territory which had been attributed to Portugal under the Treaty of Zaragoza.
When the union of the two crowns ended, in 1640, there was the need to renegotiate the boundaries of both territories, and Portugal's interest was to preserve its new possessions in America, while Spain wished to return to the limits defined by the Treaty of Tordesillas and the Treaty of Zaragoza, which had never been officially revoked.
By means of studies submitted to the Spanish Court, Gusmão proved that while Portugal had breached the Tordesillas Line, with the Portuguese occupying part of the Amazon basin and the Center-West of South America, Spain had breached the Zaragoza Line by expanding its possessions in Asia, taking the Philippines, the Marianas and the Moluccas, which were once Portuguese. Alexandre de Gusmão successfully argued that the losses of one kingdom in one region had been compensated by its gains in another, and that the principle for territorial division should be the effective occupation of the land (uti possidetis). Through ample documentation and efficient negotiation, he thus managed to secure for Portugal (and, after independence, for Brazil) most of the current Brazilian territory.
1715–1719: Paris — Studies of Civil Law, Roman Law and Ecclesiastic Law at the Sorbonne
1719: Coimbra — Bachelor's degree at the School of Law
Bachelor's degree in lawedit
In 1710, Alexandre de Gusmão moved to Lisbon to live with his brother Bartolomeu de Gusmão. Through contacts in the Portuguese Court, he was appointed secretary to the Portuguese Embassy in Paris, in 1715, where he studied law at the Sorbonne.
Diplomatic postsedit
1714–1730: Paris and Rome — Agent of the House of Portugal.
1715: Paris — Takes part in the negotiations of the peace Treaty of Utrecht, between Portugal and Spain.
1730–1750: Lisbon — Counsellor and personal secretary of king Dom João V.
1743–1753: Lisbon — Member of the Ultramarine Council.
1750: Lisbon — Formulator of the Portuguese position and negotiator of the Treaty of Madrid.
External links (in Portuguese)edit
Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão
Resumo da biografia de Alexandre de Gusmão
Almanaque Folha - História de SP
January 01, 1970
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Alexandre de Gusmao news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations October 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Alexandre de Gusmao 17 July 1695 in Santos 9 May 1753 in Lisbon was a colonial Brazilian diplomat He is regarded as one of the best diplomats of his time chiefly for his role in negotiating the Treaty of Madrid in 1750 revoked in 1761 when Portugal and Spain were attempting to delimit their territorial possessions in South America and Asia Alexandre de GusmaoNon contemporary portrait by Oswaldo TeixeiraPersonal detailsBorn 1695 07 17 17 July 1695Santos Sao Paulo State of Brazil Portuguese EmpireDied9 May 1753 1753 05 09 aged 57 Lisbon Kingdom of PortugalAlma materUniversity of CoimbraProfessionStatesman diplomat Born in the city of Santos he may be considered one of the precursors of the application of Enlightenment principles to international relations adopting the principle of uti possidetis according to which each state has the right to the land that it actually occupies as well as the idea of natural boundaries which suggests the use of prominent geographical accidents such as rivers and mountain ranges to set the limits between states He graduated in Law and was the representative of Portugal to various states among which Rome where he came to be invited to join Pope Innocent XIII s court He was also a brother of Bartolomeu de Gusmao a priest and naturalist recalled for his early work on lighter than air airship design balloons Contents 1 Treaty of Madrid negotiations 2 Places where he lived 3 Education 4 Bachelor s degree in law 5 Diplomatic posts 6 External links in Portuguese Treaty of Madrid negotiations edit nbsp Earth showing Tordesillas Line in purple and Saragossa line in green Portugal was to develop its Empire in the centre of the map and Spain on the two sides nbsp Spanish and Portuguese Empires during their personal union 1581 1640 Red Pink Spanish Empire Blue Light Blue Portuguese Empire During the period of the Iberian Union 1580 1640 due to the Portuguese dynastic succession crisis Portugal and all its territorial possessions in Africa Asia and the Americas came under the control of the Philippine Dynasty of Spain Because both countries had come under the same rule there ceased to be boundaries between their territories in their colonies which had been established by the Treaty of Tordesillas 1494 in America and the Treaty of Zaragoza 1529 in Asia Hence the colonial explorers bandeirantes from the Portuguese colony of Brazil expanded westwards into the centre of the continent occupying what was once Spanish and Amerindian territory In Asia on the other hand Spanish explorers expanded to occupy territory which had been attributed to Portugal under the Treaty of Zaragoza When the union of the two crowns ended in 1640 there was the need to renegotiate the boundaries of both territories and Portugal s interest was to preserve its new possessions in America while Spain wished to return to the limits defined by the Treaty of Tordesillas and the Treaty of Zaragoza which had never been officially revoked By means of studies submitted to the Spanish Court Gusmao proved that while Portugal had breached the Tordesillas Line with the Portuguese occupying part of the Amazon basin and the Center West of South America Spain had breached the Zaragoza Line by expanding its possessions in Asia taking the Philippines the Marianas and the Moluccas which were once Portuguese Alexandre de Gusmao successfully argued that the losses of one kingdom in one region had been compensated by its gains in another and that the principle for territorial division should be the effective occupation of the land uti possidetis Through ample documentation and efficient negotiation he thus managed to secure for Portugal and after independence for Brazil most of the current Brazilian territory Places where he lived edit1695 1708 Santos Brazil 1708 Bahia Brazil 1709 1714 Coimbra Portugal 1714 1719 Paris France 1719 1723 Lisbon Portugal 1723 1730 Rome Italy 1730 1753 Lisbon PortugalEducation edit1708 Santos and Bahia Preparatory studies 1715 1719 Paris Studies of Civil Law Roman Law and Ecclesiastic Law at the Sorbonne 1719 Coimbra Bachelor s degree at the School of LawBachelor s degree in law editIn 1710 Alexandre de Gusmao moved to Lisbon to live with his brother Bartolomeu de Gusmao Through contacts in the Portuguese Court he was appointed secretary to the Portuguese Embassy in Paris in 1715 where he studied law at the Sorbonne Diplomatic posts edit1714 1730 Paris and Rome Agent of the House of Portugal 1715 Paris Takes part in the negotiations of the peace Treaty of Utrecht between Portugal and Spain 1730 1750 Lisbon Counsellor and personal secretary of king Dom Joao V 1743 1753 Lisbon Member of the Ultramarine Council 1750 Lisbon Formulator of the Portuguese position and negotiator of the Treaty of Madrid External links in Portuguese editFundacao Alexandre de Gusmao Personalidades e Diplomatas Historicos Resumo da biografia de Alexandre de Gusmao Almanaque Folha Historia de SP Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alexandre de Gusmao amp oldid 1220538399, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
