The History Of Freemasonry In Portugal.

In a country where liberty has an altar erected in the heart of each citizen , where tolerance and fraternity are everywhere the motto of the people , it cannot be wondered that Masonic institutions were welcome guests , and that a favourable

reception was accorded , in spite of the rancorous opposition of monarchy , and the impotent thunderbolts from the Vatican .

Masonry—the synthesis of all religion—the faith of faiths , and conglomeration of all virtues , and of which the Great Architect of the Universe is the beneficient father—could not but be cherished and revered in the hearts of the

Portuguese nation , in spite of the dangers , which , at the close of the last and commencement of the present centuries , were incurred by those who identified themselves with it , in all continental nations ( even the most enlightened ) under the

power of the papacy . We have but very imperfect information upon the early history of Freemasonry in Portugal , and what we do possess is mostly obtained from extraneous sources , but all agree that Masonic

institutions , sprung from the chivalric orders of the middle ages , and were so adapted as to suit the exigences of each era , according to the necessities of the circumstances , whether required to fight for country under the scorching suns of Asia and

Africa , or whether to combat , in the darkness of the age , with the dragon of tyranny , and despotism , in the nation itself .

The design of the present -writing is to relate the history of the Grand Orient of Lusitania from its origin , and therefore we shall commence b y seeking out the Masonic events which have taken place since the commencement of the nineteenth

century . During the first years of the Eegency of Prince Don Jean , about the year 1801 , secret attempts were made to establish Freemasonry in Portugal , in defiance of the persecution of the authorities of

the Inquisition , and although at this period it was not united under any general governing body , the principles of Masonry were promulgated , and there were initiated into the lodges scattered here and there , the most devoted and liberal citizens

from all classes of society . It was not till the end of 1804 , according to the best information than can be obtained , that , at Lisbon was established the first Grand Lodge , of which Sebastien Joseph de Sampaio ( brother

The History Of Freemasonry In Portugal.

of the illustrious Marquis of Pombal ) was the first Grand Master . It will be necessary here to notice a popular error , which should be set right . Some foreign writers hold different opinions as to the first Grand

Master of Portuguese Masonry ; some say Egas Moniz , others Joseph de Sampaio , and others ag'ain Sebastien Joseph de Carvalho , as having first held that honourable position , but the fact is that these three persons are one aud the same , whose veritable

name is given above . Egas Moniz was an assumed name , used by the said brother for Masonic purposes , being the name of a distinguished Portuguese , who lived in the early days of the monarchy , who was the tutor to the first

King Don Alphonse , and whose enduring loyalty will shine for ever in the history of the nation . Lieutenant General Gormer Freire d'Andrade aud Rodrigues Pinto Guedes , Aide-de-camp of the Marquis de Niza also occupied seats in this Grand Lodge , and the illustrious Joseph Liberat Freire de Carvalho was Grand Orator .

It has been asserted that a Portuguese citizen endeavoured to introduce into France , under the forms , and with degrees corresponding with those of the Craft , the " Order of Christ , " a Portuguese military decoration , which was much coveted in

France , on account of its red ribbon , which closely resembled that of the Legion of Honour , whence certain writers assume that Portuguese Masonry originated with the Order of Christ , which is that of the Templars . This is simply a fallacy .

Towards the time of the first invasion by the French in 1807 , General Junot was pleased to afford protection to the Freemasons in this country , but shortly afterwards some political ideas induced him to withdraw that protection .

Daring the invasions of 1809 and 1810 by Soult and Massena , and under the government of the Regency , which at that time conducted the affairs of the nation , the supporters of Freemasonry never ceased their efforts , and although constantly

persecuted , and its most prominent brethren for a time thrown into prison or banished , no victims were actuallysacrificed . The power of the priestcraft was tottering , and English Masonry , under the guidance of the Duke of Sussex , spared no efforts

( which were sometimes successful ) to protect their j > ersecubed brethren of this country . The Grand Master of the Portuguese Masonry ¦ at this period , was Ferdinand Rornarn d'Athaide Teive who succeeded Sebastien Joseph de Sampaio as Grand Master .