Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The early centuries of the Portuguese police system: from the Quadrilheiros to the General Intendancy of Police of the Court and of the Kingdom

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 22; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10439463.2011.641553

1477-2728

Luís Fiães Fernandes,

European Political History Analysis

Abstract The origins of the Portuguese police can be traced back to the fourteenth century. The Alcaides were the first local authority throughout the Portuguese Kingdom to perform functions of public order and security, which were a natural extension of their primary defence functions. As representatives of the king the Alcaides were the first and only guarantors of the security and safety of the population, in every municipality. In 1383 King Fernando, by Royal Charter, creates the quadrilheiros of Lisbon, the first single purpose police body to fight crime and ensure the security of the community on behalf of the king. In spite of its insufficiencies, they last until the eighteenth century. The creation of the General Intendancy of Police of the Court and of the Kingdom, along with the establishment of the Royal Guard of Police in 1801, signals the end of the quadrilheiros. This first police force was never truly effective in fighting crime and reassuring the security of the community. Only after 1801, and for the first time in many centuries, will Portugal have an effective police force, the Royal Guard of Police. Keywords: quadrilheiros Portuguese policegeneral intendancy of policeroyal guard of police Notes 1. Three kings reigned in this period: Sancho I, 1185–1211; Afonso II, 1180–1223 and Sancho II, 1223–1226. 2. The Municipalities still exist today as an administrative entity, and are a heritage of the municipium of the Roman Empire, which were settlements inhabited by individuals that by territorial incorporation into the empire assumed the status of roman citizens, but were allowed to maintain their own institutions and laws (Araújo 1853 Araújo, A.H.D.C.E. 1853. Historia de Portugal [History of Portugal], Lisboa: Viuva Bertrand e Filhos. [Google Scholar], pp. 4–5). 3. Pretor, in barbarian Latin (Araújo 1853, p. 134). In a free translation 'the captain of the castle'. The Alcaide of Lisbon was only extinct in 1769. 4. Several activities – such as the supervision of markets and fairs – carried out by the Alcaide-mor can be considered today to encapsulate those of administrative policing (Araújo 1853, pp. 138–139). 5. The territorial conquest increased the Portuguese kingdom territory, but at the same time, the territorial integrity is threatened by the continental power of León and Castile leading to sporadic territorial disputes. Only on 12 September 1297 by Alcanises treaty between the kingdom of Portugal and the kingdom of León and Castile were the borders of Portugal finally defined. The Saracen (moors) threat to the Iberian Peninsula only ends with the victory at the Battle of Salado in 1340. This is the last battle of the reconquista in which of the kingdom of Portugal participates. 6. The Alcaide menor was appointed by the municipal authorities for three years, and had the mission to guard the city with the men (militia) assigned by the Municipality. 7. The creation of the quadrilheiros at Oporto only happens later, on 12 September 1421 (Borges 1980 Borges, A.J. 1980. História da Polícia do Porto [History of the port police], Porto: Edição do Autor. [Google Scholar]) or 24 February 1449 (Cosme 2006 Cosme, J. 2006. História da Polícia de Segurança Pública. Das Origens à Actualidade [History of the public security police. From the origins of the present], Lisboa: Edições Silabo. [Google Scholar]), depending on the source. 8. The Portuguese medieval measuring system was based on the palmo. A palmo was equal to 22 centimetres (Barroca 1992 Barroca , M.J. 1992 . Medidas-Padrão Medievais Portuguesas [Medieval Portuguese Standard Measures] . Revista da Faculdade de Letras, Universidade do Porto , IX . [Google Scholar]). 9. Since 1374, the order was maintained in each mouraria (Moorish quarter) by an Alcaide and a militia, and the same within each Jewry. 10. This municipal police force, albeit its reduced effectiveness, is the subject (1512) of the title LIV, in the first volume of Ordenações (Ordinances) Manuelinas (Cosme 2006 Cosme, J. 2006. História da Polícia de Segurança Pública. Das Origens à Actualidade [History of the public security police. From the origins of the present], Lisboa: Edições Silabo. [Google Scholar], p. 29). 11. On 11 January 1603, the Ordenações Filipinas were approved and, once again, a chapter is devoted to the quadrilheiros (Cosme 2006 Cosme, J. 2006. História da Polícia de Segurança Pública. Das Origens à Actualidade [History of the public security police. From the origins of the present], Lisboa: Edições Silabo. [Google Scholar], p. 32). 12. Translation by the author. 13. The independence of Portugal was restored in 15 December 1640. 14. In Portuguese: Intendência-Geral da Polícia da Corte e do Reino. 15. On 5 August 1817 it was set up in Oporto (Borges 1980). 16. The Decree of 13 August 1760 established the mandatory use of internal passports for nationals.