One
of the most interesting recurring discussions I have with Europeans (as well as
other members of the British Commonwealth), is the view we Yank’s hold of the
royalty. Now, regardless of what Good Morning America may tell you, other than
a few spots in the eastern U.S., I think the vast majority of us are at best,
ambivalent regarding royal families. Some of the recent “shenanigans” with the
Dutch and Belgium royal families has a tendency to take the luster off the spectacle
of a new baby for Kate and William.
It
was not all that long ago that we mere commoners had no real opinion on such
matters, for the “divine right of kings” had a long and fairly painful history
before finally abandoned. A very severe example of this can be found in
Portugal at the incredible Palacio Nacional de Mafra, located about 20 miles
northwest of Lisbon.
I
have visited the Mafra Palace many times, and it is indeed a spectacle to
behold. Built in the 1700’s to fulfill a vow made by the Portuguese king if his
wife gave birth (she happened to be an Austrian, but the interrelationships of
the royals is entirely another tale), it stands nearly 800 feet long along the
front, has 1,200 rooms and nearly 5,000 windows and doors! At one point nearly
45,000 workers toiled on the project, not including the soldiers needed to
police the project and keep order, the cooks, butchers and thousands of others.
It was an unparalleled project for Portugal, as King John V ordered that the
finest craftsman and laborers from throughout Europe come to Mafra to create
his palace. When finally completed over thirteen years later, the royal family
then found it too gloomy for their tastes, and preferred to stay at one of
their many other palaces throughout the land.
However,
what is most fascinating to me about Mafra is that it does indeed appear to be
a project that nearly destroyed a nation, and the true price of it is still
being felt 300 years later. While in 2013 we think of Portugal as a “peripheral”
member of the European Union, one of the weakest and least economically
productive, during the reign of John V, this tiny country reaped vast sums from
its colonies, most notably from Brazil. Literal shiploads of gold came from new
mines in Brazil, and the trunks that carried it are still on display in some of
the museums around Lisbon. There was a great wealth shift from Portugal to
other countries as the bills for Mafra became due, including Germany, France,
Italy and others. Among other historical events, the horrific earthquake of
1755 struck Lisbon and caused ruin and destruction, and the independence movement
of Brazil erupted in the early 1800’s, sealed Portugal’s fate.
History
can prove kings, and politicians, to be utter fools. While I greatly admire the
Mafra Palace, and believe it is a treasure of Portugal and indeed the world, I
wonder what could have occurred in the fate of Portugal if instead of a royal
class being feted and catered to, entrepreneurship, mercantilism, free
enterprise, manufacturing and political and religious freedom would have been nurtured.
Did Mafra prevent Portugal from being a “small giant,” a country big enough to
have leadership in business but small enough to be discreet, nimble and astute?
We will never know, but many historians believe that these forays into the fulfillment
of the ruling class’s desires, be they initiatives, programs, legacies, or palaces,
can commit later generations to obligations they simply cannot fulfill, and the
entire course of history is changed. This is not just a lesson from the history
of Portugal, but one all of us in the 21st century, regardless of
where we call home, need to keep in mind.
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