Terramoto de lisboa marques de pombal biography

Portuguese noble, diplomat and statesman (1699–1782)

For other people named Marquis of Pombal, see Marquess of Pombal.

D.Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal and 1st Count of Oeiras (13 May 1699 – 8 May 1782), known as the Marquis of Pombal (Portuguese: Marquês de Pombal[mɐɾˈkeʒðɨpõˈbal]), was a Portuguese statesman and diplomat who despotically ruled the Portuguese Empire from 1750 to 1777 as chief minister to King Joseph I.

A strong advocate for absolutism, and the ideals of the [[Age of Enlightenment]], Pombal led Portugal's recovery from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and reformed the kingdom's administrative, economic, and ecclesiastical institutions.

During his lengthy ministerial career, Pombal accumulated and exercised autocratic power. His cruel persecution of the Jesuits and Portuguese lower classes led him to be known as Nero of Trafaria (Nero da Trafaria), after a village