João Pinheiro Chagas

Chagas was born 4 September 1863 in Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil to João Pinheiro Chagas and Maria Amélia Rosa Pereira.[3][6] His father was a Portuguese emigrant with ancestral ties to Portuguese refugees from Beiras who fled to Brazil during the Liberal Wars.[7] On his paternal side, Manuel Pinheiro Chagas was his cousin and his son Mário was his first cousin once removed.[7] His mother was an Indigenous American.[7] The family relocated to Lisbon when Chagas was a child and he was orphaned at a young age.[7][1]

Chagas could not afford to attend university, so he moved to Porto at age 16 and began his writing career.[7][3] At times, he wrote under the pseudonym João Rimanso or Ivan.[8] His first publication was in O Primeiro de Janeiro in Porto; he later moved back to Lisbon to collaborate with Temps, Correio da Manhã, and O Diá.[3][9][7]

At the end of the 19th century, Chagas founded La Marseillaise (1896—1898), O Berro (1896), Branco e Negro (1896—1898), A Paródia (1900—1907), and A República Portuguesa,[7][5] and became director of Brazilian newspaper O Paiz (1898) and the Portuguese publications A Lanterna (1899) and Batalha (1900).[3][7] While incarcerated in Angola, he headed the prison's newspaper (1896—1897).[7] La Marseillaise closed in 1898 due to censorship laws and Chagas' known allegiance to the Republican Party.[7] When he returned from exile, he founded A Portuguesa (1893), which he considered a revival of La Marseillaise.[5]

All of the newspapers he founded, directed, and contributed to were anti-monarchy propaganda tools; his articles were extremely controversial and led to him being arrested several times.[5][4]

During his early years in Porto, he met and befriended several members of Life's Vanquished.[5] He became more critical and more deeply involved with the Republican Party as a result.[5] In 1891, he published an article in A República Portuguesa that was controversial enough to get him arrested and jailed for 10 days.[6] Within days, he participated in and helped plan a rebellion, and his sentence was increased to 4 years in prison or 6 years in exile.[5][3][10] Chagas was originally bound for Luanda but was transferred to Moçâmedes after one day.[10] He escaped within a few months and traveled to Paris before returning to Portugal in 1892, where he was arrested again.[10][6] While in prison, he continued petition against governmental oppression of rights and wrote extensively about his experiences, making him the only primary source from a Portuguese prisoner from that period.[10][5]

He was freed from prison in 1893 due to an amnesty resulting from the 1890 British Ultimatum.[9] He lived in Porto, Brazil, and Madrid for varying lengths of time before being arrested again in 1896, and again in 1908 for his involvement in the Lisbon Regicide.[7][5][6] He participated in the 5 October 1910 revolution not long after.[9]

A 1900 postcard featuring Chagas

The Portuguese First Republic was established in 1910, and Chagas' governmental career began.[5] His first role was an ambassador to Paris; he did, however, resign twice due to political disagreements with his supervisors.[5][9] He served as both prime minister and Interior Minister for 70 days in late 1911 and again in 1915.[3][9][1] While in Paris, he continued to keep a critical eye on Portugal's political decision-making.[1] During the Republic's early days, Chagas met with Sir Lancelot Carnegie of Britain, Portuguese War Minister Freire de Andrade, and French diplomat Émile Daeschner to keep himself informed.[1] He was very critical of Portugal's lack of involvement when World War I broke out and was one of the delegates who led the Republic to join the war in 1916.[5][1]

Following the 1915 May 14 Revolt, Chagas was nominated to succeed Manuel de Arriaga's role as president of Portugal.[5] Senator João José de Freitas disagreed with this decision and attempted to assassinated him.[3] He shot several times at a car Chagas was traveling in with his wife in Entroncamento.[3][9] Chagas' head was shaved and he lost an eye in the attack.[9] He withdrew from politics during his recovery and turned down the presidential nomination, preferring instead to continue working as an ambassador in Paris.[6][5] He kept this role until he retired in 1924, with the exception of 1917—1918 during the period of Sidónism.[9][1][5] Chagas died on 28 May 1925 in Estoril, Cascais, Portugal.[3][5]

He died of aortitis and is buried in the Alto de São João Cemetery.[11]