The present Constitution of Portugal was adopted in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution. It was preceded by a number of constitutions including the first one created in 1822 (following the Liberal Revolution of 1820), 1826 (drawn up by King Dom Pedro IV), 1838 (after the Liberal Wars), 1911 (following the 5 October 1910 revolution), and 1933 (after the 28 May 1926 coup d'état).
Former Portuguese Constitutions
Constitution of 1822
The Portuguese Constitution of 1822 (Constituição Política da Monarquia Portuguesa, "Political Constitution of the Portuguese Monarchy") approved on 23 September 1822 was the first Portuguese constitution, marking an attempt to end absolutism and introduce a constitutional monarchy. Although it was actually in force only for two brief periods, 1822–23 and 1836–38, it was fundamental to the history of democracy in Portugal. It was replaced by the Constitutional Charter of 1826.
Constitutional Charter of 1826
The Charter of 1826 or Carta Constitucional, often simply referred to as the Carta, was the second constitution in Portuguese history. It was given to the country in 1826 by King Dom Pedro IV. In contrast to the first constitution, the Portuguese Constitution of 1822, approved by the constitutional assembly or cortes (see the Liberal Revolution of 1820, the Carta was an imposed constitution issued by the king under his own authority without the involvement of the people. It served as the constitution of Portugal from 1826 to 1828, from 1834 to 1836 and from 1842 until the end of the monarchy in 1910.
Constitution of 1838
The Political Constitution of the Portuguese Monarchy (Constituição Política da Monarquia Portuguesa) of 1838 was the third Portuguese constitution. After the September Revolution in 1836, the Constitutional Charter of 1826 was abolished and in its place the Constitution of 1822 was temporarily restored, while a constituent Cortes was convened to produce a new constitution. This was agreed, and Maria II swore an oath to it on 4 April 1838. It was a synthesis of the previous constitution of 1822 and 1826, with the establishment of an elected Senate rather than a House of Peers also drawn from the 1831 Constitution of Belgium and the Spanish Constitution of 1837. The French constitution of 1830 was also a source of influence.
Constitution of 1911
The Constitution of 1911 (Constituição Política da República Portuguesa, "Political Constitution of the Portuguese Republic") was voted on 21 August 1911, and it was the basic law of the Portuguese First Republic. It was the fourth Portuguese constitution and the first republican constitution.
Constitution of 1933
The Portuguese Constitution of 1933 was introduced by Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar in 1933, establishing the basis of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, the constitution came into force on 11 April 1933, following the 1933 Portuguese constitutional referendum. It is credited as the first constitution of any recognized country embracing corporatist principles (though predated significantly by the Charter of Carnaro), espousing a bicameral parliament, including a western-styled National Assembly, elected directly every four years, and the Corporative Chamber, representing different "corporations", schools, universities, colonies and local municipalities, in effect appointed by the National Assembly after its inaugural. The role of the Corporative Chamber was limited to that of an advisory body, while all legislation was handled by the Assembly under the direction of its only party or "movement", the National Union, an ideology-lacking beacon completely subordinate to the Salazar administration.