Founded 1822 | Disbanded 1910 | |
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Type Bicameral(1826-1910)Unicameral(1822-1836) Houses Champer of PeersChamber of Deputies Last President of the Chamber of Peers Gonçalo Pereira da Silva de Sousa e Menezes, 3rd Count of Bertiandos | ||
The Cortes Gerais (Portuguese:General Courts) were the legislature of the Kingdom of Portugal, during the Constitutional Monarchy period.The Cortes were established by provision of the 1822 Portuguese Constitutional Charter as a unicameral parliament. However the Constitutional Charter of 1826 reformed the Cortes as a bicameral legislature, with the Chamber of Most Worthy Peers of the Kingdom as its upper house and the Chamber of the Lords Deputies of the Portuguese Nation as its lower house.
The name of the legislature originates from the traditional Portuguese Cortes, the parliament convening the three estates during the absolute monarchy.
References
Cortes Gerais Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA