António José Enes
António José Enes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 August 1848 |
| Died | 6 August 1901 (aged 52) |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Occupation(s) | Politician and writer |
António José Enes (15 August 1848 – 6 August 1901), commonly known as António Enes, was a Portuguese politician and writer.
A member of the progressive political and 1870s literary movement in Portugal, Enes's life is notable for his achievements in several fields; by the time of his death he had worked across three continents as a journalist, dramatist, librarian, government minister, colonial administrator and diplomat.
Enes wrote a controversial anti-clerical drama, "Os Lazaristas", and defended in 1870 the concept of a 'United States of Europe', fearing that Portugal would be absorbed by Spain.
As a writer, politician, and later as High Commissioner in Portuguese Mozambique, Enes was a defender of Portugal's colonial possessions in Africa in the face of twin threats from an expansionist and aggressive British Empire and native uprisings.
The town of Angoche in Mozambique was in the colonial era renamed 'António Enes' after him: the name of the town reverted to Angoche in 1976 following Portuguese decolonisation.