José Adriano Pequito Rebelo facts for kids

José Adriano Pequito Rebelo (born May 21, 1892, in Gavião, Portugal – died January 22, 1983, in Lisbon) was an important Portuguese writer, politician, and aviator. He lived a long life and was involved in many big events in Portugal's history.

Early Life and Beliefs

Pequito Rebelo grew up in a family that supported monarchism. This means they believed that a country should be ruled by a king or queen, not by elected leaders. He studied law at the University of Coimbra, following his family's interest in politics. In the early 1910s, his family went to Paris for a time. There, Pequito Rebelo became interested in a French group called Action Française, which also supported monarchism and strong national ideas.

Starting a Political Movement

When Pequito Rebelo returned to Portugal in 1914, he helped start a group called Integralismo Lusitano. This group wanted to bring back a monarchy in Portugal and believed in strong national traditions. He founded it with friends like José Hipólito Raposo, Alberto Monsaraz, and António Sardinha.

During the First World War, Pequito Rebelo did something unique for a leader of his group: he joined the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps to fight. Even while serving, he wrote a lot for his group's newspapers. He often wrote about how much he disliked big cities and preferred traditional ways of life.

In 1919, Pequito Rebelo was involved in an attempt by monarchists to take control of the government. He was hurt during the fighting. Even though he was put on trial for his part in the uprising, he was found not guilty.

Changing Ideas and New Leaders

As Pequito Rebelo got older, his political ideas seemed to become even stronger. He was influenced by thinkers like Georges Valois and started writing for a newspaper called Politico, which supported syndicalism. Syndicalism is an idea where workers' unions have a lot of power in society.

For a while, it looked like he might join the National Syndicalists, another political group. However, he changed his mind again and became a strong supporter of António de Oliveira Salazar, who became Portugal's leader. Pequito Rebelo and Salazar had a good friendship. In 1932, Pequito Rebelo even suggested that Salazar should change Portugal's constitution to create a new, stronger government. They wrote letters to each other regularly throughout the 1930s.

Adventures as an Aviator

Even though he supported the government, Pequito Rebelo was always looking for adventure. When the Spanish Civil War started, he volunteered to be a pilot for Francisco Franco's side.

Later in his life, he became a strong supporter of colonialism. This was the idea that Portugal should keep its overseas territories, like those in Africa. In 1961, even though he was quite old, he volunteered again to fly planes. This time, he helped fight against groups in Portuguese Angola who wanted their independence from Portugal.

Pequito Rebelo continued to write about his ideas until he passed away in 1983.