ABSTRACT
The Marquis of Pombal has a particular place in the panel of the greatest reformers of eighteenth-century Europe. Even considering the narrowest definition of enlightened politics', the mitigation of censorship is still one of its features, f. Derek Beales, Enlightenment and Reform in Eighteenth-Century Europe and in fact, It was missing in Pombal's government. The promotion of Pombal to the post of prime minister is often thought of as having occurred after the 1755 earthquake. It is one of the reasons for the unique structure of his wealth. Contrary to more traditional' aspects of his political performance, this was perhaps one of the most modern' elements of Pombal's government. Pombal's most important legacy was, in fact, an enduring intervention of the State in public life and a clear supremacy of the executive power over the nobility and the councils in the administrative core.
