Antonio Bernardo Da Costa-Cabral, duke of Thomar, a Portuguese statesman, born at For-nos de Algodres, in the province of Beira, May 9,1803. He was educated at the university of Coimbra, was appointed by Dom Pedro government attorney in the supreme court of Oporto, and officiated afterward as judge in one of the courts of Lisbon; was chosen to the house of representatives in 1835, where he acted with the conservatives; and was appointed prime minister March 7, 1838, but resigned two months afterward, when the queen adopted the liberal constitution of 1820. In 1841 he was reappointed, and on Jan. 19,1842, instigated an insurrection in Oporto, which resulted in restoring the constitution promulgated in 1826. He now abolished the decree of the irremovability of the judges, arrogated to himself the supreme control of the army, established a censorship in the public schools, suppressed the universities, loaded the people with taxes, and was driven from power May 17, 1846. In 1849 he was again appointed prime minister, but only to inaugurate a still more stringent dictatorship.

He offended the national pride by his conduct of the indemnity question with Great Britain and the United States; and his brother Sylva, minister of justice, forsaking him and becoming leader of the opposition, the cortes passed a vote of censure, and he resigned. The queen refusing his resignation, Saldanha set on foot a revolution at Cintra, which put an end to Costa-Cabral's administration, April 26, 1851. Saldanha became prime minister of Portugal, and Costa-Cabral fled to England, but returned to Lisbon in February, 1852, resumed his seat in the house of representatives, and became a member of the council of state. From 1859 to 1861 he was ambassador to Brazil. A Portuguese work on his career, Apontamentos historicos, has been partially translated into French under the title, Costa- Cabral, Notes Mstoriques (Paris, 1846).