Awarded the title of Viscount of Bruges and later Count of Praia da Vitória, Teotónio de Ornelas was a pivotal figure in the triumph of the liberal cause, spending his entire fortune on the payment of officers, the provisioning of troops, and the submission of the western islands to the Constitution. Such commitment earned him the reputation of being regarded by all as “the soul, the arm, and the pillar of the revolution.”
