John Forbes (Portuguese general)
{{Short description|Anglo-Portuguese soldier}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| image = F. Bartolozzi – General John Forbes de Skellater (1812).jpg
| caption = 1812 engraving by Francesco Bartolozzi after a portrait of John Forbes by Domenico Pellegrini
| birth_date =
| death_date =
| birth_place = Aberdeenshire, Kingdom of Great Britain
| death_place = Rio de Janeiro, Portuguese colony of Brazil
| allegiance = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
{{flagicon image|Flag Portugal (1750).svg}} Kingdom of Portugal
| branch =
| serviceyears = 1748–1808
| rank = General
| battles = Seven Years' War
War of the Pyrenees
| awards =
| laterwork =
}}
John Forbes, also known in Portuguese as João Forbes (1719 or 1733–1808), of Skellater, usually known as Forbes-Skellater, was a Scottish general in the Portuguese service.
Biography
Forbes was born in 1719 or 1733, in Aberdeenshire, the only son of George (Jorge).H. Morse Stephens, in the biographical entry he wrote for Dictionary of National Biography (1885–1900), states the father's name was Patrick.
He entered the army when a boy of fifteen as a volunteer at the siege of Maestricht, and was successful in winning a commission. He was essentially a soldier of fortune, and when Portugal applied to Britain for officers to reorganise her army under the Count of Lippe Buckeburg, he was one of the first to volunteer.
Promoted to lieutenant in 1747, and to captain in 1756. Forbes remained in Portugal after the termination of the Seven Years' War (1756–1763); as a Roman Catholic who had married a Portuguese lady, he had no difficulty in getting employment.{{DNB|wstitle= Forbes, John (1733-1808) |last= Stephens |first= Henry Morse |author-link= H. Morse Stephens |volume=19 |page=405 |short=1}}
He took part in the defense of Portugal during the failed Franco-Spanish invasions of Portugal in 1762.
In 1763, Count Lippe gave him command of a company of Grenadiers in the Peniche Regiment, a great honour as these companies were then an elite corps. In 1766, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of that regiment and the following year to full colonel of the Almeida Cavalry Regiment. In 1773 he was transferred to the Elvas Regiment. In 1775, he was promoted to brigadier, whilst retaining the colonelcy and command of the Bragança Cavalry Regiment.
In 1778, he was appointed military governor of the province of Beira.
He served for many years as adjutant-general of the Portuguese army, but at last, in 1789, he was asked to resign, the object of some jealousy of the Portuguese officers. In 1793, he was made a knight of the order of Aviz, and promoted to lieutenant general.{{in lang|pt}}. Pinheiro Chagas (1887). [https://books.google.com/books?id=8EU8AAAAMAAJ&dq=joao+forbes+rio+de+janeiro&pg=RA30-PA4 "O irmão de Tolentino e o general Forbes Skellater". A Illustração Portugueza, semanario revista litteraria e artistica, Tomo 3, p. 4. 14 February 1887.] Google Books. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
When Portugal decided to join the French Revolutionary Wars, Forbes was given command, replacing the Marquis de Minas, his old commander in the 1762 campaigns, who had fallen ill{{cite book | author = Almeida, Fortunato de | title= Historia de Portugal - Livro VIII | page= 453 | year= 1926 | publisher= University of Coimbra (this and subsequent pages quote details of Gen. Forbes's reports to the Portuguese Government on the expedition to Catalonia)}} of the 5,000-strong division which, together with a 22-gun brigade of Artillery, was sent as an expeditionary force to assist the Spanish army in the War of the Pyrenees (1793–1795). Setting sail from the estuary of the Tagus towards the end of September 1793, the expedition, accompanied by several high-ranking volunteers, including Admiral Domingos Xavier de Lima, 7th Marquis of Nice; Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland and the Prince de Montmorency, arrived at Roses on 9 November.{{in lang|es}}. Martín Gómez, Justo (2022). [https://books.google.com/books?id=v9aAEAAAQBAJ&dq=Joao+forbes+portugal&pg=PA301 La guerra de la convención en Guipúzcoa (1793-1795), p. 301. Sanz y Torres.] ISBN 9788418316876, 841831687X. Google Books. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
From 27 to 29 November 1807, Forbes accompanied Queen Mary I, the prince regent, and the court when they fled from the forces led by Jean-Andoche Junot which entered Lisbon. On arrival in Brazil, he was appointed military governor of Rio de Janeiro on 2 April 1808,[https://books.google.com/books?id=6KhAAQAAMAAJ&dq=Joao+forbes+rio+de+janeiro&pg=PA16 Almanak do Ministerio da Guerra, 1911, p. 16. Ministério da Guerra de Brazil.] Google Books. Retrieved 18 September 2023. a few days before he died, on 8 April 1808.Pinheiro Chagas states May.
Notes
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References
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Category:Recipients of the Order of Aviz
Category:18th-century Scottish military personnel
Category:19th-century Scottish military personnel
Category:Scottish Roman Catholics
Category:18th-century Roman Catholics
Category:19th-century Roman Catholics
Category:Military personnel from Aberdeenshire
Category:Scottish expatriates in Portugal
Category:Portuguese people of Scottish descent
Category:18th-century Portuguese military personnel