Braga, Teófilo, 1843-1924, Portuguese intellectual and political
leader, b. Ponta Delgada in the Azores. At the Univ. of Coimbra
he was a member of the positivist circle of Quental. In 1871 he
began to teach at the Univ. of Lisbon, writing voluminously on
many subjects. He tried to apply the positivist principles of
Comte in his general history of Portuguese Literature (10 vol.,
1870-81). A republican and an anticlerical in politics, he was
chosen as first president of the new republic of Portugal
(1910-11) and served again briefly in 1915. His teaching had a
great effect on Portuguese intellectual life, and his writing
stimulated interest in Portuguese history and literature.
Several collections of his poetry were published during his
lifetime. Braga, city (1991 est. pop. 86,316), capital of Braga
dist., NW Portugal, in Minho. It is an agricultural trade center
that produces electronics, textiles, and firearms. The ancient
Bracara Augusta, it had considerable importance in Roman days,
but was of much more im