by the government of the day, which had its base in the idealism of Mouzinho da Silveira. During his terms in office Silveira promoted revolutionary legislation for both the absolutist and liberal governments of the time (1823–1833). Payment of rents to the State, relations between the people and the Church, and municipal governance remained as they were in the medieval era. Silveira realized, to the chagrin of other Portuguese politicians, that politics was an instrument dependent on socioeconomic conditions. Marginalized at first by both absolutists and liberals, his ideas and solutions were later adopted by the new generation of liberal politicians in the post-War era. Among his many proposals, successive governments adopted his policies of disengaging the economy from social conditions, limiting taxes to 5%, ending tithes, abolishing seigniorial fees, reducing export taxes to 1%, terminating the regulation of inter-community commerce and government intervention in municipal affairs, as well as separating the judiciary and administrative offices, liberating general commerce and prohibiting some monopolies (such as the sale of soap and of Porto wines). In general, his initiatives were legislated by the post-War regimes to eliminate the privileges of the elite classes, establish social equality, encourage liberalization of the economy and improve government performance. Secularization In 1834, Joaquim António de Aguiar terminated the state sanction of religious orders and nationalized their lands and possessions. Later referred to as Mata-Frades (Killer of Brothers), Aguiar's government took control of the convents, churches, manor homes and holdings of various institutes that had been sustained by donations of the religious faithful and placed them for sale. Although they hoped to place land and goods in the hands of the more disadvantaged, most of the poor did not have the capital to purchase them. In fact, total sales were one tenth of what was expected, and most holdings were purchased by speculators or existing landowners. Municipalization Another facet of the post-War era was the reorganization of existing administrative units, in order to centralize or decentralize them and then to reconcentrate power in the national government. The debate began in 1832, when Mouzinho de Sousa's administration oversaw implementation of a system of appointing regional administrators to govern the municipalities, thus imposing central government programs and ideology on them: it was accused of being Napoleonic in its organization. The issue of centralization or de-centralization was an ongoing debate in the post-War era, resulting in successive legislation veering one