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Kingdom of Portugal

Portugal, 1139–1910. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Portugal was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Independence from León began on 26 July 1139 when Afonso Henriques was acclaimed King of the Portuguese by his troops after the possibly legendary Battle of Ourique. During the 15th and 16th century, Portuguese exploration established a vast colonial empire. The collapse of the monarchy came in the 5 October 1910 revolution, with the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic.

Seat of power: Lisbon

Rulers

Afonso I of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1139–1185

He achieved the independence of the County of Portugal, establishing a new kingdom and doubling its area with the Reconquista, an objective that he pursued until his death. In 1139 he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Ourique, and in 1147 he seized Santarém and Lisbon from the Moors, with help from men on their way to the Holy Land for the Second Crusade.

Portrait of Afonso I of Portugal: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Sancho I of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1185–1211

Sancho succeeded his father and was crowned in Coimbra when he was 31 years old on 9 December 1185. He used the title King of Silves from 1189 until he lost the territory to Almohad control in 1191.

Portrait of Sancho I of Portugal: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Sancho II of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1223–1247

His priority was the Reconquista, the reconquest of the southern Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. From 1236 onwards, Sancho II conquered several cities in the Algarve and Alentejo, securing the Portuguese position in the region.

Portrait of Sancho II of Portugal: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Afonso III of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1248–1279

His reign saw the final completion of the Portuguese Reconquista with the conquest of the Algarve in 1249, establishing the modern continental borders of Portugal. In 1254, he convened the Cortes of Leiria, the first Portuguese parliament to include representatives from the common towns alongside the nobility and clergy. He transferred the royal seat to Lisbon and implemented administrative reforms that restricted the growing economic power of the Catholic Church, which ultimately led to his excommunication by Pope Gregory X.

Portrait of Afonso III of Portugal: cgb, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Denis I of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1279–1325

He worked to reorganise his country's economy and gave an impetus to Portuguese agriculture. He ordered the planting of a large pine forest near Leiria to prevent soil degradation that threatened the region, and to serve as a source of raw materials for the construction of the royal ships. He was also known for his poetry, which constitutes an important contribution to the development of Portuguese as a literary language.

Portrait of Denis I of Portugal: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Afonso IV of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1325–1357

He exiled his rival, Afonso Sanches, to Castile, and stripped him of all the lands and fiefdom given by their father.

Portrait of Afonso IV of Portugal: António de Holanda, Public domain, file

John I of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1385–1433

He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Castile, preserving his country's independence and establishing the Aviz (or Joanine) dynasty on the Portuguese throne. His long reign of 48 years, the most extensive of all Portuguese monarchs, saw the beginning of Portugal's overseas expansion.

Portrait of John I of Portugal: anonymous, Public domain, file

Afonso V of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1438–1481

Afonso acceded to the throne when he was only six years old. Between 1458 and 1471, Afonso pursued military campaigns in Africa, concentrating efforts predominantly on Morocco.

Portrait of Afonso V of Portugal: Unknown authorUnknown author (Georg von Ehingen? 1428-1508), Public domain, file

Manuel I of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1495–1521

Manuel ruled over a period of intensive expansion of the Portuguese Empire owing to the numerous Portuguese discoveries made during his reign. His sponsorship of Vasco da Gama led to the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India in 1498, resulting in the creation of the Portuguese India Armadas, which guaranteed Portugal's monopoly on the spice trade. Manuel established the Casa da Índia, a royal institution that managed Portugal's monopolies and its imperial expansion.

Portrait of Manuel I of Portugal: Gilles Messian from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0, file

John III of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1521–1557

John III's policy of reinforcing Portugal's bases in India, such as Goa, secured Portugal's monopoly over the spice trade of cloves and nutmeg from the Maluku Islands. During his reign, the Portuguese became the first Europeans to contact Muromachi Japan.

Portrait of John III of Portugal: Attributed to Cristóvão Lopes, Public domain, file

Afonso VI of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1656–1683

He was initially under the regency of his mother, Luisa de Guzmán, until 1662, when he removed her to a convent and took power with the help of his favourite, D. Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor. Afonso's reign saw the end of the Restoration War and Spain's recognition of Portugal's independence. In 1668, his brother Pedro II conspired to have him declared incapable of ruling, and took supreme de facto power as regent, although nominally Afonso was still sovereign.

Portrait of Afonso VI of Portugal: Unidentified painter, Public domain, file

John V of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1706–1750

Disregarding traditional Portuguese institutions of governance, John V ruled as an absolute monarch. John V's reign saw an increased influx of gold into the royal treasury, supplied largely by the royal fifth (a tax on precious metals) that was received from the colonies of Brazil and Maranhão. John spent lavishly on ambitious architectural works, most notably Mafra Palace, and on acquisitions for his sizeable art and literary collections.

Portrait of John V of Portugal: Jean Ranc, Public domain, file

José I of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1750–1777

His government was controlled by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, who implemented new laws, modernized the economy and Portuguese society, marking Joseph's reign as a time of modernization of Portugal. His reign witnessed, among other things, a deadly earthquake in Lisbon in 1755 and a Spanish-French invasion of Portugal in 1762.

Portrait of José I of Portugal: Miguel António do Amaral, Public domain, file

Maria I of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1777–1816

Upon ascending the throne, Maria dismissed her father's powerful chief minister, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal. With Napoleon's European conquests, Maria and her court moved to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1807. After Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in 1815, Maria became Queen of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.

Portrait of Maria I of Portugal: Attributed to Giuseppe Troni, Public domain, file

Luís I of Portugal

Monarch of Portugal, 1861–1889

Upon the death of his elder brother King Pedro V, he acceded to the throne. It was during the reign of King Luís I that some of Portugal's political parties were founded, including the Reformist Party (1865) and the Progressive Party (1876).

Portrait of Luís I of Portugal: Augusto Bobone, Public domain, file

Culture

Picture

The Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon was erected in the early 1500s near the launch point of Vasco da Gama's first journey.

Image: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.