A Brief History of Portugal

Part  8 - Marriages, Deaths & Treaties

THE NAME OF the man whose face resembles the outline coastline of Portugal is, of course, none other than our old friend Prince Henrique the Navigator.  I did tell you that I thought he would turn out to be a Nobleman and I'm sure you didn't want me to make it too easy for my very bright History class students, now did you?  For those still not convinced, let's study the map profile of Prince Henrique as he would be looking to the left:

Starting from the top of the map, you can clearly see the start of his hairline, represented by the border line with Spain.  Follow the outline along the long slope down the west coast of Portugal, which obviously is a good match for our man's nose.  Now we travel under the tip to the jutting out piece of land, representing his moustache.  Next, travel down to the Algarve, which clearly shows our man's goatee beard.  Finally, follow the line around to represent under his chin to the border with Spain, and there, my good friends, you have it!  Wasn't that fun.

You will recall, I'm sure, in last month's episode, that `everything is not as it seems'.  Well, my fiendish mind couldn't help but set up one last trap.  In fact, the picture in last month's Algarve-Retreats Newsletter was a fake inasmuch that it showed one, Reuben Correa, a Musician dressed up as Prince Henrique the Navigator (but I read that it was an extraordinary likeness to a painting of the great man).  For all that, I thought it was a pretty good disguise, as it somewhat deceivingly depicted very well the long nose, moustache and goatee beard of the true person.  (If there is still anyone reading this sufficiently interested, after my disgraceful deception, you might like to know [of course, you may not, let's face it] that Reuben Correa can be found performing medicinal music weekly at the Minneapolis and St. Paul Children's hospitals in the US of A!)

Who said they didn't see the likeness?  Well, let's just show you another view of the man himself complete with rather a long nose, moustache and a bit of a goatee beard.

Now, can we please get on?  If you remember, we are having a casual meander through the multitude of sources I have been using to extract some of the interesting `happenings' in Portuguese history.  Let's carry on where we left off last month, then.  Just to remind you, with all the above nonsense flying about, we had reached the year 1654, which was when the Parliamentarians imposed the Treaty of Westminster on Portugal.

Fortunately, the disagreements between England and Portugal were soon put behind them once the Stuarts came to the throne in England.  In fact, Charles II remembered all the help given to his father by the former Portuguese ambassador and, to mark this by way of something tangible, made one of his sons a Baronetcy.  The two countries got even closer with the marriage of Charles II and Dom João IV's daughter, Catherine, and her dowry was agreed at two million cruzados.  In addition, Tangiers and Bombay were given as gifts.

But the threat of war was, once again, never far from the agenda.  This time it was the Dutch who began attacking Portuguese positions in India, Brazil, Africa São Tomé and Ceylon.  This gave the Dutch grand ideas and in 1657 they decided to issue a declaration of war with Portugal by sending a fleet intended for Lisbon.  However, that little skirmish was soon seen off by their new `friends' the English, who stopped the fleet from entering the Tagus.  Understandably, the Portuguese were getting tired of all this bickering but it took until 1661 before peace was achieved, with Portugal retaining Brazil and their African possessions.

Meanwhile, some of the nobility, who had been collaborators with Spain during the occupation, decided the time was right to make a tilt at the Portuguese throne.  But they had not counted on the surge of support for Dom João IV.

His loyal forces simply crushed the revolt and, for their troubles, the ringleaders were summarily beheaded, including the Duke of Caminha, the Marquis of Vila Real, plus his son.  Of course, that wasn't the end of that little escapade of blood-letting, because the minister of state, Francisco de Lucena, who was chiefly responsible for these executions, was then killed for his part in yet another plot.  (I hope you are keeping up with all these plots, treaties and killings, because I'm not sure that I am!)

Dom Afonso VI: 1656-83

When his father died, Dom Afonso VI was still too young to take over the throne.  And so, his mother, Dona Luísa de Gusmão, took over for the first six years.  As the young king grew up, it appeared obvious that he was ill, both physically and mentally.  Naturally, there is always someone lurking in the background in this sort of situation. Step forward, one Castelo Melhor, a keen young Count no less, who persuaded the powers that be that he should effectively run the country and gave himself the title of Prime Minister.  Under Castelo Melhor's stewardship the efforts to distance themselves from Spain led to quite a few more skirmishes, with significant `wins' recorded for the Portuguese.

It was at this point that Castelo Melhor decided it was time to make strenuous efforts to join up with the French.  Adding diplomacy to his other ploys, he also arranged Dom Afonso VI's marriage to Maria-Francisca-Isabel of Savoy, who was the daughter of the Duc de Nemours.  Shortly afterwards, in 1667, a military alliance was established with France.

It goes without saying, that Castelo Melhor would push his luck too far.  With strong rumours that Dom Afonso VI was impotent, the Portuguese nobility were concerned with the hold Castelo Melhor was getting over the country and decided to step in to safeguard Portuguese sovereignty. The king's brother ,Dom Pedro, was brought forward into the limelight earlier than he had anticipated and, with the sacking of Castelo Melhor, he assumed power as Regent from 1668.  As part of the `deal', Dom Afonso VI was transported to the Azores with an annual `pension' of 100,000 cruzados.  It was during 1668 that yet another peace treaty was signed, this time between Portugal and Spain.  Not before time when one remembers that the Spanish occupation was supposed to be over by 1640!

In the meantime, Maria-Francisca-Isabel arranged for her marriage to Dom Afonso VI to be annulled on the grounds of non-consummation.  She quickly followed her `freedom' into marriage with Dom Pedro, who remained Regent until Dom Afonso VI died in 1683.

Well, would you believe it, the big clock on the wall shows that it's time to put lunch-boxes back in satchels, and head for home.  Take care crossing the roads and I look forward to seeing you all again next month.

    David Devereux

     dfdev@btinternet.com

Why not now have a look at the Family Tree of Kings and Queens of Portugal?

return to A brief history of Portugal index