Afonso VI of Portugal

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Afonso VI
Pantheon of the Braganzas
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1666; ann. 1668)​
Roman Catholicism

Afonso VI (Portuguese pronunciation:

Luisa de Guzmán, until 1662, when he removed her to a convent and took power with the help of his favourite, the Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor.[2]

Afonso's reign saw the end of the Restoration War (1640–68) and Spain's recognition of Portugal's independence.[3] He also negotiated a French alliance through his marriage.[4] 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.[5] Queen Maria Francisca, Afonso's wife, received an annulment and subsequently married Pedro.[6] Afonso spent the rest of his life and reign practically a prisoner.[5][7][8]

Early life

Afonso was the second of three sons born to King John IV and Queen Luisa.[9] At the age of three, he experienced an illness that resulted in paralysis on the right side of his body.[10][11] The condition was believed to have also affected his intellectual abilities.[10][12] His father created him 10th Duke of Braganza.[13]

After the death of his eldest brother Teodósio, Prince of Brazil in 1653, Afonso became the heir apparent to the throne of the kingdom.[10] He also received the crown-princely title 2nd Prince of Brazil.

Reign

Portrait of Infante Afonso; José de Avelar Rebelo, 1653.

He succeeded his father,

Luisa de Guzmán, was named regent in his father's will.[11][14]

Luisa's regency continued even after Afonso came of age because he was considered mentally unfit for governing.[15][16] In addition to lacking intellect, the king exhibited wild and disruptive behavior.[11][10] In 1662, after Afonso terrorized Lisbon at night alongside his favorites,[17][18] Luisa and her council responded by banishing some of the king's companions that were associated with the raids.[18] Angered, Afonso took power with the help of Castelo-Melhor and Luisa's regency came to an end.[19][20][21] She subsequently retired to a convent,[22][14] where she died in 1666.[23]

Afonso appointed Castelo-Melhor as his private secretary (escrivão da puridade).[24][19] He proved to be a competent minister.[20] His astute military organization and sensible general appointments resulted in decisive military victories over the Spanish[25] at Elvas (14 January 1659), Ameixial (8 June 1663) and Montes Claros (17 June 1665),[26][27] culminating in the final Spanish recognition of sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza,[28][29] on 13 February 1668 in the Treaty of Lisbon.[30][31]

Colonial affairs

Colonial affairs saw the

Bombay and Tangier to England (23 June 1661) as dowry for Afonso's sister, Catherine of Braganza, who had married King Charles II of England.[33][34]

Marriage

Melhor successfully arranged for Afonso to marry

Maria Francisca of Savoy,[35] a relative of the Duke of Savoy, in 1666,[36] but the marriage was short-lived. Maria Francisca filed for an annulment in 1667 based on the impotence of the king.[37][38] The church granted her the annulment, and she married Afonso's brother, Peter II, Duke of Beja.[6][39]

Downfall

Palace of Sintra, by Alfredo Roque Gameiro
.

Also in 1667, Pedro managed to gain enough support to force Afonso to relinquish control of the government to him,

Terceira[42] in the Azores.[29][43] His health broken by this captivity, he was eventually permitted to return to the Portuguese mainland, but he remained powerless and kept under guard. At Sintra he died in 1683.[42][44][45]

The room where he was imprisoned is preserved at Sintra National Palace.

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ McMurdo 1889, p. 407.
  2. ^ McMurdo 1889, pp. 416–417.
  3. ^ Ogg 1934, p. 334.
  4. ^ Ogg 1934, p. 325.
  5. ^ a b Livermore 1969, p. 195.
  6. ^ a b c Ames 2000, p. 35.
  7. ^ Helpful up-to-date information is available in Martin Malcolm Elbl, Portuguese Studies Review 30 (1) (2022): 131-198. "Through 'Deplorable' Eyes: Barlow in Lisbon (1661) ~ Elite Theatrics, King Afonso VI of Portugal, Bullfights, and a Common English Seaman". Retrieved 30 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ McMurdo 1889, p. 441.
  9. ^ Ames 2000, p. 25.
  10. ^ a b c d Livermore 1969, p. 185.
  11. ^ a b c d McMurdo 1889, p. 408.
  12. ^ Davidson (1908), p. 14.
  13. ^ Genealogy of the Dukes of Braganza in Portuguese
  14. ^ a b "Luísa Gusmão", Dicionário [Dictionary] (in Portuguese), Arq net.
  15. ^ Marques 1976, p. 331.
  16. ^ McMurdo 1889, p. 447.
  17. ^ McMurdo 1889, p. 414.
  18. ^ a b Livermore 1969, p. 189.
  19. ^ a b Marques 1976, p. 332.
  20. ^ a b Stephens 1891, p. 331.
  21. ^ For overview, with bibliography, in English, see Ricardo Fernando Gomes Pinto e Chaves, Portuguese Studies Review 30 (1) (2022): 113-130. "When the Desire (and the Obligation) Refuses to Work. The Sexualisation of the Prince's Power in the Context of Consolidation of the Dynastic States of Modernity". Retrieved 30 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ McMurdo 1889, p. 417.
  23. ^ Ames 2000, p. 30.
  24. ^ Livermore 1969, p. 190.
  25. ^ McMurdo 1889, pp. 423–425.
  26. ^ Ames 2000, p. 32.
  27. ^ Livermore 1969, p. 187.
  28. ^ Livermore 1969, p. 188.
  29. ^ a b Stephens 1891, p. 333.
  30. ^ Ames 2000, p. 37.
  31. ^ McMurdo 1889, p. 430.
  32. ^ Ames 2000, p. 28.
  33. ^ Ogg 1934, p. 185.
  34. ^ Dyer 1877, p. 341.
  35. ^ Stephens 1891, p. 332.
  36. ^ a b Livermore 1969, pp. 192.
  37. ^ a b Ames 2000, p. 34.
  38. ^ a b Dyer 1877, p. 342.
  39. ^ Livermore 1969, pp. 194–196.
  40. ^ Davidson (1908), p. 236.
  41. ^ The proceedings which the annulment of Afonso's marriage involved formed the basis of João Mário Grilo's 1989 film, The King's Trial.
  42. ^ a b Dyer 1877, p. 343.
  43. ^ Livermore 1969, pp. 196.
  44. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alphonso s.v. Alphonso VI." . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 734.
  45. ^ Stephens 1891, p. 334.

Sources


Afonso VI of Portugal
Cadet branch of the House of Aviz
Born: 21 August 1643 Died: 12 September 1683
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Algarves

1656–1683 		Succeeded by
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