PORTUGAL 



339 



the promoters and champions of the maritime glory 

 of Portugal. Sancho (died 1211), the 'builder of 

 cities,' especially distinguished himself by his care 

 for the material welfare of his kingdom, and by 

 his bold fight against the claims of Pope Innocent 

 III. and that pope's supporters, the Portuguese 

 bishops. His son, Alfonso II., summoned the first 

 Portuguese Cortes. Alfonso III. (1248-79) con- 

 quered the southern province of the kingdom in 

 1250, and made Portugal what it practically is in 

 area at the present time. His son Diniz (Denis) 

 must be regarded as the founder of Portuguese 

 commerce and mercantile enterprise. He likewise 

 encouraged agriculture and the industrial arts, 

 and protected learning, in furtherance of which 

 he founded in 1300 a university at Lisbon, sub- 

 sequently transferred to Coimbra. Diniz was suc- 

 ceeded in 1325 by his son, Alfonso IV., surnamed 

 the Brave, whose reign was almost wholly occupied 

 in wars with the Castilians ami the Moslems (see 

 C'ASTRO, INEZDE). It was during his reign that the 

 friendly commercial relations with England began. 

 With Alfonso's grandson, Ferdinand I., the legiti- 

 mate branch of the Burgundian House became ex- 

 tinct in 1383. After some disturbances Ferdinand's 

 illegitimate brother, John, was recognised by the 

 Cortes as king in 1385 ; four months later the 

 allied Portuguese and English army won at 

 Aljnbarrota a glorious victory over the Castilians, 

 who had invaded the country. John's reign (he 

 died in 1433) was eventful, not merely on account 

 of the internal reforms which he introduced, and 

 of his steady maintenance of the prerogatives of the 

 crown, but chiefly as being associated with the 

 first of those important geographical discoveries 

 and commercial enterprises which made Portugal 

 for a while the greatest maritime power of Europe. 

 During this reign, on May 9, 1386, the treaty of 

 Windsor cemented the firm alliance and national 

 friendship between Portugal and England, that 

 was further con tinned by the marriage of King 

 John to the daughter of John of Gaunt (1387). 

 To John's son, Henry the Navigator (died 1460), 

 is due the merit of having organised several voyages 

 of discovery, which culminated in the acquisition 

 of the Azores, Madeira, Cape de Verde, and other 

 islands. At this time, too, the slave-trade Ix-gan, 

 the Portuguese bringing captive negroes to cul- 

 tivate the larije estate of their southern provinces. 

 During the reign of John II. ( 1481-95), who broke 

 the power of the feudal nobles, Bartholomeo Diaz 

 doubled ( 1486) the Cape of Good Hope ; and Vasco 

 da Garua, in the reign of John's successor, Manoel, 

 successfully achieved the passage by sea to India 

 in 1497. The discovery of Brazil (1500), and the 

 settlements made there and on the western coast 

 of India by Albuquerque (q.v.), increased the mari- 

 time power and fame of Portugal, which were 

 further extended under Manoel's son, John III., 

 who ascended the throne in 1521. 



At this period Portugal ranked as one of the most 

 powerful monarchies in Euro]*, and Lisbon, the 

 great distributing centre of the product* of the 

 East, as one of its most important commercial 

 cities. Sudden as this prosperity had been, its 

 decline was almost more abrupt, and may in a 

 great measure be accounted for by the destruction 

 of the old nobility, the extensive emigration that 

 went on to the new colonies, the expulsion of the 

 numerous wealthy and industrious Jews, on whose 

 able financial management the commercial interests 

 of the Portuguese were largely dependent, and the 

 introduction of the Inquisition (1536), and of the 

 Jesuits (1540), whose baneful supremacy gave rise 

 to much tyranny and oppression, both in the 

 colonies and at home, and in various ways stamped 

 out the old spirit of the people, and crippled the 

 resources of the nation. The influence of the Jesuits 



over John's grandson, Sebastian (1557), was re- 

 sponsible for the defeat of the Portuguese, and the 

 capture and death of their young king, at the battle 

 of Alcazar al-Kebir in Africa in 1578. And the 

 extinction of the old Burgundian line in 1580, after 

 the brief reign of Sebastian's uncle, Cardinal Hemy, 

 plunged the country into difficulties and misfortunes. 

 After a struggle for the throne between half-a-dozen 

 candidates, none of whom found favour with the 

 nation at large they clung to the delusive hope 

 that Sebastian was still alive, and would return 

 from the hands of his Moorish captors Philip II. 

 of Spain succeeded in securing to himself the crown 

 of Portugal and annexing the kingdom to the 

 Spanish monarchy. This involved it in the ruinous 

 wars of Spain against England, in the Low Coun- 

 tries, and in Germany, while the Dutch and Eng- 

 lUh, in retaliation for Spanish aggressions at home, 

 attacked and seized the Portuguese possessions in 

 the Indian Archipelago and in South America. 

 At length the insolence of Philip IV. 's minister, 

 Olivarez, brought matters to a crisis; and in 

 December 1640, after a forced union of sixty years, 

 Portugal was freed, by a bold and successful rising 

 of the nobles, from all connection with Spain, and 

 the Duke of Braganza, a descendant of the old royal 

 family, was placed on the throne ( 1641 ), under the 

 title of John IV. The war with Spain, which was 

 the natural result of this act, turned out, under 

 the guidance of the famous Count Schomberg ( who 

 fell at Bovne battle, 1690), and with the assistance 

 of 3000 English troops, favourable to Portugal, 

 and was terminated in 1668 by the treaty of Lisbon, 

 by which the inde]>endence of Portugal was for- 

 mally recognised by the Spanish government. But 

 her ancient glory had departed ; she had lost many 

 of her colonies, and of those she still retained 

 Brazil alone was pros|>erous ; the nation was steeped 

 in ignorance ami bigotry ; and the Portuguese, from 

 having lieen one of the greatest maritime powers of 

 Europe became virtually a commercial dependent, 

 rather than ally, of Great Britain, especially after 

 the Methuen( q.v. (Treaty of 1703. Under the, reign 

 of Joseph I. (1750-77) the genius and resolution of 

 the minister Pombal (q.v.) infused temporary vigour 

 into the administration, and checked for a time 

 the downward tendency of the national credit. 

 But Pombal's efforts to rouse the people from their 

 sloth, and infuse vigour into the government, were 

 checked by the accession of Joseph's daughter, 

 Maria, who, with her uncle-husband, Pedro III., 

 allowed things to turn back into their old channels. 

 The mental alienation of Maria led, in 1799, to the 

 nomination of a regency under her eldest son, 

 John. This prince, who showed considerable 

 capacity in early life, on the outbreak of the war 

 between Spain and France threw himself wholly 

 on the protection of England ; and finally, when 

 he learned that Napoleon had determined on the 

 destruction of his dynasty, left Portugal in 1807 

 and transferred the seat of government to Rio de 

 Janeiro, the capital of Brazil (q.v.). 



This act was immediately followed by the occupa- 

 tion and annexation of Portugal by the French a 

 measure which gave rise to the Peninsular War 

 ( q.v. ). The victory of Vimeira, gained by the com- 

 bined English and Portuguese army in 1808, freed 

 the land from its French assailants; and in 1810, 

 on the death of Queen Maria, the regent succeeded 

 to the joint crowns of Portugal and Brazil. But 

 even after the French were driven out of the Penin- 

 sula and Napoleon's power was broken for ever, the 

 new king, John VI., still continued to reside at Rio 

 de Janeiro, leaving Portugal to be governed by 

 English officers, Marshal Beresford and others. 

 This gave occasion to abuses and discontent, which 

 resulted, in 1820, in a revolution at Lisbon, and 

 in the proclamation of a constitutional form of 



