JOHN. 



prote£lion of the holy fee. Philip had, however, made pre- 

 parations for war, and was not to be put off from his plans 

 by the mere order of the holy pontiff. A battle enfued, in 

 which the fleet of England triumphed over that of France, 

 and John even thought of regaining his former poffeflions ; 

 but the attempt was unfuccefsful, and he was obliged to 

 return in difgrace. His own barons, who had fuffered by 

 his controul, determined now to aflcrt their privileges, and 

 bid a ftatement of their grievances before the king, whicli 

 he attempted to elude. To fecond their efforts they chofe a 

 general, and immediately proceeded to warhke operations, 

 'i'hey were received into London with open arms, which 

 fo intimidated the king, that he was obliged to fubmit to 

 fuch articles of agreement as they thought fit to dictate. 

 At Runnymede, John figned the famous Magna Chartn, 

 the bafis of Englilh liberty, which not only protected the 

 nobles againlt the crown, but fecurcJ many important 

 rights and privileges to every order of freemen. It was 

 ftipiilated that London fliould remain in the hands of the 

 barons, and the Tower in the cullody of the primate, till 

 the articles of the charter were executed. The king made 

 another attempt to retrieve Lis affairs by inlifting under his 

 banners foreign troops, but moft of his projects failed, and 

 he died partly of difeai'c, and partly of chagrin, at Newark, 

 in October 1216. The character of this prince is tranf- 

 mitted to us in very black colours : perhaps his vices 

 have been exaggerated. Ingratitude, periidy, and cruelty 

 were certainly the ruling principles of his conduct. His 

 private life was ftained with licentioufncfs, and he feems to 

 have paid no regard to the forms of religion. The befl 

 part of his conduct as a fovereign, was the attention which 

 he paid to commerce 2nd maritime affairs. In his reign 

 London received the gift of its popular conftitution of the 

 corporation. Hume. Henry. 



John- I., kin^ of Portugal, natural fon of Peter the Severe, 

 was born about the year l^^^jo, and raifed to the throne in 

 1383, to the prejudice of John of Cadile, who claimed in 

 nght of his wife Beatrix, daughter of Ferdinand. Soon 

 after his acceffion, the king of Caftile invaded Portugal 

 with a powerful army, but victory, which decided in favoiu- 

 of John, permanently fixed him on the throne. In 1387 he 

 married Philippa, daughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lan- 

 caller. It was not till the year 1400, that a peace was 

 finally fettled between the two countries, which remained 

 inviolate during the reft of the reign. John employed the 

 feafon of public tranquillity in improving the police, and 

 promoting the profperity of his kingdom. Mindful of his 

 former colidit on, he behaved with great condefcenfion and 

 familiarity to his fubjects, and bellowed his favours liberally. 

 Though his bounty" kept him poor, he moderated his im- 

 pofls, and found refources in his frugality with refpcft to 

 the ordinary amufements of a court. He was accuflomed 

 to fay that converlation was the cheapefl of all pleafures, as 

 well as the molt improving, and he promoted a talle for 

 letters among the ncbility. He was, liowever, inflexible 

 in the punifiiment of crimes, and by his feverity in this 

 refpect, he rooted out the bands of bravoes kept by the 

 nobihty to execute private revenge. In 1414, he fitted out 

 a formidable expedition againlt the Moors, in which he was 

 fjccefsful, and he entnuted to his fon Henry, duke of Vi'eo, 

 the chief management of affairs in Africa, which gave occa- 

 fion to that courfe of maritime difcovery by which he became 

 fo much ditlinguiflied. (See Hexrv.) The concluding 

 cares of this fovereign were occupied in the fettlement of 

 his family, in which he was very fuccefsful. He died in 

 1433, after a long and profperous reijn, leaving behind 

 hiin the character of o.ne of the ableft and beft of tlie Portu- 



gucfe fovereigns, under the title of " the father of his 

 country." He is regarded as the founder of a new royal 



family. 



John' II., king of Portugal, fon of Alphonfo V. was 

 born in the year 1455. In 1476, he was appointed regent, 

 and, in 1481, he airumrd the whole power of king on the 

 death of liis fatlier. Finding that the adniiniilration of 

 jullice was become exceedingly corrupt, he appointed a coni- 

 miffion to enquire into abufes, and to reform whatever was 

 wrong. He watched over tlie conduA of the judges, fore- 

 warning them of liis dilpleafure if they proved backw.-u-d in 

 the equitable difcharge of their duties. " Take care," 

 faid he, to one of them, " I hear you keep your hands open 

 and your doors fliut :" this timely warning fiiffieed for his 

 reformation. A confpiracy was fliortly formed againll his 

 life, at the head of which was the duke of Vifco, a vcr,- 

 young man and the queen's brother. The king, on being 

 informed of it, fent for the duke to court, and taking liim 

 afide, charged him with his treafonable purpofe. What par- 

 ticularly palled on this occailon is not known, but the refult 

 was, that the king drew his dagger, and laid the duke dead 

 at his feet. Several of the other confpirators were appre- 

 hended, fome were executed, and others went into voluntary 

 exile. John, willing to ihew that he was not unr.eceflariiy 

 fevere, rellored the forfeited eftates of the duke of Vifeo t« 

 his brother, whom he likewifc railed to high dignity in the 

 Hate. It is to the honour of this prince that he was the 

 patron of commerce, particularly or that opene-J to the 

 Portuguefe by their fettlements on the coait of Guinea. 

 Being told by Cano, the difcoverer of Congo, that the 

 native? concealed their gold-mines, " Never look for them." 

 faid the king, " carry them what they want, and you will 

 get their gold without digging for it." He did muca- 

 towards the difcovery of the paffage by the Cape of Good 

 Hope ; but he had tlie mortification of reflecting, that by 

 his refufal of the propofals of Columbus, he miil'ed the op- 

 portunity of adding the wellern world to his dominions. 

 About the year 1490, he was grievoufly affctted by the 

 death of his only fon, who was killed by a fall from his 

 horfe at a race. ' He endeavoured, after this, to introduce 

 his natural fon George into the lu-ccfiion, but the great 

 oppofition whiL-h he met with in this fcheir.e induced him to 

 lay afide the pi-oject. He died in October 141)5. The chief 

 object of his reign feems to have been, to deprefs the nobi- 

 lity, to raife the inferior orders, and to promote the coin- 

 mercial profperity of his kingdom. 



John III., king of PortU:;a!, was born in Ij02, and 

 fucceeded to the crown in 1J21. 'I'he events of this reiga 

 are in many refpetts important, ar.d attach to them very 

 ferious coulequences. In the time of this prince the execra- 

 ble inquiiition was introduced into Portugal, oi which it was 

 the curie nearly three hundred jear.s, and has only been abo- 

 liflied within thcfe few months,' at the fuggeilion or demand 

 of the Britilli court. John fent niillTf.naries into the Eall 

 Indies, of v.hom the celebrated Xavier was <nie. The new 

 fettlement ot Brazil was brought into a flourifhing ftate in- 

 this reign, and particular attention was paid to the convei - 

 fion of the natives. Tlie king was attentive to what he 

 believed would conduce to the happinefs of his.fubjcds; he- 

 was economical with regard to himfclf, and unwiihng to 

 burden his iubjefts with '.ew taxes. From his own re-- 

 fources he founded hofpitais, conllructcd fortifications, hijh-- 

 ways, and aqueducts, rellored the uuiverfily of Coimbra, 

 and executed other projects of utility and fplendour. John 

 died of an apoplexy in 1557, at the age of fifty-five, after, 

 a reign of thirty-live years. He was fucceeded by hit 

 grandfuu Sebaitiaii, a minor. 



U U 2 JoRV 



