J O H N. 



- John- IV., king of Portugal, born in March 1604, was 

 fon of TliooJofuis, tliike of Braganza, of the royal line. He 

 fucceedcd his fatlu-r in that dukedom in 1630, for, at that 

 time, the Spaniards had taken poffeffion of "the Portuguefe 

 government, and annexed the countr)' to the crown of Spain. 

 It was become, in the reign of Philip IV., a domain of 

 Caftile, intended for the enriching of favourites. The 

 oppreffion<: and indignities fuffercd by the Portuguefe had 

 inrtamed their difcontents to the highcll pitch, and they were 

 only waiting for a leader, to break forth into a general 

 revolt which they meditated. They fixed on the duke of 

 Braganza, and offered him the crown of Portugal, if he 

 would (land forth in their caufe, and merit the high honour 

 by his proxvefs. The Spanilli court, aware of their inten- 

 tions, pratlifed a variety of arts to get the duke into its 

 power. The higheft honours were offered him, in hopes of 

 ahcnating him from the Portuguefe caufe; when thefc 

 proved ineffertual, he was invited, or ratlier ordered, to come 

 to Madrid to confer on ftate affairs, and the impoffibihty of 

 excufing himfelf from this (lep, haftencd his final determina- 

 tion. The leaders of the confpiracy prcffed him again to 

 accept of the crown ; he hefitated, but on confulting tlie 

 duchefs, flie confirmed him, with this heroic addrefs, " My 

 lord, a violent death awaits you with certainty at Madrid, 

 perhaps at I.ifoon ; at the former place you niuft die as a 

 wretched prifoner ; here, covered with glory, and a king. 

 Let us confide in the love of the people, your juft claim, 

 and the proteftion of heaven." He accordingly acquiefced, 

 a revolution was effected in his favour in December 1C40, 

 and he was inftantly proclaimed .lohn IV. The new fove- 

 reign was acknowledged by all the powers of Europe, not 

 immediately under the influence of the houfe of Aullria, a 

 confpiracy was however formed againft his life and throne, 

 but it was difcovered and fupprciTed, and a treaty with 

 France and the United Provinces affiiled Portugal in foil- 

 ing the attempts of Spain to recover its fovereipjnty. The 

 reign, neverth'elefs, was paffed in pcrpet ual hollilities, though 

 carried on with little vigour on either fide. John died in 

 t656, leaving behind him two fons and two daughters. His 

 reign, though far from brilliant, was ufeful ; he was ever 

 defirous of promoting the good of his people, and very un- 

 willingly impofed any biu-thens on them. He recovered 

 from the Dutch, and feciu-cd the valua'.jle fettlement of the 

 Brazils, but Kid tlie iiland of Ceylon. 



John V., king of Portugal, born in 1689, fucceeded his 

 father Peter II.,' in December 1706. The nation was at 

 this time engaged in the Spanifti fucceiUon war, as one of 

 the allies againll the houfe of Bourbon ; the new king was 

 faithful to the caufe, but little either of fuccefs or honour 

 attended his arms. The peace of Utrecht was favourable 

 to Portugal, and from that time the king's attention was 

 occupied in rendering his country flourifiiing. His goverti- 

 ment was wife and moderate, his charafter generous and 

 patriotic. He died in 1750. For farther particulars re- 

 lating to the k'ngs of Portugal, the reader is referred to the 

 Modern Univerfal Hiftory. 



.John, king of Denmark, born in 1455, fucceeded his 

 father Chriftiern I. in 1481. He had been acknowledged 

 king of Denmark and Norway in his father's life-time. 

 He expeded to have been chofen king of Sweden, but 

 was ilif-ippointed by the intrigues of the adminillrator of 

 that kingdom, and it was not till 1497 that he was crowned 

 the king. At the coronation-fcall, one of the king's Ger- 

 man officers -hinting that it would be a politic aft to cut 

 ctf the heads of ihofe who had been leaders in the oppo- 

 fition to him, Jolm replied with a manly indignation, that 

 he would rather fee all his evil tounlellors ou a gibbit 



than incur the fliame and infamy of (o favage a deed. 

 " God forbid,' faid the virtuous monarch, " that I fhould 

 cvi-r deny to any free people the right of chufing their 

 own governors." For fome time he afted conformably to 

 this fcntlment, and exhibited a mind intent upon tlie public 

 good, which produced a general fatisfaciion with his go- 

 vernment. John, however, did not always aA upon -the 

 principle of equity, which the maxim above quoted fliould 

 have inculcated. The people of Dithmarih accordingly 

 vindicated, at the point of the fword, their independence ; 

 and their fuccefs was the forerunner of an open revolt in 

 Sweden, where difcontents had been gradually accumulat- 

 ing againff the king's adminiftration, owing to tlie facihty 

 with which he had conferred offices and grants on his fa- 

 vourites, to the prejudice of the natives. The former re- 

 gent headed the malcontents, and renounced his allegiance to 

 John. The queen, Chriftina, who was left at Stockholm, 

 was obliged to capitulate ; and a revolution was effeftcd 

 in 1502. After this many changes in the government took 

 place, fevcral of wliich led John to hope for a reftoration 

 to the crown ; and a treaty ior that puqiofe was concluded. 

 a fiiort time before his death, wliich happened in I'ebruary 

 1513, in confequence of a fall from his horfe. He pof- 

 feffed many ellimable qualities, and would have been a 

 really good king, but that he fuffered himfsli to be fwayed 

 too much by his favourites. 



John- III. king of Sweden, born in 1537, was fecond 

 fon of Gullavus Vafa, who fettled upon him the dukedom 

 of Finland. In 1560 he was fent to the court of Eng- 

 land to forward the propofed union between his elder bro- 

 ther Eric and queen Elizabeth. Not long after this Eric 

 fucceeded to the crown, and John became the objetl of 

 his fufpicion. He was arrefted, brought to trial, and con- 

 demned ; but his Hfe was {pared, and the fentence exchanged, 

 for perpetual imprifonmcnt. Several times it was determined 

 to deilroy him, but the tyrant as often relented, till at 

 length, finding it neceffary to Itrengthen his government, he 

 liberated John in 1567, to the great joy of the Swedilh na- 

 tion. In the following year he took up an.is againll Eric, 

 whom he depofed, and afcended the throne in his Head. 

 He found the nation involved in a war with Denmark and 

 Ruffir., and almoft ftruggling for its exiftcnee. He con- 

 cluded peace with the former power, but hollilities con- 

 tinued with the latter till they were fufpendcd by a truce 

 in 1573. Jiy the infliience of the queen, John abjured the 

 Proteilant religion, and embraced that of the church of 

 Rome. In confequence of this derelidlion of principle he 

 made many enemies ; and although numbers of the clergy 

 were gained over by views of ambition and emolument, yet 

 a formidable party, attached to the reformation, with the 

 king's brother, Charles, duke of Sudermania, at their head,, 

 made fuch an oppofition as nearly to involve the kingdont 

 in a civil war. By the death of the queen, John found it 

 expedient to leffen his zeal with regard to the cllablidi- 

 ment of the Roman religion, though he retairied the dcfire 

 of making it the religion of the itate. He accordingly 

 piiblifiied a liturgy conformable to it, the life of which he 

 enjoined to the clergy under the feverell penahies. The 

 flame of religious .difcord was hereby rc-kmdlcd ; and the 

 duke Charles ag/iin Hood forth as the defender of the Pro- 

 teilant church. In. 1590 John married Chriftina, daughter 

 of the duke.of Holffein. The war with Ruffia was renewed, 

 ' and Sweden loll fevcral fortreffes. In this Hate of affairs 

 John died in 1592, after a reign of 24 year?. Mod. Univ. 

 Hill. 



. John- Sobieskv, king of Poland, born in 1624, was fon 



of a brave and able- ftatefraan of the fame name. He rc- 



7 ceivcd 



