Ferdinand I (Portugal)

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Ferdinand I.

Ferdinand I ( Portuguese Dom Fernando I ; born October 31, 1345 in Santarém ; † October 22, 1383 in Lisbon ) was the ninth king of Portugal and the last monarch of the House of Burgundy . His nicknames were "the beautiful" ( Portuguese o Formoso or o Belo ) or "the inconstant" ( Portuguese o Inconstante ).

Life

Ferdinand was the only surviving son from the marriage of King Peter I and Constanza Maria of Castile. In 1367 he ascended the Portuguese throne.

Shortly afterwards he got involved in the political turmoil in the powerful neighboring country of Castile , which led to the Ferdinandic Wars . There, an illegitimate descendant of the king, Heinrich von Trastámara , had murdered the legitimate heir to the throne and put himself on the throne. Ferdinand I did not recognize Henry of Trastámara as King of Castile and, since he was related to the Castilian royal family in the maternal line, made his own claims to the Castilian throne. Together with England and Aragon , he began a war with Castile in 1369, which was not very successful for Portugal. In the Peace of Alcoutim , Ferdinand had to renounce all claims to the Castilian throne. He also undertook to marry a daughter of Heinrich von Trastámara, Eleonore . Ferdinand then fell in love with a Portuguese noblewoman, Leonore Teles de Menezes , and married her instead of the Castilian princess. Henry, angry about the breach of treaty, attacked Portugal and sacked Lisbon in 1373. Portugal then allied itself with England, which made its own claims to the Castilian throne. This also made Portugal a sideline to the Hundred Years War between England and France. However, since England did not send troops as promised, Ferdinand I had to make peace with Castile in the Treaty of Santarém (1373). In 1381, after Heinrich von Trastámara had died in the meantime, Ferdinand attacked Castile again, but had to plead for peace again after the Castilian admiral Sanchez de Tovar had destroyed the Portuguese fleet on July 17, 1381.

Ferdinand's biggest problem was that he did not get a male heir, so that the dynasty of the Portuguese Burgundian rulers would die out with his death. Due to the close relationship to the Castilian royal family, there was a risk that the Portuguese crown would fall to Castile, which put Portuguese independence in jeopardy. Ferdinand tried to play England and Castile off against each other and to arrange various marriage projects for his heiress, Beatrix, but finally had to consent to his daughter's marriage to the new Castilian King John I , thus confirming Castile's hereditary claims to the Portuguese throne .

According to the marriage contract concluded with Castile, Portugal was to be ruled by a Privy Council after the death of Ferdinand I until a male child of Beatrix and Johann was old enough to rule. If the marriage remained childless, Portugal would fall to Castile, which would, however, guarantee its autonomy. In 1383 Beatrix left Portugal for Castile and in the same year Ferdinand I died after an overall rather unhappy reign.

After his death, events rolled over. His widow took over the reign, but was overthrown after six weeks ( revolution of 1383 ). Johann von Avis , an illegitimate half-brother of Ferdinand I, took power and was crowned the new king after defending against the Castilian claims through his victory in the battle of Aljubarrota . He founded the House of Avis , a noble family that would rule Portugal until 1580.

family

From his marriage to Leonore Teles de Menezes , whom he married in 1371, had three children:

  • D. Beatriz (* 1373 - † after 1409), who married King John I of Castile in 1383 .
  • D. Pedro (* and † 1380)
  • D. Afonso (* and † 1382)

He also had an illegitimate daughter:

  • D. Isabel (1364-1435)

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Ferdinand I of Portugal  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Peter I. King of Portugal
1367–1383 		Johann I.
personal data
SURNAME Ferdinand I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ferdinand the Polite
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ninth king of Portugal
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1345
PLACE OF BIRTH Santarém
DATE OF DEATH October 22, 1383
Place of death Lisbon