John II (Portugal)

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King John II of Portugal

John II (Portuguese Dom João II ; born May 3, 1455 in Lisbon , † October 25, 1495 in Alvor ) from the house of Avis was the thirteenth king of Portugal . He is also known by the nicknames "the perfect prince" (Portuguese o Principe Perfeito ) and "the rigor".

Life

John II was born the son of King Alfonso V and his first wife Isabel of Portugal . After the death of his father, he ascended the Portuguese throne in 1481.

He succeeded in completely restoring the royal power, which had been weakened under his predecessors, against the nobility. Thus the nobles were deprived of the right to exercise their own jurisdiction in their domains . The king persecuted opponents of this policy with great severity. The dukes of Braganza and Beja-Viseu , cousins ​​of the king and leaders of the aristocratic opposition, were executed on the king's orders in 1483. In 1484 the king himself killed an unpopular brother-in-law during a conversation. The Bishop of Évora was also sentenced to death. Johann II. Took large estates in favor of the Crown, which thus finally established itself as the dominant power in the country.

In terms of foreign policy, the king continued the course of discovery and expansion. In 1482, the fortress São Jorge da Mina ( Elmina ) was founded on the Gold Coast (now Ghana ) and thus won the gold of Sudan . The crown's income doubled in one fell swoop. Diogo Cão led an expedition to the Congo . Bartolomeu Diaz circled the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 - a decisive step in opening up the sea ​​route to India and thus access to Indian trade . 1494 was mediated by Pope Alexander VI. signed the Treaty of Tordesillas with Spain , which divided the world along an imaginary line about 480 kilometers west of the Cape Verde Islands between the two sea powers. Spain was awarded all land still to be discovered in America , while Portugal was awarded to Africa and Asia . Because the line had been agreed in ignorance of the coastline of the New World, the eastern tip of South America also belonged to King John's rule: Brazil became Portuguese.

The reign of John II marked a milestone in the history of Portugal with its development towards a centralized, absolutist state geared towards royal power . During his entire reign, the king convened the Cortes , the Portuguese aristocratic parliament, only four times and otherwise ruled independently.

The reign of John II was also a time of missed opportunities for Portugal. With the marriage of his son and heir to the throne Alfonso with Isabella , daughter of the Catholic Kings of Spain, the prospect of a large Iberian empire under Portuguese leadership existed. However, the death of the heir to the throne in 1491 prevented these plans. John II was also the Portuguese king who refused to give Christopher Columbus his help in finding the western route to India, which he then received from the kings of Spain. It was also Ferdinand Magellan , who was employed at the court of the king as Page, dismissed and denied then the successor of John II. Its journey under the Portuguese crown.

Coat of arms of the Portuguese kings from John II to Manuel II.

Towards the end of his reign there was a falling out with the queen, since after the death of the heir to the throne, John II had no legitimate male descendants and therefore wanted to appoint his favorite son from an illegitimate relationship, Georg de Lancastre (1481–1550), as his successor. In his will, however, he then appointed the next living male member of the Avis family to be his successor, Emanuel , a brother of his wife and grandson of King Edward I.

family

Johann II had been married to Eleanor of Portugal since 1471 (* May 2, 1458; † 1525). He had two children with her:

He also had an illegitimate son, Anna de Mendoça:

and a illegitimate daughter with Brites Anes, a Boa Dona:

  • Brites Anes de Santarém (* 1485)

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : John II of Portugal  - collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Alfons V. King of Portugal
1481–1495 		Emanuel I.
personal data
SURNAME Johann II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES João II; John the Strict
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Portugal
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1455
PLACE OF BIRTH Lisbon
DATE OF DEATH October 25, 1495
Place of death Alvor