John IV (Portugal)
John IV , the restorer (Portuguese Dom João IV, o Restaurador ) (born March 18, 1604 in Vila Viçosa , † November 6, 1656 in Lisbon ) was the 21st King of Portugal . He was the first monarch of the House of Braganza and ruled from 1640 to 1656.
Life
Johann was born the son of Teodosius II, the seventh Duke of Braganza , and his wife Anna de Velasco y Giron. After his father's death in 1630, he became the eighth Duke of Braganza. At the time of his birth, the House of Braganza, which was traced back to the old Portuguese royal house of Avis , was the most powerful Portuguese noble family. However, Portuguese kings of their own no longer existed since 1580. That year, Cardinal Heinrich, the last Portuguese king of the House of Avis, died; since then the Spanish kings from the House of Habsburg ruled Portugal in personal union .
While the first Spanish king on the Portuguese throne, Philip I of Portugal (= Philip II of Spain), still largely kept the promise of autonomy given to the country, this promise came under his successors Philip II of Portugal (= Philip III of Spain) Spain) and Philip III. of Portugal (= Philip IV of Spain) more and more into oblivion, so that Portugal was finally ruled largely like a Spanish province.
The Spanish Habsburg kings and their Austrian relatives were involved in all major wars of that time, with France , England and the Netherlands , the Austrian Habsburgs also with the Turks and the Protestant imperial estates in the Thirty Years War . In order to be able to pay for all these wars, the Spanish kings levied high taxes, which hit the Portuguese just as much as all other subjects of the Spanish. In addition, Spain's European opponents held themselves harmless in the former Portuguese colonies, for example Portugal lost Hormuz to the British (1622), the Dutch conquered Ceylon and Malacca , and established themselves in Brazil (1630, Pernambuco ) and Africa .
All this led to considerable resentment in the Portuguese population, which resulted in unsuccessful uprisings in 1634 and 1637. The drop that brought the proverbial barrel to overflow was the decree of Philip III. (IV.), Which decreed the merger of the Portuguese with the Spanish army - a great disgrace for the self-confident Portuguese nobility and a clear violation of the promise of autonomy that Philip I (II) had given the Portuguese Cortes when he ascended the throne .
In 1640 a revolt broke out in Catalonia . The Duke of Olivares , the almighty Prime Minister Philip III. von Portugal, (= Philip IV of Spain), planned to use Portuguese troops to suppress the uprising against the Catalans, which caused further outrage in Portugal. France, the great adversary of the Habsburgs and thus Spain, saw an opportunity to weaken the Spaniards, so Cardinal Richelieu supported the Portuguese and encouraged the Duke of Braganza to revolt against the Spaniards. Taking advantage of Spanish weakness, the Spanish governor, the Duchess of Mantua , was overthrown in a coup in Lisbon and the head of the Braganza family, Duke John II, was proclaimed King of Portugal as John IV on December 15, 1640 .
This ended 60 years of Spanish rule and Portugal again had its own king. John IV went to Lisbon. An uprising instigated by the Archbishop of Braga and some nobles, with the aim of returning the throne to the Habsburgs, failed, and Johann had several nobles executed and clergymen sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Spain reacted to the events in Portugal only years later. The reason for this was that Spain initially needed its armies for other purposes due to the Thirty Years War and the war with France. Only in 1644 there was a minor battle near Montijo . Portugal first renewed its alliance with England: Treaties were signed with Charles I (1642), Oliver Cromwell (1654) and Charles II (1661). The latter was married to Katharina von Braganza , a daughter of John IV . Portugal ceded Tangier and Bombay to England. John IV tried successfully to recapture parts of the Portuguese colonial empire. Ceylon and Malacca were definitely lost to the Dutch, but he succeeded in driving the Dutch out of Luanda and São Tomé in 1648 and, in alliance with the English during the first Anglo-Dutch naval war in 1652, from Brazil.
With the loss of the East Indian colonies, Brazil became the most economically important Portuguese colony. Cane sugar , gold and diamonds from Brazil became the main source of Portuguese wealth. Because of the foreseeable confrontation with the Spaniards, the king strengthened national defense. A permanent council of war and a secret council to defend the national borders were established. With the help of the General Society of the Brazilian Trade (Companhia Geral do Comércio do Brasil), founded in 1649, the main aim was to secure maritime traffic between Brazil and Portugal. Under John, Portugal became a powerful and respected country in Europe again.
Spain never recognized John IV as king. Only the victories of Johann's successor, Alfons VI. finally led to the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, with which Spain finally had to renounce all claims to the Portuguese throne.
family
John IV married Luisa von Guzmán in 1633 , with whom he had the following children:
- Theodosius (February 8, 1634 - May 25, 1652)
- Anna (January 21, 1635 - January 21, 1635)
- Johanna (September 18, 1636 - November 17, 1653)
- Katharina Henrietta (25 November 1638 - 31 December 1705) ⚭ 1662 King Charles II of England and becomes Queen of England
- Manuel (* / † September 6, 1640)
- Alfonso VI (* August 21, 1643; † September 12, 1683)
- Peter II (April 26, 1648 - December 9, 1706)
He was also the father of the illegitimate daughter Maria (* 1643, † February 6, 1693).
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Philip III |
King of Portugal 1640–1656 |
Alfonso VI |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johann IV. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | João IV (Portuguese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of Portugal |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 18, 1604 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vila Viçosa |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 6, 1656 |
| Place of death | Lisbon |