Restoration war

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The War of Restoration ( Portuguese Guerra da Restauração ) was a military conflict between 1640 and 1668 . The Kingdom of Portugal , which was linked in personal union with the Kingdom of Spain since 1580 , successfully fought for its independence in this conflict. It ended on February 13, 1668 with the conclusion of the Treaty of Lisbon .

prehistory

King Philip II of Spain , portrait by Anthonis Mor

On January 31, 1580, King Henry I of Portugal (1512-1580), the last male member of the House of Avis, died . In his will, Heinrich had named King Philip II of Spain (1527–1598) as his successor before his death . He was himself a grandson of the late Portuguese King Emanuel I (1469–1521) and was also with a daughter of the Portuguese King John III. (1502–1557) married. Although the House of Braganza also registered inheritance claims, which were in the same relationship to the Portuguese royal family, only António von Crato (1531–1595), a grandson of King Emanuel I, actively resisted the superior Spanish military power ( see also: Portuguese Civil War ). The Portuguese Cortes (assembly of estates) therefore recognized Philip II of Spain as King Philip I of Portugal .

In a charter from 1582, Philip II confirmed the Portuguese all rights, privileges, offices as well as the judiciary and overseas trade. The government of the country should be formally entrusted to a viceroy or governor and a Regency Council, but all important Portuguese affairs should be left to a Portuguese council at the Spanish court in Madrid . Thus, the countries now ruled in personal union were only linked by the person of the Spanish king himself.

In 1598, King Philip III followed. (1578–1621) his father on the Spanish and Portuguese throne. He began to grossly violate the provisions of the Charter of 1582 by appointing Spaniards to the Portuguese council at the Madrid court, sending Spanish inspectors from the Treasury to Portugal and assigning Portuguese lands to Spanish nobles. The Cortes were not convened once and taxes were levied in Portugal, the proceeds of which went to the coffers of the Spanish crown of Philip III. rivers. The Portuguese fortresses were also provided with Spanish garrisons, contrary to the treaty. The Portuguese population found the recruiting of Portuguese recruits for the Spanish armies particularly stressful. When Philip IV (1605–1665) succeeded the Spanish and Portuguese thrones in 1621 , the situation worsened. The king appointed the Duke of Mantua's widow, Princess Margarete, viceroy in Portugal. This ruled there with the help of their State Secretary Miguel von Vasconcelos (himself Portuguese). Lucrative offices were now awarded to the Spanish nobility, and Spain's involvement in the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) led to further oppressive tax increases.

In general, Portugal's economic situation had deteriorated since 1588. With the union of the two Iberian crowns, the enemies of Spain were now also enemies of Portugal. The country of Hormuz lost to the British ( 1622 ), while the Dutch conquered other bases and thus gained control of the sea route to India. In addition, they sat down in Brazil ( 1630 ) and Africa firmly (→ Dutch-Portuguese War ) . The volume of trade between Lisbon and India therefore fell to less than a third of its original size, and the loss of the trade monopoly led to drastic financial losses for the crown, the nobility, the clergy and the bourgeoisie. However, the lower classes were also affected by the economic recession and their poverty increased noticeably. A simple and seemingly plausible explanation served to explain these circumstances: Spain was to blame for the evil. Strong national animosities had already established themselves, due to which the declaration met with a great response. In the Latin American colonies, Spanish settlers had fought the advance of Portuguese settlers and, under the pretext of persecuting the Jews, proceeded with extreme brutality. At the same time, the Portuguese population also felt what the historian Oliveira later referred to as "cultural Castilianization" . Many Portuguese artists had migrated to the Spanish court, where all cultural life seemed to be concentrated. At the same time, in Portugal almost only literature appeared in Spanish, while numerous Portuguese art treasures, especially from Lisbon, were carried out of the country by Spanish nobles. In the perception of many Portuguese people, they threatened to lose their national identity.

Such circumstances led to uprisings in Portugal in 1628 (in Porto ) and 1637 (in Évora ), but these were suppressed. In response to this, thought was given in Madrid to abolish the independent Portuguese Cortes and to incorporate them into the Cortes of Castile . However, the uprisings had demonstrated to the Portuguese upper classes that the support of the people could be counted on in a major conspiracy. Under these conditions, the Portuguese nobility began organizing a conspiracy against Spain at the end of 1638.

The uprising of 1640

King Dom João IV was the 21st King of Portugal from 1640 to 1656.

Duke Johann von Braganza (1604–1656) was the first and foremost possible political leader in a rebellion . He was the grandson of Infanta Catarina (1540-1614), pretender to the throne in 1580 and therefore particularly respected. Furthermore, his lands covered almost a third of the country, which also made him the richest man in Portugal. The Spanish Chancellor Olivares (1587–1645) tried in vain to win Duke Johann for the Spanish side and to make him unpopular with the Portuguese. Among other things, he therefore appointed him military governor of the country in 1639 with the task of setting up armed forces. When an uprising broke out in Catalonia in June 1640, the last Spanish troops had to be withdrawn from Portugal. In the same year Olivares then also demanded the provision of money and troops from the Portuguese nobility. The nobility themselves should be in Madrid. This led to violent indignation in Portugal and gave the conspiracy a political boost, especially since French agents had been in the country since 1634 to assure the Portuguese of French support against Spain.

The Portuguese noble council met and offered the royal crown to the Duke of Braganza. If he refuses, they would proclaim a republic . The duke consented, and on December 1, 1640 the prepared revolt began. On the morning of that day, 40 nobles and 200 armed men stormed the residence of the Spanish viceroy. She was sent to a monastery and the Secretary of State Miguel de Vasconcelos was killed. The same was done in many cities in the country, where the few remaining Spanish garrisons offered little resistance. On December 6, 1640, the Duke of Braganza entered Lisbon, where he was elected King John IV of Portugal on December 15 by the Portuguese Council of Nobles . With this, Portugal regained its independence, but was at war with Spain.

Course of war

The situation when John IV took office

Spain did not recognize John IV and wanted to restore Spanish rule in Portugal. However, the Spanish king's hands were initially tied as he was involved in a war with France and therefore needed his troops elsewhere. That is why there were hardly any armed conflicts with Spain during the reign of John IV. John IV used this time to strengthen national defense in anticipation of a Spanish attack and to renew the country's traditional defense alliance with England. First, he signed an armistice with the United Netherlands and an alliance treaty with France. This was complemented by two trade agreements with England and Sweden .

King Johan IV divided the country into 22 recruitment areas, so-called comarcas, after he took office . These were each headed by a gobernador , a sargentomor and two adjutantes . The male population between 15 and 70 years of age was patterned and entered into lists. Of these, the descendants of each family formed the basis of recruitment for the standing army, which in 1646 amounted to 16,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry . The service period was six years. The first and only sons of widows and married couples formed the auxiliares , a landwehr. Each comarca set up a regiment of this Landwehr, the training and organization of the unit being the responsibility of the Sargento mors and the adjutantes . At the head of each regiment was a respected local resident called Mestre de Campo , who led the unit into action. In the event of war, the auxiliaries only advanced to the borders of the country and were paid during their service. Older men who were no longer eligible for the Landwehr were grouped together in the Ordonança auxiliary contingents . In the event of war, they should occupy permanent positions in the country.

The course of operations

Juan José de Austria (1629–1679)

At first Spain was still involved in a war against France and therefore could not do without any troops for the foreseeable future to restore Philip IV's rule in Portugal. Only in 1644 there was a clash of Portuguese and Spanish troops in the Battle of Montijo (May 26, 1644). That changed when the war against France drew to a close. On September 17, 1658 the battle of Vilanova took place . At the end of 1658 a Spanish army rallied under General Luis de Haro on the Caia River to take the Portuguese city of Elvas . In the Battle of Elvas (January 14, 1659), however, the Portuguese were able to repel this advance.

After the conclusion of the Peace of the Pyrenees between Spain and France on November 7, 1659, Philip IV was now able to direct all military efforts against Portugal. The French King Louis XIV (1638–1715) indirectly supported Portugal against Spain. In 1660 he sent the proven Maréchal Friedrich von Schomberg (1615–1690) with 80 officers and 500 men. The Kingdom of England also supported Portugal under King Charles II (1632–1685), as both countries had the same opponents, Spain and the United Netherlands. English ships brought Maréchal Schomberg to Portugal, where he arrived at the beginning of 1661 and was appointed Mestre de Campo General , that is, Commander-in-Chief of the army of 10,000 infantrymen and 5,000 cavalrymen.

In June of the same year, a Spanish army under Juan José de Austria (1629–1679) invaded the Alentejo and captured Arronches . However, there was no battle. The campaign of 1662 brought further setbacks for Portugal. Maréchal Schomberg initially holed up in a camp near Estremoz , where Juan de Austria could not attack. Instead , he turned against Jurumenha , which he besieged. The Portuguese army marched up to relieve the fortress, but the disagreement between military leaders Schomberg and Penhaflor and the insufficient level of equipment forced them to withdraw. Jurumenha then fell to the Spaniards. After this disaster, Schomberg asked for his release. To prevent this, King Alfonso VI. Penhaflor of his offices and replaced him with Marialva . Louis XIV also wanted Schomberg to stay in Portugal.

In the following year, Portugal's situation improved noticeably. On May 31, 1662, Charles II of England had married Catherine von Braganza (1638–1705), the daughter of John IV and sister of Alfonso IV. Now he stepped openly on the Portuguese side and sent an English auxiliary corps, which was also subordinate to Schomberg for the coming campaigns. Juan de Austria advanced again in 1663 and captured Évora . When Schomberg rushed towards him, he preferred to let himself fall back a little to get closer to his reinforcements. Schomberg followed the Spanish army and attacked it on June 8th in the Battle of Ameixial . The following year, another Portuguese army repulsed another Spanish advance in the battle of Castelo Rodrigo (July 7, 1664). The last attack by the Spanish army took place in the summer of 1665. The Spanish Marquese de Caracena besieged Vila Viçosa , while the Portuguese army under Schomberg came up to relieve the fortress. On June 17, the two armies met in the battle of Montes Claros . The Spaniards suffered a heavy defeat and withdrew from Portugal. In the following years there was no more major fighting. King Philip IV died on September 17, 1665, and this led to domestic political confusion at the Spanish court, which did not allow for energetic warfare. In both 1666 and 1667, Maréchal Schomberg only forays into Spanish territory. It was not until February 13, 1668 that the war ended with the Treaty of Lisbon .

Peace treaty and consequences

Instead of the five-year-old heir to the throne, Carlos II , his mother Maria Anna (1634–1696) took over the reign of Spain. She faced serious problems. King Louis XIV demanded part of the Spanish inheritance, it saw little domestic political support, and the country's finances were completely shattered after 47 years of incessant wars. When French troops finally marched into the Spanish Netherlands in May 1667 ( see also: War of Devolution ), the regent decided to initiate peace negotiations, which, with the help of English mediation, were concluded on February 13, 1668. The negotiations in Lisbon were accompanied by a palace revolt, in the course of which the wife of the disabled King Alfonso VI. , Maria Francisca Elisabeth of Savoy (1646–1683), had this imprisoned in order to marry his younger brother Dom Peter (1648–1706), who then became king himself. These circumstances ran counter to Spanish interests. In this treaty, Spain recognized the independence and sovereignty of Portugal and renounced all claims to the throne. In return, Portugal left Ceuta and Isla Perejil to the Spanish crown, which are still part of Spain as exclaves on the North African coast.

literature

  • Walter G. Armende: History of Portugal , W. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1966.
  • William C. Atkinson: History of Spain and Portugal , Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962.
  • Walther L. Bernecker / Horst Pietschmann / Rüdiger Zoller: A Little History of Brazil , Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 2000, ISBN 3-518-12150-2
  • Ernst Gerhard Jacob: Fundamentals of the history of Portugal and its overseas provinces , Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1969.
  • Albrecht Graf von Kalnein: The Regency in Spain 1665-1677 , Saarbrücken / Fort Lauderdale 1992, (= Research on Spain, Vol. 11), ISBN 3-88156-559-0
  • António Henrique de Oliveira Marques : History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 385). Translated from the Portuguese by Michael von Killisch-Horn. Kröner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-520-38501-5 .
  • Bernhard von Poten: Concise dictionary of the entire military sciences , Vol. 8, Leipzig / Bielefeld 1880.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William C. Atkinson: History of Spain and Portugal , Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, p. 182f
  2. ^ William C. Atkinson: History of Spain and Portugal , Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, pp. 201f
  3. ↑ Walter G. arm end: history of Portugal , W. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1966, p 195
  4. ↑ a b A.H. Oliveira Marques: History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire , Alfred Kröner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, p. 231f
  5. ↑ a b A.H. Oliveira Marques: History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire , Alfred Kröner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, p. 233
  6. ^ Ernst Gerhard Jacob: Principles of the history of Portugal and its overseas provinces , Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1969, p. 117f
  7. ↑ Walter G. arm end: history of Portugal , W. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1966, p 197
  8. ^ Cicely Veronica Wedgwood : The Thirty Years War , Paul List Verlag Munich, 1967, p. 375
  9. ↑ Colonel a. D. von Seubert: Portugal. In: Bernhard von Poten : Concise dictionary of the entire military sciences. Volume 8, Leipzig and Bielefeld 1880, p. 12f.
  10. ↑ Colonel a. D. von Seubert: Schomberg. In: Bernhard von Poten: Concise dictionary of the entire military sciences , Vol. 8, Leipzig / Bielefeld 1880, p. 332.
  11. ^ Friedrich von Schomberg. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Vol. 32, p. 260.
  12. ^ Albrecht Graf von Kalnein: The Regency in Spain 1665-1677 , Saarbrücken / Fort Lauderdale 1992, p. 50f