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Afonso VI of Portugal

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Afonso VI
Portrait, 17th century
Portrait, 17th century
King of Portugal
Reign 6 November 1656 – 12 September 1683
Acclamation 15 November 1657
Predecessor John IV
Successor Peter II
Regents Luisa de Guzmán
(1656–1662)
Peter, Duke of Beja
(1668–1683)
Chief minister Count of Castelo Melhor
(1662–1667)
Born 21 August 1643
Ribeira Palace, Lisbon, Portugal
Died 12 September 1683 (aged 40)
Sintra Palace, Sintra, Portugal
Burial Pantheon of the Braganzas
Spouse Maria Francisca of Savoy
(m. 1666; ann. 1668)
House Braganza
Father John IV of Portugal
Mother Luisa de Guzmán
Religion Roman Catholicism

Afonso VI of Portugal — Dom Afonso VI (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu]; 21 August 1643 – 12 September 1683), known as "the Victorious" (o Vitorioso), was the second king of Portugal of the House of Braganza from 1656 until his death.[1] He was initially under the regency of his mother, Luisa de Guzmán, until 1662, when he removed her to a convent and took power with the help of his favourite, D. Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor.[2]

Afonso's reign saw the end of the Restoration War (1640–68) and Spain's recognition of Portugal's independence.[3] He also negotiated a French alliance through his marriage.[4] In 1668, his brother Pedro II conspired to have him declared incapable of ruling, and took supreme de facto power as regent, although nominally Afonso was still sovereign.[5] Queen Maria Francisca, Afonso's wife, received an annulment and subsequently married Pedro.[6] Afonso spent the rest of his life and reign practically a prisoner.[7]

Early life

Afonso was the second of three sons born to King John IV and Queen Luisa.[8] At the age of three, he experienced an illness that resulted in paralysis on the right side of his body.[9][10] The condition was believed to have also affected his intellectual abilities.[9][11] His father created him 10th Duke of Braganza.[12]

After the death of his eldest brother Teodósio, Prince of Brazil in 1653, Afonso became the heir apparent to the throne of the kingdom.[9] He also received the crown-princely title 2nd Prince of Brazil.

Reign

He succeeded his father, John IV, in 1656 at the age of thirteen.[10] His mother, Luisa de Guzmán, was named regent in his father's will.[10][13]

Luisa's regency continued even after Afonso came of age because he was considered mentally unfit for governing.[14][15] In addition to lacking intellect, the king exhibited wild and disruptive behavior.[10][9] In 1662, after Afonso terrorized Lisbon at night alongside his favorites,[16][17] Luisa and her council responded by banishing some of the king's companions that were associated with the raids.[17] Angered, Afonso took power with the help of Castelo Melhor and Luisa's regency came to an end.[18] She subsequently retired to a convent,[19][13] where she died in 1666.[20]

Afonso appointed Castelo Melhor as his private secretary (escrivão da puridade).[21][22] He proved to be a competent minister.[23] His astute military organization and sensible general appointments resulted in decisive military victories over the Spanish[24] at Elvas (14 January 1659), Ameixial (8 June 1663) and Montes Claros (17 June 1665),[25][26] culminating in the final Spanish recognition of sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza,[27][28] on 13 February 1668 in the Treaty of Lisbon.[29][30]

Colonial affairs

Colonial affairs saw the Dutch conquest of Jaffna, Portugal's last colony in Portuguese Ceylon (1658),[31] and the cession of Bombay and Tangier to England (23 June 1661) as dowry for Afonso's sister, Infanta Catherine of Braganza, who had married King Charles II of England.[32][33]

Marriage

Melhor arranged Afonso's marriage to Marie Françoise, daughter of the duke of Nemours,[34] in 1666,[35] but the marriage was short-lived. After Afonso was declared incompetent by his brother Pedro in 1667, Maria Francisca obtained an annulment, claiming Afonso was impotent.[36][37] She then married Pedro.[6][38]

Afonso was a prisoner for the rest of his life. In recent years, some historians have suggested that he may have begotten illegitimate children with two nuns reputed to be his lovers (Feliciana de Milão and Catarina Arrais de Mendonça). If true, this would disprove the claim of impotence.[39] This was proposed by Feliciana's biographer, Pedro Sena-Lino,[40] in his doctoral thesis.[41]

Downfall

In 1667, Pedro forced Afonso to relinquish control of the government to him,[37] and he became prince regent in 1668.[42] While Pedro never formally usurped the throne, Afonso was king in name only for the rest of his life.[43][44] For seven years after Peter's coup, Afonso was kept on the island of Terceira[45] in the Azores.[28][46] His health broken by this captivity, he was eventually permitted to return to the Portuguese mainland, but he remained powerless and kept under guard. At Sintra he died in 1683.[47]

The room where he was imprisoned is preserved at Sintra National Palace.

Ancestry

References

  1. Back to citation McMurdo 1889, p. 407.
  2. Back to citation McMurdo 1889, pp. 416–417.
  3. Back to citation Ogg 1934, p. 334.
  4. Back to citation Ogg 1934, p. 325.
  5. Back to citation Livermore 1969, p. 195.
  6. Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 Ames 2000, p. 35.
  7. Back to citation Livermore 1969, p. 195; Helpful up-to-date information is available in Martin Malcolm Elbl, Portuguese Studies Review 30 (1) (2022): 131-198. "Through 'Deplorable' Eyes: Barlow in Lisbon (1661) ~ Elite Theatrics, King Afonso VI of Portugal, Bullfights, and a Common English Seaman". Retrieved 30 April 2023; McMurdo 1889, p. 441.
  8. Back to citation Ames 2000, p. 25.
  9. Back to citation occurrence 9.0 Back to citation occurrence 9.1 Back to citation occurrence 9.2 Back to citation occurrence 9.3 Livermore 1969, p. 185.
  10. Back to citation occurrence 10.0 Back to citation occurrence 10.1 Back to citation occurrence 10.2 Back to citation occurrence 10.3 McMurdo 1889, p. 408.
  11. Back to citation Davidson (1908), p. 14.
  12. Back to citation Genealogy of the Dukes of Braganza in Portuguese
  13. Back to citation occurrence 13.0 Back to citation occurrence 13.1 "Luísa Gusmão", Dicionário [Dictionary] (in Portuguese), Arq net.
  14. Back to citation Marques 1976, p. 331.
  15. Back to citation McMurdo 1889, p. 447.
  16. Back to citation McMurdo 1889, p. 414.
  17. Back to citation occurrence 17.0 Back to citation occurrence 17.1 Livermore 1969, p. 189.
  18. Back to citation Marques 1976, p. 332; Stephens 1891, p. 331; For overview, with bibliography, in English, see Ricardo Fernando Gomes Pinto e Chaves, Portuguese Studies Review 30 (1) (2022): 113-130. "When the Desire (and the Obligation) Refuses to Work. The Sexualisation of the Prince's Power in the Context of Consolidation of the Dynastic States of Modernity". Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  19. Back to citation McMurdo 1889, p. 417.
  20. Back to citation Ames 2000, p. 30.
  21. Back to citation Livermore 1969, p. 190.
  22. Back to citation Marques 1976, p. 332.
  23. Back to citation Stephens 1891, p. 331.
  24. Back to citation McMurdo 1889, pp. 423–425.
  25. Back to citation Ames 2000, p. 32.
  26. Back to citation Livermore 1969, p. 187.
  27. Back to citation Livermore 1969, p. 188.
  28. Back to citation occurrence 28.0 Back to citation occurrence 28.1 Stephens 1891, p. 333.
  29. Back to citation Ames 2000, p. 37.
  30. Back to citation McMurdo 1889, p. 430.
  31. Back to citation Ames 2000, p. 28.
  32. Back to citation Ogg 1934, p. 185.
  33. Back to citation Dyer 1877, p. 341.
  34. Back to citation Stephens 1891, p. 332.
  35. Back to citation Livermore 1969, pp. 192.
  36. Back to citation Ames 2000, p. 34.
  37. Back to citation occurrence 37.0 Back to citation occurrence 37.1 Dyer 1877, p. 342.
  38. Back to citation Livermore 1969, pp. 194–196.
  39. Back to citation "Escritora, amante real e…freira". osaldahistoria.blogs.sapo.pt. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  40. Back to citation "Dr. Pedro Freire Sena Lino | Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte - Onderzoeksportaal". research.flw.ugent.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  41. Back to citation Sena-Lino, Pedro (2013). Estratégias por correspondência: uma leitura da obra de Feliciana de Milão [Correspondence strategies: a reading of the work of Feliciana de Milão] (in Portuguese). Lisbon.
  42. Back to citation Ames 2000, p. 34; Ames 2000, p. 35; Livermore 1969, pp. 192.
  43. Back to citation Davidson (1908), p. 236.
  44. Back to citation The proceedings which the annulment of Afonso's marriage involved formed the basis of João Mário Grilo's 1989 film, The King's Trial.
  45. Back to citation Dyer 1877, p. 343.
  46. Back to citation Livermore 1969, pp. 196.
  47. Back to citation Dyer 1877, p. 343; Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alphonso s.v. Alphonso VI.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 734; Stephens 1891, p. 334.

Bibliography

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