House of Braganza

The House of Bragança (Portuguese: Casa de Bragança, pron. IPA: //) is the name of a royal house, which ruled Portugal from 1640 to 1910 and the Empire of Brazil from 1822 to 1889.

It is a collateral line of the House of Aviz, which ruled Portugal from 1385 until the Habsburg seizure of the Portuguese throne in 1580. Afonso, an illegitimate son of King João I of Portugal, was given the duchy of Bragança in 1442, which gave the dynasty its name.

Dukes

The House of Bragança was an illegitimate collateral line of the House of Aviz. An illegitimate son of King João I of Portugal, Afonso, count of Barcelos was given the duchy of Braganza in 1442.

The Braganças became very rich and influential in the 16th century. Portugal was overrun in 1580 by Spanish forces sent by Philip II of Spain. In 1640 João II, Duke of Bragança, led a rebellion against the Spaniards and was proclaimed King of Portugal. Under João's sons Afonso VI and Pedro II, the Portuguese colonial empire, part of which was lost during the Spanish occupation, was restored and expanded, bringing new wealth to Portugal.

The Duchy of Bragança, a Royal Dukedom, was created in 1442 by king Afonso V of Portugal for his uncle Afonso, Count of Barcelos (natural son of John I of Portugal). Along with the duchies of Coimbra and Viseu created by João I for his sons Dom Pedro and Dom Henrique after their capture of Ceuta from the Moors in 1415, it is one of the first duchies of Portugal.

The Braganças soon became the most powerful house of the kingdom, due to the enrichment methods of Afonso, the first duke. He always sought royal favour with his father king João (John I) and his younger brother (King Duarte). When his six-year-old nephew became King Afonso V of Portugal, Afonso of Braganza was the king's most cherished councillor. This would provoke a short civil war against his brother, Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, that resulted in the latter's death in the Battle of Alfarrobeira in 1449.

The growing power of the Braganças was suppressed in the next generation. King João II was very strict on what royal power should be, and not too keen on allowing the development of competing principalities within his own borders. He executed the third duke, Fernando II, for treason, based on letters written to the king of Castile, as well as executed the duke of Viseu. Later the king annexed the Bragança lands and riches to the crown and exiled the four-year-old heir, Jaime, to Castile.

João II's successor, King Manuel I of Portugal was uncle of Jaime and, in 1500, he recalled his nephew to Portugal, returning to him the titles and (part of) the lands of Bragança. The house was once again one of the highest and mightiest in the country. Jaime of Bragança ordered the construction of a monumental Palace at Vila Viçosa, which would become one of the royal palaces in the 17th century.

The sixth duke, João, married Princess Catarina of Portugal and sired the courageous seventh duke Teodósio, who allegedly fought actively in the Battle of Alcacer Quibir (1578) when only ten years old.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese kingdom was in crisis. King Sebastian I of Portugal disappeared from the face of the earth in Africa in 1578. He was unmarried, childless and the crown passed to his great-uncle Cardinal Henry I of Portugal, an old man without children himself. On Henry I's death in 1580, King Philip II of Spain became Philip I of Portugal and the country lost its independence. Infanta dona Catarina, Duchess of Braganza, made claim to the throne but was denied, mostly due to her gender. Her late elder sister, the Duchess of Parma, had left a son, Rainuccio of Parma (Farnese) who would have been the senior heir of Portugal, but who was underage, lived in Italy, and whose family was Philip's allies and even subjects. Dona Catarina and her husband Duke Joao had the combined claim of Catarina herself and of Joao's great-grandmother, king Manuel's sister. Philip had the right of his mother Isabella, a daughter of Manuel I and sister of Catarina's father and sister of Henry.

By 1640, the wise policies of Philip II in respect of Portugal were long past. The country was overtaxed, Portuguese overseas possessions were left unprotected and the Spanish king, Philip IV of Spain (III of Portugal), no longer had the trust or support of the majority of the Portuguese nobility. He was especially loathed by the powerful Portuguese guild of merchants. Portugal was on the verge of rebellion and a new Portuguese king had to be found. The choice fell upon the eighth duke, João II of Bragança, who had a claim both through his grandmother, Princess Catarina, and through his great-great-grandfather, the 4th duke, nephew of King Manuel. The duke was a modest man without particular ambitions to the crown. Legend says that his wife, Leonor of Guzman, daughter of the duke of Medina-Sidónia, urged him to accept the offer saying, I'd rather be Queen for one day than duchess for a lifetime. He accepted the leadership of the rebellion, which was successful, and was acclaimed João IV of Portugal on December 1 1640.

After the accession of the Braganças to the throne, the duchy was linked to the Crown and the Duke of Bragança became the traditional title of the heir to the Crown, together with or alternate to Prince of Beira, much as Prince of Wales is in the United Kingdom.

Kings

The Braganças became very rich and influential in the 16th century. Portugal was overrun in 1580 by Spanish forces sent by Philip II of Spain. In 1640 João II, Duke of Bragança, led a rebellion against the Spaniards and was proclaimed King of Portugal.

The zenith of the Bragança dynasty was reached under the long reign of João V (1706-1750), who ruled with grandeur and piety. The reign of José I, son of João V, was characterized by the major earthquake, which struck Lisbon in 1755. The political genius of his reign was the Marquis of Pombal. The end of the 18th century was characterized by stability, under the rule of Maria I (1777-1816), who discharged Pombal at her accession. Unfortunately Maria became psychologically unstable, displaying similar symptoms to George III of the United Kingdom in his later years.

In 1807 the Braganças fled to Brazil, Portugal's largest colony, as the mother country was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1821, João VI, who succeeded his mother in 1816, returned to Portugal and demoted Brazil to a colony again, sparking revolts in Brazil. His son Pedro I was regent in Brazil, but sided with the rebels. He proclaimed himself Emperor of Brazil and ruled until 1831, when he abdicated the Brazilian throne to his young son Pedro II, who ruled until 1889, when the Brazilian monarchy was toppled by angry landed aristocrats disagreeing with the abolition of slavery.

In Portugal Pedro I of Brazil became King as Pedro IV (1826) but he abdicated the throne to his daughter Maria II da Gloria, who was challanged by Pedro's brother Miguel, a reactionary to whom Maria was betrothed against her will.One of the reasons why Pedro had abdicated his Brazilian throne was to help his daughter in toppling Miguel, who was defeated and exiled by Pedro in 1834.

The rest of the century liberals and conservatives alternated in government.In 1889 Carlos I became king. He became unpopular due to his perceived incapacable rule and extravagance, and was assassinated in 1908 together with his elder son, Luis. In 1910 lingering political tensions radicalized in a republican revolution which toppled Manuel II, the last King of Portugal.

In February 1 1908, king Carlos I of Portugal was murdered with his eldest son and heir, Luis Filipe, 21st duke of Bragança. He was succeeded by Manuel II of Portugal but for a short time: on October 5 1910, a republic was instituted and the king was exiled. King Manuel II settled in England. After this, the duchy of Bragança allegedly passed to Miguel II, son of the exiled king Miguel I of Portugal, who was living in the Austrian Empire. His branch of the Bragança family became heir to the crown in 1932 when Manuel II died without children. The Braganças were officially allowed to return to the country in 1950 and have lived there ever since.

Presently, the duke of Bragança and Portuguese heir is Duarte Pio of Bragança (born 1945). Unlike some European countries like Greece, which continues to forbid the presence of the heirs of former royal houses in their lands, republican Portugal and its claimants to the throne have long been reconciled, a fact shown when among the guests at his wedding was the Portuguese President of the Republic and the country's prime minister.

List of Bragança sovereigns

Portuguese sovereigns from the house of Bragança

*João IV (1640-1656)
*Afonso VI (1656-1683)
*Pedro II (1683-1706)
*João V (1706-1750)
*José I (1750-1777)
*Pedro III (1777-1786)
*Maria I (1777-1816)
*João VI (1816-1826)
*Pedro IV (1826)
*Miguel I (1826-1834 (usurper))
*Maria II (1826-1853)
*Pedro V (1853-1861)
*Luis I (1861-1889)
*Carlos I (1889-1908)
*Manuel II (1908-1910)

Brazilian sovereigns from the house of Bragança

*Pedro I (1822-1831)
*Pedro II (1831-1889)

House of Braganza: Encyclopedia BETA