John IV

King of Portugal (r. 1640-1656)

• Born: March 18, 1604
• Birthplace: Vila Viçosa, Portugal
• Died: November 6, 1656
• Place of death: Lisbon, Portugal

As duke of Braganza, John accepted the leadership of the Portuguese nobility in rebellion against King Philip IV of Spain and broke the Iberian Union, ending a nearly sixty-year period known as the Babylonian Captivity. As king, he restored Portuguese independence, recovered significant territories lost during the union, and established the Braganza Dynasty, which lasted until the formation of a republic in 1910.

Early Life

John IV was descended on his father’s side from the first duke of Braganza, the illegitimate son of King John I(r. 1385-1433), the first king of the Aviz Dynasty. John IV’s grandmother, Catherine, was the granddaughter of King Manuel I (r. 1495-1521). John grew up at the Braganza palace at Vila Viçosa in the Alentejo, the most productive region of Portugal. Educated to be a nobleman, John was tutored in general education, riding, hunting, and fencing. He preferred hunting to military skills, but his real passion was music.

Having mastered several instruments, he and his brothers performed at their father’s funeral in 1630. While a young man, he established contacts with some of the leading composers of his era and maintained those contacts throughout his life. He collected musical manuscripts, including his own compositions, in a personal library that reputedly was one of the largest in Europe until it was destroyed by fires spawned by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

In 1633, John married Luisa de Guzmán, daughter of Spain’s duke of Medina-Sidonia. Their daughter, also named Catherine, was born in 1638 and married King Charles II of England in 1662. Hoping to make the Braganza family a firm supporter of the Habsburg rule of Portugal, the count-duke of Olivares, Spain’s prime minister, persuaded King Philip IV to give the duchy of Guimarães to the Braganzas as a wedding gift. Because he had thousands of people on his combined estates, John was the wealthiest nobleman in Portugal. His enhanced economic status reminded the nobility that the Braganzas had legitimate regnal claims. The duchy of Guimarães had belonged to King Manuel’s son Edward, the father of John’s grandmother. The Aviz Dynasty had come to an end when King Henry died in 1580. After examining the claims of seven candidates, the University of Coimbra concluded that Catherine, not Spain’s King Philip II, had the best claim to the throne. King Philip II’s bigger army trumped Catherine’s better claim, and the Portuguese Cortes crowned the invading Philip II of Spain as King Philip I of Portugal, thus uniting the Iberian Peninsula.

Life’s Work

Portugal, now a viceroyalty of Spain, suffered greatly during the Iberian Union. By contributing ships to the Spanish Armada (1588), Portugal participated in the attack against its longtime ally England. England responded by smuggling and raiding at will Portuguese overseas possessions. The Bourbon monarchy of France united with Protestant states in a series of wars called the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) to prevent the expansion of Habsburg Spain and the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. The Dutch, in a state of rebellion against Spain since the 1560’s, were attacking Portuguese colonies around the world. Portugal eventually lost to the Dutch the sugar-producing region of Brazil, Elmina and part of Angola in Africa, much of the Malabar and the Coromandel coastal possessions in India, and control of the Spice Islands. Attacks from English and Dutch ships drastically reduced Portuguese travel across the Indian Ocean to Macao and Formosa. The Netherlands was now situated as the “grocery provider of Europe.”

The loss of revenue combined with the wars to trigger an economic depression that provoked social unrest and widespread dissatisfaction with the increasingly Castilian character of Spain’s rule. Philip II had pledged to staff civil and military positions in the viceroyalty with Portuguese nationals. His two successors increasingly ignored that pledge and gradually but steadily filled vacancies with Spaniards. Hoping to capitalize on Portuguese troubles and weaken Spain, France sent, in 1638, a provocateur to encourage the nobility to rebel. Encouraged by a promise of French material support, forty dukes conspired to break from Spain and restore Portugal’s independence. They asked the duke of Braganza, regarded as the legitimate ruler of Portugal, to lead the rebellion. John demurred, but his wife, Luisa, the duchess of Braganza, wanted to be queen. For the next two years, she acted as a cutout between the conspiracy and its reluctant leader.

Apparently sensing that the discontent in Portugal could provoke rebellion, the count-duke of Olivares, the favorite of King Philip IV, tried to identify the duke of Braganza closely with the Spanish crown, or to discredit him with Portuguese nationalists. He appointed Olivares the Governor of the Arms of Portugal. He was to introduce himself in this new capacity to the viceroyalty while on an inspection tour of fortifications. Furthermore, he was to raise a personal army of one thousand men. Before this task was completed, the Catalonians rebelled against Spain in June of 1640. King Philip IV commanded his feudal lords and vassals to take up arms and suppress the rebellion. The Portuguese nobility were to report to their Governor of Arms and proceed to Spain as quickly as possible.

Rather than fight for Spain, John gave the conspirators permission to act on his behalf. On December 1, 1640, forces led by the conspirators overpowered the guards at the royal palace in Lisbon and arrested the viceroy. Simultaneously, conspirators seized or isolated all Spanish garrisons in Portugal. Before the day was over, conspirators and an approving population declared Portugal free of Spain and pledged their loyalty to the House of Braganza. The duke came to Lisbon and was crowned King John IV on December 15. Realizing that he could not remain king if Spain invaded, John sought recognition from the international community and alliances with Spain’s enemies. A treaty with England in 1642 renewed the old alliance but paid few dividends because of the English Civil War. The Dutch suspended an early treaty after Portuguese who were living in newly captured Dutch possessions celebrated John’s accession by rising in rebellion. Brazil and many of the African and Indian possessions eventually returned to the Portuguese fold. France quickly signed an offensive and defensive treaty but delivered little military assistance beyond vigorously supporting the Catalonian rebellion and pursuing its war against Spain.

Spain had few military resources to use to suppress the Portuguese rebellion. The most significant engagement took place near the Spanish town of Montijo in 1644, where a larger Spanish army was scattered with heavy losses. The victory gave heart to the Portuguese nation. Additional naval victories over the Spanish fleets in African waters combined with the Brazilian rebellion to strengthen Portuguese resolve to restore its independence.

Significance

When John died in Lisbon in 1656, Spain had yet to accept the loss of Portugal. His successors completed his diplomatic initiatives, resulting, finally, in Spain’s recognition of Portugal’s independence through the Treaty of Lisbon of 1668, ending the War of Restoration.

Although a reluctant rebel, John established and maintained a government that justified the confidence of the Portuguese nobility and population that were thrust upon him. His abandonment of a comfortable personal life to accept and endure the strains of challenging Spain has not been forgotten. December 1 is still a national holiday in Portugal, and John the Restorer’s musical compositions are being performed to appreciative audiences still.

Bibliography

Ames, Glenn Joseph. Renascent Empire? The House of Braganza and the Quest for Stability in Portuguese Monsoon Asia, c. 1640-1683. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2000. Based on extensive archival research, Ames describes Portugal’s imperial losses in Asia and the attempts of the Braganzas, largely after John, to recover their lucrative possessions in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

De Oliveira Marques, A. H. From Lusitania to Empire. Vol. 1 in History of Portugal. New York: Columbia University Press, 1972. This volume moves confidently through the complications of the court intrigues and dynastic rivalries of the Iberian kingdoms.

Livermore, H. V. A New History of Portugal. 2d ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1976. Livermore provides careful coverage of Portugal’s dynastic history.

Russell-Wood, A. J. R. A World on the Move: The Portuguese in Africa, Asia, and America, 1415-1808. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992. This work examines John’s efforts to recover and develop the Portuguese empire.

Ryan, Michael. “John IV of Portugal, King and Musician: An Anniversary Assessment.” Musical Times 145, no. 1887 (2004): 58-62. An interesting treatment of the education and enduring contributions of John in the field of music.