Spanish-Portuguese Wars
The Spanish-Portuguese Wars were a series of conflicts rooted in the dynastic struggle for control over Portugal following the death of King Sebastian in 1578. With no clear successor, King Philip II of Spain claimed the Portuguese throne due to his familial ties and sought to consolidate power over Portugal's vast empire. Philip's invasion in 1580 faced minimal resistance, leading to the swift capture of Lisbon and subsequent Portuguese territories.
Despite initial military successes, discontent grew in Portugal due to Spanish rule, particularly after the disastrous defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, which intensified anti-Spanish sentiment. Over time, resentment towards Spanish control boiled over, culminating in a rebellion led by João, duke of Bragança, in 1640. This uprising marked the reassertion of Portuguese independence, ultimately recognized by Spain in 1668.
A later conflict during the Seven Years' War saw Spain attempt to invade Portugal again in 1762, but this campaign ended in failure, solidifying Portugal's sovereignty. The wars and their aftermath significantly shaped the historical relationship between Spain and Portugal, as well as their respective empires.
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Spanish-Portuguese Wars
At issue: Independence of Portugal
Date: 1580–1762
Location: Portugal
Combatants: Portuguese vs. Spanish
Principal commanders:Portuguese, Don Antonio (1531–1594), João IV (1605–1656), Wilhelm von Schaumburg-Lippe (1724–1777); Spanish, Fernando álvarez de Toledo, duke of Alva (1507–1582)
Principal battles: Alcántara, Lisbon, Azores, Terceira, Spanish Armada, Corunna, Peniche, évora, Montija, Linhas de Elvas, Claros, Almeida
Result: Definitive and permanent independence of Portugal from Spain
Background
In 1578, King Sebastian of Portugal died, leaving no clear successor beyond his grand-uncle, the aged Cardinal Enrique, who himself died in 1580. As the son of a Portuguese princess, King Philip II of Spain was next in the line of dynastic succession and immediately began to bribe and cajole Portuguese nobles to support his claim. Hoping to gain control over Portugal’s massive empire, fleet, and harbors, Philip, even before Cardinal Enrique’s death, had begun marshaling his forces for entry into Portugal, gaining alliances with the Jesuits and prominent Portuguese aristocrats, who saw benefit in access to Spanish strength for their own ambitions. The Spanish king also promised to maintain much of Portuguese independence through a system of dual sovereignty and autonomous institutions for the two Iberian kingdoms.
Action
To assert his claim to the throne, in June, 1580, Philip invaded Portugal with a force of almost 40,000, commanded by Fernando álvarez de Toledo, duke of Alva. Alva faced only feeble opposition from the Portuguese pretender Don Antonio, an illegitimate member of the Portuguese royal family. With a small force of 8,000, Don Antonio unsuccessfully attempted to hold the bridge of Alcántara (August 25, 1580). After a skirmish, Alva outmaneuvered the Portuguese and seized Lisbon (August 26, 1580). Portuguese forces in the empire put up little resistance to the Spanish monarch, with only the Azores rallying to calls of resistance against the Spaniards. Don Antonio fought off the initial Spanish assault on the Azores (April, 1581); however, in a more significant battle in the Azores (July 26, 1582), Don Antonio and an allied French force of 7,000 were expelled from the main islands by a much smaller force of 2,000 Spaniards. The last island to hold out against Philip, Terceira (August, 1583) surrendered one year later. Defeated, Don Antonio fled to France.
Although the Spanish Armada fought for the Spanish against the English, its defeat (July-August, 1588) was also a defeat for Portugal, as the fleet had sailed from Lisbon, and the flagship—the San Martin—and many of the ships used by Spain were Portuguese galleons transferred to Philip’s flotilla. This failure increased anti-Spanish sentiments among the Portuguese who resented the waste of their ships and sailors, especially against their traditional English ally. Hoping to capitalize on these feelings, in 1589, Don Antonio returned to Portugal with a force of 20,000, mostly English soldiers. After plundering Corunna (April 24-May 8, 1589) and forcing a landing at Peniche (May 16, 1589) with little results, the English abandoned their Portuguese venture and returned to London with Don Antonio, who was disheartened by the response of his countrymen, who had been appalled at the prospect of Protestant Englishmen attempting to take Lisbon. Additionally, Philip II had made good on his promises to respect Portuguese institutions, and in general, his years as king of Portugal were well received in Portugal, which welcomed the reforms that accompanied rule from Madrid.
Later Spanish kings of Portugal did not follow Philip II’s model of ruling with a light touch, however. Although not technically incorporated into Spain, the Portuguese chafed at increasing exclusion from the Spanish Empire, Spanish micromanagement of Portugal, overseas colonial losses to the Dutch, and conscription and taxation during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). Portuguese resentments exploded at évora (1637) and in other Portuguese towns when Spanish tax collectors attempted to exact money to pay for Philip IV’s wars, but these riots were quickly put down and never posed a threat to the Spaniards.
Three years later, however, Portugal rebelled, led by João, duke of Bragança, crowned King João IV on December 6, 1640. Taking advantage of a parallel uprising in Catalonia, the Portuguese declared their independence from Spain. Strengthened in 1641 by an alliance with France and recognition by the British and Dutch, the Portuguese defeated the Spaniards at Montija (1644) and Linhas de Elvas (1659). The Portuguese and Spaniards fought sporadically for six more years, until Portugal won the Battle of Claros (1665). This period of conflict had exhausted Spain, and it was forced to recognize the independence of Portugal in February, 1668, with only the annexation of the small Moroccan enclave of Ceuta as consolation for its efforts.
In 1762, in the midst of the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) between France and England, Spain decided to enter the war on the side of the French and began pressuring Portugal to enter the war as a French ally, beginning by closing its ports to English ships. The Portuguese refused to do so and were bolstered in their defiance by promises of support from England. In response, Spain invaded Portugal with a force of 40,000 soldiers. At Almeida (August 25, 1762), 40,000 Spaniards and 8,000 French defeated 4,000 entrenched Portuguese, led by the German count Wilhelm von Schaumburg-Lippe. The Spaniards and French were unable to press their advantage, however, and the arrival of a British army and events on other fronts in the Anglo-French conflict saved Portugal from conquest.
Aftermath
On November 3, 1762, the Spaniards gave up their unsuccessful attempt to conquer Portugal and signed the Treaty of Fontainbleau, recognizing the independence of the Portuguese kingdom. Spain never again tried to subjugate or occupy Portugal.
Bibliography
Anderson, James M. The History of Portugal. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000.
Elliott, J. H. Imperial Spain, 1469–1716. New York: Penguin, 1990.
Hargreaves-Mawdsley, W. N. Eighteenth-century Spain: 1700–1788. Totowa, N.J.: Rowan & Littlefield, 1979.
Kamen, Henry. Philip of Spain. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997.
Parker, Geoffrey. The Grand Strategy of Philip II. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1998.
Thompson, I. A. A. War and Government in Habsburg Spain, 1560–1620. London: University of London Press, 1976.