The Rise and Fall of the Spanish Empire by Maltby William S

Author:Maltby, William S. [Maltby, William S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2016-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

THE ANNEXATION OF PORTUGAL

As Farnese took command of the army of Flanders, Philip II, his finances and confidence restored, began to plan for the annexation of Portugal and its worldwide empire. The opportunity to reunite the Iberian kingdoms arose from the folly of the Portuguese king, Dom Sebastian. Sebastian, unmarried and only 23 years of age, was Philip’s nephew, the son of his sister Juana and the Infante John of Portugal who had predeceased his father John III (d.1557). Sebastian decided to launch a crusade against the Moors, and invaded Morocco against Philip’s advice in June, 1578. At the Battle of the Three Kings, fought on August 13 near Alcázarquivir, the Moroccans killed Sebastian and destroyed his entire army, including much of the Portuguese nobility. Sebastian’s successor was his celibate, 66-year-old great-uncle, Cardinal Henry. As the oldest male grandson of Emmanuel the Fortunate, Philip II believed that he was next in line for the throne and regarded the addition of Portugal to his empire as a legitimate defense of his dynastic rights. The other plausible candidates were Catherine of Braganza, daughter of the deceased infante, Duarte, and Antonio, Prior of Crato, the illegitimate son of Duarte’s brother, Luis, who was also deceased.

Philip used the Portuguese-born diplomat Cristóbal de Moura to lay the groundwork for his succession, but when the Prior of Crato, who enjoyed a measure of popular support, seized Lisbon, it became necessary to occupy the country by force. The Duke of Alba, now 72, commanded the king’s forces by land. The Duke of Medina Sidonia launched a second front in the Algarve, while a fleet commanded by Alvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz, supported both from the sea. The Spanish forces behaved with discretion, and Alba in particular showed that, when heresy was not an issue, he had retained his skills as a diplomat. The Portuguese, whose army had perished in Africa, could offer only minor resistance, and in April, 1581, the Cortes of Tomar acknowledged Philip II as Philip I of Portugal. It remained only to secure the Azores. To weaken Spain by keeping the revolt alive, Catherine de Medici, Queen Mother of France, financed an expedition to install the Prior of Crato in the islands. Santa Cruz destroyed the French fleet in July, 1582, and in 1583 captured Terceira, the last stronghold of resistance. The Azores, an important mid-Atlantic base and place of refuge for the treasure fleets was now under Spanish control as well.

Philip’s policy in Portugal followed the model established in Italy. He promised to uphold existing liberties and privileges, and decreed that the Portuguese would continue to administer the realm and its overseas empire according to their own institutions. When he returned to Spain in February, 1583, he established a Council of Portugal, and named Archduke Albert of Austria as viceroy. Albert was the brother of Philip’s fourth and last queen, Ana of Austria, who died in 1580 after bearing him four children. Philip treated Albert as a son, and would entrust him with even greater responsibilities throughout the reign.

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