(Lenor) to Pedro IV. of Aragon. The later years of his reign
were darkened by the tragedy of Inez de Castro (q.v.). He died
in 1357, and the first act of his successor, Pedro the Severe,
Pedro, was to take vengeance on the murderers of Inez.Pedro I.
1357–1367.
Throughout his reign he strengthened the central
government at the expense of the aristocracy and
the Church, by a stern enforcement of law and order. In 1361,
at the cortes of Elvas, it was enacted that the privileges of the
clergy should only be deemed valid in so far as they did not
conflict with the royal prerogative. Pedro maintained friendly
relations with England, where in 1352 Edward III. issued a
proclamation in favour of Portuguese traders, and in 1353 the
Portuguese envoy Affonso Martins Alho signed a covenant with
the merchants of London, guaranteeing mutual good faith in all
commercial dealings.
The foreign policy of Diniz, Alphonso IV. and Pedro I. had been, as a rule, successful in its main object, the preservation of peace with the Christian kingdoms of Spain; in consequence, the Portuguese had advanced in prosperity and culture. They had supported the monarchy because it was a national institution, hostile to the tyranny of nobles and clergy. During the reign of Ferdinand (1367–1383) and under the regency of Leonora the ruling dynasty ceased to represent the national will; the Portuguese people therefore made an end of the dynasty and chose its own ruler. The complex events which brought about this crisis may be briefly summarized.
Ferdinand, a weak but ambitious and unscrupulous king, claimed the thrones of Castile and Leon, left vacant by the Ferdinand death of Pedro I. of Castile (1369); he based his claim on the fact that his grandmother Beatrice belonged to the legitimate line of Castile. WhenFerdinand and Leonora, 1367–1385. the majority of the Castilian nobles refused to accept a Portuguese sovereign, and welcomed Henry of Trastamara (see Spain History), as Henry II. of Castile, Ferdinand allied himself with the Moors and Aragonese; but in 1371 Pope Gregory XI. intervened, and it was decided that Ferdinand should renounce his claim and marry Leonora, the daughter of his successful rival. Ferdinand, however, preferred his Portuguese mistress, Leonora Telles de Menezes, whom he eventually married. To avenge this slight, Henry of Castile invaded Portugal and besieged Lisbon. Ferdinand appealed to John of Gaunt, who also claimed the throne of Castile, on behalf of his wife Constance, daughter of Pedro I. of Castile. An alliance between Portugal and England was concluded; and although Ferdinand made peace with Castile in 1374, he renewed his claim in 1380, after the death of Henry of Castile, and sent João Fernandes Andeiro, count of Ourem, to secure English aid. In 1381 Richard II. of England dispatched a powerful force to Lisbon, and betrothed his cousin Prince Edward to Beatrice, only child of Ferdinand, who had been recognized as heiress to the throne by the cortes of Leiria (1376). In 1383, however, Ferdinand made peace with John I. of Castile at Salvaterra, deserting his English allies, who retaliated by ravaging part of his territory. By the treaty of Salvaterra it was agreed that Beatrice should marry John I. Six months later Ferdinand died, and in accordance with the terms of the treaty Leonora became regent until, the eldest son of John I. and Beatrice should be of age.
Leonora had long carried on an intrigue with the count of Ourem, whose influence was resented by the leaders of the The aristocracy, while her tyrannical rule also aroused bitter opposition. The malcontents chose D. John, grand-master of the knights of Aviz and illegitimateThe Rebellion of 1383. son of Pedro the Severe, as their leader, organized a. revolt in Lisbon, and assassinated the count of Ourem within the royal palace (Dec. 6, 1383). Leonora fled to Santarem and summoned aid from Castile, while D. John was proclaimed defender of Portugal. In 1384 a Castilian army invested Lisbon, but encountered a heroic resistance, and after five months an outbreak of plague compelled them to raise the siege. John I. of Castile, discovering or alleging that Leonora had plotted to poison him, imprisoned her in a convent at Tordesillas, where she died in 1386. Before this, Nuno Alvares Pereira, constable of Portugal, had gained his popular title of “The Holy Constable” by twice defeating the invaders, at Atoleiro and Trancoso in the district of Guarda.
On the 16th of April 1385 the cortes assembled at Coimbra declared the crown of Portugal elective, and at the instance of João das Regras, the chancellor, D. John was chosen king. No event in the early constitutional history of Portugal is more important than thisCortes of Coimbra. election, which definitely affirmed the national character of the monarchy. The choice of the grand-master of Aviz ratified the old alliance between the Crown and the military orders; his election by the whole cortes not only ratified the alliance between the Crown and the commons, but also included. the nobles and the Church. The nation was unanimous.
Ferdinand had been the last legitimate descendant of Count
Henry of Burgundy. With John I. began the rule of a new
dynasty, the House of Aviz. The most urgent John I
matter which confronted the king—or the group
of statesmen, led by João das Regras and theJohn I.
1385–1433.
“Holy Constable” who inspired his policy—was the menace of
Castilian aggression. But on the 14th of August 1385 the Portuguese
army, aided by 500 English archers, utterly defeated
the Castilians at Aljubarrota. By this victory the Portuguese
showed themselves equal in military power to their strongest
rivals in the Peninsula. In October the “Holy Constable”
won another victory at Valverde; early in 1386 5000 English
soldiers, under John of Gaunt, reinforced the Portuguese; and
by the treaty of Windsor (May 9, 1386), the alliance between
Portugal and England was confirmed and extended. Against
such a. combination the Castilians were powerless; a truce
was arranged in 1387 and renewed at intervals until 1411,
when peace was concluded. D. Diniz, eldest son of Inez de
Castro, claimed the throne and invaded Portugal in 1398,
but his supporters were easily crushed. The domestic and
foreign policy pursued by John I. until his death in 1433 may
be briefly described. At home he endeavoured to reform
administration, to encourage agriculture and commerce, and
to secure the loyalty of the nobles by grants of land and
privileges so extensive that, towards the end of his reign, many
nobles who exercised their full feudal rights had become
almost independent princes. Abroad, he aimed at peace with
Castile and close friendship with England. In 1387 he had
married Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt;
Richard II. sent troops to aid in the expulsion of D. Diniz;
Henry IV., Henry V. and Henry VI. of England successively
ratified the treaty of Windsor; Henry IV. made his ally a knight
of the Garter in 1400. The convent of Batalha (q.v.), founded
to commemorate the victory of Aljubarrota, is architecturally
a monument of the English influence prevalent at this time
throughout Portugal.
The cortes of Coimbra, the battle of Aljubarrota and the treaty of Windsor mark the three final stages in the consolidation of the monarchy. A period of expansion oversea began in the same reign, with the capture of Ceuta in Morocco. The three eldest sons of King John and Queen Philippa—Edward, Pedro and Henry, afterwards celebrated as Prince Henry the Navigator—desired to win knighthood by service against the Moors, the historic enemies of their country and creed. In 1415 a Portuguese fleet, commanded by the king and the three princes, set sail for Ceuta. English men-at-arms were sent by Henry V. to take part in the expedition, which proved successful. The town was captured and garrisoned, and thus the first Portuguese outpost was established on the mainland of Africa.
3. The Period of Discoveries: 1415–1499.—Before describing in outline the course of the discoveries which were soon to render Portugal the foremost colonizing power in Europe it is necessary to indicate the main causes which contributed to that result. As the south-westermnost of the free peoples of Europe, the Portuguese were the natural inheritors of that work of exploration which had been carried on during the middle ages.
