Portuguese Restoration War

This period of sporadic conflict was simply known, in Portugal and elsewhere, as the Acclamation War. The war established the House of Braganza as Portugal’s new ruling dynasty, replacing the House of Habsburg. This ended the so-called Iberian Union.

John II, Duke of Braganza 

Waged the Restoration War, and was acclaimed King John IV. (SL fight for the crown) 

We hope to release the third book in the series  “Winds of Change.”

“Destiny” by Lindy Evans and Remy Beaumont.  

 

 

 

When Philip II of Portugal (Philip III of Spain) died, he was succeeded by his son Philip III, had a different approach to Portuguese issues. Taxes on the Portuguese merchants were raised, the Portuguese nobility began to lose its influence at the Spanish Cortes, and government posts in Portugal were increasingly occupied by Spaniards. Ultimately, Philip III tried to make Portugal a Spanish province, and Portuguese nobles stood to lose all of their power.

This situation culminated in a revolution organized by the nobility and bourgeoisie, executed on 1 December 1640, sixty years after the crowning of Philip I (Philip II of Spain), the first “dual monarchy”. The plot was planned by Antão Vaz de Almada, Miguel de Almeida, and João Pinto Ribeiro. They, together with several associates, known as the Forty Conspirators, killed the Secretary of State, Miguel de Vasconcelos, and imprisoned the king’s cousin, Margaret of Savoy, who had been governing Portugal in his name. The moment was well chosen; Philip’s troops were, at the time, fighting the Thirty Years’ Warand also facing a revolution in Catalonia which became known as the Reapers’ War.

One of our earliest SL’s featured the Catalonia revolt (Reapers War), we took a certain poetic licence with John and Aurore in Catalonia fighting against the Spanish forces to undermine Spain’s control over the region.  

Where was he going to get the weapons required for that? All he could do was write letter after letter, knowing full well that they would be glanced at and ignored. Oh, politely, of course. He was always granted the respect due to his status, but little else.

His thoughts drifted to earlier times, happier times when his words actually meant something. When his actions had an effect. The corners of his mouth twitched into a smile, remembering a time when his words and actions definitely had an effect, judging from the smiles that had graced her face, the way her dark lashes had fluttered, the way her pale skin had flushed. They had been happy times, even though they were fraught with danger, for both parties. Yet, they had both lived for the thrill, snatching private moments where possible, each knowing exactly what they were doing and what might happen if it all went wrong.

The smile slipped from his face. And it had all gone wrong. He’d been forced to leave, rather more hurriedly than he’d hoped, to try and protect her from his own enemies. They were men she definitely didn’t need to meet, under any circumstances. He never even had the time to write her a farewell note. He’d prayed that she’d realised why he’d had to leave so suddenly, and hadn’t thought too badly of him. He knew, from reliable if not reputable sources, that she had indeed made her own retreat successfully and without lasting harm. Still, that was no more than he’d expected. After all, her uncle had been the Captain of the King’s Musketeers and was now one of the King’s most trusted confidants. The instinct to survive was in her bloodline. He shook his head and dropped the letter onto the pile of outgoing papers, wondering if the rumours were right. Was she really heading to Portugal? It would be a huge risk on her part if it was true. Still, if she requested an audience, it would only be polite to grant the request. He would, of course, have to ensure she was unarmed first. His eyes twinkled briefly thinking about the possibilities. Maybe it would be a good idea to keep  watchful eye on the ships due into Porto, just in case

The support of the people became apparent almost immediately, and, within a matter of hours, Philip III’s 6th cousin John, 8th Duke of Braganza was acclaimed as King John IV of Portugal; the news spread like wildfire throughout the country. By 2 December 1640, the day following the coup, John IV, acting in his capacity as sovereign of the country, had already sent a letter to the Municipal Chamber of Évora.

The ensuing conflict with Spain brought Portugal into the Thirty Years’ War as, at least, a peripheral player. From 1641 to 1668, the period during which the two nations were at war, Spain sought to isolate Portugal militarily and diplomatically, and Portugal tried to find the resources to maintain its independence through political alliances and maintenance of its colonial income. Immediately after assuming the Portuguese throne, João IV (John, 8th Duke of Braganza) took several steps to strengthen his position. On 11 December 1640, a ‘Council of War’ was created to organize all of the operations. Next, the king created the ‘Junta of the Frontiers’ to take care of the fortresses near the border, the hypothetical defence of Lisbon, and the garrisons and seaports.

A year later, in December 1641, he created a tenancy to assure that all of the country’s fortresses would be upgraded and that the improvements would be financed with regional taxes. João IV (John, 8th Duke of Braganza) also organized the army, re-established the ‘Military Laws of King Sebastian‘, and undertook a diplomatic campaign focused on restoring good relations with England.

Relations between France and Spain

In 1640, Cardinal Richelieu, the chief adviser to Louis XIII of France, was fully aware of the fact that France was operating under strained circumstances. Louis was at war with Spain at that time; he had to control rebellions within France that were supported and financed by Madrid, and he had to send French armies to fight the Spanish Habsburgs on three different fronts. In addition to their shared frontier at the Pyrenees, Philip IV of Spain, formerly Philip III of Portugal as well, reigned, under various titles, in Flanders and the Franche-Comté, to the north and east of France. In addition, Philip IV controlled large territories in Italy, where he could, at will, impose a fourth front by attacking French-controlled Savoy. (In Savoy, Christine Marie of France was acting as regent on behalf of her young son, Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy.)

Spain had enjoyed the reputation of having the most formidable military force in Europe, with the introduction of the arquebus and the so-called “Spanish School”. This reputation and tactic had however diminished with the Thirty Years’ War. Nevertheless, the consummate statesman, Richelieu, decided to force Philip IV to look to his own internal problems. In order to divert the Spanish troops besieging France, Louis XIII, on the advice of Richelieu, supported the claim of (John, 8th Duke of Braganza) João IV of Portugal during the Acclamation War. This was done on the reasoning that a Portuguese war would drain Spanish resources and manpower.

Relations between Portugal and France

To fulfil the common foreign-policy interests of Portugal and France, a treaty of alliance between the two countries was concluded at Paris on 1 June 1641. It lasted eighteen years before Richelieu’s successor as unofficial foreign minister, Cardinal Mazarin, broke the treaty and abandoned his Portuguese and Catalan allies to sign a separate peace with Madrid. The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed in 1659, under the terms of which France received the portion of Catalonia north of the Pyrenees, known as the Roussillon, and part of the Cerdanya (French Cerdagne). Most important to the Portuguese, the French recognised Philip IV of Spain as the legitimate king of Portugal.

Seven years later, in the late stages of the Portuguese Restoration War, relations between the two countries thawed to the extent that the young (but sickly) Afonso VI of Portugal married a French princess, Marie Françoise of Nemours.

Relations between Portugal and England

England was, at this time, embroiled in its own civil war. Portuguese problems in dealing with England arose from the fact that the English Parliament fought and won its anti-royalist war while, at the same time, Portugal’s royal court continued to receive and recognize English princes and nobles. These strained relations persisted during the short-lived Commonwealth period when the republican government that had deposed Charles I ruled England and then Ireland and Scotland.

After the restoration of the Stuart dynasty, it became possible for Portugal to compensate for the lack of French support by renewing its alliance with England. This took the form of a dynastic marriage between Charles II and Afonso VI‘s ( Alexandre in our SL) sister, Catherine of Braganza , (Catherine a baby in our SL) which assured Portugal of outside support in its conflict with Spain. The English alliance helped peace with Spain, since Spain had been drained by the Thirty Years’ War, and it had no stomach for further warfare with other European powers, especially a resurgent England.

War

Militarily, the Portuguese Restoration War consisted mainly of border skirmishes and cavalry raids to sack border towns, combined with occasional invasions and counter-invasions, many of them half-hearted and under-financed. There were only five major set-piece battles during the twenty-eight years of hostilities.

The war may be considered to have had three periods:

• first, an early stage (1640–1646) when a few major engagements demonstrated that the Portuguese could not be easily returned to submission to the Spanish Habsburgs;
• second, a long period (1646–1660) of military standoffs, characterized by small-scale raiding, while Spain concentrated on its military commitments elsewhere in Europe;
• third, a final period (1660–1668) during which the Spanish king, Philip IV, unsuccessfully sought a decisive victory that would bring an end to hostilities.

First stage: battles

Hoping for a quick victory in Portugal, Spain immediately committed seven regiments to the Portuguese frontier, but delays by the Count of Monterrey, a commander with more interest in the comforts of life at camp than the battlefield, squandered any immediate advantage. A Portuguese counter-thrust in late 1641 failed, and the conflict soon settled into a stalemate.

Battle of Montijo

On 26 May 1644, a large column of Spanish troops and mercenaries, commanded by the Neapolitan marquis of Torrecusa, was stopped at the Battle of Montijo by the Portuguese, who were led by the Matias de Albuquerque, one of a number of experienced Portuguese colonial officers who rose to prominence during the war.

First siege of Elvas

Shortly thereafter, in November 1644, Torrecusa crossed from Badajoz, in a rare winter campaign, to attack the Portuguese town of Elvas, which he besieged for nine days. He suffered heavy losses and was forced back across the border.

The war now took on a peculiar character. It became a frontier confrontation, often between local forces, neighbours who knew each other well, but this familiarity did not moderate the destructive and blood-thirsty impulses of either side. The wanton nature of the combat was often exacerbated by the use of mercenaries and foreign conscripts; incidents of singular cruelty were reported on both sides. The Portuguese settled old animosities that had festered during sixty years of Spanish domination, and the Spanish often took the view that their opponents were disloyal and rebellious subjects, not an opposing army entitled to respectful treatment under the rules of combat.

Attrition and corruption

Spain, at first, made the war a defensive one. Portugal, for its part, felt no need to take Spanish territory in order to win, and it too was willing to make the war a defensive contest. Campaigns typically consisted of correrias (cavalry raids) to burn fields, sack towns, and steal large herds of enemy cattle and sheep. Soldiers and officers, many of them mercenaries, were primarily interested in booty and prone to desertion. For long periods, without men or money, neither side mounted formal campaigns, and when actions were taken, they were often driven as much by political considerations, such as Portugal’s need to impress potential allies, as by clear military objectives. Year after year, given the problems of campaigning in the winter, and the heat and dry conditions of summer, most of the serious fighting was confined to two relatively short “campaign seasons” in the spring and fall.

The war settled into a pattern of mutual destruction. As early as December 1641, it was common to hear Spaniards throughout the country lament that “Extremadura is finished.” Tax collectors, recruiting officers, billeted soldiers, and depredations by Spanish and foreign troops were loathed and feared by the Spanish population as much as raids by the enemy.

By 1662, Spain had committed itself to a major effort to end the war. John of Austria the Younger, Philip IV’s illegitimate son, led 14,000 men into Alentejo, and, the following year, they succeeded in taking Évora, the major city of the region.

The Portuguese, under António Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquess of Marialva were bolstered by the arrival of a British brigade which numbered 3,000 in August 1662. Many were veterans of the English Civil War and the Dutch Revolt.^[4] They were led by the German soldier of fortune, Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, Count of Mértola, The brigade under Schomberg’s leadership, proved a decisive factor in winning back Portugal’s independence.

They defeated the Spanish in a major engagement at Ameixial on 8 June 1663, and this forced John of Austria to abandon Évora and retreat across the border with heavy losses.

The Palace at Pena, one of our main sites used in our storylines. 

Birth, Death & War

The Braganza's

John IV nicknamed John the Restorer, was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasted from 1640 until his death.

As John Duke of Braganza he claimed the throne in the Portuguese "restoration" of independence from Spanish rule. His accession established the house of Braganza on the Portuguese throne, and marked the end of the 60-year-old Iberian Union, by which Portugal and Spain shared the same monarch.

Before becoming king, he was John II, 8th Duke of Braganza. He was the grandson of Catherine, Duchess of Braganza, a claimant to the crown during the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580.

Aurore Braganza was a queen consort of Portugal. She was the spouse of King John IV, the first Braganza ruler, as well as the mother of Alexander and Catherine.

Daughter of a basque nobleman and niece of Capataine Troiseville she served France in the capacity of a spy, recruited by Cardinal Richelieu. She met John on a mission to Bilbao aiding the revolt over the salt taxes.

The castle was constructed during the 8th and 9th centuries, during the period of Muslim Iberia, as the central place in a territory that was primarily agricultural, and which was necessary to protect its population.

Captain Amaliur Personal body guard to the Queen.

Captain Pedro, Commander in charge of the royal guard.

Captain Amaliur, The queens protector
And the Captain of the castle guard.

In 1031, after the loss of Córdoba to the Almoravid dynasty, the king of Badajoz opted to transfer to Alfonso VI of León and Castile a few territories on the Iberian peninsula (among them Sintra) in order to gain an alliance with the Christian king.This transfer did not result in any security, and the castle was lost to the invading Almoravid.

Royal guard stationed at the Moors garrison

After the conquest of Lisbon (1147) by forces loyal to Afonso Henriques, the castle surrendered voluntarily to Christian forces. Afonso Henriques entrusted the castle's security to 30 inhabitants, granting them privileges in the foral (charter) signed by the monarch in 1154. The charter suggested that settlers should occupy and inhabit the castle, as a mechanism for guaranteeing the region's security and development.

During the second half of the 12th century, the chapel constructed within the walls of the castle became the parish seat. This was followed by the remodelling and construction under the initiative of King Sancho I of Portugal.

In 1375 King Ferdinand I of Portugal, under the counsel of João Annes de Almada, ordered the rebuilding of the castle. While the structure was well fortified by 1383.

Father Ryan's Retreat.

Tucked into the hills of Sintra, away from worldly delights and distractions, the Franciscan monks built one of the purest monasteries.

Flowing with the contours of the landscape and using only the surrounding materials, they created stone and cork structures with subtle dashes of embellishment, like seashell and broken tile mosaics.

Cruz Alta
529 metres above sea level, this stone cross is situated at the highest point of the Sintra hills. It has been placed at the spot where King João III (John) had already ordered the building of a cross in the 16th century.

Pena monetary

The castle's history started in the Middle Ages when a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena was built on the top of the hill above Sintra. According to tradition, construction occurred after an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

The entrance

The palace seen from above
In 1493, King John II, accompanied by his wife Queen Leonor, made a pilgrimage to the site to fulfil a vow. His successor, King Manuel I, was also very fond of this sanctuary, and ordered the construction of a monastery on this site which was donated to the Order of Saint Jerome. For centuries Pena was a small, quiet place for meditation, housing a maximum of eighteen monks.

A pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages, the chapel of Our Lady of Pena was replaced by a Hieronymite monastery whose foundation was authorised in 1503 by King Manuel I (1469-1521), the monarch during the great Portuguese discoveries.

In 1503 the Royal Monastery, funded by Manuel I, was built the site. The monastery was home to the Order of Saint Jerome. The original niche from the monastery was remarkably preserved and can be seen decorated with shells, stones and porcelain pieces.

The Stables

Not only used to stable mounts for the royal family and their mounted escorts but also to house horses for the farm and woods. The forest provided good hunting for deer and the rivers provided a selection of fresh water fish for the royal table.

0. Entrance ground floor
1. Cloisters
2. Private Dining Room
3. Private office of King John
4. Chapel of Saint Jerónimo

Second floor
5. Chapel
6. Sacristy
7. Lady’s First Room
8. Lady’s Second Room
9. Queen’s Aurore's bedroom
10.Queen’s Toilette
11. Nursery Room
12. Lady in waiting room
13. Royal Family’s Private Living Room
14. Queen’s Office
15. Arabian Room
16. Green Room
17. Atrium of access to the Queen’s terrace
18. First Room of Passage
19. Second Room of Passage
20. Indian Room
21. Reception Room
22. Nobel Room
23. Private chambers of King John

(0) Enter the palace through the 16th Century Cloister. A route reserved for the Royal family as their private apartments were located around such Cloister. The gallery arches were once closed with windows and was used by the Royal family as interior walkways between their different rooms.

(1)

The old 16th-century monastery was organised around a small cloister, the walls of which were lined with Hispano-Moorish tiles. After the adaptation of the palace building, the cloister was closed with windows and began to function as the central hub of circulation and distribution within the palace itself since been removed. On the lower floor are the Royal Family’s Dining-Room and the Scullery, as well as King John's apartments. Queen Aurore's apartments were located on the upper floor.

(2) The former refectory of the Hieronymite monks was adapted to form the Royal Family’s private dining-room and is preceded by the scullery.
The room has a vaulted ceiling with Manueline ribbing from the 16th century

(3) The Kings study

Room of the Chapter during the time of the convent Jeronimita. The designation of cabinet sometimes refers to a simple living space, but it is likely that its use would be quite diverse.
At the time of King Jaoa iv (john), the Cabinet had support furniture, chairs, armchairs, paper holders and some writing material.

(4) The chapel of the old monastery of Our Lady of Pena still retains its original shape and layout from the 16th century. The small nave has a Gothic vaulted ceiling and 16th-century tiles. Particularly impressive features are the altarpiece made by the Frenchman Nicolau de Chanterene (1529-1532)

Sacristy
An area for preparing for religious ceremonies, adjoining the old church, with a washstand and two towel racks (for before and after the service) and a large chest of drawers for storage of the paraments.

Main Altar

A work in alabaster and black marble carried out between 1529 and 1532 by the French sculptor Nicolau de Chanterene (ca. 1470-1551).
The Roman triumphal arch structure contains scenes from the New Testament: the Nativity, the Annunciation, Presentation at the Temple, the Adoration of the Magi and the Flight to Egypt. Only the central niche is given over to the death and the resurrection of Christ.

A provincial - the authority figure the monks were obliged to obey - presided over the order, whose headquarters in Portugal were initially at the Penha Longa monastery before moving to Belém. During the Spanish occupation (1580-1640), the Portuguese monasteries forfeited their independence; they regained it with the restoration of the Portuguese monarchy in 1640.The Hieronymite monks chose a white habit, over which they wore a brown scapulary.

The main chapel, below, which extends laterally in order to fit in 22 places to seat the monks, is covered by a complex vaulted arch with Manueline nervures and 17th century polychrome tiles.

(5) Founded in the 14th century by King Dinis, the palace's medieval Palatine Chapel is distinguished by a carved oak and chestnut ceiling of elaborate radial and star compositions characteristic of Moorish art. The unbroken symmetry of the latticework is stunning and rich in detail. Likewise, the paved ceramic floor is also composed of Moorish-style geometric design, though this was probably set later during the reign of King Afonso V. From the chapel's upper tribune, visitors can gaze up and down at this twin decorative feast - among the oldest examples of Mudéjar work in Portugal. The lofty perch also affords fine views of the 15th-century wall frescoes that feature an endless flock of white doves, each with an olive branch in its beak and symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

(7) Miguel Pedrosa room

Soldier, warrior and the Marquis of Ferreira. First Minister and Personal aide to King John.

(8) Aimee Maid Quarters.

Châtelaine to the house of Braganza, a diplomat I am not...my the lord save me and give me strength to manage the royal household.

(9) Queen Aurore lives on the more stately floor of the Palace of Pena. Just like King John, the Queen kept the members of her retinue close to her, such as the Huntsman (secretary) and one or two Ladies-in Waiting. The cloister’s galleries, which at the time were closed in with metal-framed windows, allowed people to circulate outside their private apartments.
If you pay attention during your visit, you will notice that there is only one Royal bedroom in this part of the Palace. King John shares this room with his wife. Something very unusual at that time!

(10) Royal apartment portable bidet. You will often find bidet in France, but I had never seen a portable one and especially not one covered with velvet!

(11) Catina Newly appointed Nanny to the little prince Alexander.

My heart belongs to only @_TiagoDelgado @teamVPortugal

Lady Adriana's room
The lady in waiting.

(12) Lady Adriana's room
The lady in waiting.

(13) Royal family sitting rooms. Second Floor of the cloisters.

(11) Queens Study.

(15) Used as a bedchamber by King João I in the 14th century, the Arab Room is wrapped in a swathe of azulejo tiles of intriguing parallel-piped patterns that lend the salon a dynamic, three-dimensional quality. The room was once supplied with water that trickled from the fountain sunk in the center of the floor. Consisting of a white marble basin, the water gurgled from the gilded bronze stem sculpted as Neptune, with swans and mermaids surrounding him and an artichoke at the top - all typical of the decorative motifs favoured by King Manuel I who added the fountain in the early 16th-century. This is one of the most intimate spaces in the palace and best appreciated in silence.

(16) The green room. The Queens morning room where Aurore receives guest.

The Queens Terrace

(18) Two rooms had been used as the abbot’s suite when the building was used as a monastery. When the palace was adapted, the suite was transformed into a communicating space between the structure of the old religious building and the rooms of the palace.

(19) Second right of passage.

Entrance to the Indian room

The great Hall
(Noble Room)

The main reception room for visitors.

King John uses the former Chapter House of the Manueline monastery for his apartments, as well as some adjacent compartments that had been used as the servants’ quarters in the time of his grandfather, John thus stayed in more modest apartments, leaving the more stately rooms on the upper floor for the use of his wife, Queen Aurore. The king’s apartments include the bedchambers of the King’s Chamberlain and Valet, both of whom closely accompanied the king in his day-to-day affairs.

This was the largest of the various rooms that existed at the palace, and it was intended to be used to prepare the banquets to be held in the Stag Room. An oven can be seen in the corner at the far end. The palace’s original copper utensils are marked with the letters PP

This is the palace’s banqueting hall, originally designed as a Knights’ Room. Old weapons were supposed to be exhibited on the walls and the windows were intended to contain stained-glass panes with heraldic motifs. The central column was to have been a reproduction of a tree, around which the stags’ heads would be placed.
The decoration of the space was never actually realised, but the round table around which the guests would have sat for banquets is still kept in reserve.