| Afonso VI | |
|---|---|
 Portrait, 17th century | |
| King of Portugal | |
| Reign | 6 November 1656 – 12 September 1683 |
| Acclamation | 15 November 1657 |
| Predecessor | John IV |
| Successor | Peter II |
| Regents | Luisa de Guzmán (1656–1662) Peter, Duke of Beja (1668–1683) |
| Chief minister | Count of Castelo Melhor (1662–1667) |
| Born | 21 August 1643 Ribeira Palace,Lisbon, Portugal |
| Died | 12 September 1683 (aged 40) Sintra Palace,Sintra, Portugal |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| House | Braganza |
| Father | John IV of Portugal |
| Mother | Luisa de Guzmán |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
DomAfonso VI (Portuguese pronunciation:[ɐˈfõsu]; 21 August 1643 – 12 September 1683), known as "the Victorious" (o Vitorioso), was the secondking of Portugal of theHouse of Braganza from 1656 until his death.[1] He was initially under the regency of his mother,Luisa de Guzmán, until 1662, when he removed her to a convent and took power with the help of hisfavourite, D.Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor.[2]
Afonso's reign saw the end of theRestoration War (1640–68) and Spain's recognition of Portugal's independence.[3] He also negotiated a French alliance through his marriage.[4] In 1668, his brotherPedro II conspired to have him declared incapable of ruling, and took supremede facto power asregent, although nominally Afonso was still sovereign.[5] QueenMaria Francisca, Afonso's wife, received an annulment and subsequently married Pedro.[6] Afonso spent the rest of his life and reign practically a prisoner.[5][7][8]
Afonso was the second of three sons born toKing John IV andQueen Luisa.[9] At the age of three, he experienced an illness that resulted in paralysis on the right side of his body.[10][11] The condition was believed to have also affected his intellectual abilities.[10][12] His father created him 10thDuke of Braganza.[13]
After the death of his eldest brotherTeodósio, Prince of Brazil in 1653, Afonso became theheir apparent to the throne of the kingdom.[10] He also received the crown-princely title 2ndPrince of Brazil.
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He succeeded his father,John IV, in 1656 at the age of thirteen.[11] His mother,Luisa de Guzmán, was named regent in his father's will.[11][14]
Luisa's regency continued even after Afonso came of age because he was considered mentally unfit for governing.[15][16] In addition to lacking intellect, the king exhibited wild and disruptive behavior.[11][10] In 1662, after Afonso terrorized Lisbon at night alongside his favorites,[17][18] Luisa and her council responded by banishing some of the king's companions that were associated with the raids.[18] Angered, Afonso took power with the help ofCastelo Melhor and Luisa's regency came to an end.[19][20][21] She subsequently retired to a convent,[22][14] where she died in 1666.[23]
Afonso appointed Castelo Melhor as his private secretary (escrivão da puridade).[24][19] He proved to be a competent minister.[20] His astute military organization and sensible general appointments resulted in decisive military victories over the Spanish[25] atElvas (14 January 1659),Ameixial (8 June 1663) andMontes Claros (17 June 1665),[26][27] culminating in the final Spanish recognition of sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, theHouse of Braganza,[28][29] on 13 February 1668 in theTreaty of Lisbon.[30][31]
Colonial affairs saw theDutch conquest ofJaffna, Portugal's last colony inPortuguese Ceylon (1658),[32] and the cession ofBombay andTangier to England (23 June 1661) asdowry for Afonso's sister, InfantaCatherine of Braganza, who had married KingCharles II of England.[33][34]
Melhor successfully arranged for Afonso to marryMaria Francisca of Savoy,[35] a relative of theDuke of Savoy, in 1666,[36] but the marriage was short-lived. Maria Francisca filed for anannulment in 1667 based on the impotence of the king.[37][38] The church granted her the annulment, and she married Afonso's brother, Peter II,Duke of Beja.[6][39]
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Also in 1667, Pedro managed to gain enough support to force Afonso to relinquish control of the government to him,[38] and he becameprince regent in 1668.[37][6][36] While Pedro never formally usurped the throne, Afonso was king in name only for the rest of his life.[40][41] For seven years after Peter'scoup, Afonso was kept on the island ofTerceira[42] in theAzores.[29][43] His health broken by this captivity, he was eventually permitted to return to the Portuguese mainland, but he remained powerless and kept under guard. AtSintra he died in 1683.[42][44][45]
The room where he was imprisoned is preserved atSintra National Palace.
| Ancestors of Afonso VI of Portugal |
|---|
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Afonso VI of Portugal Cadet branch of theHouse of Aviz Born: 21 August 1643 Died: 12 September 1683 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Portugal and theAlgarves 1656–1683 | Succeeded by |
| House of Burgundy (1139–1383) | _-_Lesser.png) | |
|---|---|---|
| House of Aviz (1385–1580) | ||
| House of Habsburg (1581–1640) | ||
| House of Braganza (1640–1910) | ||
Debatable or disputed rulers are initalics. | ||
