Aljubarrota, and Portugal and its great king became renowned throughout
Europe. During this period, a new generation grew up, the sons of the
men of Aljubarrota and Trancoso, and the young nobility burned to prove
themselves worthy sons of their brave fathers. In their aspirations they
were headed by the princes of Portugal. The union of the old royal
family of Portugal as represented by King John, with the blood of the
English Plantagenets in the person of his queen, Philippa of Lancaster,
produced the five famous princes, whose names stand out conspicuously in
the history of the fifteenth century. The three elder sons of John and
Philippa, Dom Duarte or Edward, Dom Pedro, and Dom Henry, were in 1414
respectively 23, 22, and 20 years of age; they longed to win their
knightly spurs, and to show themselves worthy cousins of Henry V. of
England. The King of Portugal did not wish to check their ardour; he
felt the need of occupying the energies of his youthful nobility; and as
there were no enemies at home, he acquiesced in the desire of his sons
to attack the old enemies of Portugal, the Moors, in Morocco. By such an
expedition against the Mohammedans the young princes would show
themselves crusaders, and would find adversaries worthy of their swords,
without arousing the jealous watchfulness of the King of Castile. Ceuta
was the city of Africa selected for attack, not only because it was the
chief port of the Moors in the north-western corner of Africa and
threatened the south of Spain, but also because it was the headquarters
of the numerous corsairs and pirates, who preyed upon the already
growing traffic of Portugal with the west coast of Africa, and at times
made descents upon the Portuguese province of the Algarves. The
expedition sailed from Lisbon in 1415; the three princes were followed
by the flower of the Portuguese chivalry, and accompanied by their two
boy brothers, Dom John, who was but fifteen, and Dom Ferdinand not yet
thirteen; from her deathbed the Queen sent her blessing, and in the
month of June the expedition safely disembarked on the African coast.
The Moors fought bravely on their native soil, and it was not until 24th
of August that the city of Ceuta was stormed, after a siege, in which
the sons of John the Great showed themselves to be gallant soldiers and
prudent leaders. This conquest was of importance in two ways; it was the
first conquest made by the Portuguese outside the limits of their own
country, and was therefore a proof of their energy and the expansion of
their power; but, on the other hand, it pointed in a false direction,
and was the first of a series of African expeditions, which were not
profitable to the country, even when successful, and which terminated in
the great disaster associated with the name of Dom Sebastian.
[Illustration: QUEEN PHILIPPA.
(_From her recumbent statue over the tomb at Batalha._)]
The conquest of Ceuta completed, the elder princes devoted their
extraordinary powers of mind and body to pursuits worthy of the cousins
of Henry V. of England. Dom Edward, so named after his
great-grandfather, Edward III. of England, the eldest son, married Donna
Leonora of Aragon, and helped his father in the duties of government. He
proved an apt pupil of João das Regras, the chancellor, and, after
devoting much time to legal studies, he drew up the first code of
Portuguese law. Dom Pedro, the next brother, who was created by his
father Duke of Coimbra after the storming of Ceuta, travelled all over
Europe, enjoying in turn the hospitality of Henry V. of England, of the
Emperor, and of the Pope, and astonishing those monarchs by his
abilities. He proved his valour by fighting beside the Teutonic knights
against the Lithuanians, in the extreme east of civilised Europe, and
his literary taste by his enlightened patronage of men of letters in all
parts of the continent. In 1428 he ended his travels, and settling at
Lisbon, he married Donna Isabel, the daughter of the Count of Urgel, and
assisted his father and elder brother in the duties of government,
taking special interest in the progress of literature, and co-operating
in all the various schemes for the development of Portugal. The third
brother, Dom Henry, created by his father, Duke of Viseu, and appointed
Master of the Order of Christ, and governor of the kingdom of the
Algarves, has left his mark on the history of the world as Prince Henry
“the Navigator.” This prince refused all the offers of the Pope, the
Emperor, and of Henry V., to visit their courts, and established
himself in 1418 at Sagre in order to devote himself and his wealth to
the cause of discovering a continuous route by sea to India, which
should bring the trade of Asia and its profits to the Portuguese. His
efforts and the discoveries he superintended form the subject of a
separate chapter, but it must be remembered that in all his efforts he
was seconded by his father and elder brothers. The fourth brother, Dom
John, Master of the Order of Santiago, married his niece Isabel,
daughter of the Count of Barcellos, and became eventually third
Constable of Portugal. The fifth brother, Dom Ferdinand, who earned the
title of the “Constant Prince” in after years, was Master of the Order
of S. Benedict of Aviz, as his father had been before his elevation to
the throne; his piety was so well known, that he was requested to enter
the Church, and promised a cardinal’s hat by the Pope, but he refused
the honour, longing rather for the glory of a crusader than the
influence of an ecclesiastic, and winning in the end a martyr’s crown.
Their sister, Isabel, was as famous for her beauty, as her brothers for
their valour, wisdom, and piety, and was married to Philip “the Good” of
Burgundy, the founder of the Order of the Golden Fleece. To mar the
unity of this illustrious and gifted family, there existed a half
brother Affonso, the son of King John by Ines Pires, born before the
marriage with Philippa of Lancaster, who was jealous of his legitimate
brothers, and ultimately proved the evil genius of their destiny. This
son was regarded with special favour by his father, who brought about
his marriage with Donna Beatrice Pereira, daughter and heiress of the
Holy Constable, and created him Count of Barcellos.
The latter years of King John “the Great’s” fortunate reign of nearly
half a century were marked not only by the discoveries of Prince Henry
“the Navigator,” but by the development of Portuguese into a literary
language by many talented authors. Mention has been made of the poetry
of the Portuguese troubadours, who sang in the reign of Diniz, and of
the first Portuguese epic on the battle of the Salado, which
foreshadowed the “Lusiads” of Camoens. But a literary language is formed
not so much by its poetry as by its prose; the early poetry of Portugal
differed but little from that of Gallicia, while its prose developed in
an independent direction. The first Portuguese prose work of any length
or importance was the famous romance of “Amadis de Gaul,” written by
Vasco de Lobeira, who died in 1403. This romance gave rise to a host of
imitations, and the taste for romances was further developed by the
popularity of the “Prophecies of Merlin,” and the Arthurian tales, the
knowledge of which came into Portugal with the English alliance. The
king himself encouraged this literary revival; the “Book of the Chase,”
one of the best specimens of early Portuguese prose was written for him
under his superintendence, and among his sons, Dom Pedro wrote poems,
and Dom Edward two excellent prose works, “Instructions in Horsemanship”
and “The Faithful Councillor.” More important to notice are the works of
the first great Portuguese chroniclers. Chronicles of early events in
Portuguese history had been written in monasteries, and have a value of
their own, but these works are little better than annals noted down
year by year with no pretence to literary form. Next in order stands the
anonymous “Chronica da Conquista do Algarves,” which represents the
transition from the annalist to the chronicler, and in the reign of John
I., under the special patronage of the monarch and his sons, the first
great Portuguese chronicler, Fernan Lopes, who has been called the
Froissart of Portugal, wrote his chronicles of the reigns of Pedro “the
Severe” and Ferdinand “the Handsome,” and Matthew de Pisano, wrote his
“Guerra de Ceuta,” a history of the famous expedition of 1415. These men
were the forerunners of the great chroniclers of the fifteenth century,
Azurara, Ruy de Pina, and Duarte Galvão.
After a reign, which ranks among the most glorious in Portuguese
history, made famous by maritime discoveries and literary advancement,
leaving behind him sons worthy and able to guide the people along the
road of civilization to wealth and prosperity, John I., rightly surnamed
“the Great,” died at his palace at Lisbon on August 14, 1433, having
survived his wife Philippa of Lancaster nearly twenty years.
Contrary to the expectation of his subjects, the reign of King Edward
was but short, and it is marked only by a signal disaster. His own great
qualities, and the promise he had given of being both a good and a great
king when assisting his father, combined to raise the highest hopes,
which were destined to be cruelly shattered. On ascending the throne he
believed himself strong enough to take a step, intended to check the
perpetuation of power in the hands of the feudal nobility, which had
often been discussed between his father, his brother Dom Pedro, João das
Regras, and himself, and in 1434 he summoned a full Cortes at Evora. He
there propounded the “Lei Mental” or the provision, which was assumed to
have been in the mind of King John when he made his extensive grants of
land to the nobility, namely, that they could only descend in the direct
male line of the original grantee, and should revert to the Crown on
failure of such heirs. The law was carried by the influence of the
king’s brothers, in spite of the natural opposition of the nobility, who
never forgave the supporters of the measure. In other matters Edward
simply followed the example of his father. He continued the English
alliance, ratified the treaty of Windsor, and was made a Knight of the
Garter in his father’s room; he maintained an attitude of prudent
neutrality towards Castile; he encouraged the literary movement,
represented by Fernan Lopes, and took an intelligent interest in the
schemes and plans of his brother, Dom Henry.
But, unfortunately, the king’s life was shortened and Dom Henry’s
explorations checked for a time by the fatal expedition to Tangier in
1437. This expedition was the natural sequel of the expedition to Ceuta,
and was undertaken in opposition to the advice of the Pope, and of Dom
Pedro. It was entirely the result of the earnest solicitations of the
king’s favourite brother, Dom Ferdinand. This pious young prince burned
with crusading ardour; his one longing in life was to fight the
infidels, and he could not appreciate the fact that Dom Henry was doing
far greater work for the world in exploring the coast of Africa, than in
killing Mohammedans. The ardour of Dom Ferdinand won the day, and King
Edward collected a fleet and army in the Tagus, and sailed for the coast
of Africa. The object of the attack was Tangier and it was most
foolishly chosen. Ceuta was on the sea coast, and the Portuguese
soldiers could use their fleet as a base of operations, and could
retreat to it in case of need; whereas Tangier was three miles from the
coast. As might have been foretold, when King Edward with his eight
thousand Portuguese soldiers formed the siege of Tangier, the Moors at
once cut off his communications with the fleet, and in three days the
Portuguese army was reduced to extremities. It was only by Dom
Ferdinand’s willing sacrifice of himself as a hostage, that the troops
were allowed to return to their ships and find their way back to Lisbon.
This disaster and the captivity of his favourite brother so preyed upon
King Edward’s mind that he died in 1438. His death was happier than that
of Dom Ferdinand, who, after a long and cruel imprisonment, borne with
such heroic patience and exemplary piety, as to win for him the title of
“the Constant Prince,” died at Fez in 1443.
The noble conduct of Dom Ferdinand, who preferred death in captivity to
safety purchased by the surrender of Ceuta, the only alternative which
the Moors would accept, has its place also in the great epic, in which
all noble deeds of Portuguese heroes are commemorated. Speaking of King
Edward, Camoens says:
“Captive he saw his brother, hight Fernand,
the Saint, aspiring high with purpose brave,
who as a hostage in the Sara’cen’s hand,
betrayed himself his ‘leaguer’d host to save.
He lived for purest faith to Fatherland
the life of noble Ladye sold a slave,
lest bought with price of Ceita’s potent town
to publick welfare be preferred his own.
Codrus, lest foemen conquer, freely chose
to yield his life and, conqu’ering self, to die;
Regulus, lest his hand in ought should lose,
lost for all time all hopes of liberty;
this, that Hispania might in peace repose,
chose lifelong thrall, eterne captivity;
Codrus nor Curtius with man’s awe for meed,
nor loyal Decii ever dared such deed.”[8]
The successor of King Edward, his eldest son Affonso V., afterwards
called “the African,” was only six years old when he ascended the
throne, and his reign commenced with a dispute as to the regency. By his
will, Edward had left the regency to his wife, Leonora of Aragon, but
this arrangement was not at all satisfactory to the people, and a great
Cortes at Torres Novas set aside the will, and appointed Dom Pedro, Duke
of Coimbra, to be “defender” of the realm with all the duties of
government, the Count of Arrayolos, minister of justice, and Queen
Leonora, guardian of her son, the young king, with a large allowance.
This arrangement shows how great the powers of the Cortes had become,
and a still more important testimony to their recognized influence
appears in the motion by Dom Henry, that three members of the Cortes
should be annually elected to reside at the seat of government during
the months in which the Cortes was not in session. This arrangement was
highly unsatisfactory to the queen, who had expected to be sole regent
under the terms of King Edward’s will, and, assisted by the discontented
nobility, headed by the Count of Barcellos and the Archbishop of Lisbon,
she attacked Dom Pedro, and endeavoured by force to overthrow the
arrangements made by the Cortes of Torres Novas. The struggle was but a
short one; the people of Lisbon rose _en masse_ to support the son of
their favourite monarch, John I., in whom they perceived his father’s
administrative ability and love for commerce, and the queen and
archbishop were forced to go into exile. The result of this movement was
to seat Dom Pedro firmly in power with the title of regent and the
guardianship of the boy-king.
The regency of Dom Pedro, better known by his title of Duke of Coimbra,
is marked by the same features as the reign of his brother Edward; in it
appears the same consistent attempt to check the power of the feudal
nobility and the same wise encouragement of commerce. His foreign policy
followed the same lines, and he maintained the same neutrality with
regard to Spain and the same close alliance with England. In 1439 the
regent solemnly confirmed the Treaty of Windsor in the young king’s
name, and was made a Knight of the Garter, and the same honour was
conferred upon Dom Henry, Duke of Viseu, in 1444, and on Dom Alvaro Vaz
de Almada, Lord High Admiral of Portugal and Count of Arronches, in
1445. Dom Pedro also encouraged the maritime explorations of Dom Henry
and the literary revival, which were making the name of Portugal
renowned throughout Europe, and his power seemed to be at its height,
when, in 1447, his daughter Isabel was married to her cousin, the king,
Affonso V.
But the great regent counted without the enmity of the feudal nobility,
headed by his own half-brother, the Count of Barcellos, who was created
by the young king Duke of Braganza. This nobleman had always been
jealous of the legitimate sons of John I., and in spite of the kind
treatment of Dom Pedro, he hated the regent. This hatred he instilled
into the mind of Affonso V., who was rather restive under his uncle’s
control, and he eventually persuaded the young king that his uncle and
father-in-law had poisoned both his father, King Edward, and his mother,
Donna Leonora. Affonso V. believed these libels, and ordered the great
regent to leave the Court. Dom Pedro obeyed; but the vengeance of the
Duke of Braganza was not yet satisfied, and he gladly led an army to
arrest the Duke of Coimbra on his estates. Dom Pedro, deserted by all
his old friends and sycophants, except the Lord High Admiral, yet
determined to fight, and he defeated the Duke of Braganza at Penella.
Affonso V. then declared his former guardian a traitor, and summoned the
feudal nobility to his side. The nobles were only too happy to aid him,
and in the hotly-contested battle of Alfarrobeira the friends of the
regent were defeated, and Dom Pedro, Dom Jaymé, his only son, and the
Lord High Admiral, were slain, on May 21, 1449.
Affonso V., at the beginning of his personal government, yielded to the
influence of the Duke of Braganza and his sons, who humoured his desire
for knightly fame and his dream of sitting on the throne of Castile, and
who obtained vast grants of royal property for themselves. Among them
they secured the lordships of the old royal city of Guimaraens, the
birthplace of Affonso Henriques, and even of Oporto, the second city of
the kingdom; but they never got possession of the latter, owing to the
fierce resistance of the citizens. The young king’s main idea at this
time was to win fame as a knight and a crusader, and unfortunately this
whim led him towards the country which was to be the tomb of his
dynasty. It was to raise funds for the expeditions which won him the
title of “the African” that Affonso first issued the beautiful coins
known as _crusados_, and with money raised by this means he paid the
expenses of his three expeditions. In the first of these adventures, in
1458, he took Alcazar es Seghir, or Alcacer Seguier; in the second, in
1464, he failed; and in the third, in 1471, he took Anafe, Tangier, and
Arzila. It was in these expeditions that he uselessly exhausted the
strength of his people, but nevertheless the works of maritime
exploration went on apace, though with less energy after the death of
Dom Henry “the Navigator” in 1460.
From wasting the power of his kingdom in African wars Affonso V. turned
to a still more fatal pursuit, the encouragement of his dream of sitting
on the throne of Castile. The lessons of his grandfather’s reign were
lost on him; he failed to understand that the two countries had
developed on separate lines and could not coalesce, and did not see that
in a contest Portugal, owing to her smaller population, must needs have
the worst of it, unless the war were national and calculated to rouse
the spirit of enthusiasm and not merely dynastic. His family was now at
the height of its fame--his aunt Isabel was Duchess of Burgundy; his
eldest sister had married the Emperor Frederick III.; his youngest
sister had married Henry IV. of Castile; and his remaining sister,
Catherine, had been sought in marriage by the son of the King of Aragon
and by Edward IV. of England. His first wife, Isabel, the daughter of
the great regent, Dom Pedro, had died in 1455, after giving birth to the
prince who was to be John II., and it was not until after his third
expedition to Africa that he contemplated a fresh marriage, which should
give him a claim to the succession to the throne of Castile.
With this idea Affonso V. married his own niece, Joanna, elder daughter
of Henry IV. of Castile (though but a girl of thirteen), in 1475, and he
claimed the kingdom of Castile in her name. But the Castilians preferred
the Infanta Isabella, who had married Ferdinand, King of Aragon, and
they were as determined to prevent a Portuguese king from sitting upon
their throne, as the century before the Portuguese had been against the
union of their country with Castile. The Castilians, fighting for their
independence, as utterly defeated the Portuguese at Toro in 1476 as the
Portuguese had defeated them at Aljubarrota in 1385. Affonso hurried to
France, to beg help from Louis XI.; but his supplication was unheeded,
and in 1478 he found himself constrained to sign the Treaty of
Alcantara, by which he agreed to send his newly-married bride to a
convent. He remained inconsolable at this failure of his schemes, and
alternately abdicated and returned to the throne, until his death in
1481.
The “Ré Cavelleiro,” or knightly king, had thus done his best to upset
the results of the wise policy of his grandfather, John “the Great.”
Fortunately he had not done much harm, and his son and successor, John
II., proved himself able to do more than compensate for his father’s
mistakes. But it must not be considered that Affonso V. was a worthless
king of the type of Ferdinand “the Handsome”; he was rather a restless
knight after the fashion of Count Henry of Burgundy. He had literary
tastes as well; he wrote much and ably on various subjects, and showed a
great knowledge of what a king ought to be--perhaps learnt from the
“Cyropaedia” of Xenophon, which had been specially translated for his
instruction by the orders of the Duke of Coimbra. He was a liberal
patron of men of letters, and made Duarte Galvão “Chronista Mor do
Reino,” or Chronicler-General of the kingdom; and he appointed Azurara,
another chronicler, librarian and keeper of the archives at the Torre
del Tombo. He collected a great library at Evora, and founded the Order
of the Tower and Sword; but perhaps the truest sign of the greatness
which existed somewhere in his character is to be found in his answer to
the chronicler Acenheiro, who asked how he should write the chronicle of
his reign, when he said simply, “Tell the truth.”
These, then, were the kings who reigned in Portugal during the age of
discovery. It is now time to see the nature, extent, and value of these
discoveries, which were paving the way for the heroic age of Portuguese
history.
[Illustration:
PORTUGUESE GOLD COINS.
(1) Crown piece of John V.
(2) Crusado (400 reis) value = 2s.
(3) Crusado novo.
(4) Eight tostoêns piece (80 reis).
(5) Quartinho d’ouro (1,200 reis).
(6) Sixteen tostoêns, value = 8s. 10d.
(7) Half moidore piece.
(8) Half moidore of Maria. 1777.
(9) Moidore of John V. 1724.
(10) Gold piece of 77 tostoêns, value = £1 15s. 6d.
(11) Two-and-a-half moidore piece, value = £3 2s.
(12) Dobrão of John V., value = £3 11s.
(13) Five moidore piece, value = £6 5s.
]
[Illustration: text decoration]
TABLE I. THE DESCENDANTS OF JOHN “THE GREAT.”
JOHN “THE GREAT,” = 1387, Philippa of Lancaster,
b. 1352; king, 1385; d. 1433. | d. 1415.
|
|
+------------+-------+-------+----------+-----------+----------------------+-------------+
| | | | | | |
EDWARD, = Leonora Pedro, = Isabella Henry “the John, = Isabel Ferdinand, Isabel, = Philip
b. 1391; | of Duke of of Navigator,” Constable of “the Constant b. 1397; “the
king, | Aragon, Coimbra, Urgel. Duke of of Braganza. Prince,” d. 1471. Good,”
1433; d. | d. 1445. b. 1392; Viseu, Portugal, b. 1402; Duke of
1438. | regent, b. 1394; Duke of d. 1443. Burgundy.
| 1439; d. 1460. Beja, b.
| k. in 1400;
| battle, 1449. d. 1442.
| | |
| | +------------------------------------------------------------------+
| | |
| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | |
| | |
+--------------------------------------+------------------------+-----------+---------+ +---+-----+ |
| | | | | | | |
AFFONSO V., =(1)Isabel, (2)His niece, Ferdinand, = Leonor, Leonor= Catherina. Joanna Jaymé, Isabel Leonor =
“the African,” | dau. of Joanna, dau. of Duke of | dau. of Emperor = King k. in = King Ferdinand,
b. 1432; king, | Dom Henry IV., Viseu and | John, Frederick Henry battle, Affonso Duke of
1438; d. 1481. | Pedro, King of Beja, | Duke of III. IV. of 1449. V. Beja.
| d. 1455. Castile. b. 1443; | Beja. Castile. |
| d. 1470. | |
| | |
+------------+----------------+ +------------+-------------------------------------+---------------+-----------+ |
| | | | | |
JOHN II., = Leonor, dau. of Joanna, Diogo, third EMMANUEL = (1) Isabella of Castile, Leonor = Isabel=
“the | Ferdinand, b. 1452; Duke of Viseu; Duke of widow of Dom John II. Ferdinand,
Perfect,” | Duke of Viseu d. 1490. murdered by Beja, Affonso; | Duke of
b. 1455; | and Beja. John II., king, (2) Maria of Castile. | Braganza.
king, | 1485. 1495. | (For descendants,
1481; | (For descendants, see | see Table III.,
d. 1495. | Table II., p. 279.) | p. 303.)
+---+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|
Affonso, = Isabella, eldest dau. of Ferdinand
d. 1491. and Isabella of Castile and
Aragon.
[Illustration: text decoration]
VII.
THE PORTUGUESE EXPLORERS.
The internal history of Portugal under the rule of John “the Great,” his
son Edward, and his grandson Affonso V., has an interest of its own, yet
it is not at home that the most important development of Portuguese
energy is to be perceived. Great as were the services rendered to
Portugal by King John, they mark no stages in the progress of Europe as
the achievements of Dom Henry, his son, have done. Around the name of
this prince, the discoveries of the Portuguese navigators may best be
grouped, for he was the guiding spirit of these adventurers, and alike
inspired and rewarded them.