Afonso VI of Portugal
From Freepedia
Afonso VI (English Alphonzo or Alphonse), or Affonso (Old Portuguese), (August 12,1643-September 12,1683) was the twenty-second (or twenty-third according to some historians) King of Portugal, the second of the House of Braganza, known as the Victorious (Port. o Vitorioso).
He succeeded his father (João IV) in 1656 at the age of thirteen. His mother, (D. Luisa de Gusmão) was named regent in his father's will. At the age of three, he had suffered an illness that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body, as well as leaving him mentally unstable. This, plus his disinterest in ruling left his mother as regent for six years, until 1662. Luisa oversaw military victories over the Spanish at Ameixial (June 8 1663) and Montes Claros (June 17 1665), culminating in the final Spanish recognition of Portugal's independence on February 13 1668. Colonial affairs saw the Dutch conquest of Jaffnapatam, Portugal's last colony in Sri Lanka (1658) and the cession of Bombay and Tangier to England (June 23 1661) as dowry for Afonso's sister, Catherine of Braganza who had married King Charles II of England. English mediation in 1661 saw Holland acknowledge Portuguese rule of Brazil in return for uncontested control of Sri Lanka. In 1667 In 1662, the (Conde de Castelo-Melhor) saw an opportunity to gain power at court by befriending the king. He managed to convince the king that his mother was out to steal his throne and exile him from Portugal. As a result, Afonso took control of the throne and his mother sent to a convent. He was married to (Marie Françoise of Nemours), the daughter of the Duke of Savoy, in 1666, but this marriage would not last long. Marie, or Maria Francisca, as the Portuguese call her, filed for an anullment in 1667 based on the impotence of the king. The Chuch granted her the annulment, and she married Afonso's brother, D. Pedro, (future (D. Pedro II)). That same year, D. Pedro managed to gain enough support to force the king to relinquish control of the government and he became the Prince Regent. Afonso and was banished to the island of Terceira in the Azores for seven years, returning to Portugal shortly before he died. He died at Sintra in 1675.
| Preceded by: John IV | King of Portugal | Succeeded by: Peter II |
This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
