John V of Portugal
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John V (Portuguese João pron. IPA /ʒu'ɐ̃ũ/) the Magnanimous (Port. o Magnânimo) – (October 22, 1689 – July 31, 1750), 24th (or 25th according to some historians) king of the Kingdom of Portugal and Algarves, was born in Lisbon and succeeded his father Peter II in December 1706, being proclaimed on January 1 1707.
His father had long suffered from lack of heirs, and the relatively new royal house of Braganza was indeed on the verge of going extinct - the king had only one surviving (though sickly) daughter from his first marriage, John's half-sister Isabel Luisa, Princess of Beira. However, the old king remarried after the death of his first wife, and John's mother was able to produce a couple of viable children, including John himself. When John was born, he became Prince of Brazil as he king's heir-apparent, as well as the 13th Duke of Braganza.
As his father was elderly, John succeeded quite young, at the age of 17. One of his first acts as king was to intimate his adherence to the Grand Alliance, which his father had joined in 1703. Accordingly his general Das Minas, along with Lord Galway, advanced into Castile, even taking Madrid, but sustained the defeat of Almanza (April 14).
In October 1708 he married Mary Anne Josefa (1683-1754), daughter of Leopold I, thus strengthening the alliance with Austria; the series of unsuccessful campaigns which ensued ultimately terminated in a favourable peace with France in 1713 and with Spain in 1715.
His long reign was characterized by a strengthening of the king's power due to the incomes the crown earned by exploring the newly found gold and diamond mines in Brazil. A fifth of each ton extracted from these mines were crown property, the other fifths being divided between claim owners, contractors and public administrators. This sudden wealth allowed the king to rule without summoning the Cortes, thus becoming an absolute monarch. Due to his centralistic ruling, he had to endure the political opposition of several noble families and influent clergymen. In what most probably was an effort to taim the upper nobility, John V built his own Versailles, the not so luxurious Royal Palace of Mafra. Though John took Louis XIV as a role model, he never could or never wanted to achieve the splendor of the French court.
John V used much of the crown's treasure to develop Portugal's weak economy (creating new manufactures all over the country), to patronise the arts and intellectuals (Royal academies were founded) and to regain his country's lost prestige among its European neighbors after the recovery of independence from Spain (1640). His foreign policy followed two simple and unaltered rules: political neutrality in European conflicts and constant negotiations with the Vatican in order to be recognised as a lawful monarch. To this purpose he spent heavy sums of gold in bribes to church officials and embassies to the Pope.
His negotiations with the Vatican ended with the recognition of Portugal as a lawful sovereign country by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 and the title "Most Faithful King" bestowed upon him and his successors by a bull. Six years before receiving this title, John suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralysed and unable to intervene in the political affairs. His last years of life were dedicated to devout acts and to subservience to the clergy. His early economical measures, which were unpopular among the upper nobility, became ineffective, and public affairs were so dependent on John's rule that they became almost inoperative. John V died on July 31 1750 in Lisbon, and was succeeded by his son Prince Joseph.
John's marriages and descendants
John married Mary Anne of Austria, daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1708. From that marriage were born six children, but only three survived childhood. Outside his marriage John had four illegitimate children, Maria Rita ("Flower of Murta") and the three children of Palhavã.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By Mary Anne of Austria (September 7 1683-August 14 1754; married on June 9 1708) | |||
| Princess Maria Barbara | December 4 1711 | August 27 1758 | Married to Ferdinand VI of Spain. |
| Prince Peter | October 19 1712 | October 29 1714 | 14th Duke of Braganza |
| Prince Joseph | June 6 1714 | February 24 1777 | Who succeeded him as 25th (or 26th according to some historians) King of Portugal. |
| Prince Charles | May 2 1716 | March 30 1730 | |
| Prince Peter | July 5 1717 | May 25 1786 | Married Queen Maria I of Portugal and became King-consort as Peter III. |
| Prince Alexander | September 24 1723 | August 2 1728 | |
| By Luís Clara de Portugal (1712-?) | |||
| Maria Rita | c. 1731 | 1808 | Known as the Flower of Murta. |
| By Madalena Máxima de Miranda (c. 1690-?) | |||
| Gaspar | October 8 1716 | January 18 1789 | Natural son. Archbishop of Braga. One of the three children of Palhavã |
| By Mother Paula (c. 1690-?) | |||
| José | September 8 1720 | July 31 1801 | Natural son. General-Inquisitor of the Kingdom. One of the three children of Palhavã |
| Other offspring | |||
| António | October 1 1704 | August 14 1800 | Natural son and one of the three children of Palhavã |
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Peter II
Joseph I
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