Manuel I, the Fortunate, King of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of
Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal. His
name is associated with a period of Portuguese civilization distinguished by
significant achievements both in political affairs and the arts. In spite
of its small size and population in comparison to the great land powers of
Europe, it was able to acquire an overseas empire of vast proportions and
with a global dimension, for the first time in history, during Manuel's reign.
Early life Manuel's mother was the granddaughter of
King John I of Portugal; his father, Infante Fernando, was the second
surviving son of King Edward of Portugal and the younger brother of King Afonso V
of Portugal. Manuel succeeded in 1495 his first cousin, King John II of
Portugal, who was also his brother-in-law, being married to
Manuel's sister, Leonor. Manuel grew up amidst conspiracies of
the Portuguese upper nobility against King John II. He was aware of many
people being killed and exiled. His older brother Diogo, Duke of Viseu, was
stabbed to death in 1484 by the king himself.
Manuel thus had every reason to worry when he received a royal order in 1493
to present himself to the king, but his fears were groundless: John II wanted to
name him heir to the throne, after the death of his son, Prince Afonso, and the
failed attempts to legitimise Jorge, Duke of Coimbra, his illegitimate son.
As a result of this stroke of luck he was nicknamed the Fortunate.
Reign = Imperial Growth =
Manuel would prove a worthy successor to his cousin John II, supporting the
Portuguese exploration of the Atlantic Ocean and the development of Portuguese
commerce. During his reign, the following was achieved:
1498 — Discovery of a maritime route to India by Vasco da Gama
1500 — Discovery of Brazil by Pedro Álvares Cabral
1505 — Appointment of Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of India
1503–1515 — Establishment of monopolies on maritime trade routes to the Indian
Ocean and Persian Gulf by Afonso de Albuquerque, an admiral, for the benefit
of Portugal All these events made Portugal rich on
foreign trade while it formally established a vast overseas empire.
Manuel used the wealth to build a number of royal buildings and to attract
scientists and artists to his court. Commercial treaties and diplomatic
alliances were forged with China and the Persian Empire. The Pope received a
monumental embassy from Portugal during his reign designed to draw attention to
Portugal's newly acquired riches to all of Europe.
= Manueline Ordinations = In Manuel's reign, royal absolutism was
the method of government. The Portuguese Cortes only met thrice during his reign,
always in Lisbon, the king's seat. He reformed the courts of justice and the
municipal charters with the crown, modernizing taxes and the concepts of
tributes and rights. = Religious policy =
Manuel was a very religious man and invested a large amount of Portuguese
income to sponsor missionaries to the new colonies, such as Francisco Álvares,
and the construction of religious buildings, such as the Monastery of
Jerónimos. Manuel also endeavoured to promote another crusade against the
Turks. His relationship with the Portuguese
Jews started out well. At the outset of his reign, he released all the Jews who
had been made captive during the reign of John II. Unfortunately for the Jews,
he decided that he wanted to marry Infanta Isabella of Aragon, then heiress
of the future united crown of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella had expelled the
Jews in 1492, and would never marry their daughter to the king of a country
that still tolerated their presence. In the marriage contract, Manuel I agreed
to persecute the Jews of Portugal. Inquisition
In December 1496, it was decreed that all Jews either convert to Christianity
or leave the country without their children. However, those expelled could
only leave the country in ships specified by the king. When those who
chose expulsion arrived at the port in Lisbon, they were met by clerics and
soldiers who used force, coercion, and promises in order to baptize them and
prevent them from leaving the country. This period of time technically ended
the presence of Jews in Portugal. Afterwards, all converted Jews and their
descendants would be referred to as "New Christians", and they were given a grace
period of thirty years in which no inquiries into their faith would be
allowed; this was later extended to end in 1534.
In a popular riot in Lisbon in 1506, people invaded the Jewish Quarter and
murdered thousands of accused Jews; the leaders of the riot were executed by
Manuel. Later life
Isabella died in childbirth in 1498, putting a damper on Portuguese ambitions
to rule in Spain, which various rulers had harbored since the reign of King
Ferdinand I. Manuel and Isabella's young son Miguel was for a period the heir
apparent of Castile and Aragon, but his death in 1500 ended these ambitions.
Manuel's next wife, Maria of Aragon, was his first wife's sister, but not the
oldest surviving one. That was rather Joanna of Castile, who had issue.
In 1506 the Pope Julius II gave Manuel I a Golden Rose. Later in 1514 Pope Leo X
also gave Manuel I a second Golden Rose. Manuel I became the first individual to
receive more than one Golden Rose. The Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon houses
Manuel's tomb. His son João succeeded him as king.
Marriages and descendants Negotiations for a marriage between
Manuel and Elizabeth of York in 1485 were halted by the death of Richard III
of England. He went on to marry three times. His first wife was Isabella of
Aragon, princess of Spain and widow of the previous Prince of Portugal Afonso.
Next he married another princess of Spain, Maria of Aragon, then Eleanor of
Austria, a niece of his first two wives who married Francis I of France after
Manuel's death. Ancestry
See also Manueline, an architectural style
Descendants of Manuel I of Portugal Notes
References External links