Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/760

 740 PORTUGAL law Henry of Burgundy, who took the title of count of Portugal or Porto Gale, the name then given to the united provinces of Minho, Tras os Montes, and a part of Beira. Henry, who made Guimaraens his capital, soon ex- tended his dominions by conquests from the Arabs. He died in 1112, and was succeeded by his son Alfonso (Alfonso) Henriquez, who in 1139 defeated the Moors in a great battle on the plains of Ourique near the Tagus. From this battle the Portuguese date the foundation of their kingdom. Dom Alfonso, having been proclaimed king by his army on the field of victory, was confirmed in that title by the pope, and acknowledged as independent by the king of Castile. In 1143 he assembled a diet at Lamego, which drew up the fundamental stat- utes of the kingdom. His son and successor, Sancho I., was equally successful in the strug- gle with the Moors, and by his valor and abilities raised Portugal to a high pitch of prosperity and power, extended its area to its present dimensions, and transferred the seat of government from Guimaraens to Ooimbra. In 1197 he assumed the additional title of king of Algarve, though that territory was not fully conquered till 1253. Of his successors the most distinguished wiere : Dionysius (Diniz) I. (1279-1325), who built upward of 40 cities, encouraged industry and learning, opened an era of navigation and commercial enterprise, and died with the name of "father of his country;" and John (Joao) I., surnamed the Great (1385-1433). The latter repelled a for- midable invasion of the Oastilians, led a suc- cessful expedition against the Moors of Bar- bary, and acquired possession of Madeira and the Azores, which were discovered during his reign. The Portuguese at this period were the most enlightened and enterprising people of Europe, and their efforts to enlarge the scope of geographical knowledge toward the south led them to undertake daring and diffi- cult voyages along the coast of Africa, which for nearly half a century were ably and per- severingly directed by Prince Henry the Navi- gator, son of John the Great. These attempts were at length crowned with success by the achievement of a passage to the East Indies round the cape of Good Hope by Vasco da Gama in 1497. This was in the reign of Emanuel the Fortunate (1495-1521), under whose intelligent guidance, though his reign opened with the expulsion of the Jews, pro- digious efforts were made to extend the com- merce and the dominion of Portugal in Africa and the East. In the latter region their pow- er was exercised by a succession of able vice- roys, among whom Alfonso d' Albuquerque was particularly eminent. For nearly a cen- tury the Portuguese were masters of the In- dian ocean, and the dominant power on the E. coast of Africa and the S. coast of Asia. Gaspar Cortereal visited Newfoundland and the shores of Labrador and the St. Law- rence; and Cabral in 1500 discovered Brazil, which was shortly after taken possession of by Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine in the Portu- guese service, and was colonized by John III. (1521-'57). His grandson, Dom Sebastian (1557 -'78), distinguished himself by Quixotic expe- ditions against the Moors of Barbary, in one of which, in 1578, he perished with all his army. This disaster effectually broke the power of Portugal. Dom Henry, the uncle of Sebastian, ascended the vacant throne, and on his death in 1580 without direct heirs, the crown was claimed by Philip II. of Spain, the prince of Parma, and the duchess of Braganca. The power of Philip decided the contest in his favor, and for the next 60 years Portugal was ruled by the kings of Spain, still designated as "the intruders" by the Portuguese. For a considerable period the peace of the country was disturbed by pretenders claiming to be Dom Sebastian, who was popularly believed to have escaped the swords of the Moors and to be still living in a mysterious seclusion from which he was to reappear for the re- demption of Portugal. The rule of the Span- ish kings bore heavily on Portugal, and in 1640 the nation rose in revolt, and by an al- most unanimous vote proclaimed the duke of Braganca king, under the title of John IV. A long war with Spain ensued, which was terminated in 1665 by the decisive defeat of the Spaniards in the battle of Montesclaros. A treaty of alliance concluded with England in 1661 inaugurated a series of similar al- liances destined to have great influence on the prosperity of Portugal. By this treaty the contemptible Alfonso VI. (1656-'83) gave to the English Tangiers and Bombay as the dowry of his daughter, the wife of Charles II. Alfonso VI. was set aside as imbecile in 1667, and replaced by his brother as regent, after- ward King Pedro II. (1683-1706). Another alliance offensive and defensive was concluded with England in 1703, which drew Portugal into the war of the Spanish succession, and crippled its industry by the exclusive commer- cial privileges it conferred upon the English. Under John V. (1706-'50) an amicable adjust- ment was finally made with Spain in 1737, which had till then maintained its claim to Portugal. In the reign of Joseph (Jose, 1750-'77) Portu- gal experienced many calamities, the most re- markable of which was the great earthquake which destroyed half of Lisbon in 1755. This reign, however, was marked by great social and agricultural reforms, carried out chiefly by the genius and energy of the king's prime min- ister, the famous marquis of Pombal. The ex- pulsion of the Jesuits from all Portuguese do- minions was one of his most important acts. Still, though Pombal in the first years of his administration endeavored to destroy the com- mercial monopoly enjoyed by the English in Portugal, he left her at its close controlled more completely than ever by English inter- ests. Joseph was succeeded by his daughter Maria (1777-1816), who reigned conjointly with