Kingdom of Portugal

The Kingdom of Portugal^[3] was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves after 1415, and as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves between 1815 and 1822. The name is also often applied to the Portuguese Empire, the realm's overseas colonies.

Kingdom of Portugal[lower-alpha 1] Regnum Portugalliae (Latin) Reino de Portugal (Portuguese)
1139–1910
Flag (1830–1910) Coat of arms (1834–1910)
Motto: "In hoc signo vinces" (Latin) "In this sign thou shalt conquer"
Anthem: "Hymno Patriótico" (1809–1834) "Patriotic Anthem" Hino da Carta (1834–1910) "Anthem of the Charter"
The Kingdom of Portugal in 1800
Capital	Coimbra (1139–1255) Lisbon (1255–1910)[lower-alpha 2] 38°42′N 9°11′W
Official languages	Portuguese[lower-alpha 3] Latin[lower-alpha 4]
Religion	Roman Catholicism (official)[1]
Demonym(s)	Portuguese
Government	Feudal constitutional monarchy (1139–1698) Absolute monarchy (1698–1820; 1823–1826; 1828–1834) Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy (1822–1823; 1826–1828; 1834–1910)
Monarch
• 1139–1185 (first)	Afonso I
• 1908–1910 (last)	Manuel II
Prime Minister
• 1834–1835 (first)	Marquis of Palmela
• 1910 (last)	Teixeira de Sousa
Legislature	Cortes (1139–1706; 1816–1820) None (rule by decree) (1698–1820; 1823–1826; 1828–1834) The General and Extraordinary Cortes of the Portuguese Nation (1820–1822) Cortes Gerais (1820–1823; 1826–1828; 1834–1910)
• Upper house	Chamber of Peers (1822–1838; 1842–1910) Chamber of Senators (1838–1842)
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies (1822–1910)
History
• Battle of Ourique	25 July 1139
• Treaty of Zamora	5 October 1143
• Restoration of Independence	1 December 1640
• Lisbon Regicide	1 February 1908
• Revolution of 1910	5 October 1910
Area
1300[2]	90,000 km2 (35,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1300[2]	800,000
• 1800	9,270,000
• 1900	12,434,000
Currency	Portuguese dinheiro, (1139–1433) Portuguese real (1433–1910)
ISO 3166 code	PT
Preceded by Succeeded by County of Portugal Couto Misto First Portuguese Republic Empire of Brazil

The nucleus of the Portuguese state was the County of Portugal, established in the 9th century as part of the Reconquista, by Vímara Peres, a vassal of the King of Asturias. The county became part of the Kingdom of León in 1097, and the Counts of Portugal established themselves as rulers of an independent kingdom in the 12th century, following the battle of São Mamede. The kingdom was ruled by the Afonsine Dynasty until the 1383–85 Crisis, after which the monarchy passed to the House of Aviz.

During the 15th and 16th century, Portuguese exploration established a vast colonial empire. From 1580 to 1640, the Kingdom of Portugal was in personal union with Habsburg Spain.

After the Portuguese Restoration War of 1640–1668, the kingdom passed to the House of Braganza and thereafter to the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. From this time, the influence of Portugal declined, but it remained a major power due to its most valuable colony, Brazil. After the independence of Brazil, Portugal sought to establish itself in Africa, but was ultimately forced to halt its expansion due to the 1890 British Ultimatum, eventually leading to the collapse of the monarchy in the 5 October 1910 revolution and the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic.

Portugal was an absolute monarchy before 1822. It alternated between absolute and semi-constitutional monarchy from 1822 until 1834, when it would remain a semi-constitutional monarchy until its fall.

History

Origins

The Kingdom of Portugal finds its origins in the County of Portugal (1096–1139). The Portuguese County was a semi-autonomous county of the Kingdom of León. Independence from León took place in three stages:

1. The first on 26 July 1139 when Afonso Henriques was acclaimed King of the Portuguese^[4] internally.
2. The second was on 5 October 1143, when Alfonso VII of León and Castile recognized Afonso Henriques as king through the Treaty of Zamora.
3. The third, in 1179, was the Papal Bull Manifestis Probatum, in which Portugal's independence was recognized by Pope Alexander III.

Once Portugal was independent, D. Afonso I's descendants, members of the Portuguese House of Burgundy, would rule Portugal until 1383. Even after the change in royal houses, all the monarchs of Portugal were descended from Afonso I, one way or another, through both legitimate and illegitimate links.

Medieval history (1139–1415)

Further information: History of Portugal (1139–1279), Portugal in the Reconquista, 1383–85 Crisis, and History of Portugal (1279–1415)

Renaissance and early modern history (1415–1777)

Further information: History of Portugal (1415–1578), Iberian Union, War of the Portuguese Succession, and Portuguese Renaissance

Further information: Portuguese Restoration War, History of Portugal (1640–1777), Second Portuguese Empire, Brazilian Gold Rush, and Inconfidência Mineira

Modern history (1777–1910)

Further information: History of Portugal (1777–1834), Third Portuguese Empire, Transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil, Independence of Brazil, Liberal Wars, and History of Portugal (1834–1910)

Fall of the Monarchy

Further information: House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Lisbon Regicide, and 5 October 1910 revolution

With the start of the 20th century, Republicanism grew in numbers and support in Lisbon among progressive politicians and the influential press. However a minority with regard to the rest of the country, this height of republicanism would benefit politically from the Lisbon Regicide on 1 February 1908. While returning from the Ducal Palace at Vila Viçosa, King Charles and the Prince Royal Luís Filipe were assassinated in the Terreiro do Paço, in Lisbon. With the death of the King and his heir, Charles I's second son would become monarch as King Manuel II. Manuel's reign, however, would be short-lived, ending by force with the 5 October 1910 revolution, sending Manuel into exile in the United Kingdom and giving way to the Portuguese First Republic.

On 19 January 1919, the Monarchy of the North was proclaimed in Oporto. The monarchy would be deposed a month later and no other monarchist counterrevolution in Portugal has happened since.

After the republican revolution in October 1910, the remaining colonies of the empire became overseas provinces of the Portuguese Republic until the late 20th century, when the last overseas territories of Portugal were handed over. Most notably in Portuguese Africa which included the overseas provinces of Angola and Mozambique of which the handover took place in 1975, and finally in Asia the handover of Macau in 1999.

Rulers

Main article: List of Portuguese monarchs

Gallery

See also: Flag of Portugal

Flags

• 
  Flag of the Kingdom of Portugal (1495–1521)
• 
  Flag of the Kingdom of Portugal (1521–1578)
• 
  Flag of the Kingdom of Portugal (1521–1640)
• 
  Secondary flag of the Kingdom of Portugal (1616–1640)
• 
  Flag of the Kingdom of Portugal (1640–1667)

Coat of arms

• 
  Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Portugal (1610–1815)
• 
  Arms of the King of Portugal depicted in the Livro do Armeiro-Mor (c. 1509)

Shields

• 
  Shield of the Kingdom of Portugal (1185–1248)
• 
  Shield of the Kingdom of Portugal (1248–1385)
• 
  Shield of the Kingdom of Portugal (1385–1481)
• 
  Shield of the Kingdom of Portugal (1481–1495)

See also

• Kingdom of Algarve
• United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves
• List of titles and honours of the Portuguese Crown
• Portuguese nobility
• Portuguese heraldry

Footnotes

1. also known as the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves (Latin: Regnum Portugalliae et Algarbiae, Portuguese: Reino de Portugal e dos Algarves) after 1415, and as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (Portuguese: Reino Unido de Portugal, Brasil e Algarves) between 1815 and 1822.
2. From 1808 to 1821 Rio de Janeiro was the seat of the Portuguese court and the de facto seat of government. Additionally, Antony I and Mary II ruled from Angra do Heroísmo between 1580 to 1582 and 1830 to 1834 respectively whilst their holds over the mainland were in dispute.
3. Galician-Portuguese (until 16th century)
   Modern Portuguese (16th century onward)
4. Widely used for administrative and liturgical purposes. Medieval Latin replaced by Renaissance Latin by the 15th century.

Citations

1. J. Havighurs, Robert (1969). Society and Education in Brazil. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0822974079. Catholicism was the state religion of the Kingdom of Portugal
2. Reilly, Bernard F. (1993). The Medieval Spains. Cambridge University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0521397414. Retrieved 11 October 2019. The new kingdom of Castile had roughly tripled in size to some 335,000 square kilometers by 1300 [...] Portugal swollen to 90,000 square kilometers and perhaps 800,000 inhabitants [...]
3. (Latin: Regnum Portugalliae; Portuguese: Reino de Portugal)
4. Wilner, Hero, Weiner, p. 190

References

• Joaquim Veríssimo Serrão, História de Portugal: Do mindelo á regeneração (1832–1851).
• José Mattoso, António Manuel Hespanha, História de Portugal 4: O Antigo Regime (1620–1807), (1998) ISBN 972-33-1311-1.
• Simão José da Luz Soriano, Historia da Guerra Civil e do estabelecimento do governo parlamentar em Portugal: comprehedendo a historia diplomatica, militar e politica d'este reino desde 1777 até 1834 Volume 9 (1893).
• Jacinto de São Miguel (Frei), Martinho Augusto Ferreira da Fonseca, Mosteiro de Belém: Relação da insigne e real casa de Santa Maria de Belém (1901).
• Mark Willner, George Hero, Jerry Weiner, Global History Volume I: The Ancient World to the Age of Revolution (2006) ISBN 978-0-7641-5811-7.
• Douglas L. Wheeler, Republican Portugal: A Political History, 1910–1926 (1998) ISBN 978-0-299-07454-8.