Portuguese history meme — eleven moments [4/11]
Portuguese Restoration of Independence (1 December 1640)
Restauração da Independência (Restoration of Independence) is the name given to the coup d’état lead by a group of Portuguese noblemen called Os Quarenta Conjurados (The Forty Conspirators) that put an end to the sovereignty of the Spanish Habsburgs in Portugal and the 60 year-old Iberian Union, acclaiming João, 8th Duke of Braganza, as King João IV (John) of Portugal. He was the grandson of Catarina, Duchess of Braganza, one of the main candidates to the Portuguese throne back in the 1580 Succession Crisis.
By 1640, Felipe IV (Philip) of Spain was far from respecting the promises that his grandfather Felipe II (Philip) of Spain had made back in the Cortes of Tomar in 1581. The Portuguese nobility was losing influence at the Spanish Cortes, the government posts in Portugal were being taken over by the Spaniards, and it was not unusual for the Spanish to be favoured in judicial matters, even when the evidence supported the Portuguese. Moreover, there were more and more taxes affecting everyone (merchants, nobles, lower classes), and Portuguese resources and money were being used to finance Spain’s wars. Because Portugal was ruled by Spain, Spain’s enemies had been attacking Portuguese territories as well (e.g. The Dutch-Portuguese War in the first half of the 17th century). The Spanish King and the Prime Minister (Count-Duke of Olivares) intended to dissolve the Kingdom of Portugal and turn it into another Spanish province.
The nobility and the bourgeoisie began to organise a revolution through secret meetings. It was crucial to find the right moment to rebel. In the second half of 1640, Felipe IV of Spain and his troops had become too busy with the Thirty Years’ War and a revolt in Catalonia (started in June) which would become the Reapers’ War. As a consequence of the Catalan revolt, Felipe IV had demanded the presence of the Portuguese nobility to fight in Catalonia. They did not go, including the Duke of Braganza, the richest and most influential Portuguese noble (and obviously watched over by Spain). The opposition convinced the Duke to be the face of a secret conspiracy which would put again a Portuguese king on the Portuguese throne.
On the first day of December of 1640, the Royal Palace was taken over in the early morning by the rebellious movement. They arrested Spanish king’s cousin, Margherita (Margaret) of Savoy, who had been governing Portugal as Vicereine in the king’s name, and made her order the surrender of the troops. They also caught the Secretary of State, Miguel de Vasconcelos, hiding inside a cabinet. Seen as a Portuguese traitor, he was killed on the spot and then defenestrated (the legend likes to say he was still alive). His body was left to rot in the street, subjected to the fury of the people and the whims of stray animals. Shortly after the Duke of Braganza had already been acclaimed as King of Portugal and was supported by the people. The day after the coup he was already fully acting as sovereign of the country.
Until 1668 Portugal and Spain would be fighting against each other (Portuguese Restoration War); Portugal wanted to recover, protect its independence and form alliances, Spain wanted to isolate Portugal diplomatically, economically, militarily… For instance, the marriage of João IV’s daughter, Catarina (Catherine) of Braganza, to Charles II of England in 1661 met strong Spanish opposition, as it was an important step not only in the renovation of the old Anglo-Portuguese alliance but also for the international recognition and acceptance of Portugal’s independence. The Pope himself would only recognise it years later.
Sources: text: [x] + [x] + [x] + Histórias Rocambolescas da História de Portugal, João Ferreira, published by Esfera dos Livros (2010) + Os Maus da História de Portugal, Ricardo Raimundo, published by Esfera dos Livros (2014) // images: [x] + [x] + [x]
