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Dom Afonso VI ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 21 August 1643Template:Snd12 September 1683), known as "the Victorious" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), was the second king of Portugal of the House of Braganza from 1656 until his death.Template:Sfn He was initially under the regency of his mother, Luisa de Guzmán, until 1662, when he removed her to a convent and took power with the help of his favourite, D. Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor.Template:Sfn
Afonso's reign saw the end of the Restoration War (1640–68) and Spain's recognition of Portugal's independence.Template:Sfn He also negotiated a French alliance through his marriage.Template:Sfn In 1668, his brother Pedro II conspired to have him declared incapable of ruling, and took supreme de facto power as regent, although nominally Afonso was still sovereign.Template:Sfn Queen Maria Francisca, Afonso's wife, received an annulment and subsequently married Pedro.Template:Sfn Afonso spent the rest of his life and reign practically a prisoner.Template:Sfn<ref>Helpful up-to-date information is available in {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn
Early lifeEdit
Afonso was the second of three sons born to King John IV and Queen Luisa.Template:Sfn At the age of three, he experienced an illness that resulted in paralysis on the right side of his body.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The condition was believed to have also affected his intellectual abilities.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfb His father created him 10th Duke of Braganza.<ref>Genealogy of the Dukes of Braganza in Portuguese</ref>
After the death of his eldest brother Teodósio, Prince of Brazil in 1653, Afonso became the heir apparent to the throne of the kingdom.Template:Sfn He also received the crown-princely title 2nd Prince of Brazil.
ReignEdit
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He succeeded his father, John IV, in 1656 at the age of thirteen.Template:Sfn His mother, Luisa de Guzmán, was named regent in his father's will.Template:Sfn<ref name="arq"/>
Luisa's regency continued even after Afonso came of age because he was considered mentally unfit for governing.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In addition to lacking intellect, the king exhibited wild and disruptive behavior.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1662, after Afonso terrorized Lisbon at night alongside his favorites,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Luisa and her council responded by banishing some of the king's companions that were associated with the raids.Template:Sfn Angered, Afonso took power with the help of Castelo Melhor and Luisa's regency came to an end.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>For overview, with bibliography, in English, see {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She subsequently retired to a convent,Template:Sfn<ref name="arq">Template:Citation.</ref> where she died in 1666.Template:Sfn
Afonso appointed Castelo Melhor as his private secretary (escrivão da puridade).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He proved to be a competent minister.Template:Sfn His astute military organization and sensible general appointments resulted in decisive military victories over the SpanishTemplate:Sfn at Elvas (14 January 1659), Ameixial (8 June 1663) and Montes Claros (17 June 1665),Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn culminating in the final Spanish recognition of sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn on 13 February 1668 in the Treaty of Lisbon.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Colonial affairsEdit
Colonial affairs saw the Dutch conquest of Jaffna, Portugal's last colony in Portuguese Ceylon (1658),Template:Sfn and the cession of Bombay and Tangier to England (23 June 1661) as dowry for Afonso's sister, Infanta Catherine of Braganza, who had married King Charles II of England.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
MarriageEdit
Melhor successfully arranged for Afonso to marry Maria Francisca of Savoy,Template:Sfn a relative of the Duke of Savoy, in 1666,Template:Sfn but the marriage was short-lived. Maria Francisca filed for an annulment in 1667 based on the impotence of the king.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The church granted her the annulment, and she married Afonso's brother, Peter II, Duke of Beja.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
DownfallEdit
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Also in 1667, Pedro managed to gain enough support to force Afonso to relinquish control of the government to him,Template:Sfn and he became prince regent in 1668.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn While Pedro never formally usurped the throne, Afonso was king in name only for the rest of his life.Template:Sfb<ref>The proceedings which the annulment of Afonso's marriage involved formed the basis of João Mário Grilo's 1989 film, The King's Trial.</ref> For seven years after Peter's coup, Afonso was kept on the island of TerceiraTemplate:Sfn in the Azores.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn His health broken by this captivity, he was eventually permitted to return to the Portuguese mainland, but he remained powerless and kept under guard. At Sintra he died in 1683.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite EB1911</ref>Template:Sfn
The room where he was imprisoned is preserved at Sintra National Palace.
AncestryEdit
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
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