How did Philip II of Spain become king of Portugal?
Philip II becomes king of Portugal
La Unión Ibérica
1580–1640. When the young King Sebastian of Portugal died in battle in Morocco in 1578 and his old uncle Cardinal Henry in 1580, Philip II, son of a Portuguese princess,…
Draft: not yet checked against its sources.
Where: Spain, The whole Spanish-speaking world, Portugal
What happened
When the young King Sebastian of Portugal died in battle in Morocco in 1578 and his old uncle Cardinal Henry in 1580, Philip II, son of a Portuguese princess, claimed the throne. The Duke of Alba's army beat his rival at Alcántara in August 1580, and in 1581 the Portuguese Cortes at Tomar recognised Philip as king on condition that Portugal kept its laws, institutions, currency and empire, governed by Portuguese. For sixty years the whole peninsula and both overseas empires, from Brazil to Macao, had one king. Spain's enemies, the Dutch above all, attacked Portuguese Brazil and Asia, and in 1640 the Portuguese rose and restored their own dynasty.
Say it
Durante sesenta años, España y Portugal tuvieron el mismo rey.
For sixty years, Spain and Portugal had the same king.
Why it matters
For two generations Spanish and Portuguese shared one crown; the union's end in 1640 fixed the two languages' separate futures in Europe and America.
Read about it
Connected
- The Treaty of Tordesillas (7 June 1494)
- Philip II builds El Escorial (1563–1584)
- The Armada sails against England (30 May 1588–October 1588)
- Before: The Battle of Lepanto
- After: The Armada sails against England
Sources
- Disciplina y poder eclesiástico en el Portugal de finales del siglo XVI: Felipe II, las Cortes de Tomar (Federico Palomo) — Hispania (CSIC), LXIV/1, núm. 216 (2004)
- Spanish Armada — World History Encyclopedia