The Kingdom: Political Developments of the 1630s
Reino: Dezenvolvimentos Políticos dos Anos de 1630
Relations with the Nobility
Filipe I as stated was a much more open-handed individual when it came to nobility, creating many new titles through his reign though without granting them privileges that could threaten his rule or the proper administration of the Kingdom as Monarchs such as Afonso V or Manuel I had done. Some of the most powerful families such as the Bragansas, Lencastres, the Menezes and a few more held control of the Ouvidorias which were effectively like the Comarcas (the administrative subdivisions below the Provinces but above the Municipalities) since pretty much the beginning of the Aviz Dynasty and they nominated the Ouvidores to represent them in judicial and administrative matters, reserving for them the right to choose the Alcaides of each Municipality they controlled.
Most of the titles he created had come from good military, diplomatic and administrative services but quite a few came from friendships with the King and in this sense, there was no major change from the previous reign or the practice of the day. However, many families were able to increase their power and wealth through well-made marriages akin to what was happening in Espanha or Fransa, a phenomenon that had been rather rare before Filipe’s reign but became prevalent in his reign, in part because some of the families died out likely because of consanguinity problems.
João II de Bragansa was the big catch of the marriage market in the Peninsula and beyond and while he received offers from the Estes of Modena, the Farnese of Parma and the Radevilas of Polónia-Lituânia, he was drawn to the offer made by Manuel Alonso de Gusmão, Duke of Medina Sidónia for his only surviving daughter Luíza de Gusmão because it brought more benefits for the House of Bragansa, including privileged commercial ties with Andaluzia and tying the two most powerful nobles families of the Peninsula.
Unbeknownst to João II, Manuel Alonso had been convinced of the benefits of the marriage by his cousin Gaspar de Gusmão, the Count-Duke of Olivares and effective ruler of Espanha, who saw this a counterweight to Filipe I of Portugal’s French-leaning stance. Despite the marriage creating a very powerful noble block, Olivares believed the benefits to the Spanish Crown outweighed the disadvantages though he would wish he could still offer his deceased daughter Maria de Gusmão who died in 1626 as it would have been less prejudicial to his position in Espanha than strengthening his very powerful kin.
The marriage was seen with some discomfort by Fransisco Coutinho who tried to have Filipe veto it but the King refused and even incentivized it. Defeated at first, Coutinho opted for a different approach and sought ways to turn Olivares’ scheme against him by getting closer to the main branch of the House of Gusmão, making them Portuguese-leaning and making Portugal prosper from the commerce with Andaluzia.
Thus, after negotiations the marriage between João II de Bragansa and Luíza de Gusmão was officialised on August 8, 1631, in the Cathedral of Évora by Archbishop Jozé de Melo, brother of Marquis Fransisco de Melo and thus a close kin to the Bragansas, with the presence of the King and Queen.
The bride’s elder brothers Gaspar Alonso de Gusmão, Count of Niébla and Melchior de Gusmão came with her and stayed in Vila Visoza for a while to shift the Bragansas into supporting Filipe IV of Espanha’s interests, and thus tacitly support Olivares’ interests as the Gusmãos de Medina Sidónia were jealous of his power. Nevertheless, João II de Bragansa was not a pro-Spanish noble like his father had been so their task was very difficult to accomplish though he did enjoy the company of Gusmãos.
It was for this reason that Olivares had Melchior nominated Spanish Ambassador in January 1632 after marrying the wealthy Luíza Jozefa de Estuniga [
Luisa Josefa Manrique de Zúñiga y Guzmán], Marquess de Vila Manrique [
Villamanrique] and a member of the powerful House of Estuniga of Basque origins. Using his new position, Melchior began meddling in Portuguese politics taking control over the Spanish faction in the country, after Izabel Clara Eujénia died in 1633, and became a good friend of Filipe I much to Queen Henrieta and the French faction’s dismay. His only son, Manuel Luíz de Estuniga e Gusmão was born in Vila Visoza a few months later on June 24.
The second most powerful noble family in the country, the Lencastres were still headed by the very influential widow, Juliana de Lencastre known as Juliana I de Aveiro. She had been a protegee of Queen Izabel de Médisis and was a good friend of Queen Izabel Clara Eujénia making her the most powerful woman in the country after the Royal Family and in old age was a very cunning lady with court experience who so far had witnessed five Kings. With her uncle and husband Álvaro I de Aveiro, she had sixteen children and with her connections, she managed to secure good weddings and positions for all of those who survived to adulthood.
Her eldest surviving son, Jorje Duarte de Lencastre died in 1632 without being able to inherit the title of Duke of Aveiro leaving three daughters from his wife Maria Béljica do Crato which created yet another succession crisis in the family this time between the eldest daughter of Jorje, Maria Juliana de Lencastre and her uncle Afonso Sebastião de Lencastre, Marquis of Porto Seguro.
Afonso Sebastião was a man with administrative experience Overseas having served as Vise-Rei da Índia and Governor of Brazil by this point. His mother had secured him a marriage with Ana de Sande e Padilha [
Ana de Sande y Padilla] Marquess of Valdefontes [
Valdefuentes] and Countess of Melhorada [
Mejorada] which opened up a way for the House of Lencastre to spread into Espanha but this prevented him from marrying his niece and settle the succession crisis as his parents had done.
Instead, since his brother Pedro Jozé de Lencastre was at the time Bishop of São Salvador da Baía and had taken the chastity vows, Duchess Juliana chose her youngest son Luíz Barnabé who was still unmarried to marry the young Maria Juliana. Afonso Sebastião protested against this decision but Luíz Barnabé and Maria Juliana were married and requested that Filipe I sanctioned the inheritance which he did. Thus upon Juliana I’s death in 1636, Maria Juliana became Juliana II de Aveiro and Luíz Barnabé became Luíz I de Aveiro.
Afonso Sebastião, angered by this outcome, left for Espanha in 1635 and did not come to his mother’s funeral in protest. His branch of the family started working for Filipe IV de Espanha and its interests lay there from that point on. As for the new Dukes of Aveiro, their marriage did not have good results in the offspring department with five children produced, only two daughters Juliana Fransisca and Beatriz Henrieta survived their first day so it seemed like the family was once again up to a new succession crisis...
Another family that was on the rise were the Coutinhos. Despite lacking the honour of being a relative of the King, the family was one of the oldest titled ones having been prominent since at least Afonso V’s reign and being one of the very few that remained prosperous with João II. They lost their prominence during the 16th Century but regained it thanks to Fransisco Coutinho, Count of Olivais who had been João IV’s best friend and now the right-hand man of Filipe I who chose him to be his valido.
With the death of his nephew, also named Fransisco, in 1628, the Count of Olivais inherited the County of Redondo which combined with his owning the Captaincy of Santa Catarina in Brazil and investments in the Portuguese merchant companies made him a very wealthy and influential man, being the most powerful after the King himself, rivalling João II de Bragansa. In 1635, Filipe I upgraded the County of Olivais to a Marquisate and authorized the County of Redondo to be granted to Fransisco’s oldest son and heir João Fransisco Coutinho.
Fransisco Coutinho, Marquis of Olivais and Capitão Donatário of Santa Catarina
The House of Crato was another family on the rise in Portugal. Emília de Oranje-Nasau died in 1629 and not long after, her husband Manuel do Crato started having mistresses, including Indian women given that he held many administrative titles Overseas late in his life. For his services, he was elevated to Marquis and his eldest son and heir, Manuel António was made Count of Belver which became the heir’s title.
Both the father and the son enjoyed a good relationship with Filipe I and that made them get his support to have the marriage between Manuel António and Joana Forjaz Pereira, Countess of Feira, the most desirable bride in the country which made the Cratos very wealthy and powerful, a vast improvement from the poverty they endured before Manuel the Elder submitted to João IV. The couple would have three sons António Manuel born in 1623, Luíz Manuel born in 1625 and Fransisco António born in 1630.
But none of them could compare with the ascension of Filipe I’s best friend, Miguel de Drácula called “Miguel do Barco” [
Michael of the Boat] by Filipe due to him being born on the boat that brought his mother, sister and grandmother to Lisboa. Due to being a Foreign Prince, João IV made him Baron of Valáquia, when the man returned from service in Polónia-Lituânia where he became an able cavalry commander, he was promoted to Viscount and before Filipe’s death he would become a Count and then a Marquis because of his many services. His marriage with Beatriz Luíza de Acolti, the only daughter of Luíz de Acolti, another of João IV’s friends also brought the County of Sangalhos to the family.
Many other families that were on the rise since João IV’s reign such as the Menezes de Vila Real, the Bragansas-Montemor, the Melos, the Ataídes, the Gamas and many others. But perhaps the most interesting episode was the Marquis of Valensa, Afonso II, whom Filipe I had rewarded for his father’s actions, and had to endure a very weird dispute with Filipe I because the King refused to allow anyone to have the surname de Portugal except the Infantes. Afonso was thus forced to adopt a new surname and chose de Valensa.
Royal Family
Henrieta once more got pregnant and went into labour on July 18, 1630. Despite the pain, her long labour resulted in the birth of a healthy baby boy which she insisted on being named Henrique after her father, Henrique IV of França. Filipe accepted her demand as he already had a son named after his father, and so Prince Henrique João Duarte de Portugal was baptized on July 28 in the Lisboa Cathedral with Luíz XIII da França being his godfather and his paternal aunts Leonor Izabel and Maria Catarina being his godmothers.
While the child was healthy, he soon showed some ailments namely that he was too quiet, did not display emotions and struggled to walk and talk despite being big for his age. Henrieta was deeply concerned with her son and nasty rumours started to spread about Henrique being possessed or retarded. Filipe despite it all, doted on his first legitimate son and made him Prince of the Algarves and Duke of Guimarães as soon as it was clear he would not die, this caused envy in his oldest bastard son João Duarte who at this point was 12 years old and was more sidelined, initiating one of the famous disputes in Portugal’s story.
The depressed Queen Dowager Izabel Clara Eujénia was named Henrique’s educator, giving her a purpose after her husband’s death which brought her some joy. With perseverance, Izabel managed to get her grandson to talk and walk through constant dialogue, usage of toys and reward-punishment mechanisms. On March 6, 1632, the Kingdom rejoiced with the birth of a Princess who was baptized Maria Henrieta Izabel and whose godfather was Filipe IV de Espanha and the godmothers were Izabel, Queen of Espanha and Cristina, Duchess of Savoia, Queen Henrieta’s sisters.
Maria Henrieta was a much livelier child, eager to explore her surroundings and she too was placed under the care of her paternal grandmother. Unfortunately, Izabel Clara Eujénia would die on December 1, 1633, at 67. Her death was grieved through the country and was Prince Henrique’s first experience with death which left him deeply uncomfortable despite being only 3 years old. Their new preceptor was Joana Margarida Corte-Real, Countess Dowager of Redondo who preferred to focus on Maria Henrieta rather than on Henrique because she lacked experience with raising boys, especially ones with Henrique’s ailments.
Henrieta would get pregnant again and give birth to another daughter on June 17, 1635. The Princess was named Leonor Catarina Eujénia and her godfather was Ladislau IV of Polónia-Lituânia and her godmothers were Ana Maria, Queen of França and Maria Ana, Empress of the Sacro-Império [
Holy Roman Empire]. Two years later, on May 4, 1637, a second son was born, Duarte Filipe Luíz, who was made Duke of Beja from birth and whose godfather was Emperor Fernando III do Sacro-Império and whose godmothers were the Emperor’s sisters Maria Ana, Electress of Baviera and Sesília Renata, Queen of Polónia-Lituânia. Finally, to end the decade, on June 23, 1639, another daughter was born, Beatriz Izabel Maria, with João I da Toscânia as the godfather and his older sisters Izabel Maria, Duchess of Parma and Ana Catarina, Marquess of Brandemburgo-Ansbáque [
Brandenburg-Ansbach] being the godmothers.
Portugal rejoiced with having so many Royal Children who were healthy and thriving. There were two boys, Henrique and Duarte and three girls, Maria, Leonor and Beatriz and it seemed the King and Queen were not done yet. Like Henrique, Duarte was a shy boy but capable of displaying emotions and eager to please while the sisters were talkative, spirited and a bit spoiled by their parents and preceptor.
By far, Henrique was the smartest, despite the difficulties the boy had to talk and walk earlier on, he had an easy time gripping various subjects including physical activities with the help of his unusually big size and strength but he was very shy and thus he struggled in social environments. Filipe I sought a Jezuíta in Salvador da Baía named António Vieira, famous as a great orator in Brazil to teach Prince Henrique how to improve his speech capabilities. These lessons began in 1637 when Henrique was still six and Vieira was according to his memoirs very surprised with the Prince who despite having difficulty focusing, showed intellect and a kind heart despite his aloof exterior.
Unlike his lavish parents whom his sisters were already emulating despite their young age, Henrique was happy with little, disliking fancy clothes and often dressing like a soldier which was seen as a scandal and mocked by his half-brother João Duarte, then already made Count of Elvas, and whose jealous kept growing, a feeling none of his siblings (Pedro Filipe, Filipa Izabel and Ana Izabel, the bastard children of Filipe I and his former mistress Ana Barboza) shared, at least in such way.
To improve his social skills, Vieira had Henrique speak with other noble kids of his age in gatherings and parties about his likes, dislikes and simple mundane things to gain experience and easiness in conversations, being present to make sure the Prince did not give up. Henrique was rather joyful (according to his own words) with his progress until he overheard Pedro Fransisco Coutinho and sister Filipa Izabel Coutinho, grandchildren of the powerful Fransisco Coutinho mocking him in private.
The young Prince became depressed and refused to obey Vieira any longer much to the priest’s dismay. Young Fransisco António do Crato, the youngest grandson of Manuel do Crato, was the opposite of the Coutinhos and persistently tried to befriend the Prince as according to his chronicles (which are deemed quite unbiased), he was intrigued by the Prince who was always depressed and alone despite his position.
It was not easy for the young noble lad as Henrique could really close himself from others but Fransisco was very smart, bold, persistent and not a quitter, qualities that allowed him to succeed in life, so no matter how much Henrique pushed him away, he kept insisting and with Vieira’s support, the two of them managed to get the Prince to forget about the mean noble kids and focus in improving himself at getting better at talking. After months of persistent encouragement, Henrique resumed his attempts at holding conversations with other people though more sceptically than before. Vieira was thankful for the help he got from Fransisco António and he was the first to recognize the boy’s genius intellect, especially in strategy while playing chess with him and Prince Henrique.
The two of them were not the only ones concerned with Henrique’s depression, his parents were too and Filipe I decided to gather a bunch of noble kids to be educated with his son so that he could make friends. While the idea was noble, Filipe included kids from his own friends like Pedro Fransisco Coutinho, one of the sources of the Prince’s depression, though no one noticed it until Henrique became very defensive towards the boy who as a kid was not very nice.
Pedro Fransisco Coutinho, João da Silva, heir to the County of Portalegre, Lourenso de Corbizi, third son of the Count of Álvares and Pedro Miguel de Drácula, heir to County of Valáquia were a group of nobles that were all slightly older than Henrique and friendly to João de Elvas, the noble who served as the example to emulate in court given Henrique’s young age and Elvas’ charisma, who took advantage of their admiration towards him and their aggressive behaviour to make them bully Henrique and anyone who tried to befriend him.
It worked well because despite Henrique being the Prince, was isolated by the noble boys except for Fransisco António and Manuel Luíz de Estuniga e Gusmão, the son of Melchior de Gusmão who had befriended Henrique after he resumed his attempts at holding conversations. But even these two rather steadfast boys were pressured by the troublesome four to leave Henrique’s side and while according to Crato, Manuel was at one point almost giving up, Crato convinced him not to do so.
Unfortunately, the situation got out of hand when the four boys got into a particularly nasty argument with Henrique and his two friends and decided to fight them. According to Fransisco António’s writing: “Manuel was quickly beaten by Silva and Corbizi who cowardly attacked him together and was on the floor bleeding and crying while I avoided Coutinho and ran to get help as it was the most logical thing to do, though to this day I still regret not staying with Henrique. When I returned with some guards, Henrique had beaten the four of them by himself due to his absurd strength but he had taken a good beating too. Coutinho had passed out from just a punch and the others were crying in pain in pain with Corbizi passing out when we arrived. All the while Henrique had his hands closing his ears and claiming that he didn’t want to hurt them but they hurt him and Manuel.”
Since the young nobles attacked the Prince, they were exiled from court immediately after they recovered, being spared from harsher penalties such as death due to Filipe deeming them reckless kids who did not deserve death and no one really opposed his decision. For his side, Henrique tried to mend things with the parents, feeling worried about the four boys’ state though his efforts were met with mixed results while João de Elvas suffered no repercussions because nothing could be traced to him.
But his hatred towards Henrique was his undoing because he started denigrating his half-brother by claiming he had no control over himself and was a mindless brute. Henrieta Maria enraged by these statements demanded that Filipe send his bastard son away from court which he agreed to do though because of his love for all his children, Elvas would return a year later, after repenting himself, despite many criticizing the King’s decision to so, chief among them the Queen who tolerated all of Filipe’s bastards but not João de Elvas who she despised as much as the bastard despised her.
Elvas’s badmouthing prevented many young nobles from approaching Henrique but without the other boys bullying anyone who tried to get close to him, Henrique managed to befriend Luíz de Menezes, a brother of Fernando de Menezes, Count of Lourisal, who was two years younger but just like the Prince suffered from bouts of depression, the main reason why he had not approached earlier. Things seemed to have gotten better for the Prince of the Algarves but the hate of João de Elvas was not easily defeated.
Count João Duarte de Elvas
The Government Reform of 1630
Filipe I was not a Monarch too interested in ruling like his father had been so he preferred to delegate power to trusted advisors which were either his father’s own advisors or his friends. After two years when Filipe I reigned like his father, he decided to decree the 1630 Administration Reform which rivalled in importance the one his grandfather Duarte I had passed that created multiple councils to help him rule following the Spanish model.
The new Reform followed the French and English models of having a Government Cabinet. Filipe created or reformulated seven Ministries and Court positions:
- Secretário de Estado de Asistênsia ao Despacho [Secretary of State for Assistance of Dispatch] or the King’s right-hand man who conducted the country’s administration with the sanction of the King as if he were the King himself.
- Mordomo-Mor e Secretário de Estado da Caza do Rei [Lord Chamberlain and Secretary of State of the Royal Household] was responsible for administrating the Royal Household as it was before the Reform.
- Condestável de Portugal e Secretário de Estado da Guerra [Constable of Portugal and Secretary of State of War] responsible for the Army’s condition both in personnel and equipment as well as being the Supreme Commander of the Army after the King himself and thus needing to lead the Army in a war as it was before the Reform though it was no longer a decadent or hereditary position.
- Grão-Almirante de Portugal e Secretário de Estado da Marinha [Grand Admiral and Secretary of State of the Navy] was responsible for the Navy’s condition in both personnel and equipment as well as being the Supreme Commander of the Navy after the King himself and thus needing to lead the Navy in a war. This position replaced all the other offices such as Almirante de Portugal, Capitão-Mor do Mar, etc. that were hereditary.
- Chanceler-Mor e Secretário de Estado da Justisa [Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State of Justice] was responsible for the well conduct of justice in the country, the administration of all courthouses and publishment of all laws.
- Tezoureiro-Mor e Secretário de Estado da Fazenda [Lord High Treasurer and Secretary of State of the Exchequer] responsible for the economy of the country, the treasury (with the sanction of the Vedors da Fazenda [Treasurers]) and collection of revenues.
- Secretário de Estado das Relasões Exteriores [Secretary of State of Foreign Relations] responsible for the foreign diplomacy and coordination of the diplomats.
The existing councils were not abolished but were integrated into the new administration model, continuing to function as they had been but often with the presence of the Secretaries of State in the meetings. The Secretaries were also members of the Conselho de Estado [
Council of State] which remained the most important council aside from being the oldest.
For the position of Assistance of Dispatch, he nominated his deceased father’s best friend Fransisco Coutinho, Marquis of Olivais who became his right-hand man and thus the second most powerful man in the Kingdom. Coutinho was a way for Filipe I to make sure he was pursuing his late father’s policies. His best friend Miguel Drácula was nominated for Mordomo-Mor while João II of Bragansa, already Constable received the office of Secretary of War as a formality tying the two positions together.
Afonso do Vimiozo, Marquis of Valensa was deprived of his title of Almirante de Portugal but was compensated by being nominated the first Grão-Almirante de Portugal because he did have experience in naval affairs. For Chanseler-Mor the Jezuíta André de Almada was the chosen one due to his experience while Filipe’s personal treasurer Jozé Luíz de Sampaio was given the position of Tezoureiro-Mor. Finally, Vasco António da Costa Corte-Real, Count of Angra was chosen for Secretary of Foreign Relations.
Most of the Ministers were members of the Second Estate (Nobility), with one being from the First Estate (Clergy) but whose roots were in the Second Estate and one being from the Third Estate (Commoners) and a New Christian. Sampaio did face some sneering from some of the Secretaries of State but overall, led by Coutinho, the group worked quite efficiently and safeguarded the interests of the country from the very beginning.
During the 1630s, only two changes were made in Foreign Relations, due to Corte-Real’s death on 12/02/1836, he was replaced by Luíz de Ataíde, Marquis of Santarém but his death in 11/03/1839 forced a new nomination to the position in the person of Antão de Almada, Count of Avranches.
The Government Cabinet system was a very important milestone for the country because now Monarchs that were less inclined to rule such as Filipe I or even more interested ones such as João IV were complemented by an efficient group of people that not only were focused on a specific administrative topic and thus better prepared to answer whatever problems might arise in that area but allowed the burden of rulership to be lessened. The new system was not without its problems. As stated, not everyone in the Government was especially friendly with each other and petty interests were always not far but at the end of the day, things did get more efficient.
Before anything, I'm very proud of surpassing the 100 000 views on the story. It's a big milestone and gives me the will to continue. I haven't finished revamping all of the older chapters but I will get there.
This is the first chapter of 2024. I tried to create political intrigue in a believable way but I'm not 100% sure of what I came up with as it's partly inspired by my fictional drama stories that sometimes exaggerate things. It also serves to set up things for the future and there are a few spoilers here and there. Anyway, I think that's all for now, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.