King Henrique’s War
A Guerra do Rei Henrique
1595 had just begun and King Henrique IV de Fransa [
Henry IV of France] was still facing opposition to his rule: The Catholic League was still active with many of its members refusing to recognize him as the King; part of the Army of Flandres was still in French territory; Filipe II de Espanha had yet to recognize him as King and Izabel Clara Eujénia’s alleged claim still lingered around. For these reasons but also because Henrique wished to unite the French people in a common cause, he declared war on Espanha and Portugal on January 17 as stated before. The French King had clear objectives for this war: Eliminate his political enemies, make the claim of the Queen of Portugal unfeasible and obtain territorial gains. He was convinced that he could defeat both Iberian countries because Espanha was involved in several wars already and Portugal had been humiliated by some Muslim barbarians in Marrocos.
Preparations for War:
The declaration of war was received in Portugal by the end of February and it was said that João Duarte, at the time still Regent for his depressed father, covered his face with his hands whilst shaking his head in disbelief at the mess he found himself in. Then he called for his cousin, Teodózio II de Bragansa to come to Lisboa as soon as it was possible. The Constable’s arrival in the capital coincided with the Royal Decree to raise the Ordenansas for war and prepare the Army. Fransa was far away from Portugal’s borders but the Sultanate of Marrocos was not and this was a perfect chance for Amade Almansor [
Ahmad al-Mansur] to attack the North African possessions and with the humiliation suffered in Alcáser Quibir still haunting the minds of the Portuguese elite, no one wished to harm their prestige more with unnecessary risks, least of all the King.
In total, by late March, 10 Tersos were raised with about 2 000 men in each, making a total of about 20 000 soldiers, one of the largest national contingents ever raised in Portugal.
Name | Commander |
Terso do Minho | Álvaro de Lencastre, Duke of Aveiro |
Terso do Douro | Miguel Luíz de Menezes, Marquis of Vila Real |
Terso do Porto | Luíz de Noronha e Menezes, Heir to the Marquisate of Vila Real |
Terso de Tráz-os-Montes | Fransisco de Portugal, Count of Vimiozo |
Terso de Coimbra | João Gonsalves de Ataíde, Count of Atouguia |
Terso da Beira | António de Castro, Count of Monsanto |
Terso de Lisboa | Teodózio II de Bragansa, Duke of Bragansa and Constable of Portugal |
Terso da Estremadura | João Coutinho, Count of Redondo |
Terso do Alentejo | Duarte de Bragansa, Heir to the Dukedom of Bragansa and former Vise-Rei do Brazil |
Terso do Algarve | Fransisco da Gama, Count of Vidigueira |
This decently large number of soldiers was achieved thanks to the consolidation that the Ordenansas had in Portugal and its society ever since they were implemented in 1570. The nobility had allowed the King to fully enforce the Ordenansas in their lands after Alcáser Quibir despite many powerful nobles like the Bragansas, the Aveiros and the Vila Reais being exempt from doing so by law. As in Sebastião’s army, there was some corruption noted in the recruitment but in general, the troops were more disciplined and cohesive than those of 1578. Contrary to what was normal in Europe at the time, there were almost no mercenaries, Sebastião had much difficult to arrange them for his campaign and João Duarte was no different.
Eventually, Izabel managed to convince her father-in-law and husband to send troops to fight in Fransa as a way to appease her father for “Portugal’s troubles” enforcing some requirements of the marriage contract and hopefully regain some of the lost prestige of the Portuguese Army since it would not regain it by staying put. 6 Tersos left Portugal to southern Fransa by the end of May despite the risks.
Naval Combats and the Supremacy of the Iberian Nations at Sea:
A month earlier, in April, João Duarte and Filipe II agreed to use their fleets against Fransa despite the Portuguese King refusing the offer to unite them in one. His reasoning was simple, keeping the Portuguese fleet independent, guaranteed that the English and the Dutch would not attack it and that it would not be “diverted” to other destinations...Therefore the Spanish naval engagements were focused on the French Mediterranean coast where it achieved great success, razing ports such as Marselha, Toulão [
Toulon], Monpelié [
Montpellier] and Narbona, among others, of course, making the almost nonexistent French fleet unfeasible in the Mediterranean.
As for Portugal, by April 25, a fleet of 25 Portuguese ships under the command of João de Azevedo, the Admiral of Portugal, bombed and razed the port of Larrochel [
La Rochelle] and the fleet that was anchored there. They continued on the coast of Aquitânia and went as far as to bomb Bordéus [
Bordeaux]. By May 2, they had a naval engagement with a French fleet of 60 ships that Henrique IV sent to face them. The French had the numbers but Portugal had the power as most of its ships were galleons of great tonnage and with many cannons, furthermore, the Portuguese used the English strategy of bombing instead of boarding and because of it, the French lost between 60% of its ships while Portugal lost a total of 7 (3 were sunk and 4 damaged).
The French Offensive Against Portuguese Ships
On May 4, the Portuguese took control over the island of Olérão which became a base from which the attacks were made and the ships could take refuge from storms. Throughout the rest of the war, Portuguese ships devastated the French coasts from Britânia [
Brittany] to the border with Espanha with the French Navy being powerless to do anything even if some of their fleets caused damage and some plunder in the Asores and the Americas. But this naval superiority brought consequences, as both Inglaterra [
England] and the Provínsias Unidas [
United Provinces] grew worried about having so many ships close to their shores and contemplating intervening on behalf of Henrique, however, because he was the aggressor, Izabel I who did not wish to lose one of her few allies, Portugal sat still and so did the Dutch. On the other hand, while the Protestants did not directly enter the conflict or their intervention was small, the opportunistic Carlos Emanuel I, Duke of Savoia joined the Iberian countries after witnessing their successes and was now hoping for a territorial expansion.
Land Warfare, the Core of the War:
During its march towards Fransa, the Portuguese Army stopped in Madride where the Spanish King reinforced them with an extra Terso of 3 000 Spanish fresh soldiers which brought the number of soldiers to something between 15 000 and 16 000. They entered Fransa through the Bay of Biscaia on 4 June and laid siege to Baiona [
Bayonne] and Biarritse, which they took on the 16th with minimal losses. Teodózio then advanced to Dax, laying siege on the 21st and capturing it on the 24th.
On June 20, the Army of Flandres laid siege to Lacatlé [
La Catelet] and captured it on the 26th. Two days before the capture, Carlos Emanuel entered Provensa with an army of 13 000 soldiers, mostly mercenaries and took Cane [
Cannes] on July 1, laying siege to Toulão on July 14. Both the Spanish and Savoyards met moderate success on the Franco Condado [
Franche-Comté] and Northern Savoia as well.
The war had started only 7 months ago and Henrique had already realized that he had gone too far when declaring war on the two Iberian countries, especially when his position was not fully consolidated. Because of the lack of victories and the devastation that the coastal towns were suffering, more and more voices were rising against his authority. This convinced the French King that he needed to eliminate his opponents in Britânia as quickly as he could lest his enemies completely overrun Fransa. He sent his Marshals and trusted commanders to different areas:
- Auvergne and Balagny to Picardia to stall the Army of Flandres;
- Biron, likely his best Marshal, to Borgonha [Burgundy] together Sully, his First Minister;
- Joyeuse and Beaumanoir to fight the Portuguese in the southwest,
- La Châtre and Boisdauphin to stop Carlos Emanuel in Provensa.
Meanwhile, Henrique rode with Cossé to Britânia
Henrique's Marshals and the War Situation
Battle of Pau:
On July 28, Joyeuse and Beaumanoir approached the Portuguese Army that was laying siege to Pau and overconfidently, forced a fight. The French were about 10 000 (roughly 9 000 infantrymen and 1 000 knights), most of whom were hurriedly recruited from southern Fransa and therefore were not very cohesive. The best troops were with Henrique in Britânia or in Picardia but their cavalry was strong. Their disposition was as follows:
- First Line of Troops with 5 Regiments under Joyeuse with the cavalry in the flanks (roughly 5 000 infantrymen and 1 000 on horse).
- Second Line of Troops with 4 Regiments under Beaumanoir (roughly 4 000 infantrymen).
Teodózio had numerical superiority in both infantry and cavalry, his troops had already developed group spirit and thanks to the mandatory training they had been subjected to, they had accumulated experience and knew what to do, yet, they had yet to face an army in combat. The Portuguese command was slightly defensive in approach and hesitant too, thanks to the previous failure in Marrocos and acted with caution. The disposition of Portuguese troops was as follows:
- First Line with the Spanish Terso and the Terso da Estremadura in the centre and the cavalry in the flanks. The command was under Count of Redondo (Roughly 4 000 infantrymen and 1 500 on horse).
- Second Line with the Terso do Douro, Lisboa and Tráz-os-Montes under Teodózio himself (6 000 infantrymen).
- Third Line or reserves with the Terso de Coimbra and the Terso da Beira under the overall command of the Count of Monsanto.
Teodózio began the battle by ordering the bulk of the artillery to focus on the advancing French forces, searching to organize themselves in the battleground. This inflicted casualties on the enemy and disoriented them. Joyeuse, unable to bring the French artillery to counter the Portuguese bombardment, ordered the French cavalry to strike in hopes of disrupting the enemy artillery this way. As soon as the Duke of Bragansa noticed the French cavalry charging, he sent the Marquis of Vila Real, who was commanding the cavalry, to meet them. Both cavalries met and although the French lacked the numbers, they had a slight advantage in quality, so the Portuguese left flank cavalry was neutralized and in danger of shattering while the right flank, where Vila Real was, seemed more resistant.
With these positive results in mind and with the Portuguese’s first line of defence seemingly in numerical inferiority, Joyeuse ordered the front regiments to advance. Teodózio deciding to take no risks and noticing the recklessness of his opponent ordered the entire second line of defense to reinforce the first line, strengthening it and making it very consistent. He also ordered the reserves to move to the left flank to support the ever-weakened left cavalry there. Beaumanoir sent the remaining French regiments to support Joyeuse when it became clear that his colleague’s plan was not going to work. As expected by both sides, the Portuguese cavalry in the left flank had to retreat after suffering heavy casualties and disrupting its organization, however, the two reserves Terços had already covered their retreat by stalling the French horsemen.
Meanwhile, on the other flank, Vila Real’s forces managed to overcome, with great difficulty, their opposing counterparts who retreated. Instead of chasing the enemy to make sure they left the battleground, as expected, Vila Real advanced against the French infantry in the centre, razing two French regiments with the help of the Tersos, the French were left exposed. The now-free Tersos and Vila Real’s horsemen rammed the exposed French who barely held them back. While all this happened, the French cavalry in the Portuguese left flank collapsed and retreated. This was noted by Joyeuse and Beaumanoir who realized they were at risk of being surrounded and so they retreated their army, giving the victory to Portugal.
Consequences of the Battle of Pau, the Path Towards Peace:
The Portuguese celebrated their victory but their commanders noticed the problems that the battle showcased: they had lost close to 3 000 men, most of them horsemen meaning the already seemingly weak Portuguese cavalry was now crippled. It was clear that this sector of the Portuguese Army was far from what was needed and if they struggled so much when they had numerical superiority, they would certainly collapse with an even or lower number of riders. Thus it was very likely that this could cost Portugal the next battle and also meant that this was a Pyrrhic victory.
Teodózio requested reinforcements from both his King and from Filipe II, but from the first, he received very little, due to fears of needing to send troops to North Africa and having none if he sent more and from the latter, he only received troops to garrison the conquered towns. Due to this lack of support, the Constable of Portugal was forced to adopt an even more defensive stance while trying to keep the morale of his troops high. Luckily for him, the French were suffering from the same problems, they lost 5 000 men, most of which were cavalry units and therefore they also couldn’t do much but reform their armies, something which would take quite some time. The Aquitanian front was now at a stalemate, with both parties laying siege to the towns, hoping the other would not come to relieve the sieged towns.
Toulão fell to Carlos Emanuel on July 21 and this Duke secured a victory against the French at Colobríer [
Collobrières] not long after, where he lost quite the amount of men, even more than Teodózio, but he kept his aggressive stance and it didn’t seem like he was weakened at all. Motivated by both his victory and the Portuguese victory, the Duke of Savoia now had the ambition to take Lião [
Lyon], one of the most important French cities that was very close to his border. He was unlucky because Henrique IV had travelled to Lião in a royal progression to consolidate his internal rule there and so the French monarch quickly assembled an army and drove the Savoyards back once he got notice of it. Sully then began preparing an invasion of Savoia since they noted that the Savoyards had fewer troops there.
In Picardia, the Spaniards gradually achieved significant gains but due to being engaged in three simultaneous wars, one of which was in the Terras Baixas [
Netherlands] and needed the attention of the Army of Flandres, they were unable to carry a full-scale invasion of the region that could threaten Paris. Watching from afar, Izabel I da Inglaterra was growing increasingly concerned with the situation in Fransa, her compromises with Portugal were becoming a burden to Inglaterra’s defence so in one last attempt to not declare war on Portugal, she pressured both Portugal and Fransa to enter negotiations. She wasn’t the only one interested in peace between both countries, Fernando I da Toscânia [
Ferdinand I of Tuscany], Henrique IV’s biggest creditor and with many interests in Portugal, where the local Médisis [
Medici] agency was booming, also sought to act as a moderator in this war and bring the Médisis more prestige and security, his diplomatic strategy.
Izabel I da Inglaterra on her last years
Both monarchs were receptive to peace and they reached many compromises for a future peace treaty, however, João IV, already King now, insisted that Henrique should make peace with Espanha as well. Fernando de Médisis’ support proved once more crucial for the French monarch, as the influence of the former Cardinal convinced Pope Clemente VIII to officially lift Henrique’s excommunication on September 17, 1595. Despite this diplomatic victory, 1595, was also a black year for France as it had lost Pau, Tarbes, Lurdes [
Lourdes], Lower Navarra, Ortêz [
Orthez] and many other possessions in Aquitânia; Provensa, Draguinhã [
Draguignan], Brinhol [
Brignoles] and other locations on the Provensal Coast and in Picardia, Dulã [
Doullens] and Cambraia.
1596, however, was a much better year for the first Burbom King of Fransa, on February 9, he finally took Anjê [
Angers], forcing his greatest opponent in the region, Duke Filipe Emanuel de Mercou [
Philip Emmanuel of Mercœur] to flee the country. By March, Britânia was pacified and Henrique was now free to focus on other fronts. He divided his army in two, sending Cossé to Savoia to prepare an invasion there with Sully and La Châtre while Henrique himself rode to Aquitânia to hopefully pressure Filipe II to start negotiations at the same time he sent diplomats to Madride.
Situation in Fransa After the Fall of Anjê
Henrique’s arrival at Aquitânia broke the stalemate there as the French army was now bigger and had a huge contingent of knights. This forced the Portuguese Army to be in constant movement to avoid a battle that would no doubt end up in defeat. By late April, Teodózio warned his cousin, the King, of this chaotic situation and urged him to either send more troops, call them back or achieve a diplomatic solution as they were unable to do anything in the condition they were in. Filipe was preparing more troops to send to Aquitânia but these troops would take a couple of months at the very least. Henrique, on the other hand, was recovering some towns he had lost because he had no opposition.
Cossé’s arrival at Savoia coincided with the full collapse of the Savoyard Army in the region as 16 000 French soldiers defeated 6 000 Savoyards at Ambrio-no-Buje [
Ambérieu-en-Bugey] on March 13. The battle opened Savoia to a full invasion by Fransa. In the last days of March, the French were already at the Alpes and Carlos Emanuel withdrew from Provensa with his army to defend his lands when he was so close to taking Marseilha. He left, however, the towns he had captured properly garrisoned so when Boisdauphin and the new French Marshal, François de Bonnes tried to recover these towns, they failed due to the lack of men.
In the face of the debacle that was occurring on almost all the fronts of combat to which Maurísio de Nasau’s victories in the Terras Baixas were added, together with the pressure that the Pope and João IV were doing on him as well as the disease that was slowly draining the life from him, Filipe II accepted to negotiate peace with Fransa, now that a Catholic King accepted by the Pope ruled there.
The Treaty of Monpelié:
The representatives of the belligerent countries met in Monpelié [
Montpellier] where the bulk of the negotiations took place. It was known that Espanha wanted to annex Lower Navarra, Baiona and Biarritse while Savoia wanted Provensa and Saluzo, something that Henrique IV was not willing to grant, especially considering that the tables were turning in Fransa’s favour. Teodózio, who was representing his cousin in the negotiations also protested a lot against the Spanish’s demands since it was the Portuguese Army that took them from Fransa. It was in Teodózio’ protests that Henrique and his advisers understood how they could turn Espanha’s allies against it.
The French King offered Saluzo (which was already occupied by Savoia since 1588) together with war reparations to Carlos Emanuel and in return, he wanted the county of Brez [
Bresse] up to the River Ãe [
Ain] and the return of the occupied towns in Provensa. Secretly he also offered to divide the Duchy of Milão between Fransa and Savoia if the Duke accepted the peace terms. To Portugal, to whom he had started negotiations earlier, he guaranteed that he would compensate the country monetarily, would cease all attacks in Portuguese territory and ships, and even offer them a royal wedding if Portugal publicly renounced Izabel Clara’s claims and returned the still occupied territories in Aquitânia.
Henrique’s proposals pleased the Portuguese entourage and whilst Carlos Emanuel was hesitant at first, the French advance in his lands and budget difficulties prompted him to realize that he would not get better terms than these, especially when he was seen as an opportunist. Thus the French monarch had managed to isolate Espanha which he enticed with monetary compensations since the country was again on the brink of bankruptcy.
So the terms agreed upon at Monpelié were as follows:
- Portugal, Espanha and Savoia returned their occupied territory to Fransa and Fransa returned the occupied territory together with the fortresses manned by French to the Duchy of Savoia,
- Savoia traded Brez for Saluzo with Fransa,
- Fransa recognized the Spanish sovereignty over Flandres and Artézia [Artois], returning Charolé [Charolais], near the Franco Condado to Espanha
- Henrique IV was recognized as the rightful King of Fransa and Izabel Clara’s claim was fully nullified,
- All countries involved in the war pledged to not attack or occupy any territory belonging to the others,
- All countries involved in the war pledged to promote trade and good diplomatic relationships with each other,
- Fransa would pay 300 000 French livres to Portugal, Espanha and Savoia (900 000 livres in total). These would be paid in yearly instalments and potential dowries.
King Henrique IV da Fransa at the Conclusion of the Treaty of Monpelié
The Aftermath:
Savoia lost land in its northwestern border but it also got a little bit more defensible, the southwest became more consistent as well. The duchy was also free of French troops inside it which also helped improve its defenses. Carlos Emanuel was not fond of failing to take Provensa but the potential to gain parts of Milão left him satiated for the moment. He slowly entered the French sphere of influence because of this, especially after the death of his wife, Catarina Micaela, daughter of Filipe II, in 1597.
Duchy of Savoia after the War outlined in Dark Green, Brez is in the Upper Left Corner
Espanha avoided bankruptcy by just a small chance and was now free from one war before it could get even costlier to the country. It did not gain new territories but was now able to focus on the crusade against the Protestants and Otomanos. Two more large fleets were sent against Inglaterra in late 1596 and 1597 but they failed, like the first one. Filipe II would die on September 13, 1598, and Espanha would slowly lose its hegemonic power, giving way to other countries to rise.
Henrique IV managed to solve the mess he had gotten himself into without major losses. He managed to acquire Brez, a territory that improved the defences of Lião considerably at the expense of a territory he no longer controlled. On the other hand, he would have to pay a colossal amount of money to his three former enemies, money that Fransa didn’t really have…especially when there was so much to rebuild.
On November 8, 1596, he published the Edict of Monpelié in which he granted freedom of religion to French Calvinists. This ended the Wars of Religion that ravished the country for decades and finally brought peace, stability and somewhat, prosperity to Fransa. The Duke of Sully, Henrique’s First Minister would achieve a remarkable economic recovery of the country which would help pay Fransa’s debts but it wasn’t enough. Henrique who succeeded in getting a divorce from Margarida de Valuá [
Margaret of Valois] married Maria de Médisis, niece to Fernando I da Toscânia and cousin of João IV de Portugal who not only brought a sizable dowry but also some sizable loans from Fernando to help Sully implement his reforms. This marriage produced the third Médisis Queen, second in Fransa, bringing great prestige to the Médisis. It also allowed the Grand Duke to achieve independence from Habsburgo influence as he balanced between Portugal, Espanha and Fransa in the international panorama, according to what was best for Toscânia. Maria would also bring Henrique the heirs he needed to secure alliances.
French reputation was however tarnished by its defeats at Pau and Colobriér against seemingly weaker countries, it also showed how weak the country was against countries with strong navies and naval traditions as the French Navy now counted with something as some 30-40 ships. Henrique was adamant about improving the Navy but unfortunately for him, the money was not enough to do much yet.
The Portuguese troops that fought in Fransa were well-received upon their arrival in Lisboa. Portugal was now free from war again and the credibility of the Army had improved. Teodózio received from his cousin the title of Grão-Mestre da Ordem de Cristo [
Grand Master of the Order of Christ] as a reward, but the Duke was expecting more and the relationships between them worsened. The King summoned all the nobles who fought in Fransa to an extraordinary Conselho de Guerra [
Council of War] aimed to assess the performance of the Army and the weaknesses that were noted. All the commanders except the Marquis of Vila Real for obvious reasons noted the cavalry as being a great weakness but above it, they noted the lack of reinforcements as the biggest problem.
After the meeting, João Duarte created a special Terso with about 3 000 veterans from the war to serve as the core of a true National Army and also the Guarda Real Montada [
Mounted Royal Guard], a force with 250 mounted soldiers designated to improve the quality of the Portuguese cavalry so criticized. Regarding the war reparations money that Portugal received from Fransa, it was mostly used to finance this National Army in the making and would also be used in North Africa. French attacks against Brazil and the Portuguese ships ceased and this greatly benefited the Portuguese trade.
I'm not sure how I did with this one, it is until the moment the largest update I made and I'm not sure about how logical it will seem. I took heavy influence on OTL Portuguese War of Succession, the Spanish-French War of 1595-1598 and the Franco-Savoyard War of 1600-1601, all of which lasted just a couple of years, hence why this one took so little time too. I'm looking forward to see the feedback on this one. Also thank you for the comments and likes.
