Cessa o Nevoeiro: O Surgir do Quinto Império - A Portuguese Timeline

RedAquilla · Feb 21, 2020

Before anything else, greetings to you reader and fellow history lover. For a few years I have been reading alternate timelines mostly about my country Portugal and I decided to give it a go at writing an alternate timeline of my own.

I have experimented with many scenarios until I settled on this one: a rather unknown Portuguese Infante named Duarte, Duke of Guimarães, cousin to the more famous King Sebastião who died two years before him, who could have inherited Portugal after his cousin’s death and thus prevent many troubles that the Iberian Union brought had he married, produced children of his own and lived a while longer. This timeline explores a scenario in which these three little things could do to a country and the world.

Some considerations about the timeline:

Information about Duarte and his life is very hard to come across and even though I used everything I could find of him I took many creative liberties to explain his life hopefully without committing too many inaccuracies. Creative liberties will be taken every time I have little information on individuals, territories, etc.
I know about the butterfly theory but for the sake of keeping myself on a track I can follow, the changes start at a small pace first and small geography but with the years, more places will be affected until the world is so changed that it doesn’t resemble our own but a similar one where similarities can be found. In other words, do not expect different marriages, wars, revolts, etc. right off the bat just because Duarte got married and had children.
What is currently written in the Threadmarks is subject to changes as the story progresses to make it hopefully better. These changes are not meant to destroy the core of the update so the ideas it transmits will remain the same.
The Portuguese language I'm using is a modified one for the TL so for those of you who know Portuguese, I'm writing it wrong on purpose. Given names, Country names, City names will be in this TL's Portuguese so you will see Izabel I da Inglaterra rather than Elizabeth I of England or Isabel I da Inglaterra.

This is my first timeline so it’s all clumsy still but I’m doing my best to learn what is there to learn. So far it has helped improve my knowledge by a lot but I hope to increase it further. All the help will be much appreciated and hopefully, everything remains a believable scenario. Without further ado, let the timeline begin!

All the rules in Portuguese are the same. Here are the main changes with the IPA providing the European Portuguese pronunciation:
1) /s/ is always represented by the letter s. As in Castillian and Galician, ss and ç were abolished but the TL's Portuguese went further and abolished ce and ci as well. Examples:
Sara>Sara /ˈsa.ɾɐ/
Vanessa>Vanesa /vɐˈnɛ.sɐ/
França>Fransa /ˈfɾɐ̃.sɐ/
Céu>Séu /ˈsɛw/
Francisco>Fransisco /fɾɐ̃ˈsiʃ.ku/

2) /z/ is always represented by the letter z. The letters s and x no longer have that phoneme. Pre 1911 Portuguese had this rule in many words, in this TL it was not abolished and went further. Examples:
Casa>Caza /ˈka.zɐ/
Exemplo>Ezemplo /iˈzẽ.plu/

3) /ʒ/ is always represented by the letter j. ge and gi no longer have that phoneme. Ge and gi were abolished. Examples:
Tânger>Tânjer /ˈtɐ̃.ʒɛɾ/
Gibão>Jibão /ʒiˈbɐ̃w̃/

4) /k/ is written with a c before a, o, u and with a qu before e and i as in OTL.
Cama /ˈkɐ.mɐ/
Queijo /ˈkɐj.ʒu/
Quilo /ˈki.lu/
Comida /kuˈmi.dɐ/
Cumaná /kumɐna/

5) The letter x either represents /ʃ/ an in ship or /ks/ depending on the situation. This is like OTL except the x no longer has /s/ or /z/ values.

6) ch represents /ʃ/ in most of the country hence why many Portuguese in this TL want it to be replaced by an x but in Northern Portugal it represents /tʃ/ so it remains controversial. This is like OTL.

7) rr remains with the /ʁ/ in the middle of the word because the r assumes a different phoneme /ɾ/. This is like OTL.

8) ês and is are replaced by êz and íz. This is a sort of mix between Pre 1911 Portuguese (ez an iz) and Post 1911 Portuguese (ês and is).
Português>Portuguêz /puɾ.tuˈɡeʃ/
Quis>Quíz /ˈkiʃ/

9) New digraphs were added to the language to translate foreign languages if needed. These are:
ts /ts/ Catsumoto (Katsumoto)
tx /tʃ/ Txéquia (Chéquia [EP] or Tchéquia [BP]
dj /dʒ/ Tadjíquia (Tajiquistão) but most often ends up translated as a normal j (Tajíquia)
xh /x/ Xhersão (Kherson) but most often ends up translated as normal h (Hersão)

RedAquilla · Feb 21, 2020

King João III and the Portuguese Succession Line
João III e a Linha de Susesão Portugueza

The birth of Prince Sebastião de Portugal on January 20, 1554, made King João III de Portugal a little calmer since the Portuguese crown would not fall to Prince Carlos de Espanha, who was mentally unstable and as such unwanted to become King of Portugal or anything really…

João III de Portugal

Despite the high number of children that King João had, only his daughter, Princess Maria Manuela and his son Prince João Manuel reached adulthood and produced offspring of their own. The Princess was the mother of the aforementioned Carlos and died after his birth while João Manuel was the father of Sebastião and died from complications of diabetes or tuberculosis 18 days before his son was born.

King João still had some siblings alive at the time of his grandson’s birth, such as Luíz, Duke of Beja who was 47 years old and showed no interest in getting married (he did, however, have a bastard son named António who was destined to an ecclesiastical career). In addition to Luíz, there was also Cardinal-Infante Henrique, Archbishop of Évora who in theory would not produce descendants in accordance to his vows of chastity and finally the educated Maria, Duchess of Vizeu, who was a woman and only half-sister to the King and whose marriage was very unlikely since her dowry would have to be very large. [1]

In addition to those mentioned, there were also three nephews of the King, the children of the late Duarte, Duke of Guimarães [1] who were: 15 years old Maria de Guimarães, 14 years old Catarina Guimarães and 12 years old Duarte, the current Duke of Guimarães.

Although the birth of Prince Sebastião saved the Portuguese crown from falling into the hands of Espanha, the threat continued to hover around. This was due to the actions of Queen Catarina, wife of João III, who was a Castilian Habsburgo and did not forget her origins. Having the highest competencies in politics, the Queen was given a lot of power when making decisions by her husband. It was her the one who led the Portuguese foreign policy in all but name, aligning it with that of her brother, the powerful Carlos V do Sacro Império [Holy Roman Empire] and Espanha, and it was also she who dictated the matrimonial policies of the Aviz, being the architect of the marriages of her deceased children, all to Spanish Habsburgos.

It should also be noted that many Portuguese nobles welcomed the union with the neighbouring country since it would likely bring them the most varied advantages such as access to the Spanish American markets with all the advantages that it brought to Portugal and of course, the enormous amount of silver that Espanha received from its colonies.

However, there were opponents to the excessively pro-Castilian policy that the Queen pursued, of which Cardinal Henrique stood out. The Cardinal preferred a cautious alignment with Espanha that would allow an independent foreign and domestic policy as opposed to a complete submission that would make the neighbouring country control Portugal in every aspect. But since the Queen had a profound influence on her husband and Infante Luíz was disinterested in the situation, the Cardinal and his faction had many difficulties in enforcing their ideas and intentions.

Queen Catarina and Cardinal Henrique

[1] King Manuel I de Portugal married three times, firstly to Izabel de Aragão e Castela [Isabella of Aragon and Castille] to whom he had a son called Miguel da Paz who did not live long. His second marriage was to Izabel's sister Maria da Aragão e Castela [Maria of Aragon and Castille] with whom he had ten children which included King João III, Luíz de Beja, Cardinal Henrique and Duarte of Guimarães, all mentioned in this post and one final time to Leonor da Áustria [Eleonor of Austria] which bore him Maria, Duchess of Vizeu also mentioned.

RedAquilla · Feb 21, 2020

An Infant's Wedding
O Cazamento de um Infante

Young Duarte de Guimarães was born on March 18 in 1541 at Almeirim. [1] His parents were Duarte, 4th Duke of Guimarães and Izabel de Bragansa. By his father, he was the grandson of King Manuel I de Portugal and by his mother, he was the grandson of Jaime, 4th Duke of Bragansa. Posthumous, he inherited his father’s titles at birth: the Duchy of Guimarães with the income from that town along with those from Vila do Conde, Aguiar (a Parish in Barselos [Barcelos]), Pena (a Parish in Vila Real, Castelo de Vide and other lordships in Entre-Douro-e-Minho and Traz-os-Montes, in northern Portugal, to which the income of the Priory of Santa Cruz in the area of Coimbra was added much to the dismay of the monks there.

His mother Izabel acted as his Regent for nearly 14 years and went out of her way to provide him and her daughters with the best education she could, counting on the support of her eloquent brother, Teodózio I, the current Duke of Bragansa, to do so. From his uncle who acted as a father figure, Duarte emulated several personality traits over the years and at 12, when his cousin Sebastião was born, he was an educated, cultured, handsome, gallant, curious, popular and capable young man, just as his uncle.

Izabel e Teodózio I de Bragansa , Duarte's mother and uncle

After his cousin's birth, Duarte accompanied, together with his sisters, his mother, his uncle Teodózio and the Duke’s children to Lisboa for the baptism of the newborn Prince. During his stay at the capital, Duarte made an excellent impression on his paternal uncles and the court in general, who were delighted with the young Infante. During the ceremonies, there was an approach between Cardinal Henrique and the Duke of Bragansa as they both shared several points of view regarding the future of the country, especially in what they believed should be Portuguese foreign policy. Both tried to bring young Duarte into their schemes.

Teodózio’s intentions regarding this alliance were not very clear. The most likely hypothesis was that the Duke wanted to maintain and increase his influence in Portugal where the Bragansas were the most powerful and influential noble family and as such they could follow their own policies because the Aviz did not prevent them from doing so. If they were to fall into the sphere of the Habsburgos, they would not only have more powerful monarchs as their lieges, but they would also have more competition for influence in the monarch because Espanha had quite powerful noble families such as the Dukes of Medina-Sidónia or Alba. Perhaps he really did share the same ideals as the Cardinal without any second intention at all. What is noteworthy is that both went into considerable efforts into moulding young Duarte and as he matured and gained his own discernment, he did so along the same lines as the two mentioned uncles wished.

When Infante Luíz died on November 27, 1555, it was the Cardinal who suggested his young nephew to the post of Condestável [Constable] de Portugal, despite the fact that Duarte had reached his majority just a few months earlier and criticism from Teodózio who wanted the position for himself. King João did decide to appoint young Duarte to the position. Nominated to an extremely important position which also increased his income to levels similar to those of the Duke of Aveiro, Duarte started to frequent Lisboa more often and as he did so, he progressively got deeper into his uncle, the Cardinal’s circle, expressing his opinion on the most diverse matters to the King and acting as a mediator between the Cardinal and the Duke of Bragansa, ensuring that they did not stray too far from each other. Nevertheless, he developed friendships with the other courtiers and tried his luck with the Queen who did not dislike his presence at the time. The young Duke had become one of the most influential nobles in Portugal despite being only 14 years old.

Duke Duarte de Guimarães as the Condestável of Portugal

Surprising a lot of people, King João decided that he wanted his nephew to marry a foreign princess in order to improve Portugal’s external relations. The Cardinal and to a lesser extent the Duke of Bragansa had been behind such a decision, suggesting to the King, who for a long time had been showing interest in further remodelling the Portuguese fortresses in North Africa, which were increasingly threatened by the Moroccans, that a wedding of an Infante could bring a considerable amount of money for the intended objective. [2]

However, there were not many viable options for such a marriage. Initially, João thought of the daughters of his brother-in-law Fernando I da Boémia e Hungria, brother of the mighty Carlos V, but since the alliances with the Habsburgos were already more than consolidated and due to the pressure from the Cardinal to search elsewhere, he gave up on the idea and turned around to the Italian Peninsula, land of wealthy families like the Médisis [Medici], the Este and the Savoias. Soon the King became interested in the Médisis whose fortune was known throughout Europe (although the fortune was not that of Cosme [Cosimo] the Elder or Lourenso [Lorenzo] the Magnificent’s times), and the influence they had in the College of Cardinals (João III had long dreamed of seeing his brother Henrique as the Pope). Such reasons led the King to send his Ambassador to the Estados Pontifísios [Papal States], João Gonsalves de Ataíde, 4th Count of Atouguia, to Florensa in order to inquire Duke Cosme I de Florensa, recently ennobled, about a possible marriage between Duarte and one of his daughters.

In Florensa, Cosme was, according to the chroniclers, surprised by the Portuguese inquiry because he was not really expecting a family as prestigious as the Aviz to seek marriage in that precise branch of his family, the former junior branch of the Médisis. Although Duarte was quite a distant relative of the Portuguese Monarch, the support and prestige that the marriage could give to the Médisis was vast, but above all, it would legitimize Cosme’s government and would also allow the Florentine to get closer to the Emperor in order to obtain more benefits and safeguards regarding his lands, as the Aviz and Habsburgos were deeply connected by family ties.

For these reasons, the aforementioned Florentine Duke responded positively to the Portuguese King’s proposal. There was no opposition from Carlos V against the wedding or from Duarte himself, who saw his future being decided without almost having a saying. The young Portuguese Duke also agreed with his uncle the King to exchange the dowry for a considerable number of lordships that once belonged to his late uncle Fernando, Duke of Guarda.

Duke Cosme I de Florensa [Cosimo da Firenze/Cosimo of Florence]

The negotiations for the marriage began and as they progressed, portraits of Cosme’s two youngest daughters arrived in Portugal since the oldest, Maria de Médisis, was already promised to Afonso II de Ferrara and Modena of the Este family. Duarte was given the opportunity to choose one of them and the Duke of Guimarães chose the second oldest Izabel who was closer to his age and in his opinion and of many, more beautiful. The marriage contract was signed in the following year, 1556, the dowry was set at 50 000 Italian Escudos [Scudi] and the consummation was scheduled for 1558 when Izabel was to be 16 years old. Impaired was Paulo Jordão Orsini [Paolo Giordano Orsini] who was engaged to one of the youngest Médisis since 1553 although his contract did not specify which Médisis he was marrying, Izabel was the most likely to become Orsini’s wife yet now he was to marry Lucrésia, the youngest.

Despite the death of João III on June 11, 1557, the wedding took place on September 3, 1558, by proxy in Florensa, with Duarte being represented by the Count of Atouguia, and on December 4 of that same year, the new couple effectively got married in the Lisboa Cathedral in a ceremony presided by Archbishop Fernando de Vasconselos after Izabel and her entourage arrived in the Portuguese capital. The young Duchess quickly fell in love with her husband, who she found handsome, graceful and courteous.

The wedding portrait of Izabel de Médisis [Isabella de Medici], the new Duchess of Guimarães

Queen Catarina already acting as Regent for her grandson Sebastião chose not to donate the lordships that her late husband had promised to Duarte, as she judged and well, that eventually, they would be more advantageous for the Duke than Izabel’s dowry, therefore she gave the Duke the entirety of his wife’s dowry. The Queen-Regent was well aware that Duarte was a supporter of her rival, the Cardinal, but preferred not to alienate him and tried to bring him into her own circle countless times.

[1] Duarte was born in 1541 but the concrete date I could not find so I chose a random one with number generators (as I do with all non-real characters)
[2] In OTL, Duarte never got married and died childless in 1576, here he marries Izabel and both live longer thanks to it, this is the POD.

CELTICEMPIRE · Feb 21, 2020

I have a soft spot for Portugal, always have, don't know why.

CastilloVerde · Feb 21, 2020

Nice timeline so far! I am interested to see how it goes

Lusitania · Feb 22, 2020

Very interesting. Got my interest.

Prince di Corsica · Feb 22, 2020

Quite an interesting timeline so far. I wonder where you will be taking it

RedAquilla · Feb 24, 2020

The Integration of the Dukes of Guimarães in the Kingdom and the Regency for King Sebastião
A Integrasão dos Duques de Guimarães no Reino e a Rejênsia de Dom Sebastião I

Duarte’s popularity remained high after his marriage. As King Sebastião was still a child, it was Duarte who served as a model to be imitated by the young male courtiers of Lisboa. He often surrounded himself with nobles of his age like João de Bragansa, his cousin, with whom he had a great friendship, Álvaro Pires de Távora, Afonso de Noronha, heir to the County of Linhares, among others which whom he spent hours talking about the most diverse subjects and practised various activities such as bullfighting or hunting. However, it was with his wife Izabel that he really preferred to spend time with and made sure to keep her company every night. The Duke admired Izabel’s strong personality but also her intelligence, grace and beauty and wrote her many poems regarding those things (although many courtiers would claim that the Duchess was better at writing them than her husband...especially after she learned Portuguese).

In addition to the aforementioned personality traits, Izabel was also lively, high-spirited and impulsive and in the Portuguese court, more conservative than her Florentine counterpart, rumours soon began to spread insinuating that she was cheating on her husband with some other young male courtiers who she flirted with. It was true that the Duchess demonstrated this more daring behaviour several times, but she also did it with her husband more often than not and as has already been stated, the Dukes of Guimarães spent a lot of time together and therefore the rumours were just rumours. Rumours that however denigrated Izabel’s integrity and image, as expected. Despite all this, the young Duchess managed to gather around her a group of young Portuguese ladies fascinated by her personality and intelligence that contrasted with the model of the Portuguese woman who was submissive and perhaps excessively pious. Even Queen Catarina liked the Florentine Princess and how enlightened she was and so brought her many times to her salon despite the rumours that circulated.

Despite liking the Duchess, the couple became so influential at court that they began to seriously concern the Queen Regent mainly because her efforts to bring Duarte into her circle came to nothing. She then tried to manipulate Izabel to do what she could not but the Florentine preferred to not mess with her husband’s loyalties or with politics unless they concerned the Italian Peninsula. Another problem in the making was King Sebastião who as the years passed, began to become jealous of the popularity that his cousin had and made sure to make it very clear, denigrating the Duke whenever he could. However given his young age and the fact that he was the King, little mind was paid to the Monarch’s inappropriate behaviour by most of the courtiers, his educators tried to correct it several times with little avail.

When Izabel confessed to Duarte, after a year had passed since they became husband and wife, that she missed her homeland, he decided to have a palace inspired by the Florentine villas be built, in the town of Castelo de Vide, which was one of the lordships he owned in Alentejo, southern Portugal whose climate somewhat resembled Toscânia. Delighted by the idea, Izabel wrote to her father and brothers asking them to send Florentine architects for the project that started in 1560.

Castelo de Vide in the Present Time

The biggest problem with this happy marriage was not the intrigues of the court but the results of Izabel’s many pregnancies. The Duchess first became pregnant by the end of 1559, but had a miscarriage a few months later. The same situation repeated in 1562 and later in 1568 and in 1565, a stillborn boy who received no name was born. Such misfortunes caused a deep feeling of sadness in the couple, Izabel did not seem to have the famous fertility of her late mother Leonor de Toledo, who had 11 children…Several personalities sent their condolences, especially the family members closest to both but despite all the support received, Izabel remained saddened and afraid of being infertile, the fear of any woman of that period.

In the Portuguese court, rumours against Izabel’s reputation and integrity increased in intensity after the successive failed pregnancies. It was said that Izabel was infertile and that she was being punished by God because she was involved in extramarital relationships, and because of it, she gradually lost followers. Duarte also suffered a similar situation, with the King, his cousin getting closer and closer to the age of majority and with it, more and more jealous. His insults and humiliations got more serious and he was determined to not let his cousin have companions so many of Duarte’s “friends” left him, which saddened the Duke a lot. As a result of losing so many allies, the Dukes were getting even closer to each other even if they had no luck with childbearing.

Regarding the political situation of the country during this time, the Regency of Queen Catarina showed weaknesses both internally and externally. But it was mainly the internal ones that weakened her position the most: the great Ducal Houses of Bragansa and Aveiro took advantage of this unstable period to increase their power and influence through a marriage between Teodózio I de Bragansa and Beatriz de Lencastre, niece of the Duke of Aveiro, held in 1559. The wedding was vetoed by Catarina for obvious reasons but the Dukes ignored it completely and for that reason, the Queen Regent expelled them from the court (such exile did not last long, especially because she would later need their support against the Moroccans).

Because of this marriage, the Queen had her authority undermined and worse still was that the three Ducal Houses (Bragansa, Aveiro and Guimarães) were aligned with Cardinal Henrique who continued to exercise his influence at court and in the education of the young King, aiming to take control of the Regency that had been denied to him when King João III died. The Queen tried to resign her position of Regency but the court was in favour of her staying and so she continued. This episode may have been a political ploy by Catarina to destabilize the Cardinal who was forced to refuse her resignation.

However, an unexpected event brought new developments to the Regency. In 1561, Álvaro de Carvalho, who at that time was the Captain of the Portuguese fortress of Mazagão [Al Jadida] located in North Africa, went to Portugal to deal with some private matters, leaving his brother as the acting Captain. Informed of the situation, Sultan Abedalá Algalibe [Abdallah al-Galib] de Marrocos sent his son Maomé Mutavaquil [Abdallah Mohammed] at the head of a large army to seize the Portuguese holding to which he laid siege in 1562. Despite the colossal numerical disadvantage, the Portuguese of Mazagão obtained a major victory against the Moroccans who lifted the siege. This was without receiving almost any support from Lisboa since Teodózio de Bragansa, who the Queen nominated to relieve Mazagão was still preparing his army alongside his nephew Duarte the Condestável. The event would also have a profound influence on King Sebastião who was deeply moved by the tenacity of the Portuguese defenders against such a large infidel army and vowed to help them and Christianity get rid of the enemy.

King Sebastião I de Portugal in his teenage years

In 1563, Catarina resigned definitively from the position of Regent. It was a controversial exit since it happened after the victory in Mazagão, a victory that she could have capitalized on to reinforce her position and undermine her rival, the Cardinal. Surprisingly, she nominated the Cardinal himself to be the new Regent and it was he who assured the Regency from this date forward, appointing his supporters, essentially members of the low nobility, to the most important government positions. Duarte was named a member of the Council of State by his uncle, and so was Teodózio who did not enjoy the position for too long since he died in that same year. Nevertheless, it seemed that the pro-Castillian faction had finally been defeated.

Still in 1563, due to the absence of marriage proposals for his sisters, Duarte decided to marry his sister Catarina de Guimarães, 23 years old at the time, to his cousin and friend João de Bragansa. The marriage was intended to reinforce their friendship and keep both Ducal Houses united despite the death of Teodózio. In 1565, an unexpected proposal for the hand of his older sister Maria de Guimarães, then 27 years old came to Duarte. It was from Duke Octávio de Parma, a member of the influential House of Farnese who had intended to marry his only son and heir, Alexandre, to a Médisis or an Este to reinforce his position in the Italian Peninsula, but Filipe II de Espanha prevented such a marriage from taking place and therefore Maria was chosen as an alternative.

Maria’s wedding, which took place in Bruxelas [Brussels] where Alexandre was, placed the Aviz-Guimarães in a privileged position in the politics of the Italian Peninsula as they became mediators between the Médisis and the Farnese, two very influential families in the College of Cardinals and who often clashed with one another for supremacy in the pontificate. Nevertheless, Duarte was not an excessively powerful nobleman who could threaten Filipe II’s plans for that region and for the rest of Europe, so this growing power did not concern the Spanish monarch who continued to indirectly control Portuguese politics as his father Carlos V had done.

As an aside, I would like to thank the comments and likes that the timeline got so far. Thank you.

Prince di Corsica · Feb 25, 2020

So little Sebastian is still on the path to doom I see. Will this Italian influence mean that Philip II will try to get the Portuguese crown, in fear of having another monarch interfere in his Italian domains?

Kellan Sullivan · Feb 25, 2020

RedAquilla said:
An Infant's Wedding

Young Duarte of Guimarães was born on March 18 in 1541 at Almeirim. His parents were Duarte, 4th Duke of Guimarães and Isabella of Bragança. By his father, he was the grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal and by his mother, he was the grandson of James, 4th Duke of Bragança. Posthumous, he inherited his father’s titles at birth: the Duchy of Guimarães with the income from that town along with those from Vila do Conde, Aguiar, Pena, Castelo de Vide and other lordships in Entre-Douro-e-Minho and Trás-os-Montes, in northern Portugal, to which the income of the Priory of Santa Cruz in the area of Coimbra was added.

His mother Isabella, Regent of her son’s lands while he was still a minor went out of her way to provide a good education to her son and daughters, counting with the support of her eloquent brother Theodosius I, the current Duke of Bragança, to do so. From his uncle, Duarte imitated several personality traits over the years, and at 12, when his cousin Sebastian was born, he was an educated, cultured, handsome, curious, popular and capable young man, just like his uncle was.

View attachment 525061 View attachment 525062

When his cousin Sebastian was born, Duarte accompanied, together with his sisters and mother, his uncle Theodosius and his children to Lisbon for the baptism of the newborn Prince. During his stay at the capital, Duarte made an excellent impression on his paternal uncles and the court in general, who were delighted with the young Infante. During the ceremonies, there was an approach between Cardinal Henry and the Duke of Bragança as they both shared several points of view regarding the future of the country, especially in what should be Portuguese foreign policy, with both trying to bring young Duarte into their schemes.

Theodosius’s intentions regarding this alliance were not very clear. The most likely hypothesis was that the Duke wanted to maintain and increase his influence in Portugal where the Braganças were the most powerful and influential noble family and could follow their own policies because the Avis did not prevent them from doing so. If they were to fall into the sphere of the Habsburgs, they would not only have more powerful monarchs as their lieges, but they would also have more competition for influence in the monarch because Spain had quite powerful noble families such as the Dukes of Medina-Sidonia. Perhaps he really did share the same ideals as the Cardinal without any second intention. What is noteworthy is that both went into considerable efforts into molding young Duarte and as he matured and gained his own discernment, he did so along the same lines as the two mentioned uncles wished.

When Infante Louis died on November 27, 1555, it was the Cardinal who suggested his young nephew to the post of Constable of Portugal, despite the fact that Duarte reached his majority just a few months ago and the criticism from Theodosius who wanted the position for himself. King John did decide to appoint young Duarte to the position. Nominated to an extremely important position which also increased his income to levels similar to those of the Duke of Aveiro, Duarte started to frequent Lisbon more often and as he did so, he progressively got deeper into his uncle the Cardinal’s circle, expressing his opinion on the most diverse matters to the King and acting as mediator between the Cardinal and the Duke of Bragança, ensuring that they did not stray too far from each other. Nevertheless, he developed friendships with the other courtiers and tried his luck with the Queen who did not dislike his presence at the time. The young Duke had become one of the most influential nobles in Portugal despite being only 14.

View attachment 525065

Surprising a lot of people, King John decided that he wanted his nephew to marry a foreign princess in order to improve Portugal’s external relations. The Cardinal and to a lesser extent the Duke of Bragança had been behind such decision, suggesting to the King, who for a long time had been showing interest in further remodeling the Portuguese fortresses in North Africa which were increasingly threatened by the Moroccans, that a wedding of an Infante could bring a considerable amount of money for the intended objective.

However, there were not many viable options for such a marriage. Initially, John thought of the daughters of his brother-in-law Ferdinand I of Bohemia and Hungary, brother of the mighty Charles V, but since the alliances with the Habsburgs were already more than consolidated and due to the pressure from the Cardinal, he gave up on the idea and turned around to the Italic Peninsula, land of wealthy families like the Medici, the Este and the Savoy. Soon the King became interested in the Medici whose fortune was known throughout Europe (although the fortune was not that of Cosimo the Elder or Lorenzo the Magnificent’s times), and the influence they had in the College of Cardinals (John III had long dreamed of seeing his brother Henry as the Pope). Such reasons led the King to send a diplomat to Florence in order to inquire Duke Cosimo I of Florence, recently ennobled, about a possible marriage between Duarte and one of his daughters.

In Florence, Cosimo was, according to the chroniclers, surprised by the Portuguese inquiry because he was not really expecting a family as prestigious as the Avis to seek marriage in that precise branch of his family, the former junior branch of the Medici. Although Duarte was a quite a distant relative of the Portuguese monarch, the support and prestige that the marriage could give to the Medici was vast, above all, it would legitimize Cosimo’s government and would also allow the Florentine to get closer to the Emperor in order to obtain more benefits and safeguards regarding his lands, as the Avis and Habsburgs were deeply connected by family ties.

For these reasons, the aforementioned Florentine Duke responded positively to the Portuguese King’s proposal. There was no opposition from Charles V against the wedding or from Duarte himself, who saw his future being decided without almost having a saying. The young Portuguese Duke also agreed with his uncle the King to exchange the dowry for a considerable number of income from lordships who once belonged to his late uncle Ferdinand, Duke of Guarda.

View attachment 525066

The negotiations for the marriage began and as they progressed, portraits of Cosimo’s two youngest daughters arrived in Portugal since the oldest, Maria de Medici, was already promised to Alfonso II of Ferrara and Modena of the Este family. Duarte was given the opportunity to choose one of them and the Duke of Guimarães chose the second oldest Isabella who was closer to his age and in his opinion and of many, more beautiful. The marriage contract was signed in the following year, 1556, the dowry was set at 50,000 Italian scudi and the consummation was scheduled for 1558 when Isabella was to be 16 years old. Impaired was Paolo Giordano Orsini who was engaged to one of the youngest Medici since 1553. Although the contract did not specify which Medici it was, Isabella was the most likely to become Orsini’s wife yet now he was to marry Lucrezia, the youngest.

Despite the death of John III on June 11, 1557, the wedding took place on September 3, 1558, by proxy in Florence, with Duarte being represented by the Portuguese diplomat in Florence, and on December 4 of that same year, the new couple effectively got married in the Lisbon Cathedral in a ceremony presided by Archbishop Fernando de Vasconcelos after Isabella and her entourage arrived in the Portuguese capital. The young Duchess quickly fell in love with her husband, who she found handsome, graceful and courteous.

View attachment 525068

Queen Catharine already acting as Regent for her grandson Sebastian chose not to donate the lordships that her late husband had promised to Duarte, as she judged and well, that eventually, they would be more advantageous for the Duke than Isabella’s dowry, therefore she gave the Duke the entirity of his wife’s dowry. The Queen-Regent was well aware that Duarte was a supporter of her rival, the Cardinal, but preferred not to alienate him and tried to bring him into her own circle countless times.

Anything that doesn't see Isabella strangled with a dogleash by her psycjo husband has my interest.

Noblesse Oblige · Feb 25, 2020

Kellan Sullivan said:
Anything that doesn't see Isabella strangled with a dogleash by her psycjo husband has my interest.

I'm sorry, what? When was this? That's just terrible!

Kellan Sullivan · Feb 25, 2020

Noblesse Oblige said:
I'm sorry, what? When was this? That's just terrible!

In 1576. Bella was either suspected by her husband of having an affair or actually was, and the guy had her strangled with a dogleash. A month later, Bella's brother, Pietro, murdered his Toledo wife in a similar fashion.

RedAquilla · Feb 25, 2020

Prince di Corsica said:
So little Sebastian is still on the path to doom I see. Will this Italian influence mean that Philip II will try to get the Portuguese crown, in fear of having another monarch interfere in his Italian domains?

Considering Sebastian's education and the courtiers he was around with, not to mention the threat that the Ottoman Empire poses, it was quite inevitable for him to go to North Africa. Also Duarte's influence is limited compared to what Philip II can do in the Italian Peninsula. If Philip says x can't marry y, they can't and if Philip decides z can't be a Pope he won't. Duarte is only a mediator between the Medici and the Farnese while Philip controls them. That, however, doesn't mean it will not come biting the Spanish King later...

Kellan Sullivan said:
Anything that doesn't see Isabella strangled with a dogleash by her psycjo husband has my interest.

I can safely tell you that no dog leashes will be used outside of their intended purpose in Portugal. Much less in Isabella's case.

Noblesse Oblige said:
I'm sorry, what? When was this? That's just terrible!

Basically what I have read was that Paolo Orsini barely paid attention to her and took lovers and so she began a relationship with his cousin. She also encouraged her sister-in-law and cousin Eleanor of Toledo to do the same since said cousin was in a pretty similar position. It all worked well until Cosimo I of Tuscany died at which point the cuckolded husbands took revenge in their own hands killing both. Those are rumors but most historians believe in them instead of the official versions of heart attacks. In this TL Isabella has a husband who cares for her and so she never began illicit affairs.

Kellan Sullivan · Feb 26, 2020

Prince di Corsica said:
So little Sebastian is still on the path to doom I see. Will this Italian influence mean that Philip II will try to get the Portuguese crown, in fear of having another monarch interfere in his Italian domains?

On the plus side, it throws open some new bloodlines for the Iberians that are not as "inbred". Not to mention that if Duarte becomes king, the Medici/Farnese are going to be seen as FAR better marriage prospects (where Juana of Spain, mother of Sebastião rejected a marriage with Francesco I and called him "a grocer's little son", or one of Henri IV's mistresses referred to Maria de Medici as his "fat Florentine banker").

Could also have interesting repercussions on Franco-Portuguese relations with two Medici queens (Caterina/Isabella)

Noblesse Oblige · Feb 26, 2020

Kellan Sullivan said:
On the plus side, it throws open some new bloodlines for the Iberians that are not as "inbred". Not to mention that if Duarte becomes king, the Medici/Farnese are going to be seen as FAR better marriage prospects (where Juana of Spain, mother of Sebastião rejected a marriage with Francesco I and called him "a grocer's little son", or one of Henri IV's mistresses referred to Maria de Medici as his "fat Florentine banker").

Could also have interesting repercussions on Franco-Portuguese relations with two Medici queens (Caterina/Isabella)

Especially when said Medici queens have shown IOTL an aptitude for politics.

Prince di Corsica · Feb 26, 2020

Kellan Sullivan said:
On the plus side, it throws open some new bloodlines for the Iberians that are not as "inbred". Not to mention that if Duarte becomes king, the Medici/Farnese are going to be seen as FAR better marriage prospects (where Juana of Spain, mother of Sebastião rejected a marriage with Francesco I and called him "a grocer's little son", or one of Henri IV's mistresses referred to Maria de Medici as his "fat Florentine banker").

Could also have interesting repercussions on Franco-Portuguese relations with two Medici queens (Caterina/Isabella)

Oh I actually really like the prospects of a Medici Queen in Portugal, one of my all-time favourite dynasties in Europe. Isabella seems to be in route to be one of the most competent Queens the country has had.

Deeper ties to Italy could also be fun (Cardinal Henry as Pope?)

isabella · Feb 26, 2020

Kellan Sullivan said:
On the plus side, it throws open some new bloodlines for the Iberians that are not as "inbred". Not to mention that if Duarte becomes king, the Medici/Farnese are going to be seen as FAR better marriage prospects (where Juana of Spain, mother of Sebastião rejected a marriage with Francesco I and called him "a grocer's little son", or one of Henri IV's mistresses referred to Maria de Medici as his "fat Florentine banker").

Could also have interesting repercussions on Franco-Portuguese relations with two Medici queens (Caterina/Isabella)

Well, Francesco was still able to get Juana’s namesake cousin as bride (and the wedding was a disaster) and Maria (unlike Catherine) was in no way the parvenu who some thinked she was as her father and grandfather were eprulers and her mother an Archduchess...

RedAquilla · Feb 26, 2020

Kellan Sullivan said:
On the plus side, it throws open some new bloodlines for the Iberians that are not as "inbred". Not to mention that if Duarte becomes king, the Medici/Farnese are going to be seen as FAR better marriage prospects (where Juana of Spain, mother of Sebastião rejected a marriage with Francesco I and called him "a grocer's little son", or one of Henri IV's mistresses referred to Maria de Medici as his "fat Florentine banker").

Could also have interesting repercussions on Franco-Portuguese relations with two Medici queens (Caterina/Isabella)

isabella said:
Well, Francesco was still able to get Juana’s namesake cousin as bride (and the wedding was a disaster) and Maria (unlike Catherine) was in no way the parvenu who some thinked she was as her father and grandfather were eprulers and her mother an Archduchess...

I didn't know about those comments regarding the Medici but they are not too hard to conceive since the Medici came from nowhere basically.

Duarte's lineage will be less inbred that Sebastian and Charles of Spain that is a fact.

At some point, Portugal will have to fix the problems that the French are making in Brazil but things will be interesting before they are fully fixed.

Noblesse Oblige said:
Especially when said Medici queens have shown IOTL an aptitude for politics.

Prince di Corsica said:
Oh I actually really like the prospects of a Medici Queen in Portugal, one of my all-time favourite dynasties in Europe. Isabella seems to be in route to be one of the most competent Queens the country has had.

Deeper ties to Italy could also be fun (Cardinal Henry as Pope?)

Isabella was regarded as politically astute in IOTL and her father gave her a considerable amount of power to the point she filled the role that her mother used to fill if not even more. I must confess that I have a special admiration for the Medicis as well and I don't really know where it came from...

As for Cardinal Henry as Pope...it could happen but unlikely.

Kellan Sullivan · Feb 26, 2020

RedAquilla said:
Cardinal Henry as Pope...it could happen but unlikely.

Isabella's brother, Ferdinando, on the other hand *cue dramatic music*

RedAquilla · Feb 26, 2020

Kellan Sullivan said:
Isabella's brother, Ferdinando, on the other hand *cue dramatic music*

If Ferdinand becomes Pope...who will continue House Medici? Pietro? That doesn't sound so good...

I was toying with the idea of making Alexander Farnese Pope but since he was boycotted by Philip so many times and the closest he got to being elected was in 1565-1566 which seems like little time for the Medicis and Farneses to be at peace and support each other, therefore I mostly abandoned that I idea.

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