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The feats of Arms, and famed heroic Host,

From Occidental Lusitanian strand,

Who o’er the waters ne’er by seaman crost,

Fared beyond the Traporbane-land,

Forceful in perils and in battle-post,

With more than promised force of mortal hand,

And in the regions of a distant race,

Rear’d a new throne so haught in Pride of Place

-Os Lusíadas, by Luís Vaz de Camões, translated by Richard Francis Burton
Prologue

When one thinks of Portugal in this day and age, it is normal and comprehensible that he tends to think solely of what the country has become, while not giving much thought to what it used to be, or to how it came to be what it is today. After all, what does the common English-speaker have to know of the history of such a strange and distant land as that of Portugal?

Evidently, very little. For them, the word “Portugal” means only the “Portugal” that they are used to know through the news, touristic postcards and pop culture exports, and perhaps some of them have visited it as well. But still, they all know remarkably little about the country.

Today, Portugal is one of the powerhouses of Asia. A massive but scattered country, stretching all the way from the Cape of Good Hope to the majestic shores of Formosa. It’s capital is Cochim, in the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, a massive city filled with skyscrapers but also some very old buildings of curious architectures. The country is famed for its large economy, high-level of technological development and formidable navy, as well as for being the place of origin of some of the weirdest and most successful pop culture trends in recent years. The country tremendous influence over Asian politics, being largely recognized as a regional Great Power.

While these facts themselves are already quite impressive, they become tremendously more when one considers Portugal’s origins.

And this is why we, the men who have an interest in history, always like to know how things came to be what they are today, because we know that knowing that makes the world incredibly more beautiful and interesting.

While it might seem incredible to state this fact now, there was actually a time when the strange and distant land of Portugal was much less strange and quite less distant, and that was the case for many hundreds of years. For Portugal was born in the westmost part of the Iberian Peninsula, with its territory initially consisting of nothing more than a small strap of land between the cities of Porto and Gaia, with the last one being called Cale in Latin, hence the name Portucale, which later became Portugal. At the height of its peak in Europe, the country stretched all the way from that strap of land to the coasts of Algarve in the south, forming a small elongated rectangle which seemed to be asphyxiating against the Atlantic. And so it was in many ways, as Europe denied all of Portugal’s pleas for the land and territory that it needed to feed its people. Given these circumstances, and driven by need as well as by curiosity, this small European country pulled off one of the strangest feats in the history of mankind: it turned itself into an Asian empire. Having learned how to sail the seas like no other other people before them, the Portuguese decided to look for land and resources far away from their continent. Their endeavors led them to explore Africa, and then Asia and even some of the Americas. One day, they came to realize that Europe simply did not want them at all, and so they left.

And in the vast continent of Asia, in the rich and magnificent city of Cochim, a new throne, in Pride of Place, they truly reared
- Alexander McDonnald, An Introduction to Portuguese History, London 2012.


Chapter 1

“You saved the Prince, Abraão José Gonçalves! You saved his life!”

That was indeed the truth. Just a few minutes ago, Afonso, prince of Portugal and heir to the Lusitanian crown, had been just as close to death as any living man could be. Having accepted an invitation from his father, the king D. João II, to swim with him in the fresh waters of river Tagus, the young prince had fallen to the ground together with his horse. He hadn’t died only for luck. Distressed, the king and those who accompanied him had desperately looked to someone who could tend to Afonso’s wounds. Abraão ben José Golçalves just happened to have been the closest doctor in that occasion. If he hadn’t acted as quickly and skillfully as he did from the moment when they’d brought the prince to him, the kingdom would most certainly have lost its heir.

“It was nothing”, retorted Abraão, “I tend to cases like this every day”.

“You dare to compare my son’s life to those of the commoners you tend to on a daily basis?!” , asked John II, about as surprised as visibly irritated.

“Your majesty…my deepest apologies. I never meant to insinuate that your son is on the same level as a common man…please, I beg for your forgiveness”

It hadn’t been part of the king’s intention to scare the old Jewish doctor, he had been merely acting on impulsion, as a result of his delicate emotional state. He’d almost lost a son, after all...

“No, it’s all right, Abraão. The prince is alive solely because of your knowledge. You have gained the right to have your opinions heard. You also did a great deed for your country. Tell me, how may I compensate you?”

“Your majesty, a simple Jew like me should never be entitled to ask anything from a man of your status”.

“Nonsense. In my Kingdom those who do something of value must always justly rewarded. That is my will and my final command. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be the court’s new physician. I hope you understand it would be unwise to deny such an honor.”

“Your majesty, I wouldn’t dare…”

***

I wonder if mainstream historians understand how much a single event, even a rather mundane and unremarkable one, can have such a large and lasting impact in history as a whole.

The near death of prince Afonso of Portugal, future king Afonso VI, in the summer of the year of 1491 is a perfect example of this. Had the 16 years old prince died in that day, our history most certainly wouldn’t have been the same. It might be tempting to think that divergences would only start in moment king John II died and Afonso ascended to the throne, but, in truth, they started long before this.

After the prince’s near death, the king started to realize just how many perils his progeny would have to face. Even ignoring unfortunate accidents, like that which had nearly occurred, the prince’s life could end at any moment by the hand of some self-righteous fidalgo wishing to impose his own agenda. This led him to take measures. The first one was to arrange the death of his first cousin, the Infante D.Manuel, who was next in line to the throne after Afonso, and enjoyed a good relationship with many members of the aristocracy. The Order of Christ, a rich and powerful military order that had stemmed from the Portuguese Templars and was then under the leadership of Manuel, was dissolved, with its assets having being confiscated and split between the orders of Aviz and Santiago, both of which would fall under the control of Jorge of Lancaster, king John’s illegitimate son and Afonso’s younger brother. It’s impossible to know how history would differ if Manuel had ended up inheriting the crown, or if D. Jorge hadn’t had as many resources to develop Indian trade as viceroy during the reign of his brother.

However, there is another important event that stemmed from prince Afonso’s survival. If Afonso had died, that meant that Jewish physician Abraão José Gonçalves would never have saved him, which meant he would never have gained a position in the court. While Gonçalves is an obscure and unremarkable historical figure, certainly less interesting and less known than other Portuguese Jews of his time such as Abraão Zacuto, he was closer to the king than any of them, which meant he was the one who was in best position to influence his decisions. While this is contested by several historians, there exist sources which claimed that both the king and his son frequently asked for Gonçalves’ advice. If this is true, then he would have been one of the most powerful man of his time, for sure.

In the midst of religious persecution in Europe, John II of Portugal set himself apart from the rest of European monarchs for having a remarkably pro-Jewish stance, which was later inherited by his son Afonso, together with the rest of his legacy. Portugal became a safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution, especially from neighboring Spain, and the role of the crown was decisive in securing their integration into Portuguese society and, especially, Portuguese colonial enterprises. Both the orders of Aviz and Santiago found themselves strengthened and emboldened by a series of generous donations from Jewish patrons. Jewish merchants were among the largest investors the early Portuguese African and Asian trade ventures, and they formed a large part of the populations of Portugal’s early settlements in these continents.

It is hard to know just how pro-Jewish John II would still have been without Abraão José Goçalves’ influence, but, had he been less, even if just a little bit, that would certainly have hurt the Portuguese Empire.

- Nathaniel Garret, Obscure figures and events: an examination of their effect in history, New York, 1997.




OK, so, this will be my first attempt to write a TL in this site. I very much hope that you've enjoyed this first trench and that you come back for more. I welcome reviews and constructive cricticisms.

This TL basically stemmed from this thread, althought the PoD is actually rather distant from what I'd imagined. I'd like to give special thanks to @Karolus Rex and @Lusitania, who were the ones who gave the most important contributions for that thread, and also recognize the help of @fluttersky @Tanc49 and @fjihr , who all made good points and gave me good ideas. If some of you don't really remember the thread that well it's ok :p but I hope you all stick around to read.





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