No D. Maria the Mad in Portugal

King José I of Portugal left four daughters behind when he died in 1777. The eldest of these (Maria I, b. 1734) succeeded him as Queen of Portugal. One of D. Maria's first acts as queen was to dismiss José's right-hand (and left-hand (and sometimes his brain):D) the Marquis of Pombal. However, Queen Mariana Vittoria (yes, la Reine-Infante, fiancée of Louis XV) bore him a son (in February 1739) who unfortunately died in infancy/or at birth.

If that son had survived, would Portugal have developed along more enlightened lines? Or simply gone the OTL route of decline it followed in the second half of the 18th century/
 
Never heard. Are you sure it was in February 1739? She gave birth to a girl in September of that year...

Anyway, if King José I sires a son, said son won't *need* to marry within the family, so the Royal Family will probably buy an inbred-free generation and the inbreeding practice will soon go out of style. Good news there.

I'd say Queen Maria I's early reign was uncontroversial. And another Pombal friendly king will just keep the man until his death which only buys the Marquis 5 more years.

Later, the effect of a king different than João VI will be interesting. The man's laissez-faire spared much bloodshed in his reign and regency but it didn't stop said bloodshed to happen when his sons fought over his throne after his death.

Overall it's probably better. The downward spiral is hard to contain, though. The more "Mary Sue" this alt-King of Portugal is, the better for the country, of course...
 

Lusitania

Donor
The best bet for removal of D Maria I from the succession was that her eldest son Jose surviving and Marques du Pombal's plot to have D Maria placed in hospital and make her son D Jose the heir. I think that D Jose could of been a more enlightened ruler and more inclined to continue the reforms.
 
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