Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the
empress consort and
queen consort of her cousin
Charles V,
Holy Roman Emperor,
King of Spain,
Archduke of Austria, and
Duke of Burgundy. She was
Queen of Spain and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
, and
Lady of the Netherlands from 10 March 1526 until her death in 1539, and became
Holy Roman Empress and
Queen of Italy in February 1530. She was the
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...
of Spain because of her husband's constant travels through Europe, focusing on the kingdom's policies independent of the Empire and managing the economy.
Childhood
Isabella was born in
Lisbon on 24 October 1503 and named after her maternal grandmother (
Isabella I) as well as her
maternal aunt
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...
, who had been her father's first wife. She was the second child and first daughter of King
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was list of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Duke of Viseu, Viseu prior to su ...
and his second wife,
Maria of Aragon. Isabella was second-in-line to the throne until the birth of her brother
Luis in 1506.
Isabella was educated under the supervision of her governess
Elvira de Mendoza Elvira de Mendoza (d. 1523), was a Spanish and Portuguese court official.
She was the daughter of the nobleman Juan Furtado de Mendoza, chief forester of Ferdinand and Isabella, and married Martin de Alarcon, captain of the guard to the king and q ...
. Her studies included
mathematics,
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
classics, the languages of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
,
Spanish and
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
besides her native
Portuguese,
etiquette, and the Christian doctrine. Isabella and her siblings were punished by their mother, "when they deserved it, without pardoning any of them." At the age of 14, her mother died. She and her sisters inherited her properties, plus the
income
Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...
from
Viseu
Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the district of the same name, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões intermunipical community, with 267,633 inhabi ...
and
Torres Vedras.
Engagement and marriage
As the eldest daughter of Manuel ''the Fortunate'', Isabella was a rather attractive candidate for marriage. The ideal candidate for her husband was her first cousin Charles, son of Maria's sister,
Joanna I of Castile and her husband
Philip, Duke of Burgundy. Their marriage would bring a strong alliance between Spain and Portugal, in accordance with the wishes of their grandparents,
Isabella I of Castille and
Ferdinand II of Aragón
Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and List of Sardin ...
. It would also facilitate the continued exploration of the oceans without incurring clashes, as Portugal was the only naval power that could challenge Spain's supremacy in the
Atlantic ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
. Plus, as Charles was sovereign of multiple kingdoms, it was necessary that Portugal, Christendom's richest kingdom, would fall under Spain's orbit and not of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
, which had happened in the
War of Castilian Succession. Moreover, because he had been raised in Burgundy, the Spanish nobles and subjects reportedly insisted that he should marry a princess from the Iberian peninsula.
However, the 18-year-old Charles was in no hurry to marry and instead sent his sister
Eleanor to marry Isabella's widowed father in 1518. Charles's Flemish advisors, especially
William de Croÿ, later convinced him to relegate the Portuguese alliance to the background and replace it with an alliance with
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. In 1521, Charles became engaged to his other first cousin,
Mary Tudor, daughter of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...
and
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
, who was 16 years younger than Charles and still a child. Their engagement sought to undo an alliance between England and France articulated by the ambitious Cardinal
Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figu ...
. Many in Portugal took their Infanta's rejection as an offence, but Isabella remained determined that she would marry her powerful cousin or else enter a convent. By 1525, Charles was no longer interested in an alliance with England and could wait no longer for Mary to get older because he was determined to have legitimate children. His engagement was called off, the alliance with England was abandoned, and he finally sought to marry Isabella. There were many more advantages - she was closer to him in age (she was only 3 years his junior), fluent in Spanish, and offered a dowry of 900,000 Portuguese cruzados (or Castilian folds) which was more than enough to solve many of his financial problems brought on by the
Italian War of 1521-26.
Charles wasted no time in securing a
papal dispensation for first cousins and the marriage contract for an alliance with Portugal were made - Isabella would marry him and her brother, King
John III of Portugal
John III ( pt, João III ; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious ( Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1521 until his death in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the ...
, would marry Charles' youngest sister,
Catherine of Austria. Charles intended to wed and then leave his future wife as regent to govern Spain while he went to
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ...
to deal with political and religious troubles there. In January 1526, Isabella traveled to Spain. Upon her arrival, she met the
Duke of Calabria, the
Archbishop of Toledo
This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana). and the
Duke of Béjar at the Spanish-Portuguese border. They escorted her to
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
, where she was to wait for Charles for a week. At the end, their wedding took place the very next day just after midnight on 11 March in the Palace of
Alcázar of Seville
The Royal Alcázars of Seville ( es, Reales Alcázares de Sevilla), historically known as al-Qasr al-Muriq (, ''The Verdant Palace'') and commonly known as the Alcázar of Seville (), is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, built for the Christian ...
.
Although their marriage was a political arrangement, Isabella captivated Charles, who tarried with her longer than anticipated. They honeymooned for several months at the
Alhambra in
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
, where he ordered the seeds of a Persian flower that had never been seen before in Spain. The seeds eventually grew into the red
carnation, which delighted her. He then ordered thousands more to be planted in her honour, establishing the red carnation as Spain's floral emblem. Despite the mutual affection the couple shared, their marriage was not easy. His first absence lasted from 1529 to April 1533. He remained in Spain for 2 years, only to depart again in December 1536. Although he came back briefly in 1538, he left almost immediately, returning in November 1539. As agreed by the nobles, their children were raised in Spain. She supervised their education and taught them Portuguese. She wrote to her husband regularly, but often spent months without receiving letters.
Regency
As Charles had planned, he appointed Isabella regent of Spain during his absence from the peninsula to lead his military campaigns and attend the administration of his other kingdoms between 1529-33 and 1537–39. She attended meetings of the governing councils and consulted with the ministers. As time passed, she took a more active role in the policy-making process, suggesting her own solutions rather than merely accepting recommendations. Her husband considered her deliberations "very prudent and well thought out."
Economy
Isabella was a profound expert of the problems of the peninsular kingdoms, intransigently defending the good common to particular interests. At the external level, her sensible actions were decisive in the defence of the coasts of the peninsula and of
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
, which were infested by piracy. This allowed the flow of precious metals and turned Spain into one of the chief sources of the imperial treasury. Through her regencies, she ensured that Spain remained independent of the empire's expensive military policies and thus relatively prosperous during her lifetime. However, Castile became integrated into Charles's empire and suffered from high inflation after her death. The enormous budget deficit accumulated and inflation during her husband's later reign resulted in declaring
bankruptcy during the reign of their son
Philip II.
Domestic and foreign relations
Isabella effectively defended the royal power in order to ensure the monarch's authority, as a response towards the previous rebellions against Charles for his foreign relationships. She traveled regularly in the autumn between
Toledo
Toledo most commonly refers to:
* Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain
* Province of Toledo, Spain
* Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States
Toledo may also refer to:
Places Belize
* Toledo District
* Toledo Settlement
Bolivia
* Toledo, Orur ...
,
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peo ...
, Seville,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
and
Majorca. To deal with important matters of the empire, the couple wrote to each other more regularly. In foreign policy, Isabella actively intervened in the negotiations of marital alliances between the French and Spanish royal families. She was very concerned that her own children wouldn't be forced to wed the much older offspring of King
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to:
* Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407)
* Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450
* Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547
* Francis I, Duke of Saxe ...
.
Death
During several years, Isabella and the court traveled from city to city, moving in part to avoid exposure to
epidemic
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectious d ...
s. There is speculation that she suffered from
consumption, with a contemporary describing her: "The Empress is the greatest pity in the world, she is so thin that she does not resemble a person". In 1539, she became pregnant for the seventh time, but contracted another fever in the third month that caused antenatal complications and gave birth to a stillborn son. She died two weeks later on 1 May 1539 at the age of 35, without her husband present.
Charles was left so devastated that he couldn't bring himself to accompany his wife's body to the
Royal Chapel of Granada, the burial place of the Catholic Monarchs. He instead instructed their son Philip to accompany his mother's body with
Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía. Decomposition had so disfigured Isabella's body, however, that Gandía couldn't recognize her and was allegedly so horrified at what death had done to her beauty that he later became a
Jesuit, gaining fame as San Francisco de Borja. Charles was so grief-stricken by her death that he shut himself in a monastery for 2 months, praying and mourning for her in solitude. He never recovered from her death and wore black for the rest of his life to show his mourning. He never remarried, though he had an affair long after her death that resulted in the birth of an illegitimate son,
John of Austria. Charles died as a widower in 1558 while holding the same cross in his hand which she held in her hand when she died.
In 1574, Isabella's body was transferred by her son to the
Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, where she was originally interred into a small vault along with her husband directly underneath the altar of the Royal Chapel. This was done in accordance with his last will and testament, in which he left a
codicil asking for the establishment of a new religious foundation in which the couple would be reburied together side by side, "half-body under the altar and half under the priest's feet". They remained in the Royal Chapel while the famous Basilica of the Monastery and the Royal Crypt were still under construction. In 1654, after the Basilica and Royal Crypt were finally completed during the reign of their great-grandson
Philip IV Philip IV may refer to:
* Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC)
* Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy
* Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506)
* Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602)
* Philip IV of Spain ...
, the couple's remains were moved into the Royal Pantheon of Kings, which lies directly under the Basilica. On one side of the Basilica are bronze effigies of Charles and Isabella, with effigies of their daughter
Maria of Austria and Charles's sisters, Eleanor of Austria and
Maria of Hungary, behind them. Exactly adjacent to them on the opposite side of the Basilica are effigies of their son with three of his wives and their ill-fated grandson
Carlos, Prince of Asturias.
Post-mortem tributes
In memory of Isabella, Charles commissioned several tributes through art and music, beginning in 1540 when he commissioned the Flemish composer
Thomas Crecquillon to compose new music in honour of the Empress. Crecquillon composed his ''Missa Mort m'a privé'' as a memorial to her, which expresses her husband's grief and wish for a heavenly reunion with his beloved wife. Another musical tribute to her is ''Carole cur defles Isabellam'' that was composed in 1545 by the Franco-Flemish composer
Nicolas Payen.
In 1543, Charles commissioned his favourite painter
Tiziano Vecelli
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian ( Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, ne ...
to paint posthumous portraits of Isabella by using earlier ones of her as his model. Tiziano painted several portraits of her, which included his ''
Portrait of The Empress Isabel of Portugal'' and ''
La Gloria''. He later painted a double portrait of the imperial couple together, of which there is a copy by
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...
. Charles kept these portraits with him whenever he travelled and after he retired to the
Monastery of Yuste in 1555.
Issue
Isabella had seven children with Charles, of whom 3 survived including King Philip II of Spain and
Maria, another Holy Roman Empress.
Ancestry
Cultural depictions
Isabella of Portugal is portrayed by
Blanca Suárez in the
TVE
TVE may stand for:
Television
* Televisión Española, a Spanish state-owned public-service television broadcaster
** TVE HD, a high-definition channel run by Televisión Española
* Televisão Educativa, a defunct Brazilian TV network
* TV Eduk ...
series ''
Carlos, Rey Emperador''.
See also
*
Descendants of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon
*
Descendants of Manuel I of Portugal
References
Bibliography
Isabella of Portugal (1503–1539)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabella of Portugal
1503 births
1539 deaths
People from Lisbon
16th-century Portuguese people
House of Aviz
Spanish royal consorts
Castilian queen consorts
Leonese queen consorts
Galician queens consort
Majorcan queens consort
Aragonese queen consorts
Countesses of Barcelona
Duchesses of Burgundy
Countesses of Burgundy
Countesses of Flanders
Duchesses of Brabant
Duchesses of Luxembourg
Duchesses of Limburg
Countesses of Artois
Countesses of Holland
Countesses of Hainaut
Portuguese people of Spanish descent
Regents of Spain
16th-century women rulers
16th-century women of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empresses
Austrian royal consorts
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Italian queens consort
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Deaths in childbirth
Burials in the Pantheon of Kings at El Escorial
Daughters of kings