Infante Manuel, Count of Ourém,

KGF KGF or ''kgf'' may refer to: *Keratinocyte growth factor *King George's Fields, UK, recreation grounds *Kolar Gold Fields *The IATA code for Sary-Arka Airport, Karaganda, Kazakhstan * ''K.G.F'' (film series), Indian Kannada-language film series * ...

(; ''Manuel José Francisco António Caetano Estêvão Bartolomeu''; ( Lisbon, 3 August 1697 - Quinta de Belas, 3 August 1766) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

'' (prince), seventh child of Peter II,

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and his wife

Maria Sophia of Neuburg pt, Maria Sofia Isabel , succession = Queen consort of Portugal , reign = 11 August 1687 – 4 August 1699 , spouse = , issue = João, Prince of BrazilJohn V of Portugal Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja Infa ...

. He was the brother of King

John V of Portugal Dom John V ( pt, João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (''o Magnânimo'') and the Portuguese Sun King (''o Rei-Sol Português''), was King of Portugal from 9 December 17 ...

. He was a candidate for the Polish throne.

Life

He was born on 3 August 1697 in Lisbon and died unmarried and without legitimate issue at the Quinta de Belas in the same city on the same day in 1766. He is buried at the

Royal Pantheon of the Braganza Dynasty The Pantheon of the House of Braganza ( Portuguese: ''Panteão da Casa de Bragança''), also known as the Pantheon of the Braganzas (''Panteão dos Bragança''), is the final resting place for many of the members of the House of Braganza, located ...

in Lisbon. Manuel led an adventurous life. At the age of 18, he embarked in secret on an English ship with destination the Netherlands. Ordered by his brother King

to return home, he disobeyed and went to Paris and then to Germany. On 1 August 1716 he offered his services to Prince

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He ...

, to fight the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. There he fought 4 days later in the

Battle of Petrovaradin The Battle of Petrovaradin also known as the Battle of Peterwardein, took place on 5 August 1716 during the Austro-Turkish War when the Ottoman army besieged the Habsburgs-controlled fortress of Petrovaradin on the Military Frontier of the Hab ...

where he was slightly wounded but covered with glory. He also participated in the pursuit of the fleeing Turks and the siege and capture of

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

. In 1717, now officially in the Austrian army, he again fought under Prince Eugen and participated in the conquest of Belgrade. After the

Treaty of Passarowitz The Treaty of Passarowitz, or Treaty of Požarevac, was the peace treaty signed in Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, german: Passarowitz), a town that was in the Ottoman Empire but is now in Serbia, on 21 July 1718 between the Ottoman ...

, he obtained the title of ''Maréchal de camp''. After the war he traveled from court to court, living a life filled with pleasure, inspiring several contemporary writers. In 1721 he received the Order of the Golden Fleece. In 1728 he became one of the candidates for the hand of the wealthy

Maria Zofia Sieniawska Countess Maria Zofia Czartoryska née ''Sieniawska'' (15 April 1699–21 May 1771) was a Polish szlachcianka (noblewoman). By birth she was member of powerful Sieniawski family and by marriage she was member of House of Dönhoff and House o ...

supported by the Habsburgs in attempt to gain a strong position in Poland before the

Royal Election Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

. Well known at the Austrian and Russian court, he was even proposed as the next King of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

for a short time in 1733, in the onset of the

War of Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of their ...

. The next year he returned to Portugal, where he spent the last years of his life in the Quinta de Belas, leading a socially active life, surrounded by writers and artists. He died on his 69th birthday more than three decades later.

Ancestry

Literature

Urszula Kosińska:
Could a Portuguese Prince become King of Poland? The Candidacy of Don Manuel de Bragança for the Polish Throne in the Years 1729–33
', In: The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 94, No. 3 (July 2016), pp. 497-508.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel, Count Of Ourem, Infante Candidates for the Polish elective throne 1697 births 1766 deaths People from Lisbon Portuguese infantes Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Burials at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora House of Braganza 17th-century Portuguese people 18th-century Portuguese people Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) Sons of kings

Life

Ancestry

See also

Literature

References