The title Duke of Braganza () in the

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza (), also known as the Brigantine dynasty (''dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Americas. The hous ...

is one of the most important titles in the peerage of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Starting in 1640, when the

acceded to the throne of Portugal, the male heir of the

Portuguese Crown This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the n ...

were known as Duke of Braganza, along with their style

Prince of Beira Prince of Beira (, feminine: ''Princesa da Beira'') is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the King of Portugal, throne of Portugal. The title's original use that it be granted on the eldest daughter of the reigning monarch of P ...

or (from 1645 to 1816)

Prince of Brazil Prince of Brazil () was the title held by the heir-apparent to the Kingdom of Portugal, from 1645 to 1815. Tied with the title of Prince of Brazil was the title Duke of Braganza and the various subsidiary titles of the Dukedom of Braganza. The ...

. The tradition of the heir to the throne being titled Duke of Braganza was revived by various pretenders after the establishment of the

Portuguese Republic Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it shares the longes ...

on 5 October 1910 to signify their claims to the throne.

History of Dukedom

Feudal dukes

The Duke of Braganza holds one of the most important

dukedoms in Portugal The highest hereditary title in the Portuguese nobility. By tradition, there are a total of five royal and seven non-royal dukes in Portugal, out of 28 dukedoms that have ever been created. In the majority of cases, the title of duke was attribut ...

, see Duchy of Braganza (''Bragança''). Created in 1442 by King

Afonso V of Portugal Afonso V (; 15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...

for his uncle

Afonso Afonso is the Portuguese and Galician form of Alphons. Middle Ages Iberian royal families ;Portugal *Afonso I of Portugal (1109–1185) *Afonso II of Portugal (1185–1223) *Afonso III of Portugal (1210–1279) *Afonso IV of Portugal (1291� ...

, Count of Barcelos (natural son of King

John I of Portugal John I ( WP:IPA for Portuguese, �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in 1383–85 crisi ...

), it is one of the oldest

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

doms in Portugal. The fifth Duke of Braganza (Teodósio I, b. 1510) is especially important to historians of international trade as when he died in 1563, the contents of the family's main palace in Vila Vicosa, were inventoried in their entirety. Because Portugal had established a global trade network for sixty-odd years by the time of the Duke's death, and was "in the process of establishing their military, religious and commercial presence, sailors, merchants, priests and crown officials had developed sophisticated, transcontinental trading practices that involved all sorts of global commodities, the inventory is a priceless resource to art historians as it lists artefacts originating in Mozambique, the western coast of India, Malacca, China, Japan, Morocco, and Brazil. Slaves were also included in the inventory; one of the duke's slaves, a gifted artist, ranking amongst the "top 100 most expensive items in the whole inventory". By 1640, Portugal was on the verge of rebellion against Spanish-based Habsburg rule, and a new Portuguese king had to be found. The choice fell upon John, 8th Duke of Braganza, who had a claim to the throne of Portugal both through his grandmother Catherine of Guimarães, a legitimate granddaughter of King Manuel I, and through his great-great-grandfather, the 4th duke of Braganza, a nephew of King Manuel I. John was a modest man without particular ambitions to the crown. Legend has it that his wife Luisa of Guzman urged him to accept the offer by saying, "I'd rather be queen for one day than duchess for a lifetime". He accepted the leadership of the rebellion against Spain, which was successful, and was acclaimed King

John IV of Portugal ''Dom (honorific), Dom'' John IV (; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), also known by the Portuguese as John the Restorer (), was the List of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1640 until his death in 1656. He Portuguese Restoration War, ...

on 1 December 1640.

Dukedom in the Braganza monarchy

After the accession of the

to the Portuguese throne in 1640 as a replacement for the

Philippine Dynasty The Philippine dynasty (), also known as the House of Habsburg in Portugal, was the third royal house of Portugal. It was named after the three Habsburg Spanish kings, all named Philip (; , ), who ruled Portugal between 1581 and 1640 under th ...

of Spanish Habsburgs, the Dukedom of Braganza became linked to the crown. "Duke of Braganza" became the traditional title of the heir to the Portuguese throne, together with or alternate to "

", much as "

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

" is in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. After the 8th Duke had ascended the royal throne, he elevated his son and heir Teodósio to the newly created rank of

in 1645, but granted the Duchy of Braganza to his brother, the Infante Duarte, who died in 1649 in Spanish captivity. Then it was granted to the king's second son, the future

Afonso VI of Portugal '' Dom'' Afonso VI (; 21 August 164312 September 1683), known as "the Victorious" (), was the second king of Portugal of the House of Braganza from 1656 until his death. He was initially under the regency of his mother, Luisa de Guzmán, until ...

. From this time onwards, the title "Duke of Braganza" was kept for the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

of the throne – in its strictest sense. Although the other title for an unavoidable heir, that of "Prince of Brazil", was from time to time granted even to female heirs, the Dukedom of Braganza was always reserved only for the male heir except for two extraordinary creations, in 1683 and 1711. These two creations are deemed invalid by some legalists, who accordingly number the dukes in a way that

Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal '' Dom'' Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, Duke of Braganza (; 21 March 1887 – 1 February 1908) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of King Carlos I of Portugal. He was born in 1887 when his father was still Prince Royal of Portugal ...

, the last Duke of Braganza during the period of Portuguese monarchy, is reckoned to be the 21st Duke. The present table reflects a numbering that specifies him as the 21st Duke. When Emperor

Pedro I of Brazil ''Don (honorific), Dom'' Pedro I (12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), known in Brazil and in Portugal as "the Liberator" () or "the Soldier King" () in Portugal, was the founder and List of monarchs of Brazil, first ruler of the Empire of ...

abdicated his throne in 1831, he claimed the title of Duke of Braganza. On 1 February 1908 King

Charles I of Portugal Dom (title), ''Dom'' Carlos I (; 28 September 1863 – 1 February 1908), known as "the Diplomat" (), "the Oceanographer" () among many other names, was List of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1889 until his Lisbon Regicide, assassin ...

was murdered along with his eldest son and heir, Luís Filipe, the last individual during the monarchy to carry that title. Carlos was succeeded by

Manuel II of Portugal Dom (title), Dom Manuel II (Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança; 15 November 1889 – 2 July 1932), sometimes known as Manuel the Unfortunate () or ...

but for a short time: on 5 October 1910, a republic was instituted, and the king was exiled. King Manuel II then settled in England.

Dukes in the post-monarchy era

After the foundation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910, the tradition of the heir to the throne being titled Duke of Braganza was revived by various pretenders to signify their claims to the throne. In the last years of the deposed king

, the dukedom of Bragança was claimed by Miguel Januário of Braganza, son of the exiled king

Miguel I of Portugal '' Dom'' Miguel I (26 October 1802 – 14 November 1866), known by several nicknames, was the King of Portugal between 1828 and 1834. He was son of King John VI and Queen Carlota Joaquina. Following his exile as a result of his actions ...

, who was living in the Austrian Empire. His branch of the Braganza family allegedly became heirs to the crown in 1932, when Manuel II died without children. These Braganzas were officially allowed to return to the country in 1950 and have lived there ever since. Presently, the commonly acknowledged duke of Braganza and Portuguese heir is Duarte Pio of Braganza (born 1945). Unlike other European republics (such as Greece) which attempt to prevent the presence of former royal houses in their lands, republican Portugal and its claimants to the throne have long been reconciled, a fact shown when among the guests at the wedding of Duarte Pio was the President of the Portuguese Republic and the country's prime minister. In contrast to Duarte Pio and his family's claim, Maria Pia of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Braganza has made claim to the title of Duchess of Braganza and

Queen of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...

, since 1932.Jean Pailler; ''Maria Pia of Braganza: The Pretender''. New York: ProjectedLetters, 2006.

List of dukes of Braganza

Use of titles in the Portuguese Republic

With the end of the Portuguese monarchy in 1910, all titles of Portuguese nobility were initially abolished. Notwithstanding, although the status of nobility has not been recognised in law since 1910, legitimate titles of nobility (those granted by a reigning monarch before 5 October 1910) have been given legal recognition and protection, including under article 26 of the Portuguese Constitution, in conjunction with articles 70 and 72 of the Civil Code, as established by decision of Portugal's Supreme Court of Justice in 2014.

References

{{Reflist

External links

*A full transcription of the inventory is available at www.cham.fcsh.unl.pt

Bibliography

*"Nobreza de Portugal e Brasil", Vol. II, pages 433/449. Published by Zairol Lda., 1989, Lisbon. Braganza Braganza 1442 establishments in Portugal