Edward, King Of Portugal
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Edward ( ; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the Philosopher King (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the
King 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 ...
from 1433 until his death. He was born in
Viseu Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the Viseu District, district of the same name, with a population of 100,105 inhabitants in the entire municipality, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões Interm ...
, the son of
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 ...
and his wife,
Philippa of Lancaster Philippa of Lancaster ( ; 31 March 1360 – 19 July 1415) was Queen of Portugal from 1387 until 1415 as the wife of King John I. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage secured the Treaty of Windsor and produced several children ...
. Edward was the oldest member of the "
Illustrious Generation The ''Ínclita Geração'' (often translated in English as "Illustrious Generation") is a term commonly used by Portuguese historians to refer to a group of 15th-century '' infantes'' (princes) of the House of Aviz, specifically the sons of King ...
" of royal children who contributed to the development of Portuguese civilization during the 15th century.


Early life

Edward was the second born male legitimate son of King
John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...
. He became the heir to the throne after his brother Afonso died in 1400, aged 10. Before he ascended to the throne, Edward always followed his father in the affairs of the kingdom. He was knighted in 1415 after the Portuguese capture of the city of
Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...
in North Africa, across from
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
. He became king in 1433, when his father died of the plague.Stephens, Henry Morse. ''The Story of Portugal'', G.P. Putnam's sons, 1903
/ref> As king, Edward soon showed interest in building internal political consensus. During his short reign of five years, he called the
Portuguese Cortes In the medieval Kingdom of Portugal, the Cortes was an assembly of representatives of the estates of the realm – the nobility, clergy and bourgeoisie. It was called and dismissed by the King of Portugal at will, at a place of his choosing.O' ...
(the national assembly) no less than five times to discuss the political affairs of his kingdom. He also followed the politics of his father concerning the maritime exploration of Africa. He encouraged and financed his famous brother,
Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...
, who initiated many expeditions on the west coast of Africa. An expedition of
Gil Eanes Gil Eanes (or Eannes, in the old Portuguese spelling; ) was a 15th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer. Biography Gil Eanes was born in Lagos in 1395. Little is known about his personal life prior to his role in the Portuguese Age of Dis ...
in 1434 first rounded
Cape Bojador Cape Bojador (, Arabic transliteration, trans. ''Rā's Būjādūr''; , ''Bujdur''; Spanish language, Spanish and ; ) is a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W (various sources give various locations: this ...
on the northwestern coast of Africa, leading the way for further exploration southward along the African coast.


Colonial affairs

The colony at Ceuta rapidly became a drain on the Portuguese treasury, and it was realised that without the city of
Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
, possession of Ceuta was worthless. After Ceuta was captured by the Portuguese, the camel caravans that were part of the overland trade routes began to use Tangier as their new destination. This deprived Ceuta of the materials and goods that made it an attractive market and a vibrant trading locale, and it became an isolated community. In 1437, Edward's brothers Henry and
Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
persuaded him to launch an attack on the
Marinid The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula ...
sultanate of
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. The expedition was not unanimously supported and was undertaken against the advice of the Pope.
Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra Dom Peter, Duke of Coimbra, KG ( ; 9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King Dom John I of Portugal and his wife, Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. In Portugal, h ...
, and the Infante John were both against the initiative; they preferred to avoid conflict with the Marinid Sultan. Their instincts proved to be justified. The resulting Battle of Tangier, led by Henry, was a debacle. Failing to take the city in a series of assaults, the Portuguese siege camp was soon itself surrounded and starved into submission by a Moroccan relief army. In the resulting treaty, Henry promised to deliver Ceuta back to the Marinids in return for allowing the Portuguese army to depart unmolested. Ferdinand, the youngest brother of Edward, was handed over to the Marinids as a hostage for the final handover of the city.


Late life

The debacle at Tangier dominated the final year of Edward's life. Peter and John urged him to fulfill the treaty, yield Ceuta and secure Ferdinand's release, whereas Henry (despite having signed the treaty) urged him to renege on it. Caught in indecision, Edward assembled the Portuguese Cortes at
Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...
in early 1438 for consultation. The Cortes refused to ratify the treaty, preferring to hang on to Ceuta and requesting that Edward find some other means of obtaining Ferdinand's release. Edward died later that summer, in
Tomar Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a Portugal, Portuguese city and a municipality in the historical Ribatejo Portuguese Provinces of Portugal, province, and in Santarém District, Santarém district. The to ...
, of the plague, like his father and mother (and her mother) before him. Popular lore suggested he died of heartbreak over the fate of his hapless brother; Ferdinand would remain captive in Fez until his own death in 1443.


Legacy

Edward's premature death provoked a political crisis in Portugal. Leaving only a young son, Afonso, to inherit the throne, it was generally assumed that Edward's brothers would take over the
regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
of the realm. But Edward's will appointed his unpopular foreign wife, Eleanor of Aragon, as
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
. A popular uprising followed, in which the burghers of the realm, assembled by John of Reguengos, acclaimed
Peter of Coimbra Dom (honorific), Dom Peter, Duke of Coimbra, Order of the Garter, KG ( ; 9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Infante of Portugal, Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King Dom John I of Portugal and his wife, Philippa ...
as regent. But the nobles backed Eleanor's claim, and threatened civil war. The regency crisis was defused by a complicated and tense power-sharing arrangement between Eleanor and Peter. Another less political side of Edward's personality is related to culture. A reflective and scholarly infante, he wrote the treatises ''O Leal Conselheiro'' (The Loyal Counsellor) and '' Livro Da Ensinança De Bem Cavalgar Toda Sela'' ("Book of Teachings on Riding Well on Every Saddle") as well as several poems. He was in the process of revising the Portuguese law code when he died.


Marriages and descendants

Edward married Eleanor of Aragon, a daughter of
Ferdinand I of Aragon Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sicil ...
and
Eleanor of Alburquerque Eleanor of Alburquerque (1374 – 16 December 1435) was a Castilian noblewoman, Countess of Alburquerque, who became List of Aragonese consorts, Queen of Aragon by her marriage to Ferdinand I of Aragon. She was the regent of Aragon during th ...
, in 1428.


Ancestry


Footnotes


References


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edward Of Portugal 1391 births 1438 deaths 15th-century Portuguese monarchs 15th-century deaths from plague (disease) House of Aviz Knights of the Garter People from Viseu Portuguese infantes Portuguese people of English descent 15th-century Portuguese writers Portuguese male writers Sons of kings