Wedding of King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza

The Marriage Treaty, or Anglo-Portuguese Treaty, was a treaty of alliance that was agreed between the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...

and the Kingdom of Portugal and concluded on 23 June 1661. It led to the marriage of Charles II of England and

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...

, the daughter of

John IV of Portugal John IV ( pt, João, ; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer ( pt, João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from H ...

. It was a

marriage of state A marriage of state is a diplomatic marriage or union between two members of different nation-states or internally, between two power blocs, usually in authoritarian societies and is a practice which dates back into ancient times, as far back as ear ...

, as was common in the era. The treaty also renewed the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Anglo-Portuguese Alliance The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance (or , "Luso-English Alliance") is the oldest alliance based on known history in the world that is still in force by politics. It was established by the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, between the Kingdom of England ( ...

Background

Charles had recently been restored to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland and had been lobbied by both

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 the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, which pushed rival candidates as a potential wife. Although Charles had been allied to Spain through the

Treaty of Brussels The Treaty of Brussels, also referred to as the Brussels Pact, was the founding treaty of the Western Union (WU) between 1948 and 1954, when it was amended as the Modified Brussels Treaty (MTB) and served as the founding treaty of the Western Eu ...

, his relations with

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

had become increasingly strained. Spain demanded the return of possessions taken by the

English Republic The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execut ...

, notably

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, which Charles accepted. Charles's decision to marry Catherine was attributed to the advice of the influential English statesman Edward Hyde, the 1st Earl of Clarendon. The Portuguese match also received strong support from Charles's Irish ally James Butler, the 1st Duke of Ormonde.

Terms

As well as a cash payment, Catherine's dowry also brought with it the settlements of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. England also gained

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

, in

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 ...

, and so could use the port as a naval station or a commercial post for the Levante trade. The terms made England send 2,000 foot soldiers and 500 horses to assist Portugal's war against Spain. The treaty, under the marriage provision, also stated that the

Infanta ''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 ...

and her whole family "shall enjoy the free exercise of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

religion." Over time, however, the acquisition of the two territories came to be regarded as liabilities for England. Charles sold his rights over Bombay to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

. Tangier was maintained until it was evacuated by 1684 under constant pressure from surrounding Moorish forces. It also became a source of political controversy in England since Whigs suggested that the garrison, which had a large number of Irish Catholics, was designed to be brought over to Britain to impose royal absolutism.Childs p.115-51 In accordance with the agreement, a force of British and Irish troops under Frederick Schomberg were raised to serve in Portugal's ongoing war of independence against Spain. Portugal secured its independence in 1668. Charles and Catherine were unable to conceive a child and so in 1685, the throne passed to the King's brother James, Duke of York, who married

Anne Hyde Anne Hyde (12 March 163731 March 1671) was Duchess of York and Albany as the first wife of James, Duke of York, who later became King James II and VII. Anne was the daughter of a member of the English gentry – Edward Hyde (later created ...

and later Mary of Modena.

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite book, editor1-last=Davenport, editor1-first=Frances Gardiner, editor2-last=Paullin, editor2-first=Charles Oscar, title=European Treaties Bearing on the History of the United States and Its Dependencies: Issue 254, date=2004, publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd, isbn=9781584774228, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mDPF4ILESaUC&pg=RA1-PA31 17th-century diplomatic conferences 1661 treaties 1661 in England 1661 in Portugal Charles II of England Anglo-Portuguese treaties Catherine of Braganza