Peter II of Portugal

Peter II

Engraving of King Peter II;
Christopher Elias Heiss, c. 1683-1703.
King of Portugal and the Algarves
Reign 12 September 1683 –
9 December 1706
Inauguration 27 January 1668
Predecessor Afonso VI
Successor John V
Born 26 April 1648
Ribeira Palace, Lisbon
Died 9 December 1706 (aged 58)
Alcântara, Lisbon
Burial Pantheon of the Braganzas, Lisbon
Spouse Maria Francisca of Nemours
Maria Sofia of Neuburg
Issue
Detail
House House of Braganza
Father John IV of Portugal
Mother Luisa de Guzmán
Religion Roman Catholicism

Dom Peter II (Portuguese: Pedro II Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpedɾu] (26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706) was Regent (1668–83) and King of Portugal and the Algarves (1683–1706).[1] He was sometimes known as o Pacífico, "the Peaceful".

Early life

He was the youngest son of John IV and was created Duke of Beja. Following his father's death his mother became regent for the new king Afonso VI, Peter's elder, partially paralysed and mentally unstable brother. In 1662 Afonso put away his mother and assumed control of the state. In January 1668, shortly before Spanish recognition of Portugal's restoration of independence, Peter acquired political ascendancy over his brother and was appointed regent, banishing Afonso to the Azores and, later, Sintra where he died in 1683. Peter thereupon inherited the throne. Around this time, the discovery of gold mines in the Portuguese colony of Brazil enlarged Peter's treasury to the extent that he was able to dismiss the Cortes in 1697 and rule without its revenue grants for the rest of his reign.

He was tall, well proportioned, with dark eyes and dark hair.[2]

King

Peter initially supported France and Spain in the War of Spanish Succession (1701–1714), but on 16 May 1703, Portugal and Great Britain signed the Methuen Treaty. This trade accord granted mutual commercial privileges for Portuguese wine and English textile traders and would later give Britain significant influence in the Portuguese economy. This was followed in December 1703 by a military alliance between Portugal, Austria and Great Britain for an invasion of Spain. Portuguese and Allied forces, under the command of the Marquês das Minas, captured Madrid in 1706, during the campaign which ended in the Allied defeat at Almansa.

Marriage

The Marriage Cortége of Peter and Maria Francisca; Jan Luyken, 1698.

Peter not only inherited his brother's throne but also wed his widow, Queen Marie-Françoise of Savoy (1646–1683). They had one daughter, Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira (1669–90), heiress-presumptive a.k.a. a Sempre-Noiva ("the ever-engaged"), because of the many marriage projects intended for her that never came to fruition. The Queen died at the end of 1683, 14 years after Isabel's birth.

Peter's second wife was Maria Sophia (1666–1699), daughter of Phillip Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg. Among Sophia's sisters were Eleonor Madeleine, third wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Anna, second wife of Charles II of Spain.

The couple had eight children, including the younger John, who succeeded his father in 1706 as King John V of Portugal.

Ancestry

Marriages and descendants

NameBirthDeathNotes
By Marie-Françoise of Savoy-Nemours (1646–1683; married 2 April 1668)
Infanta Isabel Luísa of Portugal6 January 166921 October 16902nd Princess of Beira
By Maria Sophia of Neuburg (6 August 1666 – 4 August 1699; married in 1687)
João, Prince of Brazil30 August 168817 September 1688Prince of Brazil and 12th Duke of Braganza
John V of Portugal22 October 168931 July 1750Prince of Brazil from 1697; succeeded Peter as King of Portugal
Infante Francisco of Portugal25 May 169121 July 1742Duke of Beja
Infante António of Portugal15 March 169520 October 1757 
Infanta Teresa Maria of Portugal24 February 169616 February 1704 
Infante Manuel of Portugal3 August 16973 August 1766 Count of Ourém.
Infanta Francisca Josefa of Portugal30 January 169915 July 1736 
By Maria da Cruz Mascarenhas (c. 1655-?)
Luísa de Braganza9 January 167923 December 1732Natural daughter; Duchess of Cadaval through marriage first to Luís Ambrósio de Melo, 2nd Duke of Cadaval, and then to Jaime Álvares Pereira de Melo, 3rd Duke of Cadaval
By Anne Armande du Verger (c. 1660-?)
Miguel de Braganza15 October 169913 January 1724Natural son
By Francisca Clara da Silva (c. 1650-?)
José de Braganza6 May 17033 June 1756Natural son; Archbishop of Braga

References

  1. ↑ Marsha, Linda Frey (1995), The Treaties of the War of the Spanish Succession, p. 335, [Peter] III of Portugal (1648 1706 r. 1683–1706), the third son of [John] IV, who founded the Braganza ruling dynasty and secured the independence of Portugal from Spain. [Peter] […] loved hunting both women and animals, and excelled as a horseback rider.
  2. ↑ Sousa 1741, Vol VII, p. 664.

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter II of Portugal.
Peter II of Portugal
Cadet branch of the House of Aviz
Born: 26 April 1648 Died: 9 December 1706
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Luisa de Guzmán
(1656)		 Prince Regent of Portugal and the Algarves
27 January 1668 – 12 September 1683 		Succeeded by
Catherine of Braganza
(1701)
Preceded by
Afonso VI		 King of Portugal and the Algarves
12 September 1683 – 9 December 1706 		Succeeded by
John V
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