History of Portugal: Difference between revisions
Lore about the 1755 earthquake and second habsburg rule added
JVFSegundo (talk | contribs) (Added the Iberian union + the content between the restauration of the crown and 1754 (pretty much only OTL events)) |
JVFSegundo (talk | contribs) (Lore about the 1755 earthquake and second habsburg rule added) |
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== Three Tragedies period (1755-1834) ==
==== 1755 earthquake ====
On November 1, 1755, Portugal was hit by a powerful earthquake with an epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean, close to the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. The disaster destroyed almost all of Lisbon. Shortly after the earthquake, a tsunami took shore, elevating even more the destruction. It’s estimated that the death toll of the catastrophe was around tens of thousands. Among these ten thousand was most of the Portuguese Royal Family. The earthquake not only caused massive destruction but also almost ended the House of Braganza. The only ones spared were King Henry II’s brother, John, proclaimed King John IV, and one of his daughters, Joana, who ended up receiving the nickname Astúcia (the Astuteness).
==== '''Arrangement with Tuscany:''' ====
To prevent the end of the royal house, efforts to engage Joana took place as quickly as possible. At the end, one of the sons of Tuscany’s Grand Duke, Ferdinando (Fernando in Portugal), was chosen to engage in a marriage with the heir to the crown of Portugal. The ceremony happened in 1757, and the hopes of a new generation of Braganzas were high.
'''Second Habsburg Rule:'''
In 1766, Joana became regent of Portugal as King John IV's health deteriorated, and she was crowned queen in 1768 after her uncle's death. Still childless and with a life marked by miscarriages, tensions over the fate of the royal house started again as uncertainty arose about the generation of an heir. In 1771, the expectations were finally fulfilled after the birth of a healthy boy, Afonso. Although the heritance of the throne was secured for now, Queen Joana died days after giving birth.
After Joana's death, no one in Portugal was in a position to take regency until Afonso’s 18th birthday. Therefore, the king of Habsburg Spain, Philip V, was recognized as regent of Portugal. Once again, Portugal was under the rule of a Spanish Habsburg more than a hundred and thirty years after the dissolution of the Iberian Union in 1640.
Differently from the Iberian Union, this period of Habsburg control was much shorter and calmer, as Europe was at the moment in a state of stability. Of course, a significant part of the government became upset and fearful of Philip appointing the Spanish to take their positions, but this did not end up happening. The most notorious achievement of the second Habsburg period was the completion of the Lisbon reconstruction in 1773.
Philip V's rule as regent lasted until 1789, when Afonso reached his 18th birthday and was crowned King Afonso II.
====Portugal in the Great Silesian War====
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