JOHN V OF PORTUGAL

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Fidelíssimus 'John V, King of Portugal' (Portuguese ''João'' pron. IPA []) ''the Magnanimous'' (Port. ''o Magnânimo'') (October 22, 1689 – July 31, 1750), 24th (or 25th according to some historians) king of Portugal and the Algarves, was born ''John-Francis-Anthony'' in Lisbon and succeeded his father Peter II in December 1706, and was proclaimed on January 1 1707.
His father had long suffered from lack of heirs, and the relatively new royal house of Braganza was indeed on the verge of going extinct—the king had only one surviving (though sickly) daughter from his first marriage, John's half-sister Isabel Luisa, Princess of Beira. However, after the death of his first wife, the old king remarried, and John's mother was able to produce two children, including John himself. When John was born, he became Prince of Brazil as the king's heir-apparent, as well as the 13th Duke of Braganza.
Since his father had been elderly, John succeeded at quite a young age, only 17. One of his first kingly acts was to intimate his adherence to the Grand Alliance, which his father had joined in 1703. Accordingly, his general Das Minas, along with Lord Galway, advanced into Castile, even taking Madrid, but sustained the defeat of Almanza (April 14).
In October 1708 he married his cousin Mary Anne of Austria (1683-1754), daughter of Leopold I, thus strengthening the alliance with Austria.
The series of unsuccessful campaigns that ensued, ultimately terminated in a favourable peace with France in 1713 and with Spain in 1715.
His long reign was characterized by a strengthening of the king's power due to the incomes the crown earned by exploring the newly found gold and diamond mines in Brazil. A fifth of each ton extracted from these mines were crown property, the rest being divided among claim owners, contractors and public administrators. This sudden wealth enabled the king to rule without summoning the Cortes, thus becoming an absolute monarch. Due to his centralistic ruling, he had to endure the political opposition of several noble families and influential clergymen. In what most probably was an effort to tame the upper nobility, John V built his own Versailles, the less luxurious Royal Palace of Mafra. Though John took Louis XIV as a role model, he never could or never wanted to achieve the splendor of the French court.
John V used much of the crown's treasure to develop Portugal's weak economy (creating new manufactures all over the country), to patronise the arts and intellectuals (Royal academies were founded), and to regain his country's lost prestige among its European neighbors after the recovery of independence from Spain (1640). His foreign policy followed two simple and unaltered rules: political neutrality in European conflicts and constant negotiations with the Vatican in order to be recognised as a lawful monarch. To this end, he spent heavily in bribes to church officials and embassies to the Pope.
His negotiations with the Vatican gained the recognition of Portugal as a lawful sovereign country by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 and the title "Most Faithful King" bestowed upon him and his successors by a bull. Six years before receiving this title, John suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralysed and unable to intervene in political affairs. His last years of life were dedicated to religious activities. His early economical measures, which were unpopular among the upper nobility, became ineffective, and public affairs were so dependent on John's rule that they became almost inoperative. John V died on July 31 1750 in Lisbon, and was succeeded by his son Prince Joseph.
He is an important character of José Saramago's novel ''Baltasar and Blimunda''.

Contents

Ancestors

Marriages and descendants

References

Ancestors

Marriages and descendants

John married Mary Anne of Austria, daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1708. From that marriage were born six children, but only three survived childhood. Outside his marriage John had four illegitimate children, Maria Rita ("''Flower of Murta''") and the three children of Palhavã.

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
'By Mary Anne of Austria' (September 7 1683-August 14 1754; married on June 9 1708)
Princess Barbara	December 4 1711	August 27 1758	Princess of Brazil (1711-1712). Married to Ferdinand VI of Spain.
Prince Peter	October 19 1712	October 29 1714	Prince of Brazil and 14th Duke of Braganza
Prince Joseph	June 6 1714	February 24 1777	Prince of Brazil from 1714. Succeeded him as 25th (or 26th according to some historians) King of Portugal.
Infante Carlos	May 2 1716	March 30 1730
Peter III	July 5 1717	May 25 1786	Married Queen Maria I of Portugal and became King-consort as Peter III.
Infante Alexandre	September 24 1723	August 2 1728
'By Luís Clara de Portugal' (1712-?)
Maria Rita	c. 1731	1808	Known as the ''Flower of Murta''.
'By Madalena Máxima de Miranda' (c. 1690-?)
Gaspar	October 8 1716	January 18 1789	Natural son. Archbishop of Braga. One of the three 'children of Palhavã'
'By Mother Paula' (c. 1690-?)
José	September 8 1720	July 31 1801	Natural son. General-Inquisitor of the Kingdom. One of the three 'children of Palhavã'
'Other offspring'
António	October 1 1704	August 14 1800	Natural son and one of the three 'children of Palhavã'

References

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