John III of Portugal

John III (Portuguese: João III pron. IPA //) (June 6, 1502–June 11, 1557), nicknamed o Piedoso ("the Pious"), was the fifteenth king of Portugal and Algarves.

Born in Lisbon, he was the son of King Manuel I and his queen consort, Maria of Aragon (the third daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain). John succeeded his father in 1521, at the age of nineteen. He ascended to the throne while the Portuguese Empire was at the height of its mercantile and colonial power, and its capital, Lisbon, occupied a position of global commercial importance. During his rule, Portuguese possessions were extended in Asia and in the New World through the Portuguese colonization of Brazil. John III's policy of reinforcing Portugal's bases in India (such as Goa) secured Portugal's monopoly over the spice trade of cloves from the Moluccas and nutmeg from the Banda Islands, as a result of which John III has been called the "Grocer King".

During his reign, the Portuguese became the first Europeans to make contact with both China, under the Ming Dynasty, and Japan, during the Muromachi period of Nanban. He abandoned Muslim territories in North Africa in favor of trade with India and investment in Brazil. In Europe, he improved relations with the Baltic region and the Rhineland, hoping that this would bolster Portuguese trade.

John was responsible for the evangelization of the Far East and Brazil, in part through the introduction of Jesuit missions there. However, both the Jesuits and the Portuguese Inquisition, introduced in 1536, were disastrous to the commercial prosperity and social stability of the Empire. In the final years of John's reign, Portugal fell into the stagnation that would also characterize the reign of his grandson and successor, Sebastian, who became king upon the death of John of apoplexy in 1557.

Early life

Prince John was King Manuel's eldest son. His birth on June 6, 1502, was celebrated with a masterpiece of Portuguese theater, Gil Vicente's Visitation Play, or: the Monologue of the Cowherd (Auto da Visitação ou Monólgo do Vaqueiro) presented at the Queen's chamber.

The young prince was sworn heir to the throne in 1503 and was educated by notables of the time, including the astrologer Tomás de Torres and Diogo de Ortiz, Bishop of Viseu. One of his teachers was Luís Teixeira, a humanist educated in Italy. John's chronicler said that "Dom João III faced problems easily, complementing his lack of culture with a practice formation that he always showed during his reign" (António de Castilho, Elogio d'el-rei D. João de Portugal, terceiro, do nome). In 1514, he received his own house, and a few years later he began to help his father in administrative duties.

At sixteen he was chosen to marry his first cousin, the 20-year-old Eleanor of Austria, eldest daughter of Philip the Handsome of Austria-Burgundy and queen Joanna of Castile, but in the end she married his widowed father King Manuel I. John took deep offence at this: his chroniclers say that he became melancholy and was never quite the same. Some historians also claim this was one of the main reasons that John later became fervently religious.

Early Reign

On December 19, 1521, at the age of 19, he was crowned and acclaimed in the Church of Saint Dominique in Lisbon, beginning a thirty-six-year reign characterized by intense activity in internal and overseas politics and especially in relations with other major European states.

The marriage of John's sister, Princess Isabella of Portugal, to Charles V made it possible for the Portuguese king to strengthen his alliance with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. To fortify his ties with Austria, he married his maternal first cousin Catarina of Spain, younger sister of Charles V and of his erstwhile fiancée Eleanor, in the town of Crato. John had nine children from that marriage, but most of them died early in their lives, and by the time of John's death, only his grandson, Sebastian, was able to inherit the crown.

John III continued centralizing the absolutist politics of his ancestors. He called for the Cortes only three times and at great intervals: 1525 in Torres Novas, 1535 in Évora and 1544 in Almeirim. He also tried to restructure administrative and judicial life in his realm.

Decline

Toward the end of John III's reign, Portugal entered a period of serious economic, social, and political problems, resulting in the wane of Portuguese power.

Economic pressure

The extensive and dispersed Portuguese Empire was difficult and expensive to administrate, and was associated with huge external debt and trade deficits. Portugal's Indian and Far Eastern interests grew increasingly chaotic under the poor administration of ambitious governors. John III responded with new appointments which proved troubled and short-lived, and in some cases, the new governors had to fight their predecessors to fulfill their appointment. The resulting failures in administration brought on a gradual decline of the Portuguese trade monopoly.

Among John III's many governors of this region, were Vasco da Gama, Henrique de Meneses, Pedro Mascaranhas, Lopo Vaz de Sampaio, Nuno da Cunha, Estêvão da Gama, Martim Afonso de Sousa and João de Castro.

Rise of the Jesuits brings social and economic conflict

The establishment of the Society of Jesus in 1534, approved by Pope Paul III in 1540, and the introduction of the Portuguese Inquisition in 1536, a result of John's religious fanaticism, were also causes of the economic crisis of the country. John insisted so much on the introduction of the Inquisition that he spent enormous quantities of gold in embassies to the Pope. While the Society of Jesus had an extremely important role overseas in evangelizing native populations, within Portugal it had a devastating impact, draining the gold of the Empire, offered by John himself, in order to erect a great number of religious buildings. The Jesuits also propitiated an environment of instability within some parts of the nobility, the majority of the existent religious orders, and with the Universities that saw it as a rival motivated by religious fanaticism. Finally, the direct negative impact of the Inquisition on the Portuguese economy was in part related to the religious persecution of many important Jewish merchants, who were killed or fled the country.

Military pressures

Overseas, the Empire was threatened by the Turks in both the Indian Ocean and North Africa, and Portugal started to increase spendings on defense and fortifications. Meanwhile, in the Atlantic, alongside constant attacks of corsairs against Portuguese ships, an initial installation of French colonists in Brazil created yet another "front" the Portuguese needed to fight. The French made alliances with native South Americans against the Portuguese and military and political interventions were used. Eventually they were forced out, but only in 1565.

In the first years of John III's reign, explorations in the Far East continued and the Portuguese reached China and Japan; however, these accomplishments were offset by pressure from a strengthening Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent, especially in India where attacks became more frequent. The expense of defending Indian interests was huge, and to pay for it, John III abandoned a number of strongholds in North Africa (Safim, Azamor, Alcacer Ceguer and Arzila).

Dynastic crisis

Another factor that made John's reign, the beginning of the eventual decline of the Portuguese Empire was the dynastical crisis caused by his death with no children alive. The marriages of several princesses with Castilian, Aragonese and later Spanish husbands were a consequence of the annexation of Portugal by Philip II of Spain, after the premature death of John's successor Sebastian I (his grandson), followed by the death of Cardinal Henry I (John's brother and Sebastian's successor).

International relations

In terms of international relations, the reign of John III was one of diplomacy. With Spain, he made alliances through marriage (himself with Catarina of Spain; Isabella, princess of Portugal with Charles V; Maria, princess of Portugal – his daughter – with Philip II of Spain, and others) which ensured peace in the Iberian Peninsula for a number of years. However, the intermarriage of members of the Portuguese Royal Family with other Iberian kingdoms may have been one of the factors of the fragility of John's children and future King Sebastian's reported madness.

John III remained neutral during the war between France and Spain, but stood firm in fighting French corsair attacks. He strengthened relations with Rome by introducing the Inquisition in Portugal and the adhesion of the Portuguese clergy to the Counter-Reformation. The improved relation with the Catholic Church made it possible for John to name whomever he wanted, to important religious positions in the country: his brothers Henry and Afonso were made Cardinals, and his natural son Duarte was made Archbishop of Braga.

Commercial relations were intensified with England, the countries of the Baltic and Flanders during Johnn's reign. Meanwhile, in the other end of the world, Portugal was the first European nation to make contact with Japan. In China, Macau was offered to the Portuguese, and soon Portugal controlled major trading routes in the area. In the South, the Portuguese continued with a hostile attitude against their Muslim rivals and insurgent Indian leaders. In the Moluccas John achieved an important political victory securing the control of the area in spite of Spanish claims.

Culture

John III's support for the humanist cause was significant. In literature, his active support of Gil Vicente, Garcia de Resende, Sá de Miranda, Bernardim Ribeiro, Fernão Mendes Pinto, João de Barros and Luís de Camões stood out. In the sciences, John III supported Pedro Nunes and Garcia de Orta.

The monarch attributed many scholarships in Universities abroad (mainly in Paris) and definitively transferred the University from Lisbon to Coimbra in 1537. He quickly recalled prominent figures of European education (many were Portuguese teaching abroad) and provided the University with excellent conditions. However, the importance of the University of Coimbra was minimized with the installment of the Society of Jesus. This society founded colleges and widened education in the country but on the other hand created great instability in Portuguese education, assuming itself as a rival of the University of Coimbra with a conservative position, often against innovation. The Inquisition also arrested and killed many prominent teachers and censured new ideals like the Erasmism.

Another noteworthy aspect, was the support that John gave to missionaries in the New World, Asia and Africa.

Inquisition

The Inquisition was introduced in Portugal by John III in 1536, after hesitations from Rome. In 1515, Manuel I had asked for the installation of the Inquisition, but it was instituted only after the accession of John III. As in Spain, the Inquisition was put under the authority of the King. The Grand Inquisitor, or General Inquisitor, was named by the Pope after the king's appointment and always from within the royal family. The Grand Inquisitor would later nominate other inquisitors. In Portugal, the first Grand Inquisitor was Cardinal Henry, who would later become King. There were Courts of the Inquisition in Lisbon, Coimbra and Évora. In 1560 inquisition was established in Goa. The Goa Inquisition changed the demographics of Goa considerably.

The activity of the courts was extended to book censure, divination, witchcraft and bigamy under John III. Book censure proved to have a strong influence in Portuguese cultural evolution, plummeting the country into an era of ignorance and cruelty. Originally oriented for a religious action, the Inquisition had an influence in almost every aspect of Portuguese society: politically, culturally and socially.

The Portuguese Empire under John III

Africa

Luso-African Relations

In John III's time, trade between the Portuguese and Africans was extremely intense in the feitorias like Arguim, Mina, Mombasa, Sofala or Moçambique. "Common products were salt, wheat, horses, carpets, fabric, Irish and English clothing, blades, tin for African natives' coins, copper or tin vases, shells from the Canary Islands that Ethiopians carry on their necks as an amulet against lightning, yellow and green beads from Nuremberg, and brass armlets" (Basílio Vasconcelos, «Itinerário» de Jerónimo Münzer, 1932), in exchange for gold, slaves, ivory and bush redpepper brought by the Portuguese.

"Now, I III say, like you said that there was no capture of slaves in your Kingdom Congo, I just want to provide you of the Congo with flour and wine for your Eucharistic rites, and for that it would only be needed a caravelão kind of caravel each year; if it seems right to you, in exchange for 10,000 slaves and 10,000 armlets and 10,000 ivory tooth, that, it is said, in the Congo there is not much, not even a ship per year; so, this and more shall be as you want." (Letter of John III to the King of the Congo).

Under John III, several expeditions started in coastal Africa and advanced to the interior of the continent. These expeditions were formed by groups of navigators, merchants, adventurers and missionaries. Missions in Africa were established by the College of Arts of Coimbra. The objective was to increase the king's dominion, develop peace relations and to christianize the native population.

Defense and abandonment of North African strongholds

John III refused to abandon all of the Portuguese North African strongholds, but he had to make choices:

"To want to have such a costly thing, and from which there came no profits wasn’t wise, mainly for who had so great expenditures and so huge and necessary, that cannot be stopped." (Unknown, Relações de Pero Alcáçova Carneiro, etc., 1937)

John III decided to abandon Safim and Azamor in 1541, followed by Arzila and Alcácer Ceguer in 1549. The fortresses of Ceuta, Tangiers and Mazagan were strengthened "to face the new military techniques, imposed by the generalization of heavy artillery, combined with light fire weapons and blades" (José Mattoso dir., História de Portugal, 1993).

"There were years when the King had thought with his great judgement (…) to abandon the cities of Safim and Azamor (…). It was certain that Safim had no port and the river of Azamor was not navigable (…). The cost was too much that resulted in fruits of no consideration (…)" (Frei Luís de Sousa, Anais de D. João III, 1983).

John III declared every male subject between 20 and 65 years old recruitable on 7 August 1549.

"Every nobleman, like all my servants and those who are not, and every knight, squire, servants of mine, my brothers, and any other person that might have them ^*, I order them to have the horses ready." (idem)

Asia

Luso-Asian relations

Before the reign of John III, the Portuguese had already reached Siam (1511), the Moluccas (1512), the Chinese littoral (1513), Canton (1517) and Timor (1515). During John's, rule the Portuguese reached Japan, and at the end of John's reign, Macao was offered to Portugal by China.

"From India, he III receives all kinds of spice, drug & stone & many cotton clothes, taficiras and alaquecas of Indian fabrics. From Malacca, clovetrees, marzipan, sandalwood, camphor, porcelains, beijoim & calaim of spices. From Bengala, sinafabos, flannel, chautares , castor beans, & rebotins that are kinds of thin fabric made of cotton (…). From Alexandria & Cairo, red dyewood, cinnabars, saffron, copper, rosed waters, borcados kind of silk, velvets, taffeta, grains of wood, camlets, gold & silver in bars, & in coins, & carpets. From China, musk, rhubarb, & silk in exchange of gromwells, pearls, horses from Arabia & Persia, non worked silk, silk embroidery threads, fruits of the date palm, raisins, salt, sulphur & many other goods." (Fernão Lopes de Castanheda, História do Descobrimento e Conquista da Índia pelos Portugueses, 1979)

Defence

As Muslims and other peoples constantly attacked Portuguese fleets in the area, and because India was far away from mainland Portugal, it was extremely difficult for John III to assure the Portuguese dominion in this area. A Viceroy, a Governor-General with large powers, was nominated, but it was not enough. The Portuguese started by creating feitorias – commercial strongholds (Cochin, Cannanore, Coulão, Cranganore and Tanor) – with the initial objective of establishing just a commercial dominion in the region.

The hostilities demonstrated by many Indian kingdoms, and the alliances between sultans and zamorins to expulse the Portuguese, made it necessary for the Europeans to establish a sovereign state. So, Portugal militarily occupied some key cities on the Indian coast, and Goa (1512) became the headquarters of the Portuguese Empire in the East. Goa became a starting point for the introduction of European cultural and religious values in India, and churches, schools and hospitals were built. Goa remained an overseas possession of Portgual until it India recovered it in 1975.

Portuguese arrival in Japan

The Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543. Japan was known to Portugal since the time of Marco Polo, who called it Cipango. Whether Portuguese nationals were the first Europeans to arrive in Japan is debatable. Some say it was the writer Fernão Mendes Pinto, and others say the navigators António Peixoto, António da Mota and Francisco Zeimoto.

Portuguese traders started negotiating with Japan earlier than 1550, and established a base there at Nagasaki. By then, trade with Japan was a Portuguese monopoly, under the rule of a Captain. Because the Portuguese established themselves in Macau, Chinese commercial relations, mainly the silver trade with Japan, were improved under John III's rule.

Moluccas

After the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, the Castilians claimed the recently discovered Moluccas Islands. In 1524, a conference of experts (cartographers, cosmographers, pilots, etc.) was held to solve the dispute caused by the difficulty of determining the meridian agreed to in the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Portuguese delegation sent by John III had names such as António de Azevedo Coutinho, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, Lopo Homem and Simão Fernandes.

The dispute was settled in 1529 by the Treaty of Zaragoza, signed by John III and Charles I of Spain. The Portuguese paid 350,000 golden ducados to Spain and secured their presence in the islands.

This payment should not have been a necessity, as Portugal was actually entitled to the islands, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Macau

In 1553, Leonel de Sousa obtained authorization for the Portuguese to establish, in Canton and Macau. Macau was later offered to John III as a reward for the Portuguese assistance against maritime piracy in the period between 1557 and 1564.

"In the morning of the other day, we set sail from this island of Sanchão and when the sun set, we arrived at another island, that lies six more leagues to the north, called Lampacau, where at that time the Portuguese made trade with the Chinese, and they made it until the year of 1557, when the mandarins of Canton, when asked by Portuguese land merchants, gave this port of Macau to us (…)." (Fernão Mendes Pinto, Pilgrimage, 1974 ed.)

Portugal had managed to retain Macau for over 400 years. It became a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China in 1999, two years after Hong Kong was similarly returned to Chinese jurisdiction by the UK.

Malacca

Malacca, which controlled the eponymous Strait of Malacca, was vital to Portuguese interests in the Far East. After an unsuccessful expedition in 1509, Malacca was finally conquered by Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese viceroy of India, on 24 August 1511. Malacca was later taken by the Dutch in 1641.

Colombo

In order to follow its trade routes to the Far East, Portugal depended on the seasonal monsoon winds in the Indian Ocean. In winter, the prevailing northeasterly monsoon impeded travel to India; in summer, the southwest monsoon made departure from India difficult. As a result, Portugal determined that it needed permanent bases in India, in addition to its ports of call in Africa, to pass the time while the wind changed. In addition to Goa, they founded a base at Colombo (in what is now Sri Lanka) in the sixteenth century. This port remained in Portuguese hands until 1656, when it was seized by the Dutch after an epic siege.

Brazil

Trade in Brazil

Immediately following the discovery of Brazil, the Portuguese collected only brazilwood and exotic birds from there. Brazilwood was a much appreciated product in Europe, because its red extract was used in dyeing. During John III's rule, after the initial colonization, Portuguese explorers intensified the search for brazilwood and began the cultivation of sugarcane and bananas, two crops which were previously nonexistent in South America.

Since Brazil lacked a large native population, Portugal began to import African slaves to the territory. The first slaves, from the region of Guinea, arrived in Brazil in 1539. Though some worked in the sugarcane fields and factories, most were used to cut, clean, and transport brazilwood to the littoral.

Colonization

John III was the first Portuguese monarch to recognize the potential of the New World, and the colonization of Brazil began during his reign. The territory was divided in 15 captaincies (the capitanias) that were given to dignitary captains with obligations to defend them, populate them, and to exploit their resources.

"Martim Afonso, my friend, I, the King (…) knew of your arrival at this land of Brazil, and because of your patrol of the coast (…) against the French corsairs, (…) I thank you (…). After you left, a question was raised if it would be my service to populate all that coast of Brazil, and some people asked me for captaincies (…), so I ordered to mark from Pernambuco to the Rio da Prata Rio de la Plata fifty leagues of coast to each captaincy, and before giving them to anyone, I ordered a hundred of the best leagues of the coast to be marked to you and fifty leagues to your brother, Pêro Lopes (…). I also gave captaincies of fifty leagues to some people (…) and everyone is willing to take people and ships with them (…)" (Letter of John III to Martim Afonso de Sousa)

The first Governor-General appointed by John III was Tomé de Sousa, who in 1549 founded the city of Bahia (known at the time as São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos - Holy Saviour of the Bay of All Saints).

Ancestors

**John's ancestors in three generations**
John III of Portugal	Father: Manuel I of Portugal	Father's father: Infante Fernando, Duke of Viseu	Father's father's father: Edward of Portugal
			Father's father's mother: Leonor of Aragon
		Father's mother: Beatriz of Portugal	Father's mother's father: Infante João of Portugal
			Father's mother's mother: Isabel of Braganza
	Mother: Maria of Aragon	Mother's father: Ferdinand II of Aragon	Mother's father's father: John II of Aragon
			Mother's father's mother: Juana Enriquez
		Mother's mother: Isabella of Castile	Mother's mother's father: John II of Castile
			Mother's mother's mother: Isabel of Portugal

Death and succession

From 1539, the heir to the throne was John, prince of Portugal, who married Juana Habsburg, daughter of Charles V. But Prince John was a sickly child (and the sole son of John III to survive childhood) and died young (of tuberculosis), when the princess was giving birth to Prince Sebastian in January 1554. When John III died of apoplexy in 1557, only heir was his grandson, Sebastian, who was just three years old.

To this day, John's body rests in the Monastery of Jerónimos in Lisbon.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
By Catarina of Spain (married February 10 1525)
Prince Afonso	February 24 1526	March 1526
Princess Maria	October 15 1527	August 12 1545	First wife of King Philip II of Spain. She had one deformed child, Don Carlos, and she died a few days after his birth.
Princess Elizabeth	April 28 1529	April 28 1529
Princess Beatrice	February 15 1530	February 15 1530
Prince Manuel	November 1 1531	April 14 1537	Heir in 1535.
Prince Philip	March 25 1533	April 29 1539	Heir in 1537.
Prince Denis	April 6 1535	January 1 1537
Prince John	June 3 1537	January 2 1554	Heir in 1539. Married Joan of Habsburg. Their son became King Sebastian I.
Prince Anthony	March 9 1539	January 20 1540
By Isabel Moniz
Duarte, Archbishop of Braga	1521	November 11 1543	Natural son.

Style

Like his predecessors John used the style "El-rei" (the king) followed by "Dom" (abbreviated to D.), a mark of high esteem for a distinguished Christian nobleman.

The official style was the same used by his father Manuel I: "Dom João, by the grace of God, King of Portugal, of the Algarves, of either side of the sea in Africa, Lord of Guinea, & of the Conquest, Navigation, & Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, & India" (Dom João, por graça de Deus, Rei de Portugal, e dos Algarves, d'aquém e d'além mar em África, Senhor da Guiné, e da Conquista, Navegação, & Comércio da Etiópia, Arábia, Pérsia, & Índia). This style would only change in the 19th century when Brazil became a Vice-Kingdom.

References

Serrão, Joel (dir.) (1971). Dicionário da História de Portugal, Vol. II. Lisboa: Iniciativas Editoriais
Vasconcelos, Maria Antónia (dir.) (1999). A Monarquia Portuguesa. Lisboa: Selecções do Reader’s Digest
Domingues, Mário (1962). D. João III O Homem e a Sua Época. Lisboa: Edição Romano Torres
Serrão, Joaquim Veríssimo (1978). História de Portugal, Vol. III. Lisboa: Verbo
Mattoso, José (dir.) (1993). História de Portugal, Vol. III.Círculo de Leitores
Crisanto, Natércia; Simões, Isabel; Mendes, J. Amado (1999). Novo História 8. Porto: Porto Editora
Costa, Fátima; Marques, António (1997). História e Geografia de Portugal 5º Ano de Escolaridade. Porto: Porto Editora

External links

Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao S.A.R. - The Portuguese Settlement at Macao (Portuguese and English)
The Society of Jesus in Portugal (in Portuguese)
Orient Foundation in Portugal
Portuguese Empire Timeline
Japanese Screen Painting of the Portuguese in the Indies(Enlarge)
Dutch Portuguese Colonial HistoryDutch Portuguese Colonial History: history of the Portuguese and the Dutch in Ceylon, India, Malacca, Bengal, Formosa, Africa, Brazil. Language Heritage, lists of remains, maps.
Current and Former Colonies and Possessions of Portugual from World Statesmen
The Portuguese and the East (in Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Thai) with English introduction.

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