Joseph I of Portugal
Encyclopedia
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Joseph I (Portuguese
José, ʒuˈzɛ), the Reformer (Port.
o Reformador), 25th (or 26th according to some historians) King of the Kingdom of Portugal
and the Algarves, was born in Lisbon
, on 6 June 1714.
. Joseph had an older brother, Peter, but he died at the age of two, an older sister and three younger brothers. At the death of his elder brother, José became Prince of Brazil
as the heir-apparent of the king, and 12th Duke of Braganza
.
In 1729, Joseph married a Spanish
Infanta, Mariana Victoria of Spain
, daughter of Philip V of Spain
and Elisabeth Farnese, and his elder sister Barbara of Portugal
married the future Ferdinand VI of Spain
. Mariana Victoria loved music and hunting, but she was also a serious woman who disliked the King's affairs and did not hesitate to expose them to acquaintances. Joseph and Mariana Victoria had four daughters, two stillborn sons, one stillborn daughter and a miscarriage in 1750.
Joseph was devoted to the Church and the opera. Indeed, he had assembled one of the greatest collections of operatic scores in Europe.
. By this time, the king did not believe he would have a son.
The powerful Marquis sought to overhaul all aspects of economic, social and colonial policy to make Portugal a more efficient contender with the other great powers of Europe, and thus secure his own power status as a result. A conspiracy of nobles aimed at murdering King Joseph and the Marquis gave Pombal the opportunity (some say, the pretext) to get rid of the Távora family
, and to expel the Jesuits
in September 1759, thus gaining control of public education and a wealth of church lands and ushering Portugal, which had been a backwater dominated by the High Aristocracy and a very conservative brand of Catholicism, into the Enlightenment age.
The reign of Joseph was also famous for the great Lisbon earthquake
of November 1, 1755, in which around 100,000 people lost their lives. The earthquake caused Joseph to develop a severe case of claustrophobia
and he was never again comfortable living within a walled building. Consequently, he moved the royal court to an extensive complex of tents in the hills of Ajuda
. The capital was eventually rebuilt at great cost, and an equestrian statue of King Joseph still dominates Lisbon's main plaza.
With Joseph's death on 24 February 1777 the throne passed to his daughter Maria I of Portugal and Pombal's iron rule was sharply brought to an end, because she hated him very much for his arrogance and violent behaviour.
daughter of Philip V of Spain
and Elisabeth Farnese, on 19 January 1729 . He had four surviving daughters, all named Maria, and a number of stillborn children.
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Joseph I (Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
José, ʒuˈzɛ), the Reformer (Port.
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
o Reformador), 25th (or 26th according to some historians) King of the Kingdom of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and the Algarves, was born in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, on 6 June 1714.
Biography
He was the third child of King John V of Portugal and his wife Archduchess Maria Anna of AustriaMaria Anna of Austria
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria , was Electress of Bavaria as the spouse of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria. She also served as Regent of Bavaria during the minority of her son...
. Joseph had an older brother, Peter, but he died at the age of two, an older sister and three younger brothers. At the death of his elder brother, José became Prince of Brazil
Prince of Brazil
Prince of Brazil was a title used in the Kingdom of Portugal, for the heir of the royal House of Braganza.The title was created by King John IV of Portugal on 27 October 1645 in favor of his eldest son and heir prince Teodósio, soon after Portugal had got rid of its Spanish rulers...
as the heir-apparent of the king, and 12th Duke of Braganza
Duke of Braganza
The title Duke of Braganza in the House of Braganza is one of the most important titles in the peerage of Portugal. Since the House of Braganza acceded to the throne of Portugal in 1640, the male heir of the Portuguese Crown was known as the Duke of Braganza and Prince of Brazil until 1822, or...
.
In 1729, Joseph married a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Infanta, Mariana Victoria of Spain
Mariana Victoria of Spain
Mariana Victoria of Spain was an Infanta of Spain and Queen consort of Portugal as wife of King Joseph I. The mother of Queen Maria I of Portugal, she also acted as Regent of Portugal during the last months of her husband's life and advisor to her daughter during her reign.-Background:Mariana...
, daughter of Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
and Elisabeth Farnese, and his elder sister Barbara of Portugal
Barbara of Portugal
Barbara of Portugal was an Infanta of Portugal and later Queen of Spain as wife of Ferdinand VI of Spain.-Life in Portugal:...
married the future Ferdinand VI of Spain
Ferdinand VI of Spain
Ferdinand VI , called the Learnt, was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death. He was the fourth son of the previous monarch Philip V and his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy...
. Mariana Victoria loved music and hunting, but she was also a serious woman who disliked the King's affairs and did not hesitate to expose them to acquaintances. Joseph and Mariana Victoria had four daughters, two stillborn sons, one stillborn daughter and a miscarriage in 1750.
Joseph was devoted to the Church and the opera. Indeed, he had assembled one of the greatest collections of operatic scores in Europe.
King of Portugal
He succeeded to the Portuguese throne in 1750, when he was 35 years old, and almost immediately placed effective power in the hands of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, better known today as the Marquis of Pombal. Indeed the history of Joseph's reign is really that of Pombal himself. King José also declared his eldest daughter Maria Francisca as the official heiress of the throne, and proclaimed her Princess of BrazilPrincess of Brazil
This is a list of Princesses of Brazil, from 1645 to 1815, both by marriage and birth. The title was preceded by the titles Princess of Portugal and succeed by Princess Royal of Portugal....
. By this time, the king did not believe he would have a son.
The powerful Marquis sought to overhaul all aspects of economic, social and colonial policy to make Portugal a more efficient contender with the other great powers of Europe, and thus secure his own power status as a result. A conspiracy of nobles aimed at murdering King Joseph and the Marquis gave Pombal the opportunity (some say, the pretext) to get rid of the Távora family
Távora affair
The Távora affair was a political scandal of the 18th century Portuguese court. The events triggered by the attempted murder of King Joseph I of Portugal in 1758 ended with the public execution of the entire Távora family and its closest relatives in 1759...
, and to expel the Jesuits
Suppression of the Jesuits
The Suppression of the Jesuits in the Portuguese Empire, France, the Two Sicilies, Parma and the Spanish Empire by 1767 was a result of a series of political moves rather than a theological controversy. By the brief Dominus ac Redemptor Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus...
in September 1759, thus gaining control of public education and a wealth of church lands and ushering Portugal, which had been a backwater dominated by the High Aristocracy and a very conservative brand of Catholicism, into the Enlightenment age.
The reign of Joseph was also famous for the great Lisbon earthquake
1755 Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by fires and a tsunami, which almost totally destroyed Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and...
of November 1, 1755, in which around 100,000 people lost their lives. The earthquake caused Joseph to develop a severe case of claustrophobia
Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms...
and he was never again comfortable living within a walled building. Consequently, he moved the royal court to an extensive complex of tents in the hills of Ajuda
Ajuda
Ajuda is a Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Lisbon with an area and 17,961 inhabitants ; its density was 5707.3 inhabitants/km².-History:...
. The capital was eventually rebuilt at great cost, and an equestrian statue of King Joseph still dominates Lisbon's main plaza.
With Joseph's death on 24 February 1777 the throne passed to his daughter Maria I of Portugal and Pombal's iron rule was sharply brought to an end, because she hated him very much for his arrogance and violent behaviour.
Marriage and issue
Joseph married Mariana Victoria of SpainMariana Victoria of Spain
Mariana Victoria of Spain was an Infanta of Spain and Queen consort of Portugal as wife of King Joseph I. The mother of Queen Maria I of Portugal, she also acted as Regent of Portugal during the last months of her husband's life and advisor to her daughter during her reign.-Background:Mariana...
daughter of Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
and Elisabeth Farnese, on 19 January 1729 . He had four surviving daughters, all named Maria, and a number of stillborn children.
- Maria I of PortugalMaria I of PortugalMaria I was Queen regnant of Portugal and the Algarves from 1777 until her death. Known as Maria the Pious , or Maria the Mad , she was the first undisputed Queen regnant of Portugal...
(17 December 1734 – 20 March 1816) married Infante Pedro of PortugalPeter III of PortugalPeter III became King of the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves by the accession of his wife and niece Queen Maria I in 1777, and co-reigned alongside her until his death.-Biography:...
and had issue. Later queen of Portugal. - Mariana Francisca of PortugalInfanta Mariana Francisca of PortugalThe Infanta Mariana Francisca also known as Maria Ana Francisca, was a Portuguese infanta daughter of King Joseph I of Portugal and his wife Mariana Victoria of Spain....
(7 October 1736 – 6 May 1813) potential bride for Louis, Dauphin of France, but her mother refused to consent the marriage, died unmarried. - Infanta Doroteia of PortugalInfanta Doroteia of PortugalDoroteia of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta daughter of King Joseph I of Portugal and his wife Mariana Victoria of Spain....
(21 September 1739 – 14 January 1771) potential bride for Philippe ÉgalitéLouis Philippe II, Duke of OrléansLouis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror...
but she refused to married him, died unmarried. - Infanta Benedita of PortugalInfanta Benedita of PortugalBenedita of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta and the youngest daughter of King Joseph I of Portugal and his wife Mariana Victoria of Spain.- Biography :Benedita was born in Lisbon she was named after Pope Benedict XIV...
(25 July 1746 – 18 August 1829) married Infante Joseph, Prince of Beira, no issue.
Ancestors
Titles and styles
- 6 June 1714 – 29 October 1714 His Royal Highness the Infante José of Portugal
- 29 October 1714 – 31 July 1750 His Royal Highness the Prince of Brazil, Duke of Braganza
- 31 July 1750 – 24 February 1777 His Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves