JOHN VI OF PORTUGAL

John VI of Portugal

'John VI, King of Portugal' (13 May 1767 – 26 March 1826) KG KGF (Portuguese 'João', pron. IPA []), ''the Clement'' (Port. ''o Clemente''), King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves (later changing the title to just King of Portugal and Algarves, since Brazil was recognized independent in 1825) was born in Lisbon on 13 May 1767, and received the title of prince of Brazil in 1788. He was the 27th (or 28th according to some historians) Portuguese monarch.
João was born as the second son of Maria Francisca of Portugal, the then Princess of Brazil and her husband, Infante Pedro, prince consort of Brazil. His mother ascended the throne of Portugal in 1777, and in 1788 John's elder brother died, whereby he became the heir apparent of the reigning queen.
In 1792 he assumed the reins of government as Prince Regent in name of his mother, Queen Maria I, who had declined into a mental illness (perhaps due to porphyria). He had been brought up in an ecclesiastical atmosphere and, being naturally of a somewhat weak and helpless character, was but ill adapted for the responsibilities he was thus called on to undertake. In 1799 he assumed the title of regent, which he retained until his mother's death in 1816. In 1807, Portugal was invaded by the French, and the whole royal family fled to Brazil, accompanied by an escort of British ships (Britain had previously urged them not to yield to Napoleon's demands). His wife, Charlotte of Spain, dominated him.
In 1816 he was recognized as king of Portugal but he continued to reside in Brazil, which he as regent had raised to the status of a kingdom on 16 December 1815. The consequent spread of dissatisfaction resulted in the peaceful revolution of 24 August 1820, and the proclamation of a constitutional government, to which he swore fidelity on his return to Portugal in 1821. In the same year, and again in 1823, he had to suppress a rebellion led by his son Dom Miguel, whom he ultimately was compelled to banish in 1824. Meanwhile his elder son, Dom Pedro, declared Brazilian independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822. He subsequently declared himself Emperor as Pedro I. João VI refused to assent to this devolution until August 29, 1825, when he restored Pedro to the succession in the belief that Brazil and Portugal would be reunited in a dual monarchy federation after his own death. He died at Lisbon on 26 March 1826, and was succeeded by Pedro (as King Pedro IV). Recent tests made to his intestines, which had been kept buried on a vase, demonstrated that he may have died due to arsenic poisoning. His nemesis, Napoleon, may have also suffered a similar fate.

Contents

Ancestors

Marriages and descendants

See also

References

Ancestors

'John's ancestors in three generations'

'John VI of Portugal'	'Father:' Peter III of Portugal	'Father's father:' John V of Portugal	'Father's father's father:' Peter II of Portugal
			'Father's father's mother:' Maria Sophia of Neuburg
		'Father's mother:' Mary Anne of Austria	'Father's mother's father:' Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
			'Father's mother's mother:' Eleonore-Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg
	'Mother:' Maria I of Portugal	'Mother's father:' Joseph I of Portugal	'Mother's father's father:' John V of Portugal
			'Mother's father's mother:' Mary Anne of Austria
		'Mother's mother:' Mariana Victoria of Spain	'Mother's mother's father:' Philip V of Spain
			'Mother's mother's mother:' Elisabeth of Parma

Marriages and descendants

John married Charlotte of Spain (April 25 1775-December 7 1830 in 1785 and had several children:

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Maria Teresa, Princess of Beira	April 29 1793	January 17 1874	Married first her cousin Pedro Carlos de Borbón y Bragança, Infante of Spain and Portugal and second to Carlos, Infante of Spain, widower of her sister Maria Francisca.
Francis Anthony Pius, Prince of Beira	March 21 1795	June 11 1801
Infanta Maria Isabel	May 19 1797	December 26 1818	Married Ferdinand VII, King of Spain.
Pedro IV of Portugal, I of Brazil	October 12 1798	September 24 1834	Proclaimed the Independence of Brazil in 1822 and became its first monarch as Emperor Peter I. He was also King of Portugal as Peter IV in 1826.
Infanta Maria Francisca	April 22 1800	September 4 1834	Married Infante Carlos of Spain (his first marriage).
Infanta Isabel Maria	1801	1876
Michael I	October 26 1802	November 14 1866	Known as ''the Usurper'', he was King of Portugal between 1828 and 1834. He was forced to abdicate after the Liberal Wars.
Infanta Maria da Assunção	1805	1834
Infanta Ana de Jesus	1806	1857	Married Nuno de Moura Barreto, Marquis and then Duke of Loulé and had issue.

See also

★ War of the Two Brothers

★ History of Portugal

★ History of Brazil

References

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