History of Portugal - 1580 Crisis, Iberian Union and Decline of The Empire

1580 Crisis, Iberian Union and Decline of The Empire

On August 4, 1578, while fighting in Morocco, young King Sebastian died in battle without an heir and his body was not found. His death lead to a dynastic crisis. The late king's elderly granduncle, Cardinal Henry, became king. Henry I died a mere two years later on January 31, 1580. Portugal was worried about the maintenance of its independence and sought help to find a new king.

Philip II of Spain was on his mother's side the grandson of King Manuel I, and on that basis claimed the Portuguese throne. He was opposed by António, Prior of Crato, the illegitimate son of one of the younger sons of Manuel I. As a result, following Henry's death Spain invaded Portugal and the Spanish king became Philip I of Portugal in 1580. The Spanish and Portuguese Empires came under a single rule.

This did not, however, end resistance to Spanish rule. The Prior of Crato held out in the Azores until 1583, and continued to actively seek to recover the throne until his death in 1595. Impostors claimed to be King Sebastian in 1584, 1585, 1595 and 1598. "Sebastianism", the myth that the young king will return to Portugal on a foggy day, has prevailed until modern times.

After the 16th century, Portugal gradually saw its wealth decreasing. Portugal was officially an autonomous state, but, in actuality, the country was under the rule of the Spanish from 1580 to 1640. The Consejo de Portugal independent inasmuch as it was one of the key administrative units used by the Castilian monarchy, on legally equal terms with the Consejo de Indias.

The joining of the two crowns deprived Portugal of a separate foreign policy, and Spain's enemies became Portugal's. England had been an ally of Portugal since the Treaty of Windsor in 1386. War between Spain and England led to a deterioration of the relations with Portugal's oldest ally, and the loss of Hormuz. From 1595 to 1663 Dutch-Portuguese War led to invasions of many countries in Asia and commercial interests in Japan, Africa and South America. In 1624, the Dutch seized Salvador, the capital of Brazil. In 1630, the Dutch seized Pernambuco in northern Brazil. The Treaty of 1654 returned Pernambuco to Portuguese control. Both the English and the Dutch continued to aspire to dominate both the Atlantic slave trade and the spice trade with the Far East.

The Dutch intrusion into Brazil was long lasting and troublesome to Portugal. The Seven Provinces (the Dutch) captured a large portion of the Brazilian coast including the entire coasts except that of Bahia and much of the interior of most contemporary Northeastern states (Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará), while Dutch privateers sacked Portuguese ships in both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

This was reversed, beginning with a major Spanish-Portuguese military operation in 1625. This laid the foundations for the recovery of remaining Dutch controlled areas. The other smaller, less developed areas were recovered in stages and relieved of Dutch piracy in the next two decades by local resistance and Portuguese expeditions. After the dissolution of the Iberian Union in 1640, Portugal would reestablish its authority over some lost territories of the Portuguese Empire.