John VI of Portugal - First Years

First Years

João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael was born 13 May 1767, during the reign of his grandfather, Joseph I of Portugal, the second son of the future Queen Maria I and her husband (who was also her uncle), the future King Peter III. At the time of John's birth they were, respectively, Princess of Brazil and Infante of Portugal. He was ten years old when his grandfather died and his mother ascended to the throne as Queen Maria I of Portugal. His childhood and youth were lived quietly, as he was a mere infante, in the shadow of his elder brother José, Prince of Brazil and 14th Duke of Braganza, the primogenitor and heir-apparent to the throne. Folklore has John as a rather uncultured youth, but according to Jorge Pedreira e Costa, he received as rigorous an education as José. Still, a French ambassador of the time painted him in unfavorable colors, seeing him as hesitant and dim. The record of this period of his life is too vague for historians to form any definitive picture.

According to tradition, his tutors in arts and sciences included Fathers Manuel do Cenáculo]], Antônio Domingues do Paço and Miguel Franzini; his music masters were the organist João Cordeiro da Silva and the composer João Sousa de Carvalho; and his riding instructor Staff Sergeant Carlos Antônio Ferreira Monte. Little is known of the substance of his education. He surely received instruction in religion, law, French, and etiquette, and would presumably have learned history through reading the works of Duarte Nunes de Leão and João de Barros.