Filipe I, king

(1527-1598)

   Known to history usually as Phillip II of Spain, this Spanish monarch was the first king of the Phillipine dynasty in Portugal, or Filipe I. He ruled Portugal and its empire from 1580 to 1598. The son of Carlos V (Charles V) of Spain and the Hapsburg empire and of Queen Isabel of Portugal, Filipe had a strong claim on the throne of Portugal. On the death of Portugal's King Sebastião in battle in Morocco in 1578, Filipe presented his claim and candidacy for the Portuguese throne. In the Cortes of Almeirim (1579), Filipe was officially recognized as king of Portugal by that assembly, which was dominated by the clerical and noble estates. This act, however, did not take into account the feeling of the Portuguese people. A portion of the people supported a Portuguese claimant, the Prior of Crato, and they began to organize armed resistance to the Spanish intrusion. In 1580, Filipe sent a Spanish army across the Portuguese frontier under the Duke of Alba. Both on land and at sea, Spanish forces defeated the Portuguese. At the Cortes of Tomar (1581), Filipe was proclaimed king of Portugal. Before returning to Spain in 1583, Filipe resided in Portugal.

   There were grave consequences for Portugal and its scattered imperial holdings following the Spanish overthrow of Portugal's hard-won independence. Just how bitter these consequences were is reflected in how Portuguese history and literature traditionally term the Spanish takeover as "The Babylonian Captivity." Portugal suffered from the growing decline, decadence, and weaknesses of its Spanish master. Beginning with the destruction of the Spanish Armada (1588), which used Lisbon as its supply and staging point, Spanish rule over Portugal was disastrous. Not only did Spain's inveterate enemies—especially England, France, and Holland—attack continental Portugal as if it were Spain, they also attacked and conquered portions of Portugal's vulnerable, far-flung empire.