Babylonian Captivity
Babylonian Captivity
Babylonian Captivity (1580–1640), the period when Spain ruled Portugal. Since Portugal first declared her independence in the twelfth century, Spaniards had yearned to regain control of the western kingdom. The successive deaths of Sebastian (1578) and Cardinal Henry (1580) without issue made it possible for Philip II of Spain to claim Portugal and her empire. Thereafter three successive sovereigns, Philip II, III, and IV, ruled Portugal from a distance via councils of regency and with the aid of an itinerant advisory body, the Council of Portugal, but proved unable to honor pledges to preserve the integrity of the empire. As the eastern empire began to crumble in response to indigenous pressures and challenges posed by Holland and England, the Portuguese also witnessed the loss of much of their navy and, for a time, of the sugar-producing captaincies of northeastern Brazil as well as the growth of commodities prices and taxes used to defend Spanish but not Portuguese interests. A series of protest revolts in 1637 were indications of widespread discontent within the kingdom. On 1 December 1640 a group of young nobles entered the royal palace in Lisbon, compelled the resignation of Margaret of Mantua, the last Spanish regent, and acclaimed João, duke of Bragança, as the first king of the restored monarchy.
See alsoBragança, House of; João IV of Portugal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Joel Serrão, ed., Dicionário de história de Portugal, 4 vols. (1971).
Joaquim Veríssimo Serrão, História de Portugal, vol. 4 (1979).
Additional Bibliography
Stella, Roseli Santaella. Brasil durante el gobierno español, 1580–1640. Madrid: Fundación Histórica Tavera, 2000.
Dauril Alden