History of Portugal since the Battle of AljubarrotaPolitics and state

Cortes of Tomar: Philip II becomes King of Portugal

After defeating the rival claimant António, Prior of Crato, Philip II of Spain was recognised as King Philip I of Portugal by the Cortes assembled at Tomar — the beginning of the sixty-year Iberian Union of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns and their empires.

Date: April 1581month known
Place: Convent of Christ in Tomartoday: Tomar, Portugal · Western and Central Europe
Participants: Philip II of Spain, Spanish Empire, Kingdom of Portugal
Threads: History of Portugal since the Battle of Aljubarrota
Also known as: Iberian Union; União Ibérica; Иберийская уния; Пиренейская уния

Cardinal-King Henry died on 31 January 1580 without naming a successor. Of the grandsons of Manuel I, Philip II was supported by most of the high nobility and clergy, while António, an illegitimate grandson, was acclaimed king by the people of Santarém on 24 July 1580. The Duke of Alba’s army defeated António at Alcântara on 25 August and took Lisbon; resistance in the Azores lasted until 1583.

The Cortes opened on 16 April 1581 in the Convent of Christ at Tomar. Philip undertook to respect Portugal’s laws, liberties and currency, to keep Portuguese as the language of official acts, to reserve offices in the kingdom and the trade with India and Guinea for the Portuguese, and to govern through Portuguese viceroys or members of the royal family. Portugal thus remained a separate kingdom in a personal union, but it was drawn into Spain’s wars: the English and the Dutch now attacked Portuguese possessions.

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Connections

Causes and preconditions

Battle of Alcácer Quibir4 August 1578 · AfricaSebastian died childless; after the brief reign of his great-uncle, Cardinal Henry, Philip II of Spain claimed the throne

Consequences

Dutch capture of Malacca3 August 1640 – 14 January 1641 · Southeast Asia and Oceaniathe union drew Portugal into Spain’s long war with the Dutch, who attacked Portuguese Asia
Restoration of Portuguese independence1 December 1640 · Western and Central Europeunder Philip IV the promises of Tomar were broken, which led to the revolt of 1640