Restoration of Portuguese independence
Noble conspirators seized the royal palace in Lisbon, killed the hated secretary of state Miguel de Vasconcelos and proclaimed the Duke of Braganza King John IV, ending sixty years of rule by the Spanish Habsburgs.
- Date
- 1 December 1640exact date
- Place
- Lisbontoday: Lisbon, Portugal · Western and Central Europe
- Participants
- John IV of Portugal, Kingdom of Portugal, Spanish Empire
- Threads
- History of Portugal since the Battle of Aljubarrota
- Also known as
- Restauração da Independência; 1 de Dezembro de 1640; Реставрация 1640 года
Under Philip IV of Spain (Philip III of Portugal) the promises of Tomar were increasingly ignored: taxes rose, Portuguese nobles lost influence, and a popular revolt in Évora was suppressed. When Spanish forces were tied down by the uprising in Catalonia, the “Forty Conspirators” struck on 1 December 1640. They broke into the Ribeira Palace, threw Vasconcelos out of a window and arrested the vicereine, Margaret of Savoy; Lisbon rose in support, and John of Braganza, who had hesitated to lead the revolt, was acclaimed king across the country.
Spain did not accept the loss, and the Restoration War dragged on until 1668. Portugal sought help from France and England — the marriage of Catherine of Braganza to Charles II brought an English contingent — and won at Ameixial (1663) and Montes Claros (1665). By the Treaty of Lisbon of 13 February 1668 Spain recognised Portugal’s independence; of all the Portuguese possessions only Ceuta remained Spanish.
Connections
Causes and preconditions
- Cortes of Tomar: Philip II becomes King of PortugalApril 1581 · Western and Central Europeunder Philip IV the promises of Tomar were broken, which led to the revolt of 1640
Related events
- Dutch capture of Malacca3 August 1640 – 14 January 1641 · Southeast Asia and OceaniaMalacca fell six weeks after the revolt in Lisbon, and the new king’s truce with the Dutch did not bring it back
- Insurrection of Pernambuco: the Dutch expelled from Brazil15 May 1645 – 26 January 1654 · Latin AmericaJohn IV at first kept his truce with the Dutch, but in 1653 he sent the fleet that forced the surrender of Recife
Same participants
- Siege of Toulon29 August – 19 December 1793 · Western and Central Europevia Spanish Empire
Same place
- Expulsion and forced conversion of the Jews of Portugal5 December 1496 – October 1497 · Western and Central Europe
- Vasco da Gama’s first voyage to India8 July 1497 – between August and September 1499 · Western and Central Europe
- Publication of The Lusiads1572 · Western and Central Europe
- Lisbon earthquake1 November 1755 · Western and Central Europe
- British Ultimatum of 189011 January 1890 · Western and Central Europe
- 5 October 1910 revolution — Portugal becomes a republic5 October 1910 · Western and Central Europe
- Salazar’s Estado Novo: the Constitution of 193319 March 1933 · Western and Central Europe
- Carnation Revolution25 April 1974 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 25 years of this event
Southeast Asia and Oceania
- Dutch capture of Malacca3 August 1640 – 14 January 1641
Latin America
- Insurrection of Pernambuco: the Dutch expelled from Brazil15 May 1645 – 26 January 1654
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Restoration of the Independence (Portugal)
- Wikipedia (English): Portuguese Restoration War
- Wikipedia (Russian): Португальская война за независимость
- Wikipedia (Russian): Жуан IV
- Disney A. R. A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire: From Beginnings to 1807. Vol. 1: Portugal. — Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
- Wikidata: Q986738