John III, the Pious (Port. João III, o Piedoso), (Lisbon, June 6, 1502 – Lisbon, 11 June, 1557) was the fifteenth King of Portugal. Born in Lisbon, he was the son of King Manuel I of Portugal and his wife, Maria, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. John III succeeded his father in 1521.
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John III became king at a time when Portugal was at the height of its political power, with its capital city of Lisbon occupying a position of new commercial importance. During his rule possessions in Portuguese hands were extended by further conquest in Asia and by systematic colonization of Brazil. John III's policy of reinforcing Portuguese positions in India secured the monopoly over trading spices in the Moluccas. It was also during his reign that contacts with China and Japan were established. John abandoned Muslim territories in North Africa for better exploration of trade with India and investment in Brazil. He also intensified contacts with the Baltic region and the Rhineland in Europe in the hope of increasing Portugese trade.
John III was responsible for the evangelization of the Far East and Brazil, partly through the introduction of the Society of Jesus both in those lands and in Africa. Unfortunately for his dominions, the inquisition was introduced in 1536. The consequences were disastrous to the commercial and social prosperity of his kingdom. In the later years of John III's reign, Portugal fell into the stagnation that characterized the rule of King Sebastian, who succeeded him.
Life
Prince John's birth was connected to a masterpiece of Portuguese theatre: "Visitation Play or the Monologue of the Cowherd" (Port. Auto da Visitação ou Monólgo do Vaqueiro) of Gil Vicente, played at the Queen's chamber.
The young prince was educated by notables of the time, such as the astrologer, Tomás de Torres, and the Bishop of Tangiers, D. Diogo Ortiz de Villegas. One of his teachers was Luís Teixeira, a humanist educated in Italy.
The chronicler, António de Castilho said that "Dom João III enthralled problems easily, complementing his lack of culture with a practice formation that he always showed during his reign." In 1514, he received his own house and a few years later he began to help his father in administrative duties.
On December 19, 1521, he was crowned and acclaimed in the Church of Saint Dominique in Lisbon. At this point, his thirty-six year reign began, characterized by intense activity in internal and overseas politics and especially in relations with other major European states.
The marriage of John's sister, Princess Isabella of Portugal, to Charles V, made it possible for the Portuguese king to strengthen his alliance with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. To fortify his ties with Austria, he married Catherine of Austria, younger sister of Charles V, in the town of Crato. John had nine children from that marriage, but most of them died early in their lives, and by the time of John's death, only his grandson, Sebastian, was in a condition to inherit the crown. John III continued the centralizing and absolutist politics of his ancestors. He called for the Cortes only three times and at great intervals: 1525 in Torres Novas, 1535 in Évora and 1544 in Almeirim. He also tried to restructure administrative and judicial life in his realm.
Economic and trade crisis
Towards the end of the reign of John III, Portugal began a period of serious economic crises, leading to huge external debt and trade deficit. The extension and dispersion of the Portuguese Empire was an obstacle for the administration due to its great expense. In the first years of John III's reign, the explorations in the Far East continued and the Portuguese reached China and Japan. However, the Turks strengthened their pressure, and attacks on Portuguese became more frequent in India. The expenditures for the defence of Indian interests were huge. In order to pay them, John III decided to abandon a number of strongholds in North Africa (Safim, Azamor, Alcacer Ceguer and Arzila).
International relations
In terms of international relations, the reign of John III was filled with diplomacy. With Spain, he made alliances through marriage (himself with Catherine Habsburg; Isabella, princess of Portugal with Charles V; Maria, princess of Portugal – his daughter – with Philip II of Spain, and others) that assured peace in the Iberian Peninsula for years. John III remained neutral during the war between France and Spain, but stood firm fighting French corsair attacks. He strengthened relations with Rome by introducing the Inquisition in Portugal and the adhesion of the Portuguese clergy to the Counter-Reformation. Commercial relations were intensified with England, the countries of the Baltic and Flanders, during John III's reign.
Culture
John III's support for the humanist cause was significant. In literature, his support of Gil Vicente, Garcia de Resende, Sá de Miranda, Bernardim Ribeiro, Fernão Mendes Pinto, João de Barros and, of course, Luís de Camões, stood out. In sciences, John III supported Pedro Nunes and Garcia de Orta. The monarch attributed many scholarships in countries abroad and definitively transferred the University from Lisbon to Coimbra. He founded colleges and widened education in the country, supporting the Jesuits who were admitted in Portugal. He also supported missionaries in many continents.
Inquisition
The Inquisition was introduced in Portugal by John III in 1536, after hesitations from Rome. In 1515, Manuel I had asked for the installation of the Inquisition but it was instituted only after the accession of John III. As in Spain, the Inquisition was put under the authority of the King. The Grand Inquisitor, or General Inquisitor, was named by the Pope, by the king's appointment, and always from within the royal family. The Grand Inquisitor would later nominate other inquisitors. In Portugal, the first Grand Inquisitor was Cardinal Henry, who would later become King. There were Courts of the Inquisition in Lisbon, Coimbra and Évora.
The activity of the courts was extended to book censure, divination, witchcraft and bigamy under John III. Book censure proved to have a strong influence in Portuguese cultural evolution, keeping the country uninformed and culturally backward. Originally oriented for a religious action, the Inquisition had an influence in almost every aspect of Portuguese society: politically, culturally and socially.
The Portugese Empire under John III
Africa
Luso-African Relations
In John III's time, trade between the Portuguese and Africans was extremely intense in the feitorias like Arguim, Mina, Mombasa, Sofala or Moçambique. Common products were salt, wheat, horses, carpets, fabric, Irish and English clothing, blades, tin for black people's coins, copper or tin vases, shells from the Canaries that Ethiopians carry on their necks as an amulet against lightning, yellow and green beads from Nuremberg, and brass armlets" (Vasconcelos, 1932), in exchange for gold, slaves, ivory and bush redpepper brought by the Portuguese.
"Now, I [John III] say, like you said that there was no capture of slaves in your Kingdom [of Congo], I just want to provide you [King of the Congo] with flour and wine for your Eucharistic rites, and for that it would only be needed a caravelão [a kind of caravel] each year; if it seems right to you, in exchange for 10,000 slaves and 10,000 armlets and 10,000 ivory tooth, that, it is said, in the Congo there is not much, not even a ship per year; so, this and more shall be as you want." (Letter of John III to the King of the Congo)
Under John III, several expeditions started in coastal Africa and went toward the interior of the continent. These expeditions were formed by groups of navigators, merchants, adventurers and missionaries. Missions in Africa were established by the College of Arts of Coimbra. The objective was to increase the king's dominion, develop peace relations and to christianize the native population.
Defence and abandonment of North African strongholds
John III refused to abandon all of the Portuguese North African strongholds, but he had to make choices:
"To want to have such a costly thing, and from which there came no profits wasn’t wise, mainly for who had so great expenditures and so huge and necessary, that cannot be stopped." (Relações, 1937)
John III decided to abandon Safim and Azamor, in 1541, followed by Arzila and Alcacer Ceguer in 1549. The fortresses of Ceuta, Tangiers and Mazagan were strengthened "to face the new military techniques, imposed by the generalization of heavy artillery, combined with light fire weapons and blades" (José Mattoso).
"There were years when the King had thought with his great judgement (…) to abandon the cities of Safim and Azamor (…). It was certain that Safim had no port and the river of Azamor was not navigable (…). The cost was too much that resulted in fruits of no consideration (…)" (Frei Luís de Sousa in "Annals of John III").
John III declared every male subject between 20 and 65 years old recruitable on 7 August 1549.
"Every nobleman, like all my servants and those who are not, and every knight, squire, servants of mine, my brothers, and any other person that might have them [horses], I order them to have the horses ready." (idem)
Asia
Luso-Asian relations
Before the reign of John III, the Portuguese had already reached the Moluccas (1512), the Chinese littoral (1513), Canton (1517) and Timor (1515). During his rule the Portuguese reached Japan and in the end of John's reign, Macao was offered to Portugal.
"From India, he [John III] receives all kinds of spice, drug & stone & many cotton clothes, taficiras and alaquecas [kinds of Indian fabrics]. From Malacca, clovetrees, marzipan, sandalwood, camphor, porcelains, beijoim & calaim [kinds of spices]. From Bengala, sinafabos, flannel, chautares , castor beans, & rebotins that are kinds of thin fabric made of cotton (…). From Alexandria & Cairo, red dyewood, cinnabars, saffron, copper, rosed waters, borcados [a kind of silk], velvets, taffeta, grains of wood, camlets, gold & silver in bars, & in coins, & carpets. From China, musk, rhubarb, & silk in exchange of gromwells, pearls, horses from Arabia & Persia, non worked silk, silk embroidery threads, fruits of the date palm, raisins, salt, sulphur & many other goods." (Castanheda)
Defence
As Muslims and other peoples constantly attacked Portuguese fleets in the area, and because India was far away from mainland Portugal, it was extremely difficult for John III to assure the Portuguese dominion in this area. A Viceroy, a Governor-General with large powers was nominated, but it wasn't enough. The Portuguese started by creating feitorias – commercial strongholds – (Cochin, Cannanore, Coulão, Cranganore and Tanor) with the initial objective of establishing just a commercial dominion in the region. The hostilities demonstrated by many Indian kingdoms and the alliances between sultans and zamorins to expulse the Portuguese, made it necessary for the Europeans to establish a sovereign state. So, Portugal militarily occupied some key-cities on the Indian coast, and Goa (1512) became the headquarters of the Portuguese Empire in the East. Goa became a starting point for the introduction of European cultural and religious values in India. Churches, schools and hospitals were built.
Portuguese arrival in Japan
The Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543. Japan was known to Portugal since the time of Marco Polo, who called it Cipango. The question as to whether Portuguese nationals were the first Europeans to arrive in Japan is debatable. Some say it was the writer, Fernão Mendes Pinto, and some say the navigators, António Peixoto, António da Mota and Francisco Zeimoto.
Portuguese traders started negotiating with Japan earlier than 1550. By then, trade with Japan was a Portuguese monopoly, under the rule of a Captain. Because the Portuguese established themselves in Macau, Chinese commercial relations, mainly the silver trade with Japan, were improved under John III's rule.
Moluccas
After the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, the Castilians claimed the recently discovered Moluccas Islands. In 1524, a conference of experts (cartographers, cosmographers, pilots, etc.) was held to solve the dispute caused by the difficulty of determining the meridian agreed to in the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Portuguese delegation had names such as António de Azevedo Coutinho, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, Lopo Homem and Simão Fernandes.
The dispute was settled in 1529 by the Treaty of Zaragoza, signed by John III and Charles V of Spain. The Portuguese paid 350,000 golden ducados to Spain, and secured their presence in the islands.
This payment shouldn't have been necessary because Portugal was actually entitled to the islands, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas.
Macau
In 1553, Leonel de Sousa obtains authorization for the Portuguese to establish in Canton and in Macau. Macau was later offered to John III as a reward for the Portuguese assistance against maritime piracy in the period between 1557 and 1564.
"In the morning of the other day, we set sail from this island of Sanchão and when the sun set, we arrived to another island, that lies six more leagues to the north, called Lampacau, where at that time the Portuguese made trade with the Chinese, and they made it until the year of 1557, when the mandarins of Canton, when asked by Portuguese land merchants, gave this port of Macau to us (…)." (Fernão Mendes Pinto, Pilgrimage)
Brazil
Trade in Brazil
In the first year, following the discovery of Brazil, the Portuguese collected only the brazilwood and exotic birds. Brazilwood was a much appreciated product in Europe, because its red extract was used in dyeing.
During John III's rule, after the initial colonization, Portuguese explorers intensified the search for brazilwood and began the cultivation of sugarcane and bananas. The last two were non-existent in North America.
Brazil lacked a large native population, so Portugal began to bring African slaves to the territory. The first slaves arrived in Brazil in 1539, and were from the region of Guinea. Some of them worked in sugarcane fields and factories, but the majority of them cut, cleaned and transported brazilwood to the littoral.
"Some of them had the head lowered and their face was full of tears, some other were painfully moaning. (…) they started to separate them (…) and for that, it was necessary to separate women from their husbands, and brothers from each other." (Gomes Eanes de Zurrara, Chronicle of the Discovery of Guinea)
Colonization
It was in the reign of John III that the colonization of Brazil started. The territory was divided in 15 captaincies that were given to dignitary-captains with obligations of defence, to populate them and to explore the resources.
"Martim Afonso, my friend, I, the King (…) knew of your arrival to this land of Brazil, and because of your patrol of the coast (…) against the French corsairs, (…) I thank you (…). After you left, a question was raised if it would be my service to populate all that coast of Brazil, and some people asked me for captaincies (…), so I ordered to mark from Pernambuco to the Rio da Prata [[[Rio de la Plata]]] fifty leagues of coast to each captaincy, and before giving them to anyone, I ordered a hundred of the best leagues of the coast to be marked to you and fifty leagues to your brother, Pêro Lopes (…). I also gave captaincies of fifty leagues to some persons (…) and everyone is willing to take people and ships with them, in the right time (…)" (Letter of John III to Martim Afonso de Souza)
Death and succession
From John III's marriage with Catherine of Habsburg, John III had nine children:
- Afonso (1526)
- Maria Manuela, princess of Portugal (1527-1545), the first wife of King Philip II of Spain. She had one deformed child, Don Carlos, and she died a few days after his birth.
- Isabel (1529)
- Beatrice (1530)
- Manuel (1531-1537), heir in 1535
- Philip (1533-1539), heir in 1537
- Denis (1535-1537)
- John, prince of Portugal (1537-1554), heir in 1539, who married Juana Habsburg, princess of Spain. Their son became King Sebastian I
- Anthony (1539-1540)
He also had an illegitimate son, Duarte, Archbishop of Braga.
From 1539, the heir to the throne was John, prince of Portugal, who married Juana Habsburg, daughter of Charles V. But Prince John tragically died in a horse riding accident, when the princess was giving birth to Prince Sebastian, in January 1554. When John III died of apoplexy, in 1577, the heir was his only grandson Sebastian, just three years old.
See also: Kings of Portugal family tree
References
- Serrão, Joel (dir.) (1971). Dicionário da História de Portugal, Vol. II. Lisboa: Iniciativas Editoriais
- Vasconcelos, Maria Antónia (dir.) (1999). A Monarquia Portuguesa. Lisboa: Selecções do Reader’s Digest
- Domingues, Mário (1962). D. João III O Homem e a Sua Época. Lisboa: Edição Romano Torres
- Serrão, Joaquim Veríssimo (1978). História de Portugal, Vol. III. Lisboa: Verbo
- Mattoso, José (dir.) (1993). História de Portugal, Vol. III.Círculo de Leitores
- Teive, Diogo de (1995). Relação das proezas levadas a efeito pelos portugueses na Índia, junto de Diu, no ano da nossa salvação de 1546. Lisboa: Edições Cotovia
- Crisanto, Natércia; Simões, Isabel; Mendes, J. Amado (1999). Novo História 8. Porto: Porto Editora
- Costa, Fátima; Marques, António (1997). História e Geografia de Portugal 5º Ano de Escolaridade. Porto: Porto Editora
- Diciopédia 2000, CD-ROM. Porto Editora Multimédia (1999)
- Diciopédia 2001, CD-ROM. Porto Editora Multimédia (2000)
- Enciclopédia Universal Multimédia, CD-ROM. Texto Editora (1996)
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- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public ___domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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