sexta-feira, 8 de dezembro de 2006

D. João IV and his daughter Catarina, Queen of England

Shield of Arms of D. João IV

D. João IV (1603-1656) was king of "Portugal and the Algarves" from 1640 to his death. He was born at Vila Viçosa, in the province of Alentejo, and married D. Luísa de Gusmão (1613-1666), eldest daughter of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, in 1633.

By the unanimous voice of the people he was raised to the throne, of which he was held to be the legitimate heir, during the revolution that restored the independence of the kingdom on December 1.st 1640.

In 1642 a treaty was signed between Portugal and England just before the outbreak of the English Civil War, and in 1661 an alliance between both kingdoms was renewed.

In 1646, D. João IV consecrated the nation to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, who became henceforth the Patroness of Portugal. This is the reason why today is a religious holiday.

D. João IV was a patron of music and the arts, and a considerably sophisticated writer on music; in addition to this, he was a composer himself. During his reign he collected one of the largest music libraries in the world, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. Among his writings are a Defence of Palestrina, and a Defence of Modern Music.


D. Catarina de Bragança, Rainha de Inglaterra

Catarina Henriqueta de Bragança (1638-1705), his daughter, became the queen consort of Charles II of England. They married on May 3.rd or 21.st 1662, in Portsmouth. Her dowry brought Tangier and Bombay to British control.

She was not a particularly popular choice of queen, being a Roman Catholic, which prevented her ever being crowned, since Roman Catholics were forbidden to take part in Anglican services.

Catarina never gave birth to a live heir, though she had several pregnancies, the last being in 1669. Her position was a difficult one, as Charles continued to have children by his many mistresses, but he insisted that she be treated with respect, and refused to divorce her.

Catarina introduced the custom of drinking tea in England.

Although some have claimed that Queens borough of New York City was named after Catarina de Bragança, her name is not mentioned in the first 200 years of historical documents that have been preserved in the county archives.

Following Charles' death, Catarina remained in England through the reign of James II and returned to Portugal in January 1693, during the joint reign of William III and Mary II. She died in Lisbon in 1705.

RIC (mainly adapted from "History of Portugal", Wikipedia, e.a.)

16 comentários:

Anónimo disse...

I knew none of this. Thanks professor!

Anónimo disse...

Olá Ric
é bom ler, em mais uma pequena lição da nossa História, a razão de ser de mais um dia feriado (ou santo, como se dizia...)
Claro, que assim, com a tua ajuda,
vou mostrando e explicando coisas a "quem está longe".
É curioso, hoje continuo, como sempre a homenagear a minha Mãe, pelo seu dia.

Jack disse...

I like when you take us through hitory like that.

Thanks Ric.

RIC disse...

Now you do. You're most welcome, disciple Will!

RIC disse...

Olá João! Estive quase para fazer referência ao antigo Dia da Mãe, mas achei que poderis tornar-se confuso. Pensei na minha, também...
Pois é, não tenho como me ver livre da costela professoral... Bem me esforço, mas quando menos espero...
Pedi com carinho que voltassem a comentar o édito do Gal, mas ninguém me ligou pevide... Não tenho culpa de, ao actualizá-lo, ter perdido os comentários... :-(
Portugal na Sérvia em Inglês... Agrada-me a ideia!
Obrigado!

RIC disse...

Hello Joel! You're most welcome! World History is one of my passions.
Up?! Already?! After such a night?!... (Lol!)
(In my previous post I've made a request, but you all just olympically ignored me... :-( It's not fair! I didn't lose the comments on purpose...)

Anónimo disse...

Ric, por favor apaga o meu comentário anterior, que naturalmente se destinava ao teu post do édito...
P.D.I.

RIC disse...

... «Your wish is my command, sir!»

André disse...

Obrigado...
Se hoje-em-dia muita gente não sabe sequer o nome do feriado, muito menos saberá as suas razões históricas, do que este tipo de informação faz falta.
Por acaso, sabia que D.João IV tinha consagrado Nossa Senhora da Conceição Rainha de Portugal, mas desconhecia que o feriado a tal se devia. Isto tem um certo impacto, porque a partir de então os nossos reis deixaram de ser retratados envergando os símbolos reais.
Um daqueles feriados que nunca ninguém sabe nem qual é, nem porque é, é o Corpo de Deus. Esse é uma verdadeira tragédia.

RIC disse...

Olá André, boa noite! Obrigado por me recordares algo que me escapara entretanto: o facto de então em diante os nossos reis terem deixado de envergar os símbolos reais.
Aqui que ninguém nos ouve, foi uma excelente jogada político-diplomática junto da Santa Sé, num momento em que a nossa independência estava ainda tão priclitante... Grande D. João IV!
Quanto ao Corpo de Deus, tens toda a razão: além de ser um feriado religioso móvel, exige alguma cultura religiosa, o que... E mais não digo. Apesar de (já) não ser católico, considero-me culturalmente cristão, o que implica algumas obrigações...
Um excelente fim-de-semana para ti! :-)

Râzi disse...

Meu lindo, esses seus posts históricos são um deleite para o Lê!
Beijão e um excelente final de semana!

Beijão!

Minge disse...

Thank you, Ric.

I love history and I love that you love it!

What a shame that she had no children. Our history would be so utterly different now if she had.

Gumby disse...

I love reading your history posts, and seeing the photos you post of Lisbon. It's culture hour for me!

I went to a Catholic university, even though I am protestant. And I had forgotten about December 8 being a holiday... we even got it off from classes. thanks for taking me back a few years.

RIC disse...

Ah sim, Ricardinho? O Lê deleita-se, é? Então e tu? É provável que tu gostes menos. E compreendo perfeitamente. O teu último édito é prova do teu compromisso com o presente. Adorei. Parabéns!
Bom fim-de-semana para ti também!
Beijão!

RIC disse...

You're welcome, Minge! I did try not to forget about your request and my promise. The motive was there, anyway.
I do love History, yes, that's true, and I'm glad you love it too.
Well, now that you mention it... Oops... I hadn't thought about that... That dinasty might not have been interrupted, might it? So... Yes, now I see what you mean.
What a difference a child makes in a monarchy! Even Ulster situation could now be different...
Better stop right here or else...
Wish you a great weekend!
Thank you!

RIC disse...

Well Gumby, I'm really flattered, but some posts aren't that «cultural» either... (Lol!)
As to Lisbon, I try to choose nice photos, that's why I don't post about it so often.
I went through a list of world holidays and came soon to the conclusion that the «catholic world» stopped today: a long list of countries where this holiday is observed.
You're welcome!
Thank you very much!
Have a great weekend!