The Godfather of Port´Graal PORTUGAL
WHEN IT ALL HAPPENED...
1109: Probable year of Afonso Henriques's birth, in Coimbra, the son of Henry of Burgundy and Teresa, bastard daughter of Alfonso VI of Castile and León. Alfonso VI dies that same year. The struggle for power begins between Urraca, the legitimate heiress, and Teresa and several other pretenders to the throne. The dispute lasts for years. - 1122: Afonso Henriques anticipates Napoleon Bonaparte's gesture by several centuries: he ignores the presence of the cardinal who presides the knighting ceremony at the Cathedral of Zamora and proclaims himself a knight. - 1128: Afonso Henriques battles Teresa, his mother, and her ally, the Galician count Fernão Peres de Trava. The two sides engage in battle in the fields of São Mamede, near Guimarães Castle. The Galician army is defeated. This victory forces Teresa to give up the idea of annexing the Portuguese region to the Kingdom of Galicia. - 1129: On April 6, Afonso Henriques dictates a document in which he proclaims himself as King of the Portuguese territories. - 1135: Urraca's son, Alfonso VII, is crowned "Emperor of All Spain" at the Cathedral of León. Afonso Henriques refuses to pay homage to his cousin. - 1137: The Tui Peace Treaty. After fighting Alfonso VII in the region of the High Minho, Afonso Henriques promises to Alfonso "his allegiance, freedom from harm and assistance against all enemies." - 1139: Battle of Ourique. Afonso Henriques defeats five Moorish kings. - 1140: Afonso Henriques begins to use the title of King. - 1143: Probable date of the Treaty of Zamora, in which he makes peace with his cousin Alfonso VII. This is the first step toward Portuguese independence. Afonso Henriques writes to Pope Innocent II and declares himself, and his successors, as liegeman of the Holy See. This means that Afonso Henriques owes allegiance to no one but the Pope. Thus, no other power is greater than his over the territories he governs. - 1147: Afonso Henriques expels the Moors from Lisbon and a number of other Portuguese cities. - 1169: Afonso Henriques is taken prisoner by Fernando II, King of León. - 1179: The Catholic Church formally recognizes Afonso Henriques as king. - 1180: The conflicts with Fernando II, of León, over territories along the border and as well as on the Andalucian coast, come to an end. - 1185: Afonso Henriques dies in the city of his birth. His legacy, in addition to his great wealth, is the Condado Portucalense, the first European territory to establish a national identity.
No one is more deserving of the title of Founding Father than Afonso Henriques, son of Teresa, bastard daughter of King Alfonso VI, of Castile and León, and Count Henry of Burgundy. Very few people know, but it's thanks to the political shrewdness of Afonso Henriques that Portugal is the first European country to establish itself as an independent state. Even before the year 1200, Portugal is already Portugal. And that included the right to its own language - the Galician-Portuguese.
Genius, statesman, political fox, victor, implacable, extremely clever: Afonso is able to create an amazing story. Everything that can be manipulated in his favor, will be so, without any scruples. He begins his sequence of victories by founding a kingdom. To do so, he banishes his mommy to outer space, without as much as a farewell glance. At the time, though, nobody is thinking of Portugal as a possible consequence of an Oedipus Complex not well worked out. (Freud would only be around many centuries later).
Afonso's grandfather stands out as one of the most powerful men of his time. He is a personal friend of Saint Hugo - who doesn't know yet that he'll become a saint and builds the Abbey of Cluny, which, at the time, is the biggest house of worship in all Christendom. Afonso VI dips into his pockets, or into the public coffers, for the funds needed to finance Hugo's dream. The king is well connected in the royal circles of the Christian world; he has influence, he's flexible. Between one donation and another, he manages to have his bastard daughter married off to one of the Counts of Burgundy - a family of the upper-crust that will not easily mingle with people born on the wrong side of the tracks.
But Alfonso VI prepares an attractive package as a wedding present: Henry takes Teresa and, to boot, he gets the Portuguese Province, west of Castile, that for sometime now has been entertaining thoughts of independence. So, Alfonso VI, well aware of the antics practiced by the Portuguese, decides to kill two birds with one stone. In 1092, he joins the two distinct territories in that region - north and south of the Rio Douro - and decrees that the new province belongs to Teresa, and to her husband, of course. Urraca, his legitimate daughter, will sit on the throne of León and Castile, as dictated by the rules of morals and good manners.
Alfonso VI is more than a good and dedicated daddy, so he later tries to increase his power and dominion over additional territories. But his plans backfire. As soon as the king of León and Castile sticks his nose in the Portuguese Province, the local nobility starts a strong separatist movement.
Poor Henry of Burgundy ends up as a loser in this entire affair. Other than fathering the genius of Afonso Henriques, he gets very little out of the marriage. He wanders about the province trying to help his son, but the boy is a rebel and dispenses with his advice. The Count, a sophisticated Frenchman, feels hurt and annoyed. He's frightened by the idea of going down in history as a mere reproducer. But it's all Alfonso VI's fault. When he creates this soap opera, he commits one his few political mistakes: he does not take into account the local pride of the Portuguese Province or the possibility that someone might play dirty pool.
1109: Probable year of Afonso Henriques's birth, in Coimbra, the son of Henry of Burgundy and Teresa, bastard daughter of Alfonso VI of Castile and León. Alfonso VI dies that same year. The struggle for power begins between Urraca, the legitimate heiress, and Teresa and several other pretenders to the throne. The dispute lasts for years. - 1122: Afonso Henriques anticipates Napoleon Bonaparte's gesture by several centuries: he ignores the presence of the cardinal who presides the knighting ceremony at the Cathedral of Zamora and proclaims himself a knight. - 1128: Afonso Henriques battles Teresa, his mother, and her ally, the Galician count Fernão Peres de Trava. The two sides engage in battle in the fields of São Mamede, near Guimarães Castle. The Galician army is defeated. This victory forces Teresa to give up the idea of annexing the Portuguese region to the Kingdom of Galicia. - 1129: On April 6, Afonso Henriques dictates a document in which he proclaims himself as King of the Portuguese territories. - 1135: Urraca's son, Alfonso VII, is crowned "Emperor of All Spain" at the Cathedral of León. Afonso Henriques refuses to pay homage to his cousin. - 1137: The Tui Peace Treaty. After fighting Alfonso VII in the region of the High Minho, Afonso Henriques promises to Alfonso "his allegiance, freedom from harm and assistance against all enemies." - 1139: Battle of Ourique. Afonso Henriques defeats five Moorish kings. - 1140: Afonso Henriques begins to use the title of King. - 1143: Probable date of the Treaty of Zamora, in which he makes peace with his cousin Alfonso VII. This is the first step toward Portuguese independence. Afonso Henriques writes to Pope Innocent II and declares himself, and his successors, as liegeman of the Holy See. This means that Afonso Henriques owes allegiance to no one but the Pope. Thus, no other power is greater than his over the territories he governs. - 1147: Afonso Henriques expels the Moors from Lisbon and a number of other Portuguese cities. - 1169: Afonso Henriques is taken prisoner by Fernando II, King of León. - 1179: The Catholic Church formally recognizes Afonso Henriques as king. - 1180: The conflicts with Fernando II, of León, over territories along the border and as well as on the Andalucian coast, come to an end. - 1185: Afonso Henriques dies in the city of his birth. His legacy, in addition to his great wealth, is the Condado Portucalense, the first European territory to establish a national identity.
No one is more deserving of the title of Founding Father than Afonso Henriques, son of Teresa, bastard daughter of King Alfonso VI, of Castile and León, and Count Henry of Burgundy. Very few people know, but it's thanks to the political shrewdness of Afonso Henriques that Portugal is the first European country to establish itself as an independent state. Even before the year 1200, Portugal is already Portugal. And that included the right to its own language - the Galician-Portuguese.
Genius, statesman, political fox, victor, implacable, extremely clever: Afonso is able to create an amazing story. Everything that can be manipulated in his favor, will be so, without any scruples. He begins his sequence of victories by founding a kingdom. To do so, he banishes his mommy to outer space, without as much as a farewell glance. At the time, though, nobody is thinking of Portugal as a possible consequence of an Oedipus Complex not well worked out. (Freud would only be around many centuries later).
Afonso's grandfather stands out as one of the most powerful men of his time. He is a personal friend of Saint Hugo - who doesn't know yet that he'll become a saint and builds the Abbey of Cluny, which, at the time, is the biggest house of worship in all Christendom. Afonso VI dips into his pockets, or into the public coffers, for the funds needed to finance Hugo's dream. The king is well connected in the royal circles of the Christian world; he has influence, he's flexible. Between one donation and another, he manages to have his bastard daughter married off to one of the Counts of Burgundy - a family of the upper-crust that will not easily mingle with people born on the wrong side of the tracks.
But Alfonso VI prepares an attractive package as a wedding present: Henry takes Teresa and, to boot, he gets the Portuguese Province, west of Castile, that for sometime now has been entertaining thoughts of independence. So, Alfonso VI, well aware of the antics practiced by the Portuguese, decides to kill two birds with one stone. In 1092, he joins the two distinct territories in that region - north and south of the Rio Douro - and decrees that the new province belongs to Teresa, and to her husband, of course. Urraca, his legitimate daughter, will sit on the throne of León and Castile, as dictated by the rules of morals and good manners.
Alfonso VI is more than a good and dedicated daddy, so he later tries to increase his power and dominion over additional territories. But his plans backfire. As soon as the king of León and Castile sticks his nose in the Portuguese Province, the local nobility starts a strong separatist movement.
Poor Henry of Burgundy ends up as a loser in this entire affair. Other than fathering the genius of Afonso Henriques, he gets very little out of the marriage. He wanders about the province trying to help his son, but the boy is a rebel and dispenses with his advice. The Count, a sophisticated Frenchman, feels hurt and annoyed. He's frightened by the idea of going down in history as a mere reproducer. But it's all Alfonso VI's fault. When he creates this soap opera, he commits one his few political mistakes: he does not take into account the local pride of the Portuguese Province or the possibility that someone might play dirty pool.
posted by bw | 1:22 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home