Manuel I of Portugal
1469 – 1521 · Generation VIII · King of Portugal (r. 1495–1521)
Manuel (1469 – 1521). King of Portugal (r. 1495–1521). Married Eleanor in 1518 — a match across the generations. 'the Fortunate'; father of Empress Isabella of Portugal and third husband of Eleanor of Austria. His reign carried Portugal to the crest of its age of discovery: he sponsored Vasco da Gama's voyage that opened the sea route to India in 1498 and Cabral's landing in Brazil, and founded the Casa da Índia to manage the crown's trade monopolies. The wealth that flowed home made him the richest monarch in Europe and paid for the Jerónimos Monastery and the ornate architecture that still bears his name — the Manueline style. He recodified the kingdom's laws in the Manueline Ordinances. His record has a dark side: in 1496, under Spanish pressure, he ordered the Jews of his kingdom to accept baptism or depart — then, before the deadline came, simply declared them all Christian by fiat — and he later expelled Portugal's Muslims. He died of a fever while plague gripped Lisbon.
Partners
- Married Eleanor of Austria (1498 – 1558) in 1518
Children
- Isabella of Portugal (1503 – 1539)
Life
- 1469 — Born
- 1518 — Married Eleanor
- 1521 — Died