Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V ruled Portugal from 1438 to 1481 and is called the African for his campaigns in Morocco. Born in Sintra in 1432, he succeeded at six on the death of his father Duarte, and his minority was disputed between his mother and his uncle Pedro, who governed as regent. Pedro ruled competently for many years and married his daughter to the young king. Afonso then came under the influence of the Braganza family and, in 1449, declared his uncle a rebel; Pedro was killed at Alfarrobeira, an outcome Afonso appears to have regretted for the rest of his life. He granted the Braganzas and other houses enormous lands and jurisdictions, which is the reason his son had to break them by force. He directed three expeditions to Morocco, taking Ksar es-Seghir in 1458, Asilah in 1471 and Tangier shortly after, which secured the Atlantic approaches and the title. He continued to license Atlantic exploration, granting the trade south of Cape Bojador to Fernão Gomes on condition of exploring a set distance of coast each year, which pushed Portuguese ships past the equator. He obtained the bulls Dum Diversas and Romanus Pontifex from the papacy, authorising the enslavement of non-Christians encountered in the discoveries — documents that supplied legal cover for the Atlantic slave trade for centuries. He claimed the throne of Castile through his marriage to his niece Joanna, and was defeated at Toro in 1476 by Ferdinand and Isabella. He went to France seeking help, was refused, and briefly abdicated in despair. He died in 1481.
- Lived: 1432 CE – 1481 CE
- Nationality: Portuguese
- Roles: king, head_of_state
