Fernando I of Portugal
Fernando I ruled Portugal from 1367 to 1383 and his succession failure nearly ended its independence. Born in Coimbra in 1345, the son of Pedro I and Constanza, he inherited a prosperous kingdom and immediately made a claim to the throne of Castile through his descent from Sancho IV. He fought three wars for it between 1369 and 1382, all inconclusive, all expensive, and all involving alliances with England and with Castilian dissidents that produced invasions of Portugal and the burning of Lisbon's suburbs. His domestic legislation was more useful than his wars. The Lei das Sesmarias of 1375 required uncultivated land to be worked or forfeited, addressing the labour shortage and abandonment that followed the Black Death. He subsidised shipbuilding by granting free timber and exempting shipowners from certain taxes, established a maritime insurance fund, and expanded the Lisbon merchant fleet substantially — the foundation of the navy that later fought Castile and sailed to Africa. He was expected to marry a Castilian princess to end the wars. Instead, in 1372, he married Leonor Teles, a Portuguese noblewoman who was already married, having her existing marriage annulled. It was deeply unpopular, produced riots in Lisbon, and made her a hated figure. His only surviving legitimate child was a daughter, Beatriz, whom he married in 1383 to John I of Castile — which meant that on his death the two crowns would be joined under a Castilian king. He died months later. The population of Lisbon rose rather than accept it, and the war that followed put João I on the throne.
- Lived: 1345 CE – 1383 CE
- Nationality: Portuguese
- Roles: king, head_of_state
