Henrique I of Portugal
Cardinal Henrique ruled Portugal for seventeen months and his death ended its independence for sixty years. Born in Lisbon in 1512, he was the fifth son of Manuel I and was placed in the church young, becoming Archbishop of Braga, then of Évora, and finally of Lisbon, and a cardinal in 1545. He was the driving force behind the Portuguese Inquisition, serving as its inquisitor general from 1539, and he brought the Jesuits into the country and supported the reform of Coimbra. He was regent twice: for his great-nephew Sebastian during his minority from 1562, and again while Sebastian was in Morocco. Sebastian, an intensely religious young man determined on a crusade, invaded Morocco in 1578 with an army that included a large part of the Portuguese nobility. At Alcácer-Quibir on 4 August his force was destroyed; Sebastian was killed at twenty-four, his body never certainly identified, and the survivors were captured and had to be ransomed at enormous cost. Henrique, then sixty-six, a priest and childless, became king. He sought a papal dispensation to renounce his vows and marry in order to produce an heir, and it was refused — Spain had every interest in preventing it. He spent his reign attempting to settle the succession among several claimants and could not obtain agreement. He died in January 1580. Philip II of Spain, a grandson of Manuel I through his mother, had the strongest claim, the most money and an army under the Duke of Alba. He invaded, and the Iberian Union lasted until 1640.
- Lived: 1512 CE – 1580 CE
- Nationality: Portuguese
- Roles: king, head_of_state
