João III of Portugal
João III ruled Portugal from 1521 to 1557, at the height of its empire and the beginning of its decline. Born in Lisbon in 1502, the son of Manuel I, he inherited the wealthiest crown in Europe, drawing its revenue from the pepper monopoly and the Asian trading network Albuquerque had built. He extended the empire further. Portuguese posts were established across the Indian Ocean, Macau was settled from 1557, contact with Japan began in 1543, and in 1534 he divided Brazil into hereditary captaincies granted to donatários, then in 1549 established a royal governor at Salvador when most of them failed. The costs rose faster than the returns. He abandoned several North African fortresses as unaffordable, the crown borrowed heavily from German and Italian bankers, and Portugal was effectively bankrupt by the end of the reign despite the trade. He was intensely devout, and the religious changes of his reign were lasting. He obtained papal authorisation for a Portuguese Inquisition in 1536 after years of pressure, directed principally at the New Christians — Jews forcibly baptised under his father in 1497 — and it became a permanent instrument. He invited the Jesuits in 1540, sending Francis Xavier east the following year, and gave the order control of education and of the missions. He also patronised learning, reforming the University of Coimbra, endowing chairs and sending students abroad, before the intellectual climate closed. He married Catherine of Austria, sister of Charles V, and outlived all nine of their children. He was succeeded by his three-year-old grandson Sebastian, and died in 1557.
- Lived: 1502 CE – 1557 CE
- Nationality: Portuguese
- Roles: king, head_of_state
