page_title: Manuel I of Portugal
section_title: Judicial reform
hierarchical_section_title: Manuel I of Portugal / Reign / Judicial reform
caption_attribution_description: English: Stained-glass window in the High Chapel of the Church of Saint Mary of Victory (Batalha Monastery, Leiria, Portugal), possibly attributed to Francisco Henriques, c. 1514-1518. It depicts King Manuel I of Portugal in prayer, with his sons (in the foreground, kneels Prince John -- future John III of Portugal). They are accompanied by Saint Dominic, standing, and holding a cross. Português: Vitral da Capela-mor da Igreja de Santa Maria da Vitória (Mosteiro da Batalha, em Leiria, Portugal), atribuível a Francisco Henriques, c. 1514-1518. Representa D. Manuel I de Portugal em oração, com os seus filhos; no primeiro plano, ao seu lado, está ajoelhado o Príncipe D. João -- futuro D. João III de Portugal. Estão acompanhados por São Domingos, de pé, segurando uma cruz.
context_page_description: Manuel I, known as the Fortunate, was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manuel ruled over a period of intensive expansion of the Portuguese Empire owing to the numerous Portuguese discoveries made during his reign. His sponsorship of Vasco da Gama led to the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India in 1498, resulting in the creation of the Portuguese India Armadas, which guaranteed Portugal's monopoly on the spice trade. Manuel began the Portuguese colonization of the Americas and Portuguese India, and oversaw the establishment of a vast trade empire across Africa and Asia.
  Manuel established the Casa da Índia, a royal institution that managed Portugal's monopolies and its imperial expansion, and he financed numerous famed Portuguese navigators, including Pedro Álvares Cabral, Afonso de Albuquerque, and João Vaz Corte-Real, among numerous others.
context_section_description: In Manuel's reign, royal absolutism was the method of government. The Portuguese Cortes (the assembly of the kingdom) met only three times during his reign, always in Lisbon, the king's seat. 
  He reformed the courts of justice and the municipal charters with the crown, modernizing taxes and the concepts of tributes and rights. During his reign, the laws in force in the kingdom of Portugal were recodified with the publication of the Manueline Ordinations.
caption: Stained-glass depiction of Manuel at Batalha Monastery; attributed to Francisco Henriques, c. 1514-18.
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