page_title: House of Braganza
section_title: Feudal establishment
hierarchical_section_title: House of Braganza / History / Feudal establishment
caption_attribution_description: English: Dom Afonso I, 1st Duke of Braganza (1377-1461), founder of the House of Braganza.
context_page_description: The Most Serene House of Braganza, also known as the Brigantine Dynasty, is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Americas.
  The house was founded by Afonso I, 1st Duke of Braganza, illegitimate son of King John I of Portugal of the House of Aviz, and would eventually grow into one of the wealthiest and most powerful noble houses of the Iberian Peninsula of the Renaissance period. The Braganzas came to rule the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves after successfully deposing the Philippine Dynasty in the Restoration War, resulting in the Duke of Braganza becoming King John IV of Portugal, in 1640. The Braganzas ruled Portugal and the Portuguese Empire from 1640 and with the creation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, in 1815, and the subsequent independence of the Empire of Brazil, in 1822, the Braganzas came to rule as the monarchs of Brazil.
context_section_description: The House of Braganza originated with Afonso I, an illegitimate son of King John I of Portugal, founder of the House of Aviz, and Inês Pires. Though Afonso was illegitimate, his father valued and cared for him a great deal, demonstrated by his arrangement of Afonso's marriage to Beatriz Pereira de Alvim, daughter of Nuno Álvares Pereira, Portugal's most important general and a personal friend of King John I. As well as increasing his social status by his marriage into a well-established house, Afonso also became the eighth Count of Barcelos, an honour ceded to him by his father-in-law, who had been made the seventh count by John I.
  With his newly consolidated place in the nobility of Portugal, Afonso commenced what would be a highly successful political and social career. In 1415 he took part in the Conquest of Ceuta, alongside his father, his brothers, and the leading members of the nobility and military. By the time of his father's death in 1433, Afonso had won favour with his brother, King Duarte I and the rest of high Portuguese society. With his brother's premature death in 1438, a regency was established for Afonso's nephew, the 6 year old King Afonso V, under the leadership of the king's mother, Leonor of Aragon, and later Afonso's brother, Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. The Duke of Coimbra's regency, however, soon proved unpopular and Afonso quickly became the King's preferred advisor. On 30 December 1442, the Duke of Coimbra, still the King's regent and thus acting in his name, created Afonso as the Duke of Braganza, as a gesture of good will and reconciliation between the two brothers.  Afonso's elevation to the dukedom, the highest level of nobility, marked the foundation of the House of Braganza, which was to become a key family in Portuguese history.
  As a result of the hard work and success of Afonso I, his children all secured successful positions and lived privileged lives. Afonso I's first son, Afonso of Braganza, was a prominent member of the nobility, having been ceded, by his grandfather, Nuno Álvares Pereira, the lucrative and powerful title of Count of Ourém, in 1422. He was an accomplished diplomat, and served as the king's representative at the Council of Basel in 1436, and the Council of Florence in 1439. In 1451, the Count of Ourém was made Marquis of Valença and escorted Infanta Leonor of Portugal to her husband Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. Later, in 1458, he participated in the capture and conquest of Alcácer-Ceguer. The Marquis of Valença, however, died in 1460, one year before his father and therefore did not succeed him. Afonso I's first daughter, Isabel of Braganza, married Infante João, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, thus relinking the House of Braganza to the Royal House of Portugal. Isabel's strategic marriage proved successful, and produced four children, whose descendants would be some of the most important in Iberian history. Afonso I's last child and successor, Fernando I, Duke of Braganza, continued his legacy of prominence in the military and society.
  When Fernando I was born, in 1403, his grandfather, Nuno Álvares Pereira, ceded him the title of Count of Arraiolos. Fernando became an accomplished military man, participating in various Portuguese imperial campaigns. Though Fernando I was a popular and powerful member of the nobility, he did not always find himself in the favour of the king, most notably exemplified when Fernando I openly declaimed King Duarte I, at the Portuguese Cortes, on the topic of the rescue and recovery of the King's brother, Infante Fernando, Lord of Salvaterra de Magos from the Moors. However, Fernando I became a favourite of both the royal and imperial government and of King Afonso V, earning him the position of Governor of Ceuta and the titles of Marquis of Vila Viçosa and Count of Neiva.
  Fernando I's children, by his wife, Joana de Castro, Lady of Cadaval, continued to enlarge the influence of the House of Braganza. Of his nine children, all six who survived to adulthood established themselves either through positions or marriages, though the act
caption: Afonso I, first Duke of Braganza and founder of the House of Braganza
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