- Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra
The Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra KG (pronounced|ˈpedɾu; English: "Peter"), (1392 –
May 20 1449 ) was a Portugueseinfante of theHouse of Aviz , son of KingJohn I of Portugal and his wifePhilippa of Lancaster , daughter ofJohn of Gaunt . In Portugal he is better known as Infante D. Pedro das Sete Partidas [do Mundo] , "of the Seven Parts [of the World] " because of his travels. Possibly the most well-travelled prince of his time, he was regent between 1439 and 1448.From the time he was born, Pedro was one of John I's favourite sons. Along with his siblings, he received an exceptional education rarely seen in those times. Close to his brother Edward and
Infante João, Lord of Reguengos , Pedro grew up in a calm environment free of intrigues.On
August 14 ,1415 he accompanied his father and brothers Edward and Henry in the conquest ofCeuta in Morocco. His mother had died the previous month, giving each of her sons on her deathbed anarming sword she had ordered forged for them. Pedro refused to be knighted before having shown his valour in battle, being knighted along with his brothers the following day; he was also created duke of Coimbra as his younger brother Henry was made duke of Viseu. These were the first dukedoms created in Portugal.In 1418, having finished the translation of Seneca's "De Beneficiis", he initiated his extensive travels throughout Europe, which would keep him away from Portugal for the next ten years. After having met with
John II of Castile inValladolid , he continued toHungary , where he met withSigismund, Holy Roman Emperor and entered his service. He fought in the Imperial armies against the Turks and in theHussite Wars inBohemia , and was awarded the dukedom ofTreviso in Northern Italy in 1422. In 1424 he left theHoly Roman Empire , meeting first withMurad II , Sultan of theOttoman Empire , on the island ofPatmos , and then continuing toConstantinople , capital of theByzantine Empire ; the hopeless position of the city against the Ottoman onslaught didn't fail to impress him. From Constantinople he travelled to theHoly Land via Alexandria and Cairo. In 1425 he travelled west toFrance andEngland , visiting the universities ofParis andOxford , before arriving inFlanders in 1426, where he spent the next two years at the Burgundian court. The second wife ofPhilip the Good of Burgundy having died in 1425, Pedro recommended him his sister Isabel as wife (Philip later sent a delegation to Portugal in 1428-29, which includedJan van Eyck , who painted two portraits of the Infanta; Philip and Isabel eventually married on January 7, 1430, one of their sons being the future dukeCharles the Bold ). In 1427 Pedro wrote a famous letter to his older brother, the later King Edward, on "the proper administration of the kingdoms", from Bruges; later that yearHenry VI of England (his first cousin once removed) made him a Knight of the Garter (as were already his father and older brother). In 1428 Pedro visited his dukedom of Treviso and nearbyVenice , where he was presented with a copy of the book ofMarco Polo by the doge; he later offered that book, and maps of the Venetian trade routes in the Orient he purchased, to his younger brother Henry. From Venice he then travelled toRome , where he was received byPope Martin V , and from there he continued toBarcelona , where he negotiated the marriage of his brother Edward with Leonor of Aragon as well as his own future marriage with Isabel of Urgell before finally returning to Portugal after ten years abroad, of travelling and learning.In 1429 Pedro married Isabel of Urgell, daughter of James II,
Count of Urgell and candidate to the throne of theCrown of Aragon at theCompromise of Caspe .In 1433 he completed his famous six-volume work, the "Tratado da Virtuosa Benfeitoria".
When his brother Edward I, King of Portugal died in 1438, his son
Afonso V (Pedro's nephew) was an infant and the choice for the regency was the Queen-MotherLeonor of Aragon . This choice for the regency was not popular because Leonor was Aragonese, so in a reunion of the "Cortes", summoned by Pedro's brother John, Duke of Aveiro, Pedro was appointed as Regent of the Kingdom during the minority of his nephew Afonso V, a choice that pleased both the people and the fast-growingBourgeoisie .However, inside the Portuguese aristocracy, especially the ones around Afonso, Count of Barcelos (Pedro's half-brother), Leonor of Aragon was preferred and there were doubts about Pedro's political ability. A "war of influences" started and a few years later Afonso of Barcelos managed to become young King Afonso V's favourite uncle.
In 1443, in a gesture of reconciliation, Pedro created his own half-brother Afonso
Duke of Braganza and relations between the two seemed to return to normality. But, in 1445, the now duke of Braganza took offence becauseIsabel of Coimbra , Pedro's daughter was the choice for Afonso V's wife, and not one of his daughters. Indifferent to the intrigues, Pedro continued his regency and the country prospered under his influence. It is during this period that the first subsidies for the exploration of theAtlantic Ocean were implemented, and the organization was given toHenry the Navigator (Pedro's brother).On
June 9 1448 Afonso V came of age and Pedro gave him the control of the country to the king. Influenced by Afonso, Count of Barcelos, and recently Duke of Braganza, Afonso V nullified all Pedro's edicts, starting, against himself, by the ones that concentrated the powers in the figure of the King.The following year, under accusations that years later would prove false, Afonso V declared his uncle Pedro, Duke of Coimbra a rebel. The situation became unsustainable and a civil war begun. It was short because on
May 20 1449 , during theBattle of Alfarrobeira , nearAlverca , Pedro, Duke of Coimbra died. The exact conditions of his death are debatable: some say it was in combat, while others say he was assassinated by one of his own men.With the death of Pedro, Portugal fell in the hands of Afonso, Duke of Braganza, with a growing influence over the destiny of the country. However, his regency would never be forgotten, and Pedro was cited many times by his grandson King
John II of Portugal as his main influence. The cruel persecution of the Braganzas by John II was perhaps the answer to the conspiracies that caused the fall of one of the major princes of the "Ínclita Geração ".From his marriage to
Isabella of Aragon, Countess of Urgell , Pedro had the following children:* Infante Pedro of Coimbra (1429-1466), Constable of Portugal at 14, in 1464 he was acclaimed King of Aragon as Pedro V.
* Infante João of Coimbra (1431-1457), married Charlotte of Lusignan, heir princess of Cyprus, in 1456. Was created titular Prince of Antioch, and was possibly poisoned by his stepmother.
* Infanta Isabel of Coimbra (1432-1455), Queen of Portugal by marriage toAfonso V .
*Infante Jaime of Coimbra (1434-1459), Cardinal and Archbishop of Lisbon, lived in Italy; his beautiful tomb [http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/rosselin/antonio/portugal.html] is in the convent church of San Miniato al Monte in Florence.
* Infanta Beatriz of Coimbra (1435-1462), married Adolf of Clèves, Lord of Ravenstein.
*Infanta Filipa of Coimbra (1437-1493), a.k.a. Filipa de Lencastre (Philippa of Lancaster), a nun.
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