José I, King of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

José I, King of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

José Francisco António Inácio Norberto Agostinho was the third of the six children and the second but the eldest surviving of the five sons of João V, King of Portugal and Maria Anna of Austria. He was born on June 6, 1714, at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal. José’s paternal grandparents were Pedro II, King of Portugal and his second wife Maria Sophia of Neuburg. His maternal grandparents were Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and his third wife, Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg. His grandmothers were sisters. José was baptized on August 27, 1714, and his godparents were Louis XIV, King of France and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress.

José had five siblings:

During his childhood, José was exposed to his mother’s highly religious influence and the influence of António Stief, an Austrian Jesuit priest who accompanied his mother Maria Anna of Austria to Portugal, as a royal confessor. José received an education typical of a prince of the time, studying science and languages. He was a devout Catholic and passionate about Italian opera, assembling one of the largest European collections of opera scores.

A contemporary engraving depicting the Exchange of Princesses over the Caia River on the Portugal-Spain border; Credit – Wikipedia

To strengthen an alliance with Spain, a double marriage between Portugal and Spain was arranged between José and Mariana Victoria of Spain, daughter of Felipe V, King of Spain, and between José’s elder sister Barbara and Felipe V’s son and heir Fernando, Prince of Asturias, later Fernando VI, King of Spain. In a complex and protocol-filled arrangement called the Exchange of Princesses, on January 19, 1729, the two sets of princes and princesses were escorted to the Portugal-Spain border by the two royal courts, and the princesses were exchanged in a richly decorated wooden pavilion built on a bridge over the Caia River that linked the towns of Elvas, Portugal and Badajoz, Spain. Then, both couples were married in richly decorated pavilions on the same day on the grooms’ sides of the Caia River.

Mariana Victoria of Spain, José’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

José and Mariana Victoria developed a close relationship. They both enjoyed hunting as well as music. Mariana Victoria was an accomplished singer and they patronized Italian opera singers and the theater. They were both passionately religious but despite this, José had several mistresses much to his wife’s dislike.

Maria, José’s eldest daughter and his successor; Credit – Wikipedia

José and Mariana Victoria had four daughters but there were also four stillbirths including one stillborn son:

Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, chief minister of José I and de facto ruler of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

José did not become King of Portugal until he was 36-years-old, upon the death of his father in 1750. Almost immediately, José named Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal as his chief minister. Pombal effectively ruled the Portuguese Empire from 1750 until José I’s death in 1777. A liberal reformer influenced by the Age of Enlightenment, the Marquis of Pombal led Portugal’s recovery from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and modernized Portugal’s administrative, economic, and religious institutions. As Pombal was the de facto ruler of Portugal, José and Mariana Victoria took less prominent roles in politics.

A contemporary engraving showing Lisbon in flames and a tsunami overwhelming the ships in the harbor; Credit – Wikipedia

José I’s reign was marred by the destructive 1755 Lisbon earthquake that killed an estimated 100,000 people. Seismologists today estimate the Lisbon earthquake had a magnitude in the range of 8.5 – 9.0 on the Richter Scale. Following the initial earthquake, Lisbon was devastated by a tsunami and fires. The earthquake caused José to develop a severe case of claustrophobia. He never again felt comfortable living within a walled building and moved the royal court to an extensive complex of tents in Ajuda, near Lisbon.

The attack on José I, King of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

On the night of September 3, 1758, José I was riding in an unmarked carriage, returning to the complex of tents in Ajuda after an evening with his mistress in Lisbon. The carriage was intercepted by two or three men who shot both José I and his driver but both survived. Sebastião de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal took control of the situation. Without disclosing the attack or José’s injuries, he initiated an inquiry. A few days later two men were arrested for the shootings and tortured. The men confessed their guilt and stated that they were following the orders of the Távora family, who supposedly were plotting to put José de Mascarenhas da Silva e Lencastre, 8th Duke of Aveiro on the throne because of the Távora family’s displeasure that José I did not have a male heir. The two men who confessed were hanged the following day, even before the attempted assassination was made public. Pombal later ordered the execution of all members of the Távora family and the 8th Duke of Aveiro, and it was only through the intervention of Jose I’s wife Mariana Victoria and his eldest daughter Maria that some women and children were spared. The scandal was called the Távora Affair. The guilt or innocence of the Távoras family is still debated today by Portuguese historians. Some historians believe it was an attempt by Pombal to contain the growing powers of the old aristocratic families.

Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

After José suffered a series of strokes, Mariana Victoria was created Regent of Portugal on November 29, 1776, and remained Regent until José’s death. José I, King of Portugal died at Sintra Palace in Sintra, Portugal on February 24, 1777, at the age of 62. He is buried at the Pantheon of the Royal House of Braganza in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal. Upon the death of José I, his eldest daughter became the first queen regnant of Portugal, reigning as Maria I. Maria I hated her father’s chief minister Sebastião de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, and upon her accession to the throne, she removed him from his positions. Maria then issued a restraining order, commanding that Pombal not be closer than twenty miles to her presence. If she were to travel near his estates, he was compelled to remove himself from his house to fulfill the royal decree.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Joseph I of Portugal – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_I_of_Portugal> [Accessed 8 June 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Mariana Victoria of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_Victoria_of_Spain> [Accessed 8 June 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. João V, King of Portugal. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/joao-v-king-of-portugal/> [Accessed 3 June 2022].
  • Louda, Jiri and Maclagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. London: Little, Brown.
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. 2022. José I de Portugal – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_I_de_Portugal> [Accessed 8 June 2022].
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. 2022. Mariana Vitória de Bourbon – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_Vit%C3%B3ria_de_Bourbon> [Accessed 8 June 2022].