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Afonso, 1st Duke of Braganza

Afonso I
Afonso first Duke of Braganza.jpg
posthumous engraving; Carlos António Leoni
Duke of Braganza
Tenure 30 December 1442 – 15 December 1461
Successor Fernando I
Born (1377-08-10)10 August 1377
Veiros, Estremoz, Alentejo, Kingdom of Portugal
Died 15 December 1461(1461-12-15) (aged 84)
Chaves, Trás-os-Montes,
Kingdom of Portugal
Spouse Beatriz Pereira de Alvim
Constance de Noronha
Issue Afonso, 1st Marquis of Valença
Isabella, Lady of Reguengos de Monsaraz
Fernando I, Duke of Braganza
House House of Braganza
Father João I of Portugal
Mother Inês Peres
Religion Roman Catholicism

Dom Afonso I of Braganza (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu]; 10 August 1377 – 15 December 1461) was the first Duke of Braganza and the eighth Count of Barcelos. He would start a dynasty, the House of Braganza, that would end up being the most powerful and wealthy in all of Portugal. His descendents would go on to become high-ranking nobles, imperial officials, and even the Kings of Portugal and the Emperors of Brazil.

Historians believe he was born in Veiros, Estremoz, Alentejo, as a natural son of Portuguese King John I and Inês Peres. He married the heiress Beatriz Pereira de Alvim, daughter of Nuno Álvares Pereira, a general and the wealthiest man in the kingdom.

A traveled and cultivated man, Afonso was present in 1415 when the Portuguese conquered Ceuta. When his half-brother King Edward I of Portugal died in 1438, his son Afonso V (Afonso's nephew) was an infant and the choice for the regency was his sister-in-law, the Queen Mother Eleonor of Aragon.

This choice for the regency was not popular because Eleonor was Aragonese, so in a meeting of the Portuguese Cortes summoned by Afonso's half-brother John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, the regency was awarded to the Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, another half-brother of Afonso and an uncle of the young king. This choice pleased both the people and the fast-growing bourgeoisie.


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