John II was born in 1455 in Lisbon. His father was King of Portugal, Afonso V, and his mother was Isabella of Coimbra. He was named after John I, his great-grandfather and founder of the royal line of the House of Aviz in the 1380s. It was of great interest at the time to form alliances with European royal lines through marriages, so in the time of John II’s birth, the Aviz already had English, Spanish, and French blood in their line.
John’s mother, Queen Isabella, died when he was very young, so he and his sister Joana grew up close to Filipa, their aunt. She was the first Portuguese woman known to write poetry and a very smart woman, aware of the importance of education. Filipa made sure that John II gets proper knowledge from the humanists of the court that taught him, so he became fluent in Latin and had considerable education in the fields of art and science.
He married Leonor from the powerful Portugal House of Braganza in 1471. He was only 15 at the time, while his wife was only 12, so this was an obvious marriage for political gain. However, John II was not loved by the nobility, and Fernando II, the Duke of Braganza, was no exception. The reason for this was that the power of Portugal nobles flourished during Afonso V’s reign but John II had a much stronger character and was immune to the influence of nobility.
John proved great skills on the battlefield and earned his knighthood later in 1471. He fought by King Afonso V in the conquest of Arzila in Morocco and was given his own household in southern Portugal (Beja) after the battle. Following the death of Henry IV of Castile in 1474, Afonso V claimed the Crown of Castile and led Portugal into war against Isabella I, Henry’s half-sister, who also claimed the throne. John was appointed King’s regent and the Prince marched with his army to provide supported. Their army was defeated in the Battle of Toro (1476) and the invasion of Castile as finished. King Afonso V fled to France to look for an alliance and John stayed to parry the counterattack that Spanish launched.
The unsuccessful invasion of Castile shook Afonso V’s belief in himself, so he announced his abdication in 1477 and went to a monastery. John II was proclaimed King but in November 1477 Afonso changed his mind a couple of days later and returned to reign for another four years. Before his death in 1481, Afonso signed the Treaty of Alcacovas, which states that Portugal has no rights over the throne of Castile.
When John II accessed the throne and became King of Portugal in August 1481, the Crown didn’t have great power. During the reign of his predecessor, the power, and influence of wealthy families had increased significantly. The nobles could conduct justice any way they saw fit on their estates but John wanted to diminish their power and re-establish the Portuguese Crown. The Duke of Viseu and the Duke of Braganza started to conspire against the King. Duke of Braganza sent a letter to Queen Isabella I of Castile, asking her to intervene but these letters, as well as the other correspondence by the conspiring families, were intercepted by the King’s spies.
Once he realized that his throne was in great danger, John knew that his first task must be a consolidation of power. In 1483, he outlawed the House of Braganza, the wealthiest family in Portugal at the time, took their land and beheaded the Duke of Braganza. John summoned Duke of Viseu, who was his brother-in-law, to his palace in 1484 and stabbed him to death himself for conspiring against him. Many other people were killed or exiled to Castile and John II soon became an extremely respected ruler, with nobody having enough courage to defy him. On top of that, confiscation of land significantly enriched the Crown, turning her into a great power at the time.
John II recovered and strengthened Portuguese economy. He comprised a regime with a Council of Scholars, educated people with abilities and talents that could help to get a bankrupt kingdom back on its feet. Coast of Guinea was a great source of gold at the time and combined with profits from overseas expansion and exploration took the economy to a high level.
Explorations were one of the main policies of King John II’s government. Prince Henry the Navigator left many debts but the new King found enough money to push for the south coast of Africa. His goal was to break into the trade of spices by finding a route to India. Some of the significant achievements made during John II’s reign include the discovery of the Congo River (Diogo Cao) in 1483 and the passage of the Cape of Good Hope (Bartolomeu Dias) in 1488. He also ordered settling of the islands of Sao Tome and Principe in 1493. There were probably many other achievements at the time but they were kept secret from Castile, their neighbours, and fierce competitors.
Before Christopher Columbus got the funding from Spain for his expedition across the Atlantic in 1492, he talked with John Ii first but the King seemed uninterested for his expedition. When Columbus came back from his travel he stopped to Lisbon to inform the King of his victorious expedition. John realized that Columbus discovered land within the sphere of influence of Portugal, which was determined by the Treaty of Alcacovas. He sent a threatening letter to Queen Isabella I of Castille that he will not hesitate to send a fleet and Spain accepted negotiations. Aside from the two rulers, even the Pope Alexander VI was present in Tordesillas for the negotiations, allegedly as a mediator.
The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed in 1494 and presented a huge diplomatic victory for Portugal. The agreement predicted that the Spain’s share will be west of the Azores, and Portugal’s claim is eastern of the dividing line agreed. This meant that Portugal was granted the African continent, Orient, as well as Brazil, which was an incredible success. Unfortunately, King John II didn’t have much time to enjoy it.
John’s only legitimate son and his heir Afonso was killed during a horse ride in 1491, which deeply affected him. The King fell ill in 1495 and died soon after in the small of Alvor in the Algarve province. Before his death, he decreed that his successor will be Manuel, the Duke of Beja and his wife’s brother.
(The Treaty of Tordesillas divided Portuguese and Spanish ...)
1494He was a respected Catholic and had great respect for Pope Alexander VI. He agreed that the Pope should participate in resolving the conflict between Portugal and Spain when it comes to the territories outside of Europe.
John II was descendant of the royal line of the House of Aviz and had strong beliefs for the regime of a monarchy. He didn't like that the wealthy families strengthen their influence and managed to diminish their power during his reign.
John Ii was a benevolent monarch, despite the fact that he had to be cruel towards wealthy noble families that were conspiring and taking the power away from the Crown. In 1492, when Spain expelled Jewish refugees, it was John that accepted them to his country. In 1492, he founded All Saints Hospital in Lisbon, the state-of-the-art medical facility for its time.
Following John's death, Leonor, his widow, founded a charity to help the poor and sick people. The Misericordia, or Brotherhood of Our Lady of Mercy, was founded in 1498.
John got the nickname Perfect Prince years after his passing away. This refers to The Prince, the work of Niccolo Machiavelli, who described the Perfect Prince and it is believed that John fits this description. Even during his time, he was admired by his friends and even his foes. Other rulers recognized him as one of the brilliant European monarchs, and Queen of Castille called him The Man (El Hombre).
John Ii was a ruler with strong character. ever since his early years, he didn't like the noble families that had major influence on his father, King Afonso V. Once he claimed the throne, he remained immune to any external influence and demanded respected as the King of Portugal. He was a fierce ruler who killed many of his opponents during the first couple of years of reign.
On the other hand, the accepting of Jewish refugees in 1492 and building a modern hospital the same year had showed that he was also benevolent and had sympathies for the problems of simple folks.
Physical Characteristics: You could see his pride in his appearance. All his pictures show him standing or sitting with the head up straight, and his physical characteristics were also completely in accordance with his position of a monarch.
Quotes from others about the person
"To render you thanks on behalf of all who belong to this century, which now favours of your quasi-divine merits, now boldly competing with ancient centuries and all Antiquity" - Poliziano, italian scholar in a letter to John II
John II married Leonor from the wealthy family of Braganza in 1471. This was a political marriage, as he was only 15 and she was only 12. However, they stayed together until his death in 1495. John had one legitimate son, Afonso VI, who died after he was thrown of a horse and killed in 1491.
