John IV | |
---|---|
![]() Portrait by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1628 | |
King of Portugal | |
Reign | 1 December 1640 – 6 November 1656 |
Coronation | 15 December 1640 |
Predecessor | Philip III |
Successor | Afonso VI |
Born | Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa, Vila Viçosa, Portugal | 19 March 1604
Died | 6 November 1656 Ribeira Palace, Lisbon, Portugal | (aged 52)
Burial | |
Spouse | Luisa de Guzmán (m. 1633) |
Issue Detail | Teodósio, Prince of Brazil Joana, Princess of Beira Catherine, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland Afonso VI, King of Portugal Peter II, King of Portugal |
House | Braganza[1] |
Father | Teodósio II, Duke of Braganza |
Mother | Ana de Velasco y Girón |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Signature | ![]() |
Dom John IV (Portuguese: João,[2] pronounced [ʒuˈɐ̃w]; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer (Portuguese: João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from Habsburg Spanish rule.[1] His accession established the House of Braganza on the Portuguese throne, and marked the end of the 60-year-old Iberian Union by which Portugal and Spain shared the same monarch.
Before becoming king, he was John II, the 8th Duke of Braganza. He was the grandson of Catherine, Duchess of Braganza,[3] a claimant to the crown during the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580. On the eve of his death in 1656, the Portuguese Empire was at its territorial zenith, spanning the globe.[4]