Afonso I, Duke of Braganza
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Afonso I, Duke of Braganza (1377-1461) was the eighth Count of Bracelos and the first Duke of Braganza. Historians believie he was born in Veiros, Alentejo, as a natural son of Portuguese King John I and a Galician noblewoman named Inez Perez Esteves. He married Beatriz Pereira Alvim, daughter of Nuno Álvares Pereira, general of the kingdom, and heir of the most opulent house of the kingdom. Afonso was present in 1415 when the Portuguese conquered Ceuta.
When his half-brother Edward I, King of Portugal died in 1438, his son Afonso V (Afonso's nephew) was an infant and the choice for the regency was the Queen-Mother Leonor of Aragon (Afonso's sister-in-law). This choice for the regency was not popular because Leonor was Aragonese, so in a reunion of the Cortes, summoned by Afonso's half-brother John, Duke of Aveiro, another half-brother of Afonso, Pedro, was appointed as Regent of the Kingdom during the minority of his nephew Afonso V, a choice that pleased both the peolple and the fast-growing Bourgeoisie.
However, inside the Portuguese aristocracy, especially the ones around Afonso, Count of Barcelos, Leonor of Aragon was preferred and there were doubts about Pedro political hability. A war of influences started and few years later Afonso managed to become young King Afonso V's favourite uncle.
In 1443, in a gesture of reconciliation, Pedro made Afonso the first Duke of Braganza and the relations between both seemed to return to normality. But, in 1445, Afonso took offence because Isabel of Coimbra, Pedro's daughter was the choice for Afonso V's wife, and not one of her daughters. Indifferent to the intrigues, Pedro continued his regency and the country prospered under his influece. It was during this period that the first subsidies for the exploration of the Atlantic Ocean were implemented, and the organization was given to Henry the Navigator (Another Afonso's half-brother).
On June 9 1448 Afonso V came of age and Pedro gave the control of the country to the king. Influenced by Afonso, Count of Barcelos, and recently Duke of Braganza, Afonso V nulifies all Pedro's edicts.
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 the Battle of Alfarrobeira, near Alverca, Pedro, Duke of Coimbra died. The exact conditions of his death are debatable: some say it was in combat, other say he was assassinated by one of his own men.
After the Battle of Alfarrobeira, Afonso V gave new powers to the Duke of Braganza and nine years later when he departed to Africa, the regency was delegated to Afonso.
Afonso married the second time to Constança de Noronha (first Duchess of Braganza, buried in Guimarães), daughter of Alfonso, Count of Gijón and Noronha, son of Henry II of Castile.
Issue
From his first marriage to Beatriz Pereira Alvim he had three children:
- Afonso of Braganza (1400-1460), Count of Ourém and Marquis of Valença
- Isabel of Braganza (1402-1465), married her uncle Prince John, Duke of Aveiro, son of John I of Portugal
- Fernando I of Braganza (1403-1478), second Duke of Braganza, succeeding his father
From his second marriage to Constança de Noronha there was no issue.