Dom John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil and King of Portugal until his death in 1826.
John VI was born in Lisbon during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King Dom Joseph I of Portugal. He was the second son of the Princess of Brazil and Infante Peter of Portugal, who later became Queen Dona Maria I and King Dom Peter III. In 1785, John married Carlota Joaquina of Spain, with whom he had nine children. He became heir to the throne when his older brother, Prince José, died of smallpox in 1788. Before his accession to the throne, John bore the titles Duke of Braganza, Duke of Beja, and Prince of Brazil. From 1799, he served as prince regent due to his mother's mental illness. In 1816, he succeeded his mother as monarch of the Portuguese Empire, with no real change in his authority, since he already possessed absolute powers as regent.
One of the last representatives of absolute monarchy in Europe, John lived during a turbulent period; his reign never saw a lasting peace. Throughout his period of rule, major powers such as Spain, France, and Great Britain continually intervened in Portuguese affairs. Forced to flee across the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil when troops of Emperor Napoleon I invaded Portugal, he found himself faced there with liberal revolts; he was compelled to return to Europe amid new conflicts. His marriage was no less conflictual, as his wife Carlota Joaquina repeatedly conspired against John in favor of personal interests or those of her native Spain.
John lost Brazil when his son Pedro declared independence, and his other son Miguel (later Dom Miguel I of Portugal) led a rebellion that sought to depose him. According to recent scholarly research, his death may well have been caused by arsenic poisoning. Notwithstanding these tribulations, John left a lasting mark, especially in Brazil, where he helped to create numerous institutions and services that laid a foundation for national autonomy, and many historians consider him to be a true mastermind of the modern Brazilian state. John's contemporaries viewed him as a kind and benevolent king, although later generations of Portuguese and Brazilians have made him the subject of frequent caricature. However, in recent decades his reputation has been restored as a clever king who was able to balance many competing interests.
Early life
João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael was born 13 May 1767 during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King Dom Joseph I of Portugal. He was the second son of the King's eldest daughter and heir, Dona Maria, Princess of Brazil (later Queen Dona Maria I) and Infante Peter of Portugal (later King Dom Peter III). Peter was not only Maria's husband, but also her paternal uncle.
John was ten years old when his grandfather died and his mother ascended to the throne. His childhood and youth were lived quietly in the shadow of Queen Maria I's older son and heir apparent, José, Prince of Brazil and Duke of Braganza. Folklore has Infante John as a rather uncultured youth, but according to Jorge Pedreira e Costa, he received as rigorous an education as his brother José did. Still, a French ambassador of the time painted him in unfavorable colors, seeing him as hesitant and dim. The record of this period of his life is too vague for historians to form any definitive picture.Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores. D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes. Companhia das Letras, 2008, pp. 31–35. In Portuguese. Little is known of the substance of his education. He surely received instruction in religion, law, French, and etiquette, and would presumably have learned history through reading the works of Duarte Nunes de Leão and João de Barros.Pedreira e Costa, p. 42
Marriage and succession
In 1785, Henrique de Meneses, 3rd Marquis of Louriçal, arranged a marriage between John and Infanta Carlota Joaquina of Spain, daughter of the Prince and Princess of Asturias (later King Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa). Fearing a new Iberian Union, some in the Portuguese court viewed John's marriage to a Spanish infanta unfavorably. Carlota Joaquina endured four days of testing by the Portuguese ambassadors before the marriage pact was confirmed. Because John and Carlota Joaquina were related and because of the bride's youth (she was only 10 years old at the time), the marriage required a papal dispensation. They were second cousins, as John's grandmother, Mariana Victoria, was the sister of Carlota's grandfather, King Charles III of Spain. After being confirmed, the marriage capitulation was signed in the throne room of the Spanish court with great pomp and with the participation of both kingdoms. It was followed immediately by a proxy marriage.Pedreira e Costa, pp. 38–43 The marriage was consummated five years later.
Carlota Joaquina was received at the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa at the beginning of May 1785, and on 9 June, the couple received a nuptial benediction at the palace chapel. However, the marriage seemed to be an uncomfortable one. An assiduous correspondence between John and Mariana at that time reveals that the absence of his sister weighed upon him and, comparing her to his young wife, he wrote, "She is very smart and has a lot of judgment, whereas you have rather little, and I like her a lot, but for all that I cannot love her equally." John's young bride was not inclined to docility, requiring at times the correction of Queen Maria herself. In addition, the difference in their ages (John being 17 years old) made him uncomfortable and anxious. Because Carlota Joaquina was so young, the marriage had not been consummated, and John wrote, "Here's to the arrival of the time when I shall play a lot with the Infanta. The way these things go, I think six years from now. Better that she be a bit more grown up than when she came." The consummation waited until 1790. In 1793, Carlota Joaquina gave birth to the first of nine children: Teresa, Princess of Beira.
The death of John's older brother, José, on 11 September 1788, left John as the heir apparent to the throne, with the titles of Prince of Brazil and Duke of Braganza.Cronologia Período Joanino . Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, 2010. In Portugal. Great things had been hoped for from José, who associated himself with the progressive ideas of the Enlightenment and appeared to have been inclined toward the anti-clerical policies of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal.
John, in contrast, was well known for his religiosity and his attachment to absolutism. The crisis of succession was aggravated with the death in November 1788 of the Queen's confessor, Inácio de São Caetano, the titular archbishop of Thessalonica. The Archbishop had been a powerful political figure, influencing a controversial choice of the Queen's ministers that favored John, but not without encountering strong opposition from important fidalgos who had ambitions for those posts. In the year after the deaths of his brother and the Archbishop, John became ill to the extent that his own survival was uncertain. He recovered, but in 1791, he again fell ill "bleeding from the mouth and intestines", according to notes left by the chaplain of the Marquis of Marialva, who added that John's spirit was always depressed. This created a tense climate and uncertainty about his future reign.Pedreira e Costa, pp. 42–54
Regency
Meanwhile, the Queen showed increasing signs of mental instability. As a result, of her illness, the queen was deemed unfit to rule and John essentially took control of the country. John was reluctant to take the reins of power, rejecting the idea of a formal regency. This opened the way for elements of the nobility to form a de facto government via a Council. Rumors circulated that John exhibited symptoms of the same insanity, and that he might be prevented from ruling. According to longstanding laws that guided the institution of regency, were the regent to die or become incapable for any reason, and having children of less than fourteen years (which was John's situation at the time), government would be exercised by the guardians of those children or, if guardians had not been formally named, by the wife of the regent. In John's case, that would have been a Spanish infanta. Fear, suspicion and intrigue engulfed the entire institutional framework of the nation.Pedreira e Costa, pp. 59–63
At the same time, the French Revolution perplexed and horrified the reigning houses of Europe. In January 1793, the revolutionaries executed their former king Louis XVI, precipitating an international response. On 15 July, Portugal signed a treaty with Spain, and on 26 September allied itself with Great Britain. Both treaties pledged mutual aid against revolutionary France and brought six thousand Portuguese soldiers into the War of the Pyrenees (1793–1795), a campaign that began with an advance to Roussillon in France and ended in defeat with the French conquest of northeastern Spain. This created a delicate diplomatic problem, as Portugal could not make peace with France without damaging an alliance with Britain that involved several overseas interests. The Portuguese thus sought a neutrality that proved fragile and tense.Strobel, Thomas. A "Guerra das Laranjas" e a "Questão de Olivença" num contexto internacional. GRIN Verlag, 2008, pp. 3–4. In Portuguese.Souza, Laura de Mello e. O sol e a sombra: política e administração na América portuguesa do século XVIII. Companhia das Letras, 2006, p. 394 In Portuguese.