Afonso III of Portugal

"Afonso III" redirects here. For other uses, see Afonso III of Kongo.

Afonso III
King Afonso in Genealogia dos Reis de Portugal (António de Holanda; 1530-1534)
Preceded by	Sancho II
Succeeded by	Denis
Preceded by	Sancho I as King of Silves
Succeeded by	Denis
Preceded by	Matilda II
Succeeded by	Matilda II
Personal details
Born	(1210-05-05)May 5, 1210 Coimbra, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	February 16, 1279(1279-02-16) (aged 68) Alcobaça, Kingdom of Portugal
Spouse(s)	Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne Beatrice of Castile
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Afonso III (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu]; rare English alternatives: Alphonzo or Alphonse), or Affonso (Archaic Portuguese), Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin), the Bolognian (Port. o Bolonhês), King of Portugal (5 May 1210 – 16 February 1279) was the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249. He was the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal and his wife, Urraca of Castile; he succeeded his brother, King Sancho II of Portugal, who died on 4 January 1248.

Early life

Afonso was born in Coimbra. As the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal, he was not expected to inherit the throne, which was destined to go to his elder brother Sancho.

He lived mostly in France, where he married Matilda, the heiress of Boulogne, in 1238, thereby becoming Count of Boulogne, Mortain, Aumale and Dammartin-en-Goële jure uxoris.

Reign

Afonso III of Portugal

Portrait of D. Afonso III as king of Portugal

In 1246, conflicts between his brother, the king, and the church became unbearable. In 1247, Pope Innocent IV ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and to be replaced by the Count of Boulogne. Afonso, of course, did not refuse the papal order and consequently marched to Portugal. Since Sancho was not a popular king and the order was not hard to enforce, he fled in exile to Toledo, Castile, where he died on 4 January 1248. Until his brother's death and his own eventual coronation, Afonso retained and used the title of Visitador, Curador e Defensor do Reino (Overseer, Curator and Defender of the Kingdom).

In order to ascend the throne Afonso abdicated his rights to the county of Boulogne in 1248. In 1253, he divorced Matilde in order to marry Beatrice of Castile, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X, King of Castile, and Mayor Guillén de Guzmán.

Determined not to make the same mistakes as his brother, Afonso III paid special attention to what the middle class, composed of merchants and small land owners, had to say. In 1254, in the city of Leiria, he held the first session of the Cortes, a general assembly comprising the nobility, the middle class and representatives of all municipalities. He also made laws intended to restrain the upper classes from abusing the least favored part of the population. Remembered as a notable administrator, Afonso III founded several towns, granted the title of city to many others and reorganized public administration.

Afonso showed extraordinary vision for the time. Progressive measures taken during his kingship include: representatives of the commons, besides the nobility and clergy, were involved in governance; the end of preventive arrests such that henceforward all arrests had to be first presented to a judge to determine the detention measure; and fiscal innovation, such as negotiating extraordinary taxes with the mercantile classes and direct taxation of the Church, rather than debasement of the coinage. These may have led to his excommunication by the holy see and possibly precipitated his death, and his son Denis's premature rise to the throne at only 18 years old.

Secure on the throne, Afonso III then proceeded to make war with the Muslim communities that still thrived in the south. In his reign the Algarve became part of the kingdom, following the capture of Faro.

Final years and death

Following his success against the Moors, Afonso III had to deal with a political situation concerning the country's borders with Castile. The neighbouring kingdom considered that the newly acquired lands of the Algarve should be Castilian, not Portuguese, which led to a series of wars between the two kingdoms. Finally, in 1267, the Treaty of Badajoz (1267) was signed in Badajoz, determining that the southern border between Castile and Portugal should be the River Guadiana, as it is today.

Afonso died in Alcobaça, Coimbra or Lisbon, aged 68.

Marriages and descendants

Afonso's first wife was Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne, daughter of Renaud, Count of Dammartin, and Ida, Countess of Boulogne. They had no surviving children. He divorced Matilda in 1253 and, in the same year, married Beatrice of Castile, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X, King of Castile, and Mayor Guillén de Guzmán.

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
By Matilda II of Boulogne (c. 1202–1262; married in 1239)
By Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303; married in 1253)
Blanche	25 February 1259	17 April 1321	Lady of Las Huelgas
Fernando (Ferdinand)	1260	1262
Dinis (Denis)	9 October 1261	7 January 1325	Succeeded him as Denis, 6th King of Portugal. Married Infanta Isabel of Aragon.
Afonso	8 February 1263	2 November 1312	Lord of Portalegre. Married to Violante Manuel of Castile (daughter of Manuel of Castile).
Sancha	2 February 1264	c. 1302
Maria	21 November 1264	6 June 1304	Nun in the Convent of Saint John in Coimbra.
Constança (Constance)	1266	1271
Vicente (Vincent)	1268	1271
By Madragana (Mor Afonso) (c. 1230-?)
Martim Afonso Chichorro	c. 1250	a. 1313	Natural son; Married Inês Lourenço de Valadres.
Urraca Afonso	c. 1260	?	Natural daughter; Married twice: 1st to D. Pedro Anes de Riba Vizela, 2nd to João Mendes de Briteiros
By Maria Peres de Enxara (?-?)
Afonso Dinis	c. 1260	a. 1310	Natural son; Married to D. Maria Pais Ribeira, Lady of the House of Sousa.
Other natural offspring
Leonor Afonso	c. 1250	1291	Natural daughter. Married twice: 1st to D. Estevão Anes de Sousa (without issue), 2nd to D. Gonçalo Garcia de Sousa, Count of Neiva (without issue).
Gil Afonso	1250	31 December 1346	Natural son; Knight of the Order of the Hospital.
Fernando Afonso	?	?	Natural son; Knight of the Order of the Hospital.
Rodrigo Afonso	1258	about 12 May 1272	Natural son; Prior of the city of Santarém.
Leonor Afonso (nun)	?	1259	Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Santa Clara of Santarém.
Urraca Afonso	1250	4 November 1281	Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Lorvão.
Henrique Afonso	?	?	Natural son; Married to Inês (last name unknown).