Iberian Union (Philip II's Annexation of Portugal)

Name: Iberian Union (Philip II's Annexation of Portugal)
Start: 1580
End: 1581

Type Event Region Iberian Peninsula Time 1580–1581

In 1580, Spain's Philip II, claiming dynastic right through the House of Avis, invaded and annexed Portugal amid a vacant throne after the Battle of …

Timeline

1578–1580Lisbon · PortugalAfter King Sebastian I fell in battle, the Portuguese regent queen and the council of nobles reached a succession deadlock. Philip II pressed a blood claim through his grandmother, a daughter of Manuel I, while António Crato claimed the throne through illegitimate descent; both sides sought support at home and abroad.
1580Portugal–Spain border · Iberian PeninsulaPhilip II sent the Duke of Alba, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, to lead Spanish forces into Portugal from the eastern frontier, defeating Antonio's armed supporters at Alcântara and elsewhere; Antonio fled into exile in England and France seeking aid.
1581Tomar · PortugalThe 1581 Cortes of Tomar formally recognized Philip II as King of Portugal (Philip I); Portugal retained its own legal code and administration of overseas territories, but diplomacy and defense were coordinated from Madrid. The two colonial empires merged, expanding their global sphere of influence unprecedentedly, until Portugal's war of independence broke out in 1640.

Sources

Iberian Union https://www.britannica.com/topic/Iberian-Union
Philip of Spain — Henry Kamen (1997)