| Henrique, 1085-1139 |
The founder of Portugal. The Templars were also founded and established in Portugal during this period. |
| Afonso I, 1139-1185 |
Also known as Afonso Henriques, he fought the Saracens, extending his rule down into southern Portugal. His reign was a period of growth for the Templars in Portugal. |
| Sancho I, 1185-1211 |
Sancho carried on the battle against the Moors. The Templars fought off a seige at Tomar during his reign. |
| Afonso II, 1211-1223 |
Afonso regained Alçacar do Sal with the help of the Templars. |
| Sancho II, 1223-1246 |
Sancho was a weak King, and was eventually overthrown by his brother. |
| Afonso III, 1248-1279 |
Afonso the brave conquered the Algarve from the Moors and introduced a period of cultural advance. |
| Dinis, 1279-1325 |
Dinis ('the farmer') carried out much reform, and exerted himself to control the military orders. In his reign the Templars met their downfall, which led to the foundation of the Order of Christ. |
| Afonso IV, 1325-1357 |
Afonso was a brave king. At the end of his life he was involved in the tragedy of his son Pedro's lover, Ines de Castro, ordering her execution. |
| Pedro, 1357-1367 |
A rigorous ruler, Pedro's first act was to revenge himself on those involved in the death of Ines de Castro. |
| Fernando I, 1367-1383 |
Fernando, Pedro's son, was gentle and negligent. |
| João I, 1383-1433 |
João was Pedro's bastard son. He founded the house of Avis. Prince Henry the Navigator was his third son. |
| Duarte, 1433-1438 |
Joao's son, Prince Henry's brother. |
| Afonso V, 1438-1481 |
Duarte's son, Prince Henry's nephew. |
| João II, 1481-1495 |
Afonso's son. João supported the discoveries, sponsoring Dias's expedition to round the Cape of Africa. |
| Manuel, 1495-1521 |
João's cousin, Manuel, reigned over a golden era, forming the Portuguese Empire, with India being reached by Vasco da Gama and Brazil by Cabral. |
| Manuel's son, João III, promoted the settlement of Brazil and introduced the Inquisition into Portugal to enforce religious uniformity. By the time he died in 1557, Portugal had begun to decline as a political and commercial power. | |
| Sebastian, 1557-1578 |
This trend continued under King Sebastian, who was killed during an expedition against Morocco in 1578. |
| Cardinal Henry, 1578-1580 |
The son of Manual I, Henry was educated for the priesthood and was made a cardinal in 1545. He acted as regent for King Sebastian, and succeeded to the throne when Sebastian was killed at the Battle of the Three Kings in Morocco. Henry left no heir, and the Avis dynasty ended with him. |
| Philip I, 1580- 1598 Philip II, 1598-1621 Philip III, 1621-1640 |
When Henry died, seven claimants disputed the succession to the throne. The most powerful was Philip II, king of Spain, who in 1580 became Philip I of Portugal. After 1600, Portuguese domination of trade with the East Indies was lost to the Dutch and the English. Under Philip I, Portugal enjoyed considerable autonomy, but his successors, Philip II (Philip III of Spain) and Philip III (Philip IV of Spain), treated it as a Spanish province, provoking widespread discontent. |
| João IV 1640-1656 |
João IV proclaimed himself king after driving out the Spanish usurpers in 1640. In 1649 and 1654 the Portuguese won important naval victories over the Dutch off the coast of Brazil, thereby regaining their possessions in South America. |
| Afonso VI 1656-1667 |
The son of King João IV, Afonso was paralyzed and unsound in mind, and was deposed in 1667 and exiled to the Azores by his brother Pedro, who acted as regent until Afonso's death. |
| Pedro II 1667-1706 |
Brother and successor to Afonso VI |
| João V 1706-1750 |
The son of Pedro II. |
| Joseph Emanuel,
1750-1777 |
The statesman Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Mello, Marques de Pombal, was the virtual ruler of the country during the reign of Joseph Emanuel. |
| Maria I, 1777-1816 |
Joseph Emanuel's daughter. |
| João VI, 1816-1826 |
Son of Queen Maria I of Portugal. In 1792, after Maria became insane, João ruled in her name; in 1799 he formally became regent. |