Afonso Henriques Portugal’s First King

My first king Afonso Henriques, Portugal’s first king, a man whose willpower started an empire. Afonso was the son of a French crusader, Henrique, who had distinguished himself in the reconquest of the Iberian peninsula, and who had received the portucalense county (northern Portugal) and the daughter of King Afonso sixth of Leon, (kingdom in present-day Spain) as a reward. But Henrique’s goal was more than just managing the county, he wanted to become independent, he ended up dying without ever realizing that dream, which would be inherited by his son. Afonso Henriques still in his youth, incited by people like his uncle São Bernardo de Claraval among others, claims the throne opposing his mother, who had allied herself with a Galician count (kingdom of Galicia, Spain). The destiny had to be fulfilled Afonso Henriques in 1128 faced his mother’s army on the battlefield and emerged victorious. From that moment on, his actions had led to the beginning of a two-pronged war, to fight the Spanish kingdoms for the independence of the Portucalense Kingdom, later Portugal, which means nothing less than Port of Graal, and a war against Muslims, for the Christian reconquest. For years, battle after battle, Afonso Henriques was victorious against the Spanish kingdoms and at the same time he regained almost the entire territory of what is today Portugal. Fanaticism and an absolute belief in his mission paid off Our first king was also a Templar knight, later the order was extinguished by the pope, he would receive new life at the hands of the Portuguese nobles would be called the order of Christ. The order launched the famous era of Portuguese discoveries where Portugal conquered and discovered half the world, of these colonies, stand out whether Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Macau, and even parts of India The India that later led to one of the most heroic Portuguese naval battles ever, the battle of IUD. This battle arose after the death of the son of the Portuguese administrator of India, Francisco de Almeida, who, refusing the orders of King João, decides to avenge himself on the Ottoman empire that, together with Mamelukes (Muslims) and Venetians, had sworn to dethrone Portugal as king of the seas, and they had killed their son On February 3, 1509, the Diu Batalha takes place, where 18 Portuguese ships destroyed between 100 and 200 enemy ships And they proved once again that with strength, honor and will the European man is able to put the world at his feet again.

VITOR Coelho