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John III, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John III (John the Fortunate), 1502–57, king of Portugal (1521–57), son of Manuel I. His reign saw the Portuguese empire at its apogee. The great Asian possessions were extended by further conques...

John IV, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John IV, 1604–56, king of Portugal (1640–56). He succeeded as duke of Braganza in 1630. Descended from Manuel I and in illegitimate line from John I, he had the strongest claim to the Portuguese t...

John V, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John V (John the Magnanimous), 1689–1750, king of Portugal (1706–50), son and successor of Peter II. Before his accession the Methuen Treaty (1703) with England had brought Portugal into the War o...

John VI, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John VI, 1769–1826, king of Portugal (1816–26), son of Maria I and Peter III. When his mother became insane, John assumed the reins of government (1792), although he did not formally become regent...

Peter II, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Peter II, 1648–1706, king of Portugal (1683–1706), younger son of John IV; brother and successor of Alfonso VI. In 1667, he seized power from his incompetent brother and ruled the country as princ...

Peter III, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Peter III, 1717–86, king of Portugal (1777–86), younger brother of Joseph. He married his niece Maria I and was joint ruler with her, though she generally was the dominant figure. ...

Peter V, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Peter V, 1837–61, king of Portugal (1853–61), eldest son and successor of Maria II. Ascending the throne on the death of his mother, he ruled under the regency of his father, Ferdinand II, until 1...

Demetrius I, king of Macedon

(Encyclopedia)Demetrius I (Demetrius Poliorcetes) dĭmēˈtrēəs pŏlˌēôrsēˈtēz [key], c.337–283 b.c., king of Macedon. The son of Antigonus I, he proved himself a very able commander in his father's wars,...

David I, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)David I, 1084–1153, king of Scotland (1124–53), youngest son of Malcolm III and St. Margaret of Scotland. During the reign of his brother Alexander I, whom he succeeded, David was earl of Cumbria,...

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