Portuguese Cortes facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In the old Medieval Kingdom of Portugal, the Cortes was a special meeting. It brought together important people from different groups in society. These groups were the nobility (lords and ladies), the clergy (church leaders), and the bourgeoisie (townspeople, like merchants and craftspeople). The King of Portugal decided when and where these meetings would happen. When all three groups met, it was called a Cortes-Gerais (General Courts). Smaller meetings with only one or two groups were for specific issues.

What Were the Cortes?

Early Meetings

Kings in Portugal had always held "king's courts" (called Curia Regis). These were meetings where nobles and church leaders gave advice on big decisions. This idea probably came from an old kingdom called the Visigothic Kingdom.

But in the 1200s, towns became more powerful. Kings often needed help from town militias (groups of armed citizens). So, towns that had special rights (called forals) gained the chance to join the king's court. The Cortes meeting in Leiria in 1254 was the first known one to include representatives from the towns. This was similar to what was happening in other kingdoms nearby, like León.

Why the King Called the Cortes

Medieval Portuguese kings usually held small meetings with important people. They only called the full Cortes for very important reasons. A Cortes meeting would happen if the king wanted to:

Introduce new taxes.
Change important laws.
Announce big changes in foreign policy, like signing treaties.
Decide who would be the next king or queen.

Asking for new taxes, especially for wars, was the most common reason to call the Cortes. Nobles and clergy usually did not pay taxes. So, setting taxes meant a lot of talking between the king's advisors and the town representatives.

What Delegates Did

The delegates (called procuradores) not only listened to the king's ideas. They also used the Cortes to present their own requests to the king's advisors. These requests were about many things, such as:

Giving towns more special rights.
Punishing officials who abused their power.
Setting new price limits.
Rules about Jewish people.
Promises about money and coins.

The king's answers to these requests became official laws. This made the Cortes seem like a law-making body. These requests were first called aggravamentos (grievances), then artigos (articles), and later capitulos (chapters). In a Cortes-Gerais, each group (nobility, clergy, townspeople) discussed and voted on requests separately. At least two of the three groups had to agree before a request went to the king's advisors. The king could then accept or reject the whole proposal. If accepted, it became law.

However, the exact power of the Cortes was not always clear. Kings believed they had the right to make laws without the Cortes. The idea was that laws made in the Cortes could only be changed by the Cortes. But kings often found ways around this rule.

Rise and Fall of the Cortes

The Cortes were probably most powerful in the 1300s and 1400s. They were at their strongest when John I of Portugal became king. He relied a lot on the townspeople for his power. After a big crisis from 1383 to 1385, the Cortes met almost every year for a while.

But over time, the Cortes became less important. Portuguese kings got rich from their overseas Portuguese empire. This meant they didn't need money from the Cortes as much.

John II of Portugal (ruled 1481-1495) used the Cortes to weaken powerful nobles, but otherwise didn't call them often.
Manuel I of Portugal (ruled 1495-1521) called them only four times during his long reign.
By the time of King Sebastian (ruled 1554–1578), the Cortes had almost no power.

A Brief Return to Importance

The Cortes surprisingly became important again during the Iberian Union in 1581. This was when the kings of Spain also ruled Portugal. The Cortes then represented Portugal's interests to the new Spanish king. The Cortes played a key role in the Portuguese Restoration War in 1640, which brought a Portuguese king back to the throne. They had a short period of power during the reign of John IV of Portugal (ruled 1640-1656). But by the end of the 1600s, they were pushed aside again.

There were four times when the Cortes were extremely important for Portugal's history:

In 1385, the Cortes of Coimbra crowned John I of Portugal.
In 1438, the Cortes of Torres Novas named D. Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, as regent for Afonso V of Portugal.
In 1581, the Cortes of Tomar crowned Philip II of Spain as King of Portugal.
In 1645-1646, the Cortes of Lisbon recognized John IV of Portugal.

These events show that the Cortes often helped confirm who was the rightful ruler.

The very last Cortes meeting was in 1698. It was just a formality to confirm that Prince John (who would become John V of Portugal) would be the next king after Peter II of Portugal. After this, Portuguese kings ruled as absolute monarchs, meaning they had all the power and didn't need to consult anyone. No Cortes met for over 100 years.

This changed with the Liberal Revolution of 1820. This revolution led to a new constitution and a permanent parliament. This new parliament kept the old name of Cortes Gerais.

Important Cortes Meetings

Afonso III of Portugal (1248–1279)

1254 – Cortes of Leiria: This was the first Cortes to include representatives from the towns. They discussed taxes and trade rules.
1261 – Cortes of Guimarães: They talked about changes to the money. The king promised not to change the value of coins often.

Denis of Portugal (1279–1325)

1285 – Cortes of Lisbon: The Cortes approved new investigations into land ownership, even for nobles. They also made a law stopping religious groups from buying land.
1289 – Cortes of Lisbon: They agreed on a treaty with the Pope, which helped settle disagreements about church rights.

John I of Portugal (1385–1433)

1385 – Cortes of Coimbra: This was a very important meeting. It chose John, Master of Aviz, to be King John I of Portugal. The Cortes also said the king must include town representatives in his council. He also could not make new taxes or go to war without their permission.
1391 – Cortes of Coimbra: This Cortes introduced the Jewish badge, a red Star of David that Jewish people had to wear on their clothes.

Edward of Portugal (1433–1438)

1435 – Cortes of Évora: They approved the Lei Mental, a law about how feudal lands were passed down. If there was no direct male heir, the land would go back to the king.
1437 – Cortes of Leiria: This meeting failed to approve a treaty to give back the city of Ceuta to Morocco in exchange for a captured prince.

Queen Eleanor of Aragon (Regent for Afonso V) (1438–1439)

1438 – Cortes of Torres Novas: This Cortes reviewed the will of the late King Edward. It also passed a law saying the Cortes should meet every year, though this didn't really happen.
1439 – Cortes of Lisbon: This Cortes chose Peter of Coimbra to be the new regent for the young King Afonso V of Portugal.

Afonso V of Portugal (1448–1481)

1451 – Cortes of Santarém: The townspeople complained that the king was making laws without the Cortes. They insisted that laws passed in the Cortes could only be changed by the Cortes.
1465 – Cortes of Guarda: The Cortes refused to get involved in a war in Castile, even though the queen of Castile asked for help.

John II of Portugal (1481–1495)

1481 – Cortes of Évora: This was an important meeting where the king tried to reduce the power of the high nobility.

Manuel I of Portugal (1495–1521)

1495 – Cortes of Montemor-o-Novo: They reviewed the will of the previous king and discussed a planned trip to India.

John III of Portugal (1521–1557)

1525 – Cortes of Torres Novas: This Cortes required the king to call a Cortes meeting at least once every ten years.

Philip I (II of Spain) (1581–1598)

1581 – Cortes of Tomar: This was a very important meeting. It recognized Philip II of Spain as the new King of Portugal, but it also set out rules for how he would rule Portugal, keeping some of Portugal's independence.

John IV of Portugal (1640–1656)

1645-1646 – Cortes of Lisbon: This Cortes officially recognized John IV of Portugal as the king after Portugal regained its independence from Spain.

Peter II of Portugal (1683–1706)

1697-1698 – Cortes of Lisbon: This was the very last Cortes meeting. It was held just to confirm that Prince John (who would become John V of Portugal) was the rightful heir to the throne.

After this last Cortes, Portuguese kings ruled as absolute monarchs. This means they had complete power and did not need to call the Cortes again for over a century. This changed with the Liberal Revolution of 1820, which led to a new system with a proper parliament, still called Cortes Gerais.