Iberian Union

Hispanic Monarchy
Monarchia Hispaniae
1580–1640
Flag of Iberian Union
Royal banner
Coat of arms of Iberian Union
Coat of arms
Map of the Spanish–Portuguese Empire in 1598.
  Territories administered by the Council of Castile
  Territories administered by the Council of Aragon
  Territories administered by the Council of Portugal
  Territories administered by the Council of Italy
  Territories administered by the Council of the Indies
  Territories appointed to the Council of Flanders
Official languagesSpanish • Portuguese
Religion
Roman Catholic
GovernmentComposite monarchy under personal union
King 
• 1580–1598
Philip II and l
• 1598–1621
Philip III and II
• 1621–1640
Philip IV and III
LegislatureCortes of Castile
Courts of Aragon
Courts of Catalonia
Courts of Valencia
Cortes of Navarre
Cortes of Portugal
History 
25 August 1580
1 December 1640
CurrencySpanish real and Portuguese real
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Portugal
Crown of Castile
Crown of Aragon
Habsburg Spain
Kingdom of Portugal
Crown of Castile
Crown of Aragon
Catalan Republic
Habsburg Spain

The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the personal union of the Kingdom of Portugal with the Monarchy of Spain, which in turn was itself the dynastic union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon, and of their respective colonial empires, that existed between 1580 and 1640 and brought the entire Iberian Peninsula except Andorra, as well as Portuguese and Spanish overseas possessions, under the Spanish Habsburg monarchs Philip II, Philip III, and Philip IV. The union began after the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 and the ensuing War of the Portuguese Succession,[1][2] and lasted until the Portuguese Restoration War, during which the House of Braganza was established as Portugal's new ruling dynasty with the acclamation of John IV as the new king of Portugal.[3]

As a personal union, the Kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Castile and the states of the Crown of Aragon remained independent states, sharing only a single monarch. The kings from the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg were the only element that connected the multiple kingdoms and territories, ruled by the six separate government councils of Castile, Aragon, Portugal, Italy, Flanders-Burgundy, and the Indies. For periods, Portugal maintained a viceroy, appointed by the king, although the turnover was often rapid; in the 60 years of the Union, the country had 13 viceroys and four regency councils (see List of viceroys of Portugal). Similar viceroys were appointed in Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and other kingdoms of the Union. The governments, institutions, and legal traditions of each kingdom remained independent of one another.[4] Alien laws (Leyes de extranjería) determined that a national of one kingdom was a foreigner in all other kingdoms.[5][6]

Possessing territories in all known continents of the time, the Iberian Union was the most wide-spread empire of the early modern era. The Union led to Portugal's involvement in the Dutch Revolt against Spain. The Dutch Republic in turn saw the union as a justification to start targeting Portuguese colonies and would weaken Portugal's overseas empire in the Orient.

  1. ^ António Henrique R. de Oliveira Marques, History of Portugal. 1972, p. 322. Boris Fausto, A Concise History of Brazil, p. 40.
  2. ^ "Indicaciones sobre la investigacion "Ciudadanía, identidades complejas y cultura política en los manuales escolares españoles". Centro de Investigación MANES" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-08-09. there is consensus among professional historians that the most adequate term is Hispanic monarchy
  3. ^ Torgal, Luís Reis (1981). "A Restauração – Sua Dinâmica Sócio-política". Ideologia Política e Teoria do Estado na Restauração (in Portuguese). Vol. I. Coimbra: Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra. pp. 69–85. hdl:10316/665. ISBN 9789726160823.
  4. ^ The "Spanish Century"[unreliable source?]
  5. ^ Valdés, Manuel Alvarez-Valdés y (1991). La extranjería en la historia del derecho español (in Spanish). Universidad de Oviedo. ISBN 9788474687378.
  6. ^ La Condición Jurídica de "Español" Como Producto del Derecho Indiano