WORLD COINS

Beatrice was the only daughter of King Ferdinand I of Portugal and his wife, Leonor. After the death of her male siblings, she became the presumed heir to the throne, and her marriage to the King of Castile, John I, was arranged through the Treaty of Salvaterra de Magos (April 1383). The treaty stipulated that both kingdoms would remain separate, even if their rulers were the same, and that Beatrice would be recognised as the rightful queen. Regarding the succession to the throne, all illegitimate descendants of the Royal House of Portugal were excluded (i.e., the children of King Peter I and Inês de Castro, as well as the child he had with Teresa Lourenço, John, Master of the Order of Aviz). The governance of the kingdom would be entrusted to Ferdinand’s widow until a male offspring of Beatrice reached the age of 14. However, when a few months later (October 1383) the king died and Leonor took over the government in the name of her daughter, several nobles and cities expressed their opposition. A popular rebellion in Lisbon named the Master of Aviz as Regent in the name of his half-brother Infante John, then a prisoner in Castile. For his part, John I of Castile decided to claim his rights: he entered Portugal through Guarda and persuaded Leonor to relinquish the regency in favour of Beatrice and himself (Santarém, January, 1384). The Castilian forces failed to control Portugal (1384), and in April 1385, the Portuguese decided to name the Master of Aviz as their new king (John I of Portugal), who consolidated his position by defeating the Castilians at Aljubarrota (August 14).