Kingdom of Portugal

The Kingdom of Portugal, throughout its existence from 1139 to 1910, was an intrinsically Catholic monarchy, where religion was not limited to one belief, but constituted the very foundation of national identity and the legitimacy of royal power. This link between the Crown and the Church was so deep that the king was not only the political ruler, but also held the title of “Catholic King” and exercised an almost ecclesiastical authority over the overseas domains through the regime of the Portuguese Padroado. This agreement, signed with the Holy See, delegated to the monarch the exclusive power to organize, finance and appoint bishops and clergy for all churches in the discovered lands, transforming maritime expansion into a true mission to propagate the Catholic faith. On the other hand, the Papacy recognized the independence of the kingdom, as in the bull Manifestis Probatum of 1179, solidifying the idea that Portugal was a kingdom whose destiny was divinely linked to the defense and expansion of Catholicism. This union between the throne and the altar was reinforced by the implementation of measures of the Catholic Reform, such as the introduction of the Court of the Holy Office (Inquisition) in 1536 to eradicate heresies, the strict control of publications through the Index and the strong educational and missionary presence of the Society of Jesus, which catechized in the Empire and formed the elites in the kingdom. Thus, being Portuguese was, by definition, being Catholic, and the kingdom’s own legislation, compiled in codes such as the Manueline and Philippine Ordinances, was permeated by principles of canon law, reflecting a society where temporal and spiritual power were inextricably fused in the construction and maintenance of the empire.

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