Sancho I of PortugalAge: 57 years1154–1212
- Name
- Sancho I of Portugal
- Given names
- Sancho I
- Surname
- of Portugal
- Name prefix
- King
Birth | November 11, 1154 45 29 |
Death of a mother | Maud of Savoy 1158 (Age 3 years) |
Marriage | Dulce Berenguer of Barcelona — View this family 1174 (Age 19 years) |
Death of a father | Alfonso I of Portugal 1185 (Age 30 years) |
Birth of a daughter #1 | Berengaria of Portugal about 1197 (Age 42 years) |
Death of a wife | Dulce Berenguer of Barcelona 1198 (Age 43 years) |
Record ID number | MH:I282 yes |
Record ID number | Dulce Berenguer of Barcelona — View this family MH:F155 yes |
Death | March 26, 1212 (Age 57 years) |
Family with parents |
father |
Alfonso I of Portugal Birth: 1109 43 29 Death: 1185 — Coimbra |
mother |
Maud of Savoy Birth: 1125 30 13 Death: 1158 |
Marriage: — |
|
himself |
Sancho I of Portugal Birth: November 11, 1154 45 29 — Coimbra Death: March 26, 1212 — Coimbra |
Family with Dulce Berenguer of Barcelona |
himself |
Sancho I of Portugal Birth: November 11, 1154 45 29 — Coimbra Death: March 26, 1212 — Coimbra |
wife |
Dulce Berenguer of Barcelona Birth: 1160 47 25 Death: 1198 |
Marriage: 1174 — |
|
24 years daughter |
Berengaria of Portugal Birth: about 1197 42 37 — Portugal Death: March 27, 1221 |
Shared note | Sancho I (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsɐʃu]), nicknamed the Populator (Portuguese o Povoador), second monarch of Portugal, was born on 11 November 1154 in Coimbra and died on 26 March 1212 in the same city. He was the second but only surviving legitimate son and fourth child of Afonso I Henriques of Portugal by his wife, Maud of Savoy. Sancho succeeded his father in 1185. He used the title King of the Algarve and/or King of Silves between 1189 and 1191
In 1170, Sancho was knighted by his father, King Afonso I, and from then on he became his second in command, both administratively and militarily. At this time, the independence of Portugal (declared in 1139) was not firmly established. The kings of León and Castile were trying to re-annex the country and the Roman Catholic Church was late in giving its blessing and approval. Due to this situation Afonso I had to search for allies within the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal made an alliance with the Kingdom of Aragon and together they fought Castile and León. To secure the agreement, Infante Sancho of Portugal married, in 1174, Infanta Dulce Berenguer, younger sister of King Alfonso II of Aragon. Aragon was thus the first Iberian kingdom to recognize the independence of Portugal.
With the death of Afonso I in 1185, Sancho I became the second king of Portugal. Coimbra was the centre of his kingdom; Sancho terminated the exhausting and generally pointless wars against his neighbours for control of the Galician borderlands. Instead, he turned all his attentions to the south, towards the Moorish small kingdoms (called taifas) that still thrived. With Crusader help he took Silves in 1191. Silves was an important city of the South, an administrative and commercial town with population estimates around 20,000 people. Sancho ordered the fortification of the city and built a castle which is today an important monument of Portuguese heritage. However, military attention soon had to be turned again to the North, where León and Castile threatened again the Portuguese borders. Silves was again lost to the Moors. It should be noted that the global Muslim population had climbed to about 6 per cent as against the Christian population of 12 per cent by 1200.
Sancho I dedicated much of his reign to political and administrative organization of the new kingdom. He accumulated a national treasure, supported new industries and the middle class of merchants. Moreover, he created several new towns and villages (like Guarda in 1199) and took great care in populating remote areas in the northern Christian regions of Portugal, notably with Flemings and Burgundians – hence the nickname "the Populator". The king was also known for his love of knowledge and literature. Sancho I wrote several books of poems and used the royal treasure to send Portuguese students to European universities. |
Shared note | Records not imported into INDI (individual) Gramps ID I0248:
Line ignored as not understood Line 23852: 2 _WT_USER Karsten
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