gaskells:queens of portugal; maria of aragon (1482-1517)Maria of Aragon was born in Cordoba in 1482,

gaskells:queens of portugal; maria of aragon (1482-1517)Maria of Aragon was born in Cordoba in 1482, the third daughter and fourth child of the Catholic Kings, the only one to survive from the twin pregnancy. The infantas were all given a careful instruction in Latin, History, Philosophy, Music, Sciences and Arts, and considered the best educated ladies in Europe. She was, however, considered the least handsome of the daughters of Isabel and Fernando. In 1500, Maria was married by proxy to her sister’s widower, Manuel I of Portugal. The match had been previously suggested, but Manuel had preferred her older sister Isabel, the Dowager Princess of Portugal. The castilian ambassador, in letters to her parents, described her happiness in the first weeks of her marriage, as well as the King’s fondness for his new wife, and her good relationship with her mother-in-law, the powerful Duchess Beatriz.In January of 1502, Maria gave birth to the first of eight surviving children, João III. Despite the image of a Queen distant from politics, recent studies have began presenting Maria as a more active participant, the main link between Portugal and the Catholic Kings in disputes between the two kingdom and as an investor in her own right in the early spice trade. She was also the great supporter of her husband’s goals of organizing an alliance of Christian Kings with himself at the head, thus establishing himself as Emperor, as well as openly disagreeing with his choice of Governor of India. Adding to the great affection and respect Maria garnered from her husband was also the matter of his staunch fidelity to his marriage vows, highly unusual for a Renaissance King. In 1516, Maria gave birth to her tenth child, who died after two months. The birth proved fatal, as it was believed to have produced an abscess in her uterus which kept her in great pain until her death, six months later, at the age of 34. Manuel was heartbroken at her death, and shut himself away in the Convent of Penha Longa, for two weeks, before spending a week by her tomb’s side in Xabregas. Her body was later moved to the Monastery of Jerónimos, and she is the only one of Manuel’s three wives to be laid to rest in the same building as her husband. Of her children, two were Kings of Portugal, and her eldest daughter became Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Spain by her marriage to Charles V. -- source link

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