Francisco de Portugal, 3rd Count of Vimioso
Portuguese poet (1550-1582)
Francisco de Portugal, also known as Francis II of Portugal, 3rd Count of Vimioso (c. 1550 – 1582), was the eldest son and heir of the 2nd Count of Vimioso, Afonso de Portugal (Alphonse of Portugal).
He was one of the few high-ranking Portuguese nobles to support the claims of António, Prior of Crato, during the War of the Portuguese Succession (1580–1583).
Early life
As his first official position, he was appointed special ambassador to Madrid (1574) in order to negotiate the marriage of King Sebastian of Portugal to Princess Maximiliana of Bavaria (daughter of Duke Albert V of Bavaria), but the mission failed.
Later, in 1578, along with his father, he participated in the royal crusade to Morocco, and he fell prisoner to Ahmad al-Mansur's armies during the Battle of Ksar El Kebir. He managed to pay his ransom and even helped others to pay theirs. He returned to Europe through San Lucar, in southern Spain, where he was received with all honours by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, Alonso de Guzman. As he testified of the King's death during the battle, there and for the first time he supported Dom António, Prior of Crato as the natural heir of the Portuguese throne, refuting the Spanish Duke's position for Philip II of Spain's claims.
Fight for freedom
After King Henry's death (31 January 1580), Francis of Portugal was one of the few members of the upper aristocracy to support actively Dom António as King of Portugal. He was appointed by the new King as his Constable, and they participated together in the Battle of Alcântara (1580), defending Lisbon from the Spanish armies, led by the Duke of Alba.
The public source identifies “Francisco de Portugal, 3rd Count of Vimioso” as portuguese poet (1550-1582). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Francisco, Portugal and Count.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 19, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q7683102. VIAF identifies the subject as 281125896. The Library of Congress control number is n97121736. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1550, 1582, 1580 and 1583.
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This entry incorporates text from “Francisco de Portugal, 3rd Count of Vimioso” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.