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insults and humiliations that were heaped upon him, the now-dying
Charles II roused himself in a last gasp of indignation and pride to dic-
tate a will that left all of Spain's territories in Europe, Africa, Asia, and
America to his great-nephew Philippe, duke of Anjou (the grandson of
Louis XIV and the Infanta María Teresa). The last king of Spain's
Habsburg monarchy died in November 1700, amidst attempts to exor-
cise demons and accusations by the Inquisition that renegade members
of the clergy were trying to seize control of the royal sickroom. The sad
end of the man whom his pitying subjects called “Charles the Bewitched”
seemed all too tragic a metaphor for the fate of a country that had once
sought to rule the globe and dictate the terms upon which Christianity
would survive. Now Spain was about to become a prey of her oldest
and most bitter enemies.
PORTUGAL REGAINS ITS INDEPENDENCE
When Portugal rose against the Spanish overlordship in 1640, seeking
to end 60 years of tyranny, the people could scarcely have imagined
that it would take them 28 years of struggle to attain their liberation. It
would, indeed, be a people's war, for the impetus toward independence
came from the lower classes in 1640, just as the rank and file had
resisted Philip II's initial occupation. The nobles, higher clergy, and
merchant elite had welcomed the union then and only gradually moved
into a posture of antagonism. Many aristocrats and prelates, as well as
the Portuguese Inquisition, remained loyal to Spain well into the 1650s,
even after other segments of the upper class followed the popular lead.
The decisive commitment came from the duke of Bragança, a descen-
dant of Portugal's medieval kings. His family had originally acknowl-
edged Philip II and were ostentatiously loyal in Philip III's day. But
when Duke João permitted himself to be proclaimed King John IV in
1640, he became the rallying point of the insurrection and remained its
leader for the next 16 years. He projected the image of the people's
choice, by accepting the acclamation of the cortes with the stipulations
that power came from God to the people and through them to the king
and that the king was answerable to the nation and might legitimately
be removed if he failed to govern in the national interest. While the
overseas territories quickly rallied to John, the independence fight was
a bitter one on the Iberian Peninsula, and the military weakness of a
country with a population of only 2 million contending against an
enemy three times its size resulted in a series of near-desperate
moments. At one point, the Portuguese government considered evacu-
ating Lisbon and carrying on the fight from Brazil. Eventually, however,
 
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