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the declining strength of Spain and assistance given, however intermit-
tently, by Spain's antagonists tipped the balance.
By the time formal recognition of Portuguese independence was
gained in 1668, both Philip IV and John IV were dead, the former hav-
ing been succeeded by the feeble Charles II, and the latter, by the men-
tally defective Afonso VI. Each country pursued a policy of survival and
recovery under regencies. In the case of Portugal the rule of the queen
mother was terminated in favor of a ministerial government that man-
aged to keep the unbalanced young king in check while seeking to
restore political and economic order. This was not an easy task, for even
the supposed benefit of marrying the Princess Catalina to King Charles
II of England was largely illusory, and the goodwill of France was always
unreliable. The Dutch, who had become Portugal's enemy when it was
linked to Spain, agreed to a settlement in Europe once that link no
longer existed but persisted in pursuing their seizure of Portuguese ter-
ritory overseas. The situation improved when in 1668 the king's brother,
Prince Pedro, replaced the incompetent monarch who was confined in
the Azores until his death in 1683. First as regent, recognized by the
cortes,
and then as King Peter II, the new ruler and his chief ministers
settled the outstanding international issues and presided over a period
of stability much needed by their country.
Unlike Spain, whose status was declining into that of an interna-
tional victim, Portugal spent the closing years of the 17th century on a
rising trajectory of enhanced prestige and growing prosperity. It avoided
any further military or diplomatic entanglements and maintained
domestic tranquillity and social harmony. Portugal had suffered the loss
of most of its empire in Asia because of its affiliation with Spain (in
contrast to Spain, which had given up only Jamaica and the western
part of Hispaniola). Even in the colonial sphere, however, Portugal was
about to experience a happy reversal of fortune, for the turn of the
century saw the discovery of gold and diamond deposits in Brazil that
led to a huge influx of wealth and a new age of grandeur during the
early 1700s.
SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE CULTURE IN THE
GOLDEN AGE
Between 1500 and 1700 Spain and Portugal had achieved a level of
fame and fortune without parallel in the Western world since the fall
of the Roman Empire. In the centuries to come they would look back
upon this, their own imperial epoch, as their time of greatest achieve-
ment. This was particularly true for Spain, which became the admira-
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