De las alteraciones de Beja (1593) a la revuelta lisboeta "dos ingleses" (1596)Lucha política en el último Portugal del primer Felipe

Résumé

From 1588 to 1598, Portugal was seriously threatened by the supporters of the Prior do Crato, who attempted to restore D. António to the throne. After the landing of the Pretender on the Portuguese coast in 1589 in company of Sir Francis Drake, the fear of a new English intervention continued to grow. To this threat from abroad a second was added, that of an attempted revolt by the supporters of D. Antonio from within. In 1593 this threat became evident with the appearance oí pasquines calling for a rising against Philip II in Beja, Moura and Mourão. The balance of agreements and rights defined by the Estatuto de Tomar of 1581 was put to the test by this double threat. The result was the realization that it would be impossible to hold and govern Portugal without an alliance between the Crown and the local ruling elite. In 1596 in the face of a possible new attempt by the English, the fidalgos decided to make their support in the defence of Lisbon conditional on being given charge of the operation. This decision marked the defínate recognition of the power of the fidalgos as guarantors of territorial rights and as maximum beneficiaries of the incorporation of Portugal in the Monarquía Hispánica.