John III (or João III, Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃ũ]; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed o Piedoso ("the Pious"), was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves.
Born in Lisbon, he was the son of King Manuel I and his queen consort, Maria of Aragon (the third daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain). John succeeded his father in 1521, at the age of nineteen.
During his rule, Portuguese possessions were extended in Asi...
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John III (or João III, Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃ũ]; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed o Piedoso ("the Pious"), was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves.
Born in Lisbon, he was the son of King Manuel I and his queen consort, Maria of Aragon (the third daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain). John succeeded his father in 1521, at the age of nineteen.
During his rule, Portuguese possessions were extended in Asia and in the New World through the Portuguese colonization of Brazil. John III's policy of reinforcing Portugal's bases in India (such as Goa) secured Portugal's monopoly over the spice trade of cloves from the Moluccas and nutmeg from the Banda Islands, as a result of which John III has been called the "Grocer King". On the eve of his death in 1557, the Portuguese empire spanned almost 1 billion acres.
During his reign, the Portuguese became the first Europeans to make contact with both China, under the Ming Dynasty, and Japan, during the...
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