A Detailed History on the Trans-Atlantic African Slave Trade

By Oswald Woode

This African slave trade history is a detailed account of Africa's slave history that started in the fifteenth century. It was started by the southern European Portuguese monarchs, the family of royal lineages. Portugal's golden age of discovery in sea exploration led Portugal to Africa by sea by the 1430s. Then later, in 1492, Christopher Columbus accidentally landed on the Native Indian American continent. Columbus's trip was sponsored by Spanish royal families. That was the period when the Roman Catholic nations, Portugal and Spain, were the dominant European nations. Spain liberated her whole territory from Islamic occupation in late 1400s.

The Catholic Church was also very involved in signing treaties with their Roman Catholic spheres of influence nations.

By then, Portugal already monopolized the African trade in African goods and human slave trade in the Portuguese-dominated African territories. Portugal first started shipping the African slaves to Europe. With Spain's possession of the Americas, this changed the African slave trade greatly. The American territory promoted the biggest international African slave trade and economic gains for European prosperity to this day.

By the sixteenth century, Catholic religious theocracy became challenged by other northern European powers. The reformation movement in northern Europe led to the breaking away by northern European realms from the dominant Catholic religion and established their Protestant Christian religions.

These new emerging northern European realms also challenged Portugal's domination and grip of Africa's territories and Africa's slave trade and goods.

Based on the treaties signed between Portugal and Spain by Catholic popes, Portugal was supplying the slaves, and Spain was procuring and shipping the African slaves from Portugal's control and forced African slave labor to develop Spain's Americas through extended overseas colonies, and Portugal's Brazil new colony.

Meanwhile, Spain's takeover was contracting with European mercenaries the conquistadors to capture the American land from the Native Indians, the original occupiers of the Americas.

The paradigm or blueprint of this African slave trade pattern already established by the Portuguese was later replicated by other European realms in Africa and the Americas, and they continued the lucrative African slave trade for more than two hundred years. The establishing of extended overseas territories or colonies by Europeans to build their economies both at home in Europe and the Americas using forced African labor, goods, and repatriation of European colonists to establish the new overseas extended to the Americas.

This book is information rich with the African slave trade history dynamics, the European realms, names of monarchs that participated, European slave wars, rivalries, slave laws, European merchants, African noblemen and merchants, slave ships, religions, European and African rituals, Main African territories, overseas sea routes used, African chiefs, merchants, European slave ships, ship captains' accounts, numbers of slaves shipped per trip, goods exchanged, major African tribes, stories of names of slave warriors, slave contracts, European slave treaties, African slave harbors, slave rebellions on land, on ships, the making of American colonies, America's Independence and Latin American countries, the making of the first British Crown, Freed slaves returned to the colony of Province of Freedom, Sierra Leone, etc.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9781685707323

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A Detailed History on the Trans-Atlantic African Slave Trade

An African Genocide, Holocaust of Biblical Proportion, a Vile Human Trade. Is It a Cause for Posthumous Indictment, Need for Present Day Apologies or Reparation from or by the Living European Descendants Perpetrators to TodayaEUR(tm)s Descendants of the African Slavery?: Part One

Oswald Woode

ISBN 978-1-68570-733-0 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-68570-732-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Oswald Woode

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Prelude

Portugal

Spanish Monarchs in History

Slavery Theories Justifications Propounded by Ancient Philosophers

The Start of the Portuguese Explorations into Africa

Start of Portuguese Explorers and Territorial Partition of Africa

The Humanization and Romanticization of the Slave Ships

Slave Paraphernalia

European Product Payments Used in Exchange for Slave Purchase

Christian Bible Support and Other Justifications for Slavery

The Beginnings of Portugal's Division of Africa

France's African Slavery

British African Slavery Beginnings

The Spanish Asiento African Slave Contract License

Spain and Portugal, One Entity Separated

British Rise in the African Slave Trade

France's African Slavery Continued

Dutch Holland African Slavery

Danish African Slavery

Portuguese African Slavery Continued

Company of British Merchants

Spanish and British Wars

Anglo-Saxon British American African Slave Trade

Portugal's Brazil African Slavery Continued

Spain's African Slavery Continued

The Settlement of Anglo-Saxon Europeans on North American Colonies

Noted European Merchants in the African Slave Trade

Britain's Society for the Propagation of the Gospel

The King James Authorized Bible Version

Other Important European African Slave Patrons

Africa's Mauritainia Arguin Territory

White European Racist Rational Origins in Africa's Slavery

Early French African Slave Companies

Slave Rebellions in Americas

Some Slavery Dynamics in the United States of America

American Northern States Economies

The Struggle to End Slavery in England

Runaway Black Slaves

Excerpts of Fugitive law

Africa's Sierra Leone Freetown Colony

Conclusions on this Book's Purposes, Suggestions for Africans

Critical African slave history

Index

About the Author

Acknowledgments

This author wishes to acknowledge the authors of the books that I already mentioned at the Prelude section of the book. The British author, the late Baron Hugh Swynnerton Thomas (October 21, 1931–May 7, 2017) who became a British politician, served his constituency, Notting Hill, earnestly, serving both as a conservative and Liberal Democrat. His title was Baron Thomas of Swynnerton. He was a historian author that wrote great political works such as The World's Game (1957), The Oxygen Age (1958), The Spanish Civil War (1961), Cuba (1971), plus other historical books including The Slave Trade (1997).

His book, The Slave Trade, published in 1997 by Hugh Thomas, was the source of most of the author's information on this book. His research was very extensive from government archives in various countries. He left a good legacy for generations of Africans to understand how Africans, about ten million, were forcefully brought to the Americas, south, north, central, and the Caribbean in ships, in the belly of the beast, to do backbreaking jobs, supplying their forced free labor with their sweat, blood, and tears to build the Americas of today's countries under inhuman circumstances.

This author—to African diasporans, African Americans, descendants of slavery—owes a lot to his history book for the slave information on his book. It was and is necessary for Africans to know what happened, how they ended up in the Americas and North America. He provided answers to their questions. This African slave history could be used for posterity. Africans did not have the recorded history, names of monarchs, European merchants, ships, explorers, and politicians, including the African collaborators and traditional chiefs that were involved in this inhuman or sometimes referred to as the peculiar trade.

However, Hugh Thomas did a very good and genuine substantiated research to fill in the slave puzzle. In fact, this Hugh Thomas book, The Slave Trade, was a later book he published before he died, May 7, 2017. As hard as the history of the slave trade was, I see it as a gift to Africans, a wealth of knowledge because Africans do not know much about the African slave trade. That knowledge is buried in the annals of the European libraries and archives. Africans can still source for more African slave trade information to understand their existence, social, economic, and political adverse effects on black African issues on both those in the diaspora and in the homeland continent Africa.

Again, I want to thank Hugh Thomas posthumously for his historical action on behalf of Africans in the continent and their fellow Africans in the diaspora, descendants of the slave trade.

Also, I want to thank two amazing American citizens couples, husband and wife, Alfred W. Blumrosen and Ruth G. Blumrosen, who published jointly a history book entitled Slave Nation (2005). This book is a slave history of America's slave beginnings as an independent nation, starting from George Washington. The main theme of this book is how America used laws and the great northwest ordinance to expand America's slavery to crafting new emerging states, the two-thirds constitutional mandate, and the voting system in the United States Congress. Again, it states the names of noted American politicians, Founding Fathers, etc. It also established what was known as free states and slave states.

It also was a precursor for the American Civil War in later years. This book defines the present makeup of representatives in the American political system, the electoral college system, the two Houses in Congress; why America has two senators in the senate per each state regardless of population and 435 congressmen and women in the house based on population; how America's slavery accounted for this political formation in these two houses; the various battles that were fought between the northern, middle, and southern states; how other states were formed out of the thirteen original states that were laying claims to adjacent Indian territories and other European countries that laid claims to these territories; and, also, it states the beginning of the Fugitive Law that was embedded in the US Constitution under Founding Father President George Washington.

This law today gives police a tremendous authority to arrest anyone. This forms the legal basis that gives modern-day enforcement officers today, tremendous authority to arrest, search, and seize any perceived suspect's person and property with what is known as probable cause. There are other issues such as the draftings of the Declaration of Independence and important constitutional draftings by Founding Fathers George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, James Munroe, and others roles and draft preparations tailored to settle America within the context of America's slavery.

I want to thank Alfred Blumrosen for his historical book that has given a clear understanding on critical aspects on America's slavery. Unfortunately, his wife and coauthor, Ruth, died in January 13, 2004, in a road accident. I wish to thank her posthumously for her legacy to America. Both Blumrosens used their legal knowledge as attorneys to state the facts. Their legacies on this book will be greatly appreciated as it mirrors today's race issues that have been facing America since Independence and today. This couple has made fighting for civil rights and equal employment opportunity their cause—citizens of conscience. I want to once more thank them sincerely for their work's dedication as civil rights champions. Your work will not go in vain.

Finally, I want to also acknowledge other sources, using school textbook Volume 1: The Story of America, Beginnings to 1877 that I sourced with other pertinent information on America's history within the context of slavery and other social, economic, and political history. This book was published first in 1989. And I thank main author John A. Garraty, July 4, 1920–December 19, 2017. It was used in America's public classrooms as text to teach America's students America's history.

There are other sources of information that I obtained from researching online, which were further cross-checked using other source comparisons to make sure that the information is credible history and factual. I want to thank the authors for the information.

I hope that this book will bring more awareness and understanding of Africa's history and the important role Africa played in the creation of the Americas, America, and today's world economic order set up under forced labor. I want to urge others, readers, to continue Africa's historical research within this topic and beyond. Today, the world is getting smaller, despite the population rise. We are now interconnected globally with new communication technologies and easy information sharing. Let us move on and set this inhuman cruel wrongs perpetrated on the Africans in its right historical context.

This is the first part book of the African slavery. A second part is planned to continue and finish this dark history by this author in the future.

Sincerely,

Oswald Olatungi Ivan Woode

Prelude

This book is about the transatlantic slave trade. That was trading African human beings as human commodities, chattel to satisfy the needs for labor of the European realms, merchants, plantation owners to develop the Americas that was purportedly discovered by a Genoese explorer, Christopher Columbus, who was sponsored by the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1492. These two monarchs were husband and wife, and they strengthened and united Spain as a country after they freed the last Spanish territory, Grenada, of Spain from the clutches of Muslim Moors control in 1492. This discovery of the New World, Spanish Americas, paved the way for European hegemony, global domination, control, and prosperity in the world to this day. However, prior to the discovery of the native Indians Americas by Columbus, the start of the African slavery started with European Portugal.

The Portuguese were the dominant power in the world in the fifteenth century with King Joao or John I, the First or the Good, Grande, O Bom, O Grande who ruled Portugal, 1385–1432. The Spanish people sometimes called him the "Bastard" because of him having been born an outside child by his father, the predecessor Portuguese King Peter I the Great. The Portuguese became the first European imperial power in Africa in the 1440s till 1600s.

The Portuguese became the first dominant European imperial power that started the African slave trade and partitioned Africa, from one territory to another territory, due to its golden years of sea navigation, exploration, and exploitation in its trajectory path.

It was the Portuguese who partitioned Africa from Mauritainia to Madagascer. They named quite a number of African territories Portuguese names based on their explorers and monarchs. They already set the pace for the other Europeans to follow or trace those footpaths in Africa. The discovery of the Americas in 1492 provided a huge opportunity and a big game changer for trans-European-African trade. Africans became chattel property to be sent across the Atlantic Ocean to the Spanish Americas territory.

The Portuguese were providing the African slaves to the Spanish and other Europeans for their Americas territories to develop their colonies. However, as any colonial power, the Portuguese power and control over Africa was challenged over their grip on African territories as other European realms became strong militarily and economically. These new emerging European powers knew and understood the riches they would make in the African slavery, taking the cue from Portugal.

Another European institution that promoted this trade was the Roman Catholic church which was the strongest religious institution. Catholic Popes supported the African slave trade right from its beginnings. The Roman Catholic church promoted these two powerful Catholic nation realms, Portugal and Spain, encouraged, aided, and abetted these two nations due to their strong religious Catholic ties as the slave trade was settled by various papal decrees and treaties whenever there were conflicts amongst these two powerful Catholic European realms. The Catholic church was also involved in the African slave trade, made fortunes out of it, and won African convert slaves.

However, as other new emerged powerful Europeans joined in the trade, their religions also were used to influence the trade and acquire African slave territories. These new European Protestant religions emerged out of Christianity because the northern Europeans challenged the powers of the Catholic realm and led to the Reformation Movement started 1517 under Martin Luther of Germany. This religious ideological divide between the Roman Catholic southern Mediterranean versus the northern European Protestants created a new thinking rival religious Christian force and a break away from core Catholicism. New Christian realms were formed, and new political blocks emerged in northern Europe, independent of the Catholic church control.

This also impacted the African trade as the original European trade nations. Portugal and Spain were now challenged by the northern European Protestant powers. These powers were the Dutch, the English, Norwegians, French, and Danish. The African trade was no longer a monopolized Catholic trade controlled by Portugal and Spain. These new emerged powers understood that the African slave trade was guaranteed trade and wealth for nation building and setting up colonies in the Americas.

The African slave trade created a huge global economic impact and international trade not only in African humans but in shipping, African goods exchanges, opening Africa up, her other potential goods, and imposing taxes to make European monarchs rich and strong. Also, Africans were opened up, exposed to the world, presented, and contributed to the building of the Americas with forced free labor under difficult circumstances.

This book states facts, events, incidents that happened to those Africans that were captured, abducted, and sold to these Europeans and shipped to the Americas as slaves and resold to their new owners in the Americas. Africans were mostly captured as a result of inter-tribal wars. Also, some Africans were condemned as criminals for committing communal societal offences, immorality acts, and other crimes against humanity. Greed was also a factor, such as goods offered by Europeans to some African merchants to sell their fellow brothers and sisters.

he African slave trade was based on might makes right. The Europeans armed some Africans with firing weapons, goods, and used other tricks to enslave their brothers and sisters. The Europeans exploited the tribal vulnerabilities of Africans. The Europeans also exploited Africans welcoming of them, Africans opening up their societies to them, hoping that the Europeans were well-meaning people. The Europeans' work was already cut out based on the Africans naivety.

The transatlantic slave trade also developed shipping. The bigger and efficient their ships, the more African slaves could be taken to the Americas; hence more profit and free labor, economies of scale. The African trade also developed technologies to facilitate the trade and shipping procedures to protect goods. It also developed accounting procedures to account for African slaves and goods procured.

However, this book's information came from three well-researched books on the transatlantic African slave trade. The first one is the African Slave Trade by a British historian Hugh Thomas, published in 1997. The second book researched was Slave Nation by an American couple of authors, Alfred W. and late wife, Ruth G. Blumrosen, published in 2005. The third book came from an American history textbook used in public schools, The Story of America Beginnings to 1877, Volume 1, by Messers John Garraty, Governeur Morris, and Philip Bacon, published 1992.

Other researches, quite a good number, came from the great Internet. However, the information was well fact-checked by the author of this well-documented book.

This book touches all the various European realms, monarchs, Catholic popes, religious clerics, European slave merchants, European soldiers, mercenaries, owners of ships, African chiefs, tribes, European slave laws, especially the French "Code Noir" slave laws that nuances still embedded misguided in their constitutions. These laws are very racist and restrictive to maintain the continued domination of the European control of the descendants of slavery all throughout the Americas and Africa.

Even though slavery has been abolished, still, the remnants and semblances of slavery still hover around in various forms, made legal by government constitutions, in represented media accounts, well-inherent in Africa in economic disparities, raw economic deals made to Africa, development, and other social fabrics of European, American, and African societies.

However, the root causes of Black African people's problems everywhere go back to the transatlantic slave trade. These Europeans have reaped generational wealth inherited from their forefathers guaranteed by laws. On the other hand, the dismal poor state, poverty, health, and trauma of Black people was inherited after the transatlantic slave trade.

I must state here that there are genuine European historians who have published the facts of the African slave trade as these two researchers/authors mentioned above. They are more privy, well-resourced to access these facts that Blacks or Africans cannot. There were museums and archives that were burnt down in Brazil and Portugal, whether or not they were accidental, coincidental, or willful acts to destroy or hide evidences on the African slave trade.

The purpose of writing this book is to keep this African history genocide topic real and active in our memories. This book can be used as an indictment and a cause to challenge the conscience of mankind, worldwide, if we are very concerned about the genocides of other ethnic groups and not African peoples. The world needs to deal with this African genocide in toto. Africans must also understand the historical facts as they are. We should focus on history, not his story.

I will also encourage those well-meaning people to continue writing and educating others on these African genocides perpetrated throughout the four hundred years it lasted. This book touches the European Anglo Saxon British, United States, Latin America, Portuguese Lusophone Brazil, Spanish Americas, French America, Haiti, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian territories acquired in the Americas, and occupied African territories. It also touches the African countries where these Africans were captured as slaves, enslaved, baptized, and forcibly brought to the Americas by Europeans.

Today, we have a study of the African slave trade as it impacts the American Descendants of the Slaves (ADOS) in the United States Congress. The African Americans are now seeking from the United States government reparations, just compensations for the inhuman and exploitative treatment that their forefathers and mothers suffered at the hands of their masters. We now know that the African slavery is a legitimate cause that needs assessing and examining.

This book is hard to read, but it is necessary for especially Blacks to know their heritage/history, whether you are diaspora, born outside Africa, or born in the Motherland, Africa. Africa cannot be led by histories of conveniences. However, those who perpetrated these atrocities are the ones who kept the records. Africans were victims, onlookers, and sometimes, unfortunately, collaborators.

I thereby present this book to all concerned readers of human rights, men and women of good consciences, and democracies of today. This is the very first part of the African slave history. There will be a follow-up closure to this book, a second book, Part Two, on the abolishment of the African slave trade. I have painstakingly put this book together in the right context, using historical dates, chronological time, so readers can also cross-check and fact-check some of the information presented in this book—indictments, compendium of African slavery, whatever way or term some may want to style it. There are also good British and other Europeans that I call men and women of good consciences using their limited power, resources, and religious beliefs to start questioning this dastardly inhuman African savage slavery. As a Black man who lived in both Africa and America, born in Africa, I spent my adult life in America. I am best positioned to write such a book using both experiences as an affected one.

I hope this book will bring a better understanding and promote peaceful interactions amongst mankind and a better appreciation and respect between Africans living in the continent and those whose descendants, diasporas, that suffered this genocide that built the Americas with free labor using their sweat, blood, and tears.

This book is not a history term paper, thesis for a master's degree, or a dissertation for a PhD. It is a trier of historical facts for an indictment. Several genocides have been addressed within our lifetime as recent as the Armenian genocide by the Turks a hundred years ago. We should not be giving just lip service.

This transatlantic African slavery history has not been taken seriously. Today, there is the Critical Race Theory and the 1619 project been played by various factors in America. These two go to the root cause of the transatlantic slavery. Let history be history not of conveniences to gain political victory, points, or obfuscation of the facts of history. Whatever historical initiatives or theories are made, it must represent the facts for future generations. History must not be compromised. Let the chips fall where they may. History may be revised if the history is not the true history. This is a one-in-all African slavery book on the transatlantic African slave trade.

It is time for those whose forefathers that reaped generational wealth for them to atone for their crimes against humanity by apologizing and paying up those who are present-day children of the victimized slaves for their accrued wealth. It is left with mankind's consciences. I rest my case to the readers or juries out there.

Let the facts and evidence represent the transatlantic slave trade.

In order to better understand the African slave trade, it is important to understand two European countries political and economic histories. These two countries are Portugal and Spain. What were the origins of the royals or monarchies that ruled these countries prior to the African slave trade? Who were the kings and queens that ruled these countries? And how did these countries come together, what were their religious orientations, and also, how did these countries eventually get involved in the African slave trade? What was the prevailing political systems? And how did they unite and collaborate? What roles did their kings and queens play in the slave trade? Why did they choose Africans for their slave trade? What led these European countries to encourage and send slave expeditions to Africa? How did these European countries, involved in the African slave trade, persuade African leaders, traders, and patrons to trade their people for cheap European goods? What were the clever dubious tactics they used during the slave trade—be it diplomatic, military, and religious—to establish the slave trade and success in depopulating Africa and transplanting Africans in a very crude, cruel, and inhumane way to the new world?

It is also very important for Africans and others to understand how our ancestors participated in such dastardly and wicked acts of selling and buying humans at will between the fourteenth and nineteenth century. However, it was not as simple as it sounds that Africans did it for their selfish gains or benefits.

It is also important to note that the Europeans were not the only foreign powers that infiltrated the African continent to put Africans in bondage and shipped them to the Americas; however, there was another slavery of comparative magnitude to the Europeans that was also involved in Africa's slavery. They were the Arabs from North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. In fact, they were enslaving Africans before the Europeans via the Sahara desert land route and the Indian Ocean. They were also involved in the African slavery in all the regions of Africa just as the Europeans. Both Arabian and European slavery of Africans were going on simultaneously in Africa. Africans were been pursued like hotcakes by these two people, Europeans and Arabs, using force, religion, kidnappings, and trickery of all kinds.

Portugal

At this period in history, since we are focusing on European slavery, we will start with the very first European nation that spearheaded the exploration and set the stage for the start of the African slave trade. That nation is Portugal.

Portugal is located on the southern side of Europe. It is located on the South Western Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered on the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east and north by Spain. The capital today is Lisbon.

Portugal's political history goes back to the 1300s. Portugal started her political history with monarchies that succeeded one another through family and intermarriages amongst other European families, especially Spanish, English, Italian, and other monarchies.

Portugal's King Ferdinand, reigned 1367–1383

Ferdinand I succeeded his father, Peter, to the Portuguese throne on January 18, 1367. He was known both as the Handsome or the Inconstant. He was both king of the Algarve and Portugal in 1367 till 1383 when he passed. There was also a power struggle for the throne involving Henry II of Castile, who held the throne, Ferdinand's uncle, the kings of Navarre, Aragon, the Duke of Lancaster, and John of Gaunt who all laid claim to the throne. Pope Gregory XI settled the power struggle by a treaty agreed by all parties ratified in 1371. The treaty included that Ferdinand marry Leonora of Castile, but the marriage was not consummated. Instead, Ferdinand was in love with one of his courtier's wife, Lenor Teles, whom he married.

After the death of Ferdinand I in 1383, Portugal experienced a period of interregnum without a leader. Ferdinand did not have any male heir apparent when he died in Lisbon. This brought to an end of the ruling line of Burgundy.

Portugal's King John or Joao I, reigned 1385–1433

The Portuguese Golden Age of Discoveries started under this Portuguese monarch. This Portuguese King Joao was about to start something big in European explorations to Africa for two hundred years with his continued dynasties.

King John I, also called Joao I, a Portuguese king, stemmed from the House of Aviz after the Portuguese interregnum of just under fifty years. He ruled between April 6, 1385, to August 14, 1433. He brought stability and economic prosperity to Portugal. He was married to Phillippa of Lancaster, England.

This marriage formed a bond or lineage between England and Portugal. He was called "John the Good and was also known as John the Bastard," though he won victory against Spain. He was the tenth ruler of Portugal and the very first King of Portugal to use the title of "Lord of Ceuta." King Joao's father was King Pedro or Peter of Portugal, and his mother was Teresa Lourenco, a mistress of King Pedro or Peter.

As King Joao was born by a mistress of King Pedro, this made him a bastard child; hence, his name "Joao the Bastard." He was considered a half royal family member of King Pedro. He was born in 1358 and was accepted into the Portuguese royal family of King Pedro, Castelo de Sao Jorge, in Lisbon. Interestingly, King Joao was not directly in line to the Portuguese throne since an outside child. He gained the title of "Grand Master of the Order of Aviz." When his father, King Pedro, died, the half brother of King Pedro, Ferdinand I of Portugal was next in ruling line after King Pedro to the Portuguese throne. He had no male son to succeed him. Ferdinand tried to use his daughter, Princess Beartrice, to succeed him by grooming her. She got married to King John of Castile. This formed a union between northern Spain and Portugal. This marriage also sparked political hostilities and rivalries between both countries, especially with the Portuguese.

The Portuguese saw their political autonomy in danger of being taken over by the Spanish monarch, King of Castile, due to the marriage of their Portuguese Queen Beatrice. As a result of this perceived Spanish threat, the Portuguese Council of noblemen declared Joao, the only surviving half son of King Pedro, the king of Portugal to thwart the perceived power grab of Portugal by the king of Castile. This regained the political autonomy of Portugal. As a result of this move, this sparked a war between King John of Castile, Spain, and King Joao of Portugal.

King John of Castile invaded Portugal with the support of French calvary troops in 1385. King John of Castile also had French roots. Portugal, on the other hand, was joined by English troops to fight King John of Castile since King Joao's mother was English too. The Spanish and French troops were repelled in the "battle of Atoleiros." Eventually, the Portuguese were victorious over Spanish domination in the battle fought in August 14, 1385, at Aljubarrota, and the Spanish were defeated.

After Portugal regained their autonomy from Castile, Spain, King Joao consolidated his position in Portugal. King Joao married Philippa of Lancaster, England, just to thwart and prevent another threat from the king of Castile and France. Also, England was Portugal's ally in the war for autonomy against Castile and France. The marriage was also to secure King Joao's position.

King Joao I made Portugal a prosperous country, and also, there was decreased attacks on Portugal by Castile, Spain, on the death of King John I of Castile in 1390. However, Portugal and other European states also got impacted by the "Black Death" plagues during King Joao. When King Joao died in 1433, Portugal was a prosperous thriving country, strong militarily, and had well-educated and enlightened citizens. King Joao laid the foundation for Portugal's and European exploration and exploitation of the world. Portugal would become a state that other Europeans could not rival for two centuries. His Portuguese rule also referred to him as a fond memory.

King Joao I had six children by his wife, Philippa. King Joao's incursion and seizure of the territory of Ceuta, off the coast of North Africa in 1415, was a precursor and prelude for Portugal to launch a big exploration to West Africa for a start. This was the very first quest to capture territories for Portugal, and other Europeans had begun, and this territorial quest would extend to West Africa and beyond. In fact, Ceuta was recaptured by the Muslims of Morocco and other Muslims of Granada from Portugal. The Portuguese recaptured Ceuta in 1419 under King Joao I. He was a devout Roman Catholic Christian ruler who sought Papal counselling from the pope in taking war action as illustrated in Ceuta.

Pope Martin V granted him a papal bull, "Sane Charissmus," on April 4, 1418, that permitted him to capture all lands from the Muslim Moors. These Papal Bull edicts that continued from Catholic popes to political monarchs of Spain and Portugal were religiously justified and convinced these Roman Catholic monarchs that their actions had the blessings of God. This strengthened the bonds between the Catholic Church and monarchs in Spain and Portugal, two strong leading Catholic-dominated nations at this periods.

The Catholic religion has been very influential in Europe, and the popes were the most powerful religious authority. Europe was a semi-theocratic political system ruled by monarchs with the influence and guidance of the Catholic popes.

Catholic popes were considered the representatives of God on earth and, hence, wielded a lot of influence on Europeans then and today. However, that political influence has kind of dwindled with the revolt and led to breakaways from the Catholics by the Protestant Christians. However, the religious influence has extended to other areas and peoples of the world. This increased influence was also the result from these two countries, Portugal and Spain, whose lead, ventures, and major involvement started the transatlantic and new world slavery in the Americas. Today, most Catholic members are outside Europe. They are found in Asia, Africa, and the Americas as a consequence of the transatlantic African slave trade.

Portuguese King Duarte, reigned August 1433–September 1438

Portuguese King Duarte, meaning Edward in English, Edward was the son of King John or Joao of Portugal and Queen Philippa. He was one of the six children of King Joao. He was born October 31, 1391, in Viseu. He was King of Algarve and Portugal and the Lord of Ceuta. Traditionally, he inherited his father's titles. King Duarte closely worked and observed his father, King Joao I, growing up. He was well-groomed for the throne by his father. In 1415, he was made a knight when Portugal captured Ceuta territory under King Joao. He continued his father's work of exploration by supporting his younger brother, Infante Henry the Navigator's efforts in this venture.

Exploration of the world by Portugal remained a top Portugal's government agenda. These exploration ventures were what would change the world and lead to fortunes in trade and radically change our world, putting Europeans ahead of the others till this day. King Duarte did not reign long. He died in 1438, just under six years on the throne. It is believed he died from the black plague just as his dad and predecessor, King Joao. At least he was able to hang on to the territory of Ceuta captured by his father, King Joao.

Unfortunately, keeping Ceuta caused him some price. Ceuta territory did not fetch trade opportunities for Portugal. Once Ceuta was captured, it was a trade route used by the Muslims. The Moroccan Marinid Sultan diverted the trade route from Ceuta to Tangier, leaving Ceuta with no trade activities, a dry place. King Duarte with the advice of his brothers. Henry the Navigator and Ferdinand waged an attack on the Marinid of Morocco over the new trade route of Tangiers in 1437. This war waged by King Duarte was opposed by the Catholic pope and some of the King's royal families, Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, and Infante John.

This ended in disaster for Portugal. King Duarte was forced to sign a treaty with the Sultanate of Morocco in which he gave his brother, Ferdinand, as hostage guarantee to return Ceuta to the Marinid Sultanate of Morocco. King Duarte reneged on the treaty, never returned Ceuta to the Moroccans, and his brother, Ferdinand, died in detention as a hostage to the Moroccans, which had a serious impact on the king's health, and he died in 1438. King Duarte belonged to the ruling house of Aviz. He had six children with his wife, Eleanor of Aragon.

Also, his death did not end Portugal's exploration of the world and West Africa, to be precise. The African exploration continued with his brother, Prince Henry, the navigator. His death also sparked a power struggle for the Portuguese throne between two claimants: his wife, who was considered foreign, and also Infante Peter, the Duke of Coimbra. These two wanted to become regent to King Duarte's son, Afonso, who was under age at the time of King Duarte's sudden death. The King had willed his wife to act as regent. Eventually, a compromise on the regency between the two regent claimants was worked out.

Portugal's King Afonso V, reigned 1436–1481

King Afonso was the eldest son of King Duarte of Portugal and wife, Eleanor of Aragon. Afonso was just six years old when his father died and, as such, could not take the throne as he was too young to rule. At first, he was put under the regency of his mother, which did not go well with the people as she was seen as a foreigner, and this stoked patriotism amongst the Portuguese. By 1439, the Portuguese Cortes (parliament, House of Assembly) replaced his regent mother with his oldest uncle, Peter, Duke of Coimbra. Peter tried to give more power to the crown and restrict the powers of the nobles, which created a power struggle; despite that, prosperity was made.

Peter became the most powerful man in Portugal. He became rich and also was involved with rivalries with other family members besides the noble class of Portugal. Peter had a struggle with his brother, Afonso, the Count of Barcelos. He became favorable with King Afonso with the same name. Eventually, the king made him the Count of Barcelos, the Duke of Braganza in 1442. This made him the most powerful man in Portugal. The regent uncle Peter also made a move by making King Afonso marry his daughter, Isabella of Coimbra, in 1445 to secure his position. However, this did not end the power struggle. When King Afonso took the reins of government, there was a conflict between him and Peter in which his uncle Peter and father-in-law were killed at the "Battle of Alfarrobeira" in 1449. By then, King Afonso V had annulled all the laws and edict done by his regent uncle Peter. Meanwhile, King Afonso's favorite uncle, the Duke of Braganza, had free-rein in Portugal.

Afonso V was known as the "African" for his exploits in Africa. He wanted to follow his grandfather's action of capturing Ceuta territory and extending Portugal's reach in Africa after Ceuta. His long-term reign, forty-three years on the Portuguese throne enable him to acquire a lot of African territories for Portugal in West Africa.

He conquered Alcacer Ceguer in 1458 and Azila in 1471. He struggled to conquer Tangier from the Muslims, which was won and lost several times between 1460 and 1464. He also continued his father and grandfather's agenda to continue the exploration of West Africa's Atlantic Ocean by supporting his uncle Prince Henry's continued quest to penetrate the trade route of the African continent. When Henry the Navigator died in 1460, he kind of slow down on the exploration agenda. Instead, he concentrated to strengthened his territorial gains of his two predecessors' (father and grandfather) work.

It was under Portugal's King Afonso V that a Roman Catholic pope granted him two papal bulls edicts on slavery. In 1452, Pope Nicholas issued the papal bull "Dum Diversas to Afonso V, the rights to reduce Saracens Pagans" and any other unbelievers to hereditary slavery. Pope Nicholas also affirmed and extended the papal bull further with "Romanus Pontifex" of 1455. These papal bulls issued by the Catholic pope were what gave Portugal the divine authority and justification to reinforce and start the African slave trade in earnest. There were other Papal bulls that would follow after these from other Roman Catholic popes as regards to the African slavery. Portugal was now spiritually well-equipped to enter the African slave in a very big way without any regret or turning back.

At this time, Prince Henry the Navigator was alive, already charting the African continent, and with Portuguese explorers on the go. Portugal was beginning to reap the benefits of the African continent that the Arabs were getting. In order for the trade to be blessed and sanctified, someone had to give the blessings—naturally, the Roman Catholic chief authority, the pope. It is quite obvious that King Afonso and his brother sought that religious legitimacy from Pope Nicholas V in the religious edicts or decrees of papal bulls' approval.

It is no wonder King Afonso V, at the end of his life, abdicated his throne for his son, John II, and lived the rest of his life in a monastery, seeking peace. He was conscience-haunted and sought forgiveness for the sins and looted wealth from Africa in gold, silver, other goods, and humans that were going to be the reason for the coming anarchy. He died unhappy in 1481.

Obviously, Afonso V was not nicknamed the African because he loved Africa or was Black or visited the African continent. He was called African because he intensified the exploitation and exploration of Africa for the personal crown, throne, and people of Portugal. Africa became a blessed territory for Portugal and Europe, just the same with the Arabs.

Portugal King John II, reigned 1481–1495

King John II succeeded his father as the past royal family predecessors with the titles of King of Portugal and Algarves during the years of 1477, 1481, and 1495. He was the son of King Afonso V and mother, Isabella of Coimbra. He was born in March 1455 in Lisbon, Portugal. He was unique that he did not succeed his father because of death of his father, King Afonso, but because his father abdicated the throne and confined himself to a monastery. However, he did not become King of Portugal until the death of his father in 1481.

He worked closely with his father when he was a young kid. He followed his father around during the battles with the Muslims in North Africa. This kind of toughened him to become a ruler in the future. He was very aggressive and ruthless with his enemies, mostly the nobles in Portugal. He married Lenor of Viseu, an Infanta of Portugal and his cousin, a member of the royal family. He was not liked by the nobles for policies he pursued. Even his half cousin, Ferdinand II, Duke of Braganza, did not support his policies. Immediately, he ascended the Portuguese throne in 1481 and took drastic actions against the nobles by curtailing their administrative powers on their estates. This spurred a lot of anger and also plans to go against him via the Duke of Braganza and Queen Isabela of Castile.

He made sure he secured his son, Afonso, with his other children from past marriage with his intended fiancé, Spanish Isabella of Asturias. By 1483, there were spies that exposed various communication by his enemies, including his half cousin, the Duke of Braganza. He ruthlessly moved against his detractors by outlawing the Duke and got him executed in Evora and also executed lots of his enemies who tried to go against him. In 1484, he also executed the Duke of Visieu by personally stabbing him. He consolidated his power by concentrating all power on himself. Having silenced everybody, he had no more opposition against him. He also seized a lot of estate and encouraged learned people in his Council of Scholars to administer his bankrupt country.

After the corruption crackdown, his country was able to collect taxes instead of outstanding debts that the country was facing. However, most of the revenues came from gold from West Africa's Guinea coast through trade. As a result, he also continued on the path of his past royal family, rulers who continued incursions in the West African slave trade and beyond. He followed his Uncle Henry's exploration of Africa's quest. In fact, the Gold Coast became his center of interest and attraction.

He restored the African slave trade that slowed down under his father, Afonso V. These were the important African exploration progresses Portugal made under him with the African trade, which further laid the physical groundwork for African slavery and other resources.

In 1482: Elmina fortress and trade post was built as (Sao Jorge da Mina in Portuguese; Saint Georges Mine in English) in Ghana.

In 1484: Discovery of the Congo River by Portuguese Captain Diogo Cao.

In 1488: Discovery and passage of the Cape of Good Hope by Portuguese Bartolomeu Dias in Mussel Bay.

In 1493: The start of the settlement of Sao Tome and Principe Islands by Alvaro Caminha. Also funding of land expeditions by Alfonso de Paiva and Pero or Pedro da Covilha to India and Ethiopia in search for the legendary Christian Priest, Prester John; that legendary pretext excuse Europeans used to explore gold in locating such priest.

It is also worth mentioning that when the famous celebrated Genoese explorer, Christopher Columbus, made his famous discovery of the new world, he first met with King John II in 1493 to report the good news. King John tried to lay claim to the new world as part of the Portuguese sphere of influence granted to Portugal by the pope, including Africa that Portugal already had. King John II also sent a letter to Queen Isabella I of Castile, claiming Columbus's discovery of the new world and threatening to send a fleet to the new world. This great discovery and rightful claim of the new world was determined at the Treaty of Tordesillas, signed June 7, 1494, in Tordesillas, Spain, and ratified in Setubal, Portugal. The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the world territory between Portugal and Spain. This gave the new world right of claim to Spain instead of Portugal. Otherwise, King John II would have been the most important king in history, and Portugal would have been a far major territorial power than any nation in the world.

Despite the granting of the new world Americas to Spain, Portugal continued to be a nation or force to reckon with for two centuries in both the African and American slave trade. It was Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II that sponsored Christopher Columbus's expedition. The Portuguese were the greatest influence on the slave trade and building of the Spanish and American empires. The reason is that Spain owned the territories in the New World, but Portugal controlled the labor, able African slaves, and other African resources to develop the new world. Without the Africans, it would have been extremely difficult to develop the new world or Spanish empires.

The Portuguese had the cards in their hands to unlock the new world. Portugal was well-positioned in building the new world. According to the treaties that were signed, no European ship could go to African territories to trade in African slaves or any goods without Portugal's government permit. These European countries had to go through Portugal to get any business in Africa as Africa was now regarded as Portugal's dominion.

King John II was nicknamed the "Perfect Prince," and his Spanish cousin called him "El Hombre," the man. We now know why he was called these names. They fit his character of being bold and ambitious.

Portugal's King Manuel I, reigned 1495–1521

Portuguese King Manuel succeeded King John or Joao II in 1495. Manuel's mother was the granddaughter of King John I of Portugal. His father was the second surviving son of King Edward of Portugal and also the younger brother of King Alfonso V of Portugal. In 1495, he succeeded King John II as King John II married to his sister, Eleanor of Viseu. When King John II summoned him to his palace, he was very worried and afraid because King John II had stabbed his brother to death when he summoned the brother to the palace. Fortunately for him, King John II, his brother-in-law, made him his heir apparent to the Portuguese throne. The reasons were King John II did not have any son or direct blood relative to succeed him. His son, Prince Afonso, had died, and there was also an attempt by King John II to enthrone his illegitimate son, Jorge Duke of Coimbra, that did not work. The king did not have much of a choice but to pass the throne to Manuel, his in-law.

King Manuel continued Portugal's traditional exploration of the Atlantic Ocean, he expanded Portuguese commerce through sea routes by:

The discovery of a maritime route to India in 1498 by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

The discovery of Brazil by Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvarez Cabral in 1500.

The appointment of Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of India in 1505.

The establishment of maritime monopolies for Portugal to further enhance and bolster world trade control for Portugal between 1503–1515.

He made Portugal rich because of her trade connections. He signed treaties with China, Persia, and Captured Malacca, today's Malaysia, for Portugal to restrain the Muslims. He was also committed to the Catholic faith. He was a consummate Catholic ruler who established missionary activities in Portugal's overseas territories.

The founding of the Brazil colony by King Manuel also played a major role in transplanting African slaves to the Portuguese Brazil colony. He started a new Portuguese colony in Brazil and the promotion of commerce in sugar and other minerals and commodities that transformed the economy and other European empires. A lot of Portuguese colonists and other Europeans were also resettled in Brazil to build the new Portuguese colony. He was also tolerant with the Jews in Portugal at the start of his rule but later changed his attitude to hostility to the Jews because of the crackdown on the Jews in Spain's campaign on the inquisition intensified by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand II, their sister Roman Catholic state, and also for marital reasons to their daughter by King Manuel. In December 1496, it was decreed that all Jews leave Portugal or become converted to new Christians, following the footsteps of Spain. King Manuel was married three times.

In 1506, Pope Julius II presented a title to him, the Golden Rose, and Pope Leo X also gave King Manuel a second Golden Rose, making him the first individual in history to receive the award twice.

His first marriage was to Isabella of Aragon, the daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand II. He also married a second princess of Spain, Maria of Aragon, sister to his first wife, and finally, Eleanor of Austria.

King Manuel died on December 1521 at the age of fifty-two.

Portugal's King John III, reigned December 1521–June 1557

King John III of Portugal was born in 1502 in Lisbon, Portugal, the eldest son of King Manuel and wife, Maria of Aragon. He was sworn as heir to the throne in 1502 and succeeded his father, King Manuel of Portugal, in 1521 at his death. He got married at the age of sixteen to his first cousin, Eleanor of Austria.

His thirty-six years of reign was marked with trade and politics with other European countries. He continued the Portuguese practice of Centralize government. The relationship of Portugal and Spain became closer and cordial as his sister, Isabella, got married to Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.

King John III married Catherine of Austria, which also strengthened the relationship between Austria and Portugal as in Spain and Portugal. He had nine children with his wife, but most of them died at younger ages.

King John III was faced with administrative and economic problems with the Portuguese empire due to her size that has grown rapidly. He was faced with territorial problem with Spain and the revisiting and signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas that was established earlier between Spain and Portugal under former kings of both countries. Portugal's overseas territories also faced attacks and threats from the Ottoman empire. The Portuguese king also faced problems with France in the Atlantic Ocean on the Brazilian coast.

He had a very strong relationship with the Roman Catholic state and introduced the Inquisition in Portugal in 1536 and was able to appoint his family members to clerical positions in the Catholic church. King John III was known as "Pious" for his strong Catholic beliefs.

The inquisition played a great role in the course of the African slave trade. It was used to ban merchants that were not Catholics from taking part in the slave trade or gaining contracts or asientos from the Catholic governments of Portugal and Spain. It was a serious crime if a non-Catholic was caught participating in the slave trade. The only way that a non-Catholic merchant could take part in the slave trade was he must have been a converso or convert or new Christian and must be done genuinely.

Many Jews and people of other faiths were caught and jailed and executed in auto-da-fe, which is a show trial of those slave merchants caught carrying business in the African slave trade that lied about their Christian faith. This happened in both countries, Spain and Portugal, and their overseas colonies. The inquisition was controlled by the monarchs of both Spain and Portugal.

King John III increased the Portuguese slave trade in Africa and sponsored more coastal expeditions to Africa to Mozambique, Mombasa, and Sofala. These expeditions were done by groups of private merchants, navigators, and missionaries. The objective was to make profits and source more African slaves for their Brazilian colony and spread the Catholic religion.

In Brazil, King John III divided Brazil into twelve captaincies, each headed by a captain or governor. During King John III's reign, sugar was beginning to develop in Brazil with sugarcane plantations set up. The sugar production boom made Brazil a rich colony and Portugal a rich country. The sugar bonanza made up for Brazil's lost revenue in other trade regions. Brazilian wood also became an important commodity in Europe for obtaining red dye.

King John died June 11, 1557, at the age of fifty-five.

Portugal's King Sebastian, reigned 1557–1578

King Sebastian of Portugal was known as Dom Sebastian. He succeeded King John III of Portugal, his grandfather, in 1557. He was one of the last kings that belonged to the ruling House of Aviz that had dominated the Portuguese throne. He was the son of Prince Manuel of Portugal. He was born in January 1554, coinciding with the death of his father, and this made him heir to the throne. His father would have been the one to ascend to the throne after King John III passed his grandfather.

As we can tell, he did not live long. However, he was a very young boy king when he ruled Portugal. His mother, Joanna of Spain, left him after his birth to serve as regent of Spain for King Charles V after his abdication and later, her brother, Philip II of Spain. Her mother never saw him till his death. King Sebastian ruled under the aegis of regents first, his maternal grandmother, Catherine of Austria, and his uncle, Henry of Evora, as he never attained manhood.

During his short period of rule, Portugal continued to expand their exploration in Africa to Angola and Mozambique and also into Malacca and Macau, Asia, in 1557.

He tried to create another crusade against Morocco with the Ottomans. Unfortunately, the boy King Sebastian was reported to have been killed in a battle against the Muslims in a battle of Alcacer Quibir by Abd Malik with his 60, 000 army outnumbered and routed King Sebastian small Portuguese army. The interesting thing about King Sebastian is nobody saw his dead body. This left people to speculate, and he became a legendary monarch to the Portuguese.

It is very difficult to understand how a boy of sixteen years would have been able to rule a powerful country as Portugal with colonies all over the world. Despite the fact that he had regents with him, he must have been under the control of his regents and vulnerable to manipulations. One quality that agrees with his character that is understandable according to history is him being described as obstinate, which is typical for a young king with such power. This attitude was also in line with the way he died by making a poor judgment to go against a powerful Muslim army of 60, 000 warriors compared to his small army. This shows a childlike thinking that he was tough, powerful, and invincible. He had some marriage offers which he turned down. He never got married nor had any children at his death to succeed him.

When he died, since his death was not convincingly proven, he became known in Portugal as "O encoberto," meaning hidden one who would return on a foggy morning to save Portugal. Another nickname after his death by the Portuguese, because of his death mystery, was "O Desjardo," the desired one. Despite his death, there were impersonators who claimed that they were him. One of these impersonators, an Italian, was hanged in 1603. This was a time when Spain and Portugal were jointly ruled as the Iberian union between 1580–1640. At that time, Portugal's ruling line was extinct. Most of their royal family had passed. The Spanish royal family became the indisputable rulers in control of both countries.

King Henry of Portugal, reigned 1578–1580

King Henry of Portugal was born in 1512 in Lisbon. The fifth son of King Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon. He was both King of Portugal and the Algarves, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic church. This tells us he was a religious leader and hence nicknamed "Henry the Chaste." He ruled Portugal for a short period, two years, 1578–1580. He succeeded his nephew, King Sebastian, who served as his regent. He became king because King Sebastian died young at age sixteen. King Henry was an old man when he became king. When King Henry died in 1580, there was no heir apparent to succeed him in Portugal. The country was politically administered by a five-member junta regency. This sparked a power vacuum for Portugal's throne. Portugal was up for grabs.

There were three contenders vying for the Portuguese throne. These were Antonio, the illegitimate son of King John II, Catherine Duchess of Barganza, a woman, and King Philip II who was considered a foreigner King of Spain. All three had these major issues against them.

However, the country was claimed by Phillip II of Spain in November 1580. In 1581, Philip II was elected King by the Portuguese Cortes (legislature or parliament) on condition that Portugal and her overseas territories remained Portuguese not transferred to Spanish possessions.

It is also reported by some historian that Antonio ruled Portugal shortly for thirty-three days in 1580 after Philip II became King of Portugal in 1580. Antonio ruled Portugal till 1583. Antonio was the grandson of King Manuel. It was reported that his mother might have been a Sephardic Jew or new Christian Convert as a result of the inquisitions by both Spain and Portugal that forced non-Christians to convert in both countries.

Spanish Monarchs in History

Spanish King Ferdinand I, reigned 1412–1416

The Spanish monarchy was succeeded by Ferdinand I in January 1414. He was born on November 27, 1380. He held quite numerous political titles over a lot of polities. The titles were King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia, and Corsica and Sicily; Duke of Athens, Neopatria; Count of Barcelona, Rousillon and Cerdanya; and Regent of Castile. He was also a Patron of Antequera and was called "Honest." He was the younger son of King John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon, and that put him indirectly in line to the throne because of the older brother.

As fate would have it, his elder brother, King Henry III, died in 1406. Instead of taking over the throne, he decided to rule jointly with his deceased brother, King Henry III's widowed wife, Catherine of Lancaster. Both ruled as co-regents for the deceased King Henry III's son, John II, who was a minor. Because of Ferdinand's honesty to rule as co-regent with his brother's wife on behalf of his nephew and also his modest administrative ruling style, he earned the name "Honest."

By 1410, he conquered Antequera from the Muslims of Granada, which gave him the name of the captured territory. At the death of his Uncle Martin of Aragon, the uncle died without any children. He succeeded him in 1412 due to a compromise agreement known as the Compromise of Caspe. This compromise led to a revolt by another contestant who was also vying for the same position for the Aragon throne. He was the Count of Urgell, but the revolt was quickly put down by Ferdinand by dissolving the Urgell county.

The most political action that he did during his short reign was to depose the antipope, Benedict XIII. The year 1416 ended the so-called Western Schism, which divided the Roman Catholic Church for forty years. King Ferdinand and his wife, Eleanor, had seven children. They were Alfonso V of Aragon, Maria, Queen of Castile, John II, King of Aragon, Henry, Duke of Villena, Eleanor, Queen of Portugal, Peter, Count of Alburquerque, and Sancho of Aragon, Grand Master of the Orders of Calatrava and Alcantara. King Ferdinand I stemmed from the House of Trastamara. He died on April 2, 1416. This was exactly one hundred years to the death of his grandson, King Ferdinand II, who was also