Anglo-Portuguese Alliance

being entertained by John I of Portugal. English aid to the House of Aviz, which ruled Portugal from 1385 to 1580, set the stage for Portuguese cooperation with England that became a cornerstone of Portugal's foreign policy for more than five hundred years. English aid to Portugal went back much further to the 1147 Siege of Lisbon, when English and other northern European crusaders – en route to the Holy Land to participate in the Second Crusade – stopped and helped Portuguese King Afonso Henriques to conquer the city from the Moors. In May 1386, the Treaty of Windsor sealed the alliance – first started in 1294, renewed in the Treaty of Tagilde in 1372 and the ensuing Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 and confirmed at the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385) – with a pact of perpetual friendship between the two countries. The most important part of the treaty stated that: In July 1386, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of the late king Edward III of England and father of the future King Henry IV of England, landed in Galicia with an expeditionary force to press his claim to the Crown of Castile with Portuguese aid. He failed to win the support of the Castilian nobility and returned to England with a cash compensation from the rival claimant. John of Gaunt left behind his daughter, Philippa of Lancaster, to marry King John I of Portugal (February 1387) in order to seal the Anglo-Portuguese alliance. By this marriage, John I became the father of a generation of princes, called by the poet Luís de Camões the "Illustrious Generation", which led Portugal into its golden age, during the period of the Discoveries. Philippa brought to the court the Anglo-Norman tradition of an aristocratic upbringing and gave her children good educations. Her personal qualities were of the highest standard, and she reformed the court and imposed rigid standards of moral behaviour. On the other hand, the more tolerant Portuguese aristocracy saw her methods as too traditional or outdated. Philippa provided royal patronage for English commercial interests that sought to meet the Portuguese desire for cod and cloth in return for wine, cork, salt, and oil shipped through the English warehouses at Porto. Her eldest son, Duarte, authored moral works and became king in 1433. Pedro, who travelled widely and had an interest in history, became regent (1439–1448) after Duarte died of the plague in 1438. Ferdinand the Saint Prince (1402–1443), who became a crusader, participated in the attack on Tangiers in 1437. Henrique – also known as Prince Henry the Navigator (1394–1460) – became the master of the Order of Christ and the instigator and organiser of Portugal's early voyages of discovery. ==Disruption and renewal==

The Iberian Union (1580–1640), a 60-year dynastic union between Portugal and Spain, interrupted the alliance when Spain's hostility to England dictated Portuguese foreign policy. As such, Philip II of Spain struggle against Elizabeth I of England meant Portugal and England were on opposite sides during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Dutch–Portuguese War (1598–1663). During this period, English privateers captured – especially in the South Atlantic around St Helena – 299 Portuguese Casa da Índia ships returning with Mughal wealth from the East Indies and captured the Portuguese garrison of Ormuz in Persia in 1622. In 1640, England supported the Portuguese House of Braganza to take power in Portugal, replacing the House of Habsburg, ending the 60-year dynastic union between Portugal and Spain. England's support for Portugal during their Restoration War was confirmation of the renewal of the alliance. This was solidified further after the English Restoration and the marriage of Catherine of Braganza and Charles II of England. Portugal ceded Tangier and Bombay as part of the dowry. England, in addition to military support on the ground, would protect Portuguese shipments in the Mediterranean and the coasts of Lisbon and Porto. Following the defeat of Spain in the war, England mediated the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668 which saw the independence of Portugal and the recognition of Pedro II as King. The English alliance was decisive in the consolidation of the independence of Portugal, and in Pedro's leadership. In return Portugal promised to transfer to the English the majority of the places recovered from the Dutch, to share in half the commerce of cinnamon and to install English families with the same privileges as Portuguese families in Goa, Cochin, Diu, Bahia, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro. ==17th to 19th centuries==

and John VI of Portugal, by Joaquim Carneiro da Silva, 1810. It is accompanied by a poem:"Immortal trophies George's throne surround:Here Envy crush'd, and there Ambition boundBraganza's line by Gratitude combin'dClears fast to Brunswick's ever closely twin'd." The alliance was reconfirmed after the breakup of the Iberian Union, primarily due to both countries' respective rivalries with Spain, the Netherlands, and France, both in Europe and overseas. During this time, important episodes in the alliance were: • The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), when Portugal together with the Duchy of Savoy initially sided with France, but after the Battle of Blenheim reunited with its ally. • The Seven Years' War (1756–1763), when Spain invaded Portugal in 1762. Britain intervened as Portugal's ally. Although faced with vastly superior numbers, the Portuguese and British forces together with Portuguese militia and peasants defeated the Spanish and French forces, which suffered huge losses during their three invasion attempts. • The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), when Portugal, isolated in a Europe wholly dominated by Napoleon, continued to trade with the United Kingdom despite French restrictions and was invaded, but with British help regained total sovereignty and independence. The Portuguese royal family at the time, including Prince John, at the time acting as regent for his mother, the aged and mentally impaired Queen Maria I, took refuge in its then vice-royalty of Brazil, under escort by the British fleet. The Portuguese also helped the failed British invasions of the River Plate. • The Portuguese Civil War (1828–1834), when the United Kingdom gave important support to the Liberal faction. • The 1890 British Ultimatum, where under pressure by Cecil Rhodes, the British government gave an ultimatum to the Portuguese government to withdraw from the region of modern-day Botswana and refrain from furthering their colony of Portuguese East Africa. This was done in response to an expedition by Serpa Pinto into the region. The 1890 ultimatum was said to be one of the main causes for the Republican Revolution, which ended the monarchy in Portugal 20 years later. ==20th century==

During the 20th century, the treaty was invoked several times: First World War • After German incursions in Portuguese East Africa (today Mozambique), Portuguese troops fought on the Western Front alongside Allied soldiers during the First World War. Interwar • Portugal provided assistance to the Spanish Nationalists, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany during the Spanish Civil War, while the United Kingdom pursued non-intervention and neutrality. By 1927, the British Government had begun to wonder whether the alliance, which had stood for more than 550 years, was still of value. There were calls from inside the government that recent Portuguese actions had failed to live up to their obligations, particularly in light of the Portuguese government's regular calls for British support. Foreign Secretary Sir Austen Chamberlain had the matter investigated. His department reported that the alliance cost very little to maintain, and that Britain was usually able to rely on Portuguese support in matters where the Portuguese had no interests of their own. The Admiralty contributed to the study, reporting that the key value of the alliance was to deny the use of a range of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic Ocean that could be used to threaten Britain to other powers in time of war. The Foreign Office's legal department also offered advice that, as the alliance was so old, it lacked any mechanism for dissolution. Phrases in treaties like "perpetual alliance" and "lasting forever inviolate" were, in the medieval period, fairly common and able to be disclaimed in times of war with little consequence. However, they were concerned that if the British sought to abrogate the alliance then the Portuguese would demand arbitration through the mechanisms of 20th-century diplomacy. As there were a raft of recent agreements between the countries, they advised that the British case to end the alliance would be exceedingly weak. As the War progressed, the importance of Portugal's island territories in the Atlantic increased. Particularly after the United States entered the war. The Azores, a Portuguese territory was a vital naval base and its airstrips were within bombing range of the Americas. They are a vital node for transatlantic communications cables as well. This led American war planners to develop Operation Alacrity to invade the islands, but the British successfully convinced their new allies to rely on the medieval treaty. The British Ambassador in Lisbon, Sir Ronald Campbell, wrote in 1943 (paraphrasing Salazar) that "strict neutrality was the price the allies paid for strategic benefits accruing from Portugal's neutrality and that if her neutrality instead of being strict had been more benevolent in our favour Spain would inevitably have thrown herself body and soul into the arms of Germany. If this had happened the Peninsula would have been occupied and then North Africa, with the result that the whole course of the war would have been altered to the advantage of the Axis." Campbell also stated that "he [Salazar] would answer the call if it were made on grounds of dire necessity" When the war continued into 1943, US President Franklin Roosevelt was able to convince Winston Churchill that the islands would have to be invaded. Sir Anthony Eden and Clement Attlee, the Secretaries of State for Foreign and Dominion Affairs suggested instead invoking the Treaty of Windsor to request access to the Portuguese military facilities within the islands. Salazar responded favourably and virtually at once: Portugal granted naval bases on Portuguese territory to Britain, in keeping with the traditional Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, letting them use the Azorean ports of Horta (on the island of Faial) and Ponta Delgada (on the island of São Miguel), and the airfields of Lajes Field (on Terceira Island) and Santana Field (on São Miguel Island). The British gained access to the islands in November 1943, and were able to quietly allow US access under the "friend to all friends" provision of the treaty. ==21st century==

On 13 June 2022, the Prime Minister of Portugal and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom signed a new agreement between the two nations in London, known as the UK-Portugal Joint Declaration on Bilateral Cooperation, thereby reinforcing the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance and confirming its status as the longest-running alliance still in force. The Joint Declaration was also signed to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the Treaty of Tagilde. The 650th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 was officially commemorated by both nations on 16 June 2023. The British government stated at this time that they intend to enter into "a new bilateral Defence Agreement, due to be signed later in the year, set to take our defence cooperation to the next level." Both countries continue to be members of the wider military alliance, NATO. ==See also==

• Country profile of Portugal, Foreign and Commonwealth Office website • • • • • ; Attribution