Peter
married his niece Maria, Princess of Brazil, in 1760, at which time she was the heiress presumptive to the throne then held by his brother Joseph I. According to custom, Peter thus became King of Portugal in
right of his wife, after the delivery of his first born child. They had six children, of whom the eldest surviving son succeeded Maria as
John VI of Portugal on her death in 1816. Peter made no attempt to participate in
government affairs, spending his time
hunting or in
religious exercises. He also defended the
high nobility of Portugal, and sponsored the petitions of those accused in
Távora affair, whose rehabilitation was subject of new lawsuits, in which the heirs demanded the restitution of their confiscated properties. Peter III was moderately friendly toward the Jesuits, who had been
banished from Portugal and its overseas empire in 1759, largely at the behest of the
Marquis of Pombal. Peter III had taken some of his early education from the Jesuits, explaining this. His affection had little effect; Pope Clement XIV ordered the
Jesuits suppressed across Europe in 1773. == Marriage and issue ==