Anthony I of Portugal (Portuguese: António) (Lisbon, 1531 – Paris, August 26, 1595), known by The Prior of Crato (and, rarely, as The Determined, The Fighter or The Independentist), was a grandson of Manuel I, claimant of the Portuguese throne during the 1580 crisis and, according to some historians, King of Portugal (during a short time in 1580, in the continent, and since then until 1583, in the Azores Islands).

Life

Anthony was the ilegitimate son of prince Louis (1506 - 1555), and therefore grandson of King Manuel I. And was precisely because he was ilegitimate that his claim for the throne war considered invalid; furthermore, his father was also, just like him, Prior of Crato (that unabled him of marrying without a Pope's dismissal) He was a disciple of Bartolomeu dos Mártires .

In 1571 he was governor of the Portuguese North African fortification of Tangier.

In 1578, after the disaster of Alcácer Quibir, where the young King Sebastian lost his life, Anthony claimed his rights to the throne, but his pretensions where denied, and his uncle Cardinal Henry became the new monarch.

In January 1580, when the Cortes were assembled in Almeirim (where it was to be decided the heir of the Portuguese throne), the old Cardinal-King Henry died. The Regency of the Kingdom was assumed by a Governative Junta formed by five governors.

By the time the Portuguese throne was disputed by several claimants; among them there was Catherine, Duchess of Braganza (1540-1614), Philip II of Spain and the Prior of Crato himself. The legitimate heir would be the Duchess, in spite of being a woman, because she descended directly from Manuel I by a masculine line; Philip II was a foreigner and descended from Manuel I by a feminine line; as for Anthony, although he was a Manuel I's grandson by a masculine line, he was an ilegitimate grandson.

Philip, however, managed to bribe the high classes of the Kingdom with gold from the Americas, and the crown started to pend to his side. For them, the idea of a Personal Union with Spain would highly profitable for Portugal, that was going through a bad economical moment.

Anthony tried to seduce the people for his cause, comparing the present situation to the one of 1385. Then, just like in 1580, the king of Castile invoked arguments of blood nature to inherit the Portuguese throne; and like in 1580, the Master of Aviz (John I), ilegitimate son of King Peter I, claimed his rights to the throne that ended in victory for Portugal in Aljubarrota and in the Cortes of Coimbra in 1385.

In July 24 1580, Anthony proclaimed himself King of Portugal in Santarém, followed by popular acclamation in several locations of the country; he governed in the continent during 20 days, until he was defeated in the Battle of Alcântara by the Spanish armies leadered by the Duke of Alba.

Since then, he started to rule the country from Terceira Island, in the Azores, where, until 1583, he established an opposition government to the Spanish ocupation, that even minted coin - a typical act of sovereignty and royalty. Because of that, many author consider him the last monarch of the House of Aviz (instead of Cardinal-King Henry) and the 18th King of Portugal.

His government in Terceira island was only recognized in the Azores, and in the continent and in the Madeira Islands the power was exercised by Philip II, who was acclaimed king in 1580 as Philip I of Portugal, and recognized as official king the following year by Cortes of Tomar in 1581.

After his defeat in the Azores, he exiled in France - traditional enemy of the Habsburgs of Spain - recieving their support; he also congregated the support of England. An attempt for an invasion was tried, but ended in failure.

Anthony continued to fight until the end of his life for the restauration of independence of his country. He would never see the end of the Philippine dinasty , in 1640, time when a Portuguese - the grandson of his cousin, the Duchess of Braganza, John, was acclaimed king as John IV of Portugal, after a victorius coup in December 1 1640.