Home > Sancho I of Portugal

In 1170, Sancho was knighted by his father, King Afonso I, and from that time he became his second in command, both administratively and military. At this time, the independence of Portugal (declared in 1139) was not firmly established. The kings of León and Castile were trying to annex the country and the Catholic church was late in giving its blessing and approval. Due to this Afonso I had to search for allies within the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal made an alliance with the kingdom of Aragon and together they fought Castile and León. To secure the agreement, Prince Sancho of Portugal married, in 1174, princess Dulce Berenguer, younger sister of king Alfonso II of AragonAlfonso II of Aragon (Alfons I of Provence and Barcelona, 1152- 1196), known as the Chaste or the Troubadour was king of Aragon and count of Barcelona from 1162 to 1196. He was the son of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronila of Aragon. Born Ramon. Aragon was thus the first Iberian kingdom to recognize the independence of Portugal.

With the death of Afonso I in 1185, Sancho I became the second king of Portugal. Coimbra was the centre of his kingdom; Sancho terminated the exhausting and generally pointless wars against his neighbours for control of the GalicianComunidade Autonoma de Galicia Capital Santiago de Compostela Official languages Galician and Castilian Area total % of Spain Ranked 7th 29 574 km² 5,8% Population Total (2003) % of Spain Density Ranked 5th 2 737 370 6,5% 92,36/km² Demonym English Galicia borderlands. Instead, he turned all his attentions to the South, against the MoorA high altitude form of heathland habitat widespread in northern Britain; see heath. A type of wetland; see bog. Person of Moorish (North African) ethnicity; see Moors. Mooring, attaching a boat to a riverbank or towpath.ish communities that still thrived. With CrusadeThis article is about the historical Crusades and the extended term "Crusade". For the artillery system, see XM2001 Crusader; for the fighter jet, see F-8 Crusader; for the television series, see Crusade. Historically, the Crusades were a series of severar help he took SilvesSilves (pronounced Silvesh) is a town on the Portuguese Algarve. It is located near a Roman bridge over the Ribeira de Arade and thus controls the river valley down to the coast. The town was occupied by the Muslims in 713 and became part of the Ummayad k in 1191Events May 12 Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. September 7 Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf. The monks of Glastonbury Abbey announce that they have found the burial sites of King Arthur and hi. Silves was an important city of the South, an administrative and commercial town with population around 20,000 people. Sancho ordered the fortification of the city and built a castle that is today an important monument of Portuguese heritage. However, military attention soon had to be turned again to the North, where León and Castile threatened again the Portuguese borders. Silves was again lost to the Moors.

Sancho I dedicated much of his reign to political and administrative organization of the new kingdom. He accumulated a national treasure, supported new industries and the middle class of merchants. Moreover, he created several new towns and villages and took great care in populating remote areas in the northern Christian regions of Portugal, notably with FlemingsFlemings Dutch Vlamingen) are inhabitants of Flanders, the northern half of Belgium. Their official language is Dutch. Though they speak the same language as the Dutch, the 'Flemish' version of it is different in usage (comparable to American vs. British and Burgundians – hence the nickname the Populator. The king was also known for his love of knowledge and literature. Sancho I wrote several books of poems and used the royal treasure to send Portuguese boys to study in European Universities.