Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja

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Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja[1] (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɾɐ̃ˈsiʃku]) (Lisbon, 25 May 1691 – Lisbon, 21 July 1742) was a Portuguese infante (prince) son of Peter II, King of Portugal, and his second wife, Maria Sofia of the Palatinate.

Infante Francisco
Duke of Beja
Portrait by Domenico Duprà, 1729–1730
Born(1691-05-25)25 May 1691
Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died21 July 1742(1742-07-21) (aged 51)
Óbidos, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial
IssuePedro of Braganza
João da Bemposta
Names
Francisco Xavier José António Bento Urbano
HouseHouse of Braganza
FatherPedro II of Portugal
MotherMaria Sofia of the Palatinate

Early life

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Infante Francisco de Bragança by Jean Ranc, 1729.

Francisco Xavier José António Bento Urbano was born on 25 May 1691 in Lisbon. He was given the Duchy of Beja and was made Grand-Prior of Crato and Lord of the Infantado. Plans for him to marry Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria sister of Queen Maria Anna failed in the early stages.

Career

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Responding to a request by Pope Clement XI to aid in the fight against the Turks, in 1716, King John V of Portugal (Infante Francisco's brother) sent a fleet of Portuguese ships to aid Venice and Austria in their fights against the Turks, led by the Count of Rio Grande, the Count of São Vicente and by the Duke of Beja.[2]

Affairs and issue

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He died unmarried and without legitimate issue on 21 July 1742 at the Quinta das Gaeiras in Óbidos. He is buried at the Royal Pantheon of the Braganza Dynasty in Lisbon.

He had two natural children with Mariana Silveira, a nun, who died during the 1755 Lisbon earthquake:

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ "Infante Francisco of Portugal de Bragança". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  2. ^ Nizza da Silva, p. 336.

Bibliography

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  • Nizza da Silva, Maria Beatriz (2009). Reis de Portugal: D. João V (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Temas & Debates.