Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja
Infante Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja was the second son of King Manuel I of Portugal and his second wife, Maria of Aragon. He participated in the Conquest of Tunis.
Infante Luís in the Conquest of Tunis by Pieter Coecke van Aelst; c. 1535–1550
Luís in the Triptych of the Infantes; by the Master of Lourinhã, 1516
Manuel I, known as the Fortunate, was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manuel ruled over a period of intensive expansion of the Portuguese Empire owing to the numerous Portuguese discoveries made during his reign. His sponsorship of Vasco da Gama led to the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India in 1498, resulting in the creation of the Portuguese India Armadas, which guaranteed Portugal's monopoly on the spice trade. Manuel began the Portuguese colonization of the Americas and Portuguese India, and oversaw the establishment of a vast trade empire across Africa and Asia.
Portrait of Manuel I at the Navy Museum
Portrait of King Manuel I at Sala dos Capelos in the University of Coimbra.
Manuel's funeral in 1521.
Coat of Arms of King Manuel and Queen Maria of Aragon.