The Cardinal, Don Henry, great Uncle to Don _Sebastian_, succeeded him; he was Brother to _John_ III. the late King's Grandfather, and Son to _Emanuel_. During his Reign, his pretended Heirs made all the Interest they could in the Court of _Portugal_, being well assur'd that the present King, who was weak and sickly, and sixty-seven Years old, could not be long-liv'd; nor could he marry, and leave Children behind him, for he was a Cardinal, and in Priest's Orders. The Succession was claim'd by _Philip_ II. King of _Spain_; _Catherine_ of _Portugal_, espous'd to Don _James_, Duke of _Braganza_; by the Duke of _Savoy_; the Duke of _Parma_; and by _Antonio_, Grand Prior of _Crete_: They all publish'd their respective Manifesto's, in which every one declar'd their Pretensions to the Crown. _Philip_ was Son to the Infanta _Isabella_, eldest Daughter of King _Emanuel_. The Dutchess of _Braganza_ was Granddaughter to the same King _Emanuel_, by _Edward_ his second Son. The Duke of _Savoy_'s Mother was the Princess _Beatrix_, a younger Sister of the Empress _Isabella_. The Duke of _Parma_ was Son to _Mary_ of _Portugal_, the second Daughter of Prince _Edward_, and Sister to the Dutchess of _Braganza_. Don _Lewis_, Duke of _Beja_, was second Son to King _Emanuel_ by _Violenta_, the finest Lady of that Age, whom he had debauch'd, but whom the Grand Prior pretended to have been privately married to that Prince. _Catherine de Medicis_, amongst the rest, made her Claim, as being descended from _Alphonso_ III. King of _Portugal_, and _Maud_ Countess of _Bolonia_. The _Pope_ too put in his Claim; he would have it, that after the Reign of the _Cardinal_, _Portugal_ must be look'd upon as a fat Living in his Gift, and to which, like many a modern Patron, he would willingly have presented himself. But notwithstanding all their Pretensions, it plainly appear'd that the Succession belong'd either to _Philip_ King of _Spain_, or to the Dutchess of _Braganza_, a Lady of an extraordinary Merit, and belov'd by the whole Nation. The Duke, her Spouse, was descended, tho not in a direct Line, from the Royal Blood, and she herself was sprung from Prince _Edward_; whereas the King of _Spain_ was Son to _Edward_'s Sister: besides, by the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom, all Strangers were excluded the Succession. This _Philip_ own'd, since thereby the Pretensions of _Savoy_ and _Parma_ vanish'd; but he would by no means acknowledge himself a Stranger in _Portugal_, which he said had often been part of the Dominions of the King of _Castile_. Each had their several Parties at Court, and the _Cardinal_ King was daily press'd to decide the Difference, but always evaded it; he could not bear to hear of his Successors, and would willingly have liv'd to have bury'd all his pretended Heirs: however, his Reign lasted but 17 Months, and by his Death _Portugal_ became the unhappy Theatre of Civil Wars. [Sidenote: 1580.]