The successor of King Edward, his eldest son Affonso V., afterwards called “the African,” was only six years old when he ascended the throne, and his reign commenced with a dispute as to the regency. By his will, Edward had left the regency to his wife, Leonora of Aragon, but this arrangement was not at all satisfactory to the people, and a great Cortes at Torres Novas set aside the will, and appointed Dom Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, to be “defender” of the realm with all the duties of government, the Count of Arrayolos, minister of justice, and Queen Leonora, guardian of her son, the young king, with a large allowance. This arrangement shows how great the powers of the Cortes had become, and a still more important testimony to their recognized influence appears in the motion by Dom Henry, that three members of the Cortes should be annually elected to reside at the seat of government during the months in which the Cortes was not in session. This arrangement was highly unsatisfactory to the queen, who had expected to be sole regent under the terms of King Edward’s will, and, assisted by the discontented nobility, headed by the Count of Barcellos and the Archbishop of Lisbon, she attacked Dom Pedro, and endeavoured by force to overthrow the arrangements made by the Cortes of Torres Novas. The struggle was but a short one; the people of Lisbon rose _en masse_ to support the son of their favourite monarch, John I., in whom they perceived his father’s administrative ability and love for commerce, and the queen and archbishop were forced to go into exile. The result of this movement was to seat Dom Pedro firmly in power with the title of regent and the guardianship of the boy-king. The regency of Dom Pedro, better known by his title of Duke of Coimbra, is marked by the same features as the reign of his brother Edward; in it appears the same consistent attempt to check the power of the feudal nobility and the same wise encouragement of commerce. His foreign policy followed the same lines, and he maintained the same neutrality with regard to Spain and the same close alliance with England. In 1439 the regent solemnly confirmed the Treaty of Windsor in the young king’s name, and was made a Knight of the Garter, and the same honour was conferred upon Dom Henry, Duke of Viseu, in 1444, and on Dom Alvaro Vaz de Almada, Lord High Admiral of Portugal and Count of Arronches, in 1445. Dom Pedro also encouraged the maritime explorations of Dom Henry and the literary revival, which were making the name of Portugal renowned throughout Europe, and his power seemed to be at its height, when, in 1447, his daughter Isabel was married to her cousin, the king, Affonso V.