The work “Flores de España. Excelencias de Portugal”: a reinterpretation

Abstract

The goal of this study is a new interpretation of the work Flores de España, Excelenciasde Portugal (1631) by António de Sousa de Macedo, which has been interpreted as aprecursor of the author’s activities in favour of the Braganza dynasty one decade later. Thiswork is also the main source, although other contemporary works from Portugal but also fromother Spanish kingdoms are also taken into account. We analyse the different aspects of thework and contextualise them with other contemporary sources of the period. The analysis isbased on three hypotheses, that the work is directed to King Philip IV, that the author wantswo show that the Portuguese kingdom is not subordinated to any other kingdom and thatthe king should consider it as the preeminent kingdom within the monarchy. Our hypothesis,which we seek to prove, is that, unlike the traditional interpretation, the work’s intention is notto demand a separation of Portugal from the monarchy. We think that although it is true thatit does express a consciousness that Portugal would deserve a better treatment by the monarchy,the author actually tries to show to the king that Portugal is the best and most dignifiedof his kingdoms, which is why it deserves a better position within the Spanish monarchy.