Iberian Union

Union of Castile, Aragon and Portugal, 1580–1640

The Iberian Union, or the Hispanic Monarchy, describes the period from 1580 to 1640 in which the Monarchy of Spain under the Habsburg dynasty, then the personal union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon, brought in personal union also the Kingdom of Portugal. It incorporated the entire Iberian Peninsula, except Andorra and French territory, as well as Portuguese and Spanish overseas possessions, under the Spanish Habsburg monarchs Philip II, Philip III, and Philip IV. The union began after the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 and the ensuing War of the Portuguese Succession, and lasted until the Portuguese Restoration War, during which the House of Braganza was established as Portugal's new ruling dynasty with the acclamation of John IV as the new king of Portugal. As a personal union, the Kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Castile and the states of the Crown of Aragon remained independent states, sharing only a single monarch.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA. More on occurri.