Person

John III of Portugal

1502–1557 · 16th century · Also known as John the Pious, João III

John III was King of Portugal from 1521 to 1557. To defend Brazil against French traders, in 1534 he divided its coast into hereditary captaincies granted to nobles and officials, and when most of them failed he created a central government in 1549 under the governor-general Tomé de Sousa at Salvador. His reign also saw the establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal and the arrival of the Jesuits.

John III of Portugal
Image: Attributed to Cristóvão Lopes · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

Kongo EmpireGovernancePortuguese EmpireGovernance

Mentioned in 7 state histories

Captaincy of BahiaCaptaincy of IlhéusCaptaincy of PernambucoCaptaincy of São VicenteCaptaincy of Porto SeguroCaptaincy of Espírito SantoState of Brazil

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). John III of Portugal. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-iii-of-portugal
MLA
“John III of Portugal.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-iii-of-portugal. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “John III of Portugal.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-iii-of-portugal.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘John III of Portugal’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-iii-of-portugal (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻