Ho, hum. I don't really feel like pubbing a fanzine tonight, either; I just got through running off an 8-pager for K-a, the Comic Fandom apa. (In the course of which I learned of the existence of another new apa, ALA-apa. You have to be a resident of Alabama to be eligible for membership. How many fans are there in Alabama, anyway?) Anyhow, I don't feel like writing any more just now.
Yawn.
It occurs to me that a list of the kings of Portugal would fill up a lot of space. (Also, I can throw out this file card once I've published the information on it.) I hope you like history.
Well, lessee. Portugal used to be a part of the Kingdom of the Visigoths (Visigothic Spain), until July 19, 711, when Roderic the Unlucky and most of his supporters disappeared under the troops of the invading Arabs from North Africa; after which it was a part of Moorish Spain. About a century later, the Catholic Kingdom of Asturias (Kingdom of León after about 910) began expanding down into that area, finally incorporating it as a County, under Leónese suzerainty. In 1140, the reigning Count Affonso declared Portuguese independence and assumed the royal title, and was strong enough to make it stick.
| Affonso I (Henriques), 1112-1185 (Count to 1140; King thereafter) Sancho I, 1185-1211 Affonso II (the Fat), 1211-1223 Sancho II, 1223-1279 Affonso III, 1248-1279 Denis, 1279-1325 Affonso IV, 1325-1357 Pedro I, 1357-1367 Fernao, 1367-1383 (died without issue) interregnum & civil war, 1383-1385 João I, 1385-1433 (House of Avis) Duarte (the Philosopher), 1433-1438 Affonso V (the African), 1438-1481 João II (the Perfect), 1481-1495 Sebastião (the Crusader; or, the Mad), 1557-1578 (last seen leading a cavalry charge into a Moorish army outnumbering him by about 35 to 1; presumed dead) Henrique, 1578-1580 (a cleric, and therefore celibate; end of House of Avis) Felipe I (II of Spain), 1580-1598 Felipe II (III of Spain), 1598-1621 Felipe III (IV of Spain), 1621-1640 João IV, 1640-1656 (House of Braganza) Affonso VI, 1656-1683 Pedro II, 1683-1706 João V, 1706-1750 José, 1750-1777 Pedro III, 1777-1816 and Maria I, 1777-1816 João VI, 1816-1826 Pedro IV, 1826 (abdicated) Maria II, 1826-1828 Miguel, 1828-1834 Maria II (restored), 1834-1853 Pedro V, 1853-1861 Luiz, 1861-1889 Carlos, 1889-1908 (assassinated) Manoel II, 1908-1910 (deposed) |
With the extinction of the family of Avis, the crown passed to the Hapsburgs on the Spanish throne, as the nearest legitimate heirs. The Portuguese disliked being treated as a backwater province of Spain, and in 1640, a revolt led by Duke João of Braganza reestablished independence) (José didn't trust his brother Pedro not to seize the crown from his daughter Maria after his death, so he married them and arranged for them to rule jointly) (Pedro IV was already Pedro I of Brazil by 1826; politics wouldn't permit him to wear both crowns at once, so he abdicated in favor of his daughter Maria, attempting to marry her to his brother Miguel to keep him from grabbing everything. In 1828, Miguel decided he'd rather run things alone and deposed his child bride. In 1831, Pedro finally had his fill of Brazilian politics and abdicated that crown, too, returning to Portugal to win back the throne for his daughter, which he finally did a few months before his death in 1834. (Not that that was particularly difficult; nobody could stand Miguel)) |
History is fun. A great big no-prize will be awarded to anyone who can name the land associated with these rulers:
| Allan IV, 937-952 Conan I, 952-992 Geoffrey I, 992-1008 Allan V, 1008-1040 |
Conan II, 1040-1066 Hoël V, 1066 Allan VI, 1084-1112 Conan III, 1112-1148 |
-- BEING COMMENTS ON LAST WEEK'S DISTRIBUTION
Helen Smith -- I'm sure the LASFS would've loved to go Christmas caroling. Just what we'd've sung, now...
Tom Digby -- How does the problem of not throwing a shadow equate with the problem of not throwing a reflection? This all reminds me of James Blish trying to explain scientifically what happens to a werewolf's clothes when he transforms into wolf form, in "There Shall Be No Darkness". ## Drivers are frequently thoughtless. I often have a problem with parking in front of my own house. There's just enough room at the curb there for two cars; however, an unfortunately large percent of the time, when both spaces are vacant, the next car to come along will park right in the middle of the space, so there's not enough room on either side of his car between the driveways for another car to park. ## If you want old LASFS election ballots, I for one will be more than happy to let you collect them.
Jerry Jacks -- Since you moved to the Bay Area because of your job, will you be returning to Los Angeles now that you've quit IBM, or will you look for something else in the Bay Area?
Dwain Kaiser -- As Ted Johnstone said after reading the first "Agent of T.E.R.R.A." paperback, "Boy, is this ever Jack Jardine!" On the whole, it holds up okay, though you probably won't find it worth 50¢. Because it's set in 1966, it reads like a Bat Durston secret agent novel; there's no real reason for it to be stfnal. I suppose others in the series will get further out.
