Historedia
EuropeEvent

Death of John VI of Portugal

When
1826
Where
Lisbon (illness onset at Bemposta Palace; death site not established by sources)
Episodes
1

King John VI died on 10 March 1826, following a short illness that began after lunch at the Jerónimos Monastery. While he is known as 'the Clement,' recent scholarly research suggests his death may have been caused by arsenic poisoning, though this remains a hypothesis rather than established fact.

Episodes

  1. 4–10 March 1826 · Lisbon (illness onset at Bemposta Palace; death site not established by sources)Final Illness and Death

    John VI fell ill after lunch at the Jerónimos Monastery and died six days later on 10 March 1826.

Background and detail

Background. John VI, known as 'the Clement,' was King of Portugal and the Algarves, and titular Emperor of Brazil until his death in 1826. He had previously fled to Brazil during Napoleon's invasion and faced liberal revolts. His reign ended with the recognition of Brazil's independence, leaving him as titular Emperor of Brazil and King of Portugal.

Final Illness. On 4 March 1826, John VI returned from the Hieronymites Monastery, where he had lunched, and retired to Bemposta Palace feeling poorly. This marked the beginning of the short illness that led to his death six days later.

Death and Hypotheses. John VI died on 10 March 1826. While tradition and some accounts note a short illness, recent scholarly research proposes that his death may have been caused by arsenic poisoning. This hypothesis is not established fact but remains a significant area of historical inquiry regarding the circumstances of his passing.

People involved

Sources

  1. John VI of Portugal Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-01

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.