D. Diniz, King of Portugal was an intelligent, resolute man, with an
enlightened sense of the future.
Born in 1261 in Lisbon, Diniz was the direct descendant of Portugal's
first King, Afonso I, who himself was a descendant of the Capet Kings of
France through his father, Count Henry of Burgundy. King Diniz succeeded
his father, Afonso III to the throne in 1279.
Portugal had been an independent Kingdom since 1143, following the
Treaty of Zamora with the Kingdom of Leon. At first there were some
disputes over territories in the north followed by concern for the
security of its borders from the Almohads in the south that led to the
confrontation at Badajoz with his son-in-law, King Ferdinand II of Leon,
with dire consequences. Afonso I was forced to give up Portuguese lands
in the north in exchange for peace and his freedom.
During the time of King Diniz father's reign, Portugal had completed its
share of the "reconquista" having taken its borders southwards to the
shores of the Algarve and eastwards to the River Odiel. From the start, the Peninsular
kingdoms had been playing a kind of strategy game, meeting from time to
time - openly or in secret - to show off their "Christian" achievements
and make demands over their "own" areas of influence. No more than the
River Tagus a hundred years before, the River Odiana ("Guadiana") further
south was not considered by the Portuguese monarchs to be the final
extent of its territory. Portugal's campaign against the Muslims had
been worthy when they had reached the southern shores, and they did so
first. But they also understood that despite their determination,
Castile had the greater military strength.
In 1230, the complexion of the balance of power between the monarchies
(Portugal, Leon, Castile, Aragon , and to a much lesser extent Navarre)
had changed dramatically. With the help from the Portuguese Templars,
the Leonese King Alfonso IX had finally defeated the "Moors" at Merida
on the north bank of the Odiana. After his success, the king decided to
return to his capital, Leon, but fell ill on the way and died. This was
the moment the King of Castile, Ferdinand III, was waiting for. Ignoring
the deceased King's nominated successor, Castilian forces invaded Leon
and Ferdinand III usurped the Leonese throne to himself. His son and
successor, Alfonso X, set about from the outset to push back the
Portuguese to the Odiana under the Castilian interests tag rather than
right of conquest. This he did, briefly. He further planned and failed
to seize the whole of the Algarve. Later, after Diniz became king the
time came to correct the situation, as complex as it became, following
his cousin Sancho IV's death in Castile in 1295.
By its unworthy 'conquest' of the Kingdom of Leon in 1230 Castile had
broken the agreed balance of power and become a constant threat to both
Aragon and Portugal. Ferdinand III at Castile-Leon's meeting with Sancho
II of Portugal in 1231 seemed to calm the waters. Overcoming the
complexities of the many treaties and the territorial rights acquired
through the "reconquest", both monarchies appeared to have reached a
friendly settlement in 1264.
Portuguese-Castilian relations remained good while both kings met and
exchanged their concerns over family and nobility aspirations for
greater power, until in 1293 Sancho IV rose again the question of the "Odiana
border". There had been some incidents from the Douro to the Algarve.
His death had created a power struggle as his son was only nine years
old. A dispute over the succession began with King Diniz's support being
sought by Prince John, the king's brother, as well as the widow Queen
Maria Molina who acted as Regent. Again, Diniz was given promises by
both the Castilian Prince Enrique and Queen Maria Molina that the
Portuguese conquered territories on the east bank of the Odiana would be
given back, while King Jaime II of Aragon joined in with his proposal
for the break up of Castile-Leon.
Irritated by Castile's delaying tactics to restore these territories and
motivated by Jaime's call for a show of strength, King Diniz led an army
and advanced right up to Valladolid where the Castilian queen resided to
show that the meant business. Although he could have entered the city he
ordered his forces to turn around and return to north Portugal. The
Queen got the message, and in a letter from Ferdinand IV, recognition
was given of Portugal's sovereighty over several castles and towns in
the Agueda River (Ribacoa) border region. Olivença founded by the
Portuguese Templars was also restored to Portugal having been seized by
Alfonso X of Leon during their absence in the Holy Land in 1278.
The Treaty of Alcanices soon followed on 12 September 1297 confirming
Portugal's possession of the Ribacoa region, and the Portuguese
territory adjacent to the Odiana, from Castro Marim to Mourao. However,
Portugal would have to give up its rights to the territories of Arouche,
Almonaster, Aracena, Aiamonte right up to the Odiel River.
And what did Castile gain out of all this? She could now rely on well
defined borders in the west and had kept a large slice of formerly
disputed territory in the south. More importantly, there would be peace
in the west with her neighbour Portugal who would not intervene in any
political or military operations against Castile. Although, King Diniz
was invited by the Castilian cortes at Valladolid the following year to
give help against Prince John and his supporters he merely suggested
that Galiza/Galicia should be offered to Prince John. It was unsurprisingly
rejected! Notwitstanding, King Diniz again by invitation travelled to
the Castile/Aragon border in 1303 to act as arbiter in settling a major
border dispute.
Did the Treaty of Alcanizes stand the tests of time? Yes, except for the
loss of Sao Felix dos Galegos a century and a half later, and then the
treacherous seizing of Olivença in 1801 by Manuel Godoy.
Has anything really changed in Castile's policy towards her neighbours
after 709 years? No. The political pursuit for Castilian style supremacy
remains as well as the ongoing insanely contradictory posture towards
Olivença and Gibraltar. Only the name has changed from Castile to Spain,
inappropriately taken from the Roman "Hispania".
For anyone interested in reading an original political Treaty dating
from Medieval times, then look no further. You can have access here to
this genuine text; The
Treaty of Alcanizes.
The President of the Spanish Region of
Extremadura Juan
Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra
is reported by the Badajoz, "Hoy"
daily at the opening of the new
industrial park on the Spanish side of
the Caia with inviting the Elvas
Municipal President
José Rondão
Almeida to get closer to Badajoz
and turn away from Lisbon. Ibarra,
a member of Franco's Fascist regime has
been a supporter of the integration of
Portugal's Alentejo province in Spanish
Extremadura.
Rui da Silva
25/Sept/2006
False Friends
In the Portuguese Programme "Pros and Cons" - "Prós e Contras" - on
the RTP1 channel, during an interview with Fátima Campos Ferreira, the
Spanish ex-Prime Minister José Maria Aznar and other Spanish guests
spoke throughout in common Castilian which made it difficult for
the ordinary listener to understand. This display of sheer
ignorance and abusive behaviour bordering on the aggressive shows only
too clearly what the Spanish think of the Portuguese. Shame!
Rui da Silva
25/Sept/2006
Spainization of
Gibraltar begins
Finally, as there was ever
any doubt, through intimidation,
persistence, and not a little
aggression, Spain has gained two
footholds in Gibraltar:
1)joint control of the
airport, (in the "campo") with
Gibraltarians having to pass Spanish
customs.
2)a new office of the
Cervantes Institute for spreading
the Castilian language and culture.
Meanwhile, Spain persists
in its two-faced approach to Olivença,
occupied since the Treaty of Badajoz in
1801, but as Peter Caruana said on the
BBC in 2002: "...Spain is sitting on a Portuguese town called Olivença which they are treaty bound to return to Portugal, and with a similar population to Gibraltar*, which they even refuse to discuss with Portugal, and here's London rewarding that Spanish attitude, ...there's no logic to it."
Ah, but passion can often
help win the argument too.
Feitos 5 anos a levantar a voz de apoio àretrocessão de OLIVENÇA a Portugal, denunciamos a apatia e
negligência criminosa por parte dos governos português (PSD e PS) e
Presidentes da República: Jorge Sampaio e Anibal Cavaco Silva, como
também a intolerável postura de hipocrisia e imperialismo por parte de
Espanha contra outro membro da União Europeia.
Rui A M da Silva
A Espanha desde 1801 que procura justificar-se, justificando aquilo que
não tem justificação entre dois povos vizinhos e que viviam uma relação
pacífica. Ao longo de 200 anos, tem desenvolvido toda uma argumentação
similar, por exemplo, à usada por Adolfo Hitler fundamentar o direito de
invadir e ocupar os povos vizinhos.
O Estado português
continua a reclamar a sua soberania sobre o
termo de Olivenca
e terras de Juromenha,
ilegalmente ocupados e colonizados há 204
anos por Espanha que recusa cumprir o que
assinou em 1817.
The Portuguese State
continues to claim sovereignty over the
Olivenca territory and part of Juromenha,
illegaly occupied, and colonized by Spain
for 204 years who refuses to comply with the
agreement signed in 1817.
1. - This English Language service has been set up to
update internet readers with information and news on the occupied
territory of Olivença.
2. - Counteract Spain's lies and arrogance over the
dispute since 1801.
3. - Expose the Spanish cover-up and failure to comply with its
international obligations.
4. - Show how Spain's relations with Portugal are in fact hypocritical
and false, and motivated by old imperialistic designs.
5. - Look at how Portugal has tried to overcome the reality of its
continued humilliation.
6. - Shame Portugal's cowardly political leaders to stand up to Madrid
and take action to recover Olivença and Juromenha, that Madrid and its
"Spanish Kingdom" aknowledge and respect Portuguese territorial
integrity.
1. - Este serviço de
informação foi iniciado (originalmente em inglês) para informar melhor
os leitores da "Rede" através de notícias actuais e eventos históricos,
sobre os territórios de Olivença e Juromenha (margem esquerda) do Odiana
(Guadiana).
2. - Contrapor as mentiras e arrogância da Espanha sobre o litígio desde
1801.
3. - Desmascarar o encobrimento espanhol e falência de cumprir as suas
obrigações internacionais.
4. - Mostrar como as
"boas relações" espanholas com Portugal são de facto hipócritas e falsas,
sendo na verdade motivadas por intenções imperialistas já antigas.
5. - Ver como Portugal tem tentado superar a realidade da sua contínua
humilhação.
6. - Envergonhar os líderes ilusórios e cobardes de Portugal a agir e
tomar acções positivas para recuperar os territórios de Olivença e
Juromenha, para que Madrid e seu "reino espanhol" cumpra o respeito à
integridade territorial de Portugal.
O CALCANHAR DE AQUILES, por
João Marques dos Santos, Advogado PORQUÊ NÓS ?
"(...) O nosso espaço de integração política já não é a península. É o
espaço da Comunidade em que a Espanha também se integra".
Ler Mais...
Jornal "LINHAS DE ELVAS", 28-Setembro-2006
IBARRA PEDE A RONDÃO QUE SE APROXIME MAIS DE BADAJOZ
O Presidente da Junta da
Extremadura Espanhola pediu ao Presidente da Câmara Municipal de Elvas
que olhe MAIS EM DIRECÇÃO A BADAJOZ E MENOS PARA LISBOA", noticiou o
Diário "HOY", na sua edição de 22 de Setembro. As palavras de Juan
Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra foram proferidas na cerimónia de inauguração da
nova IFEBA, no Caia Espanhol.
Ler Mais...
CONSIDERAÇÕES A PROPÓSITO DA VISITA DE
CAVACO SILVA A ESPANHA
(LIÇÕES A TIRAR SOBRE OS ACORDOS SOBRE
GIBRALTAR ) O facto do Presidente da República
Portuguesa se deslocar a Espanha nos
próximos dias 25, 26, e 27 de Setembro de
2006 leva-me a meditar sobre recentes
eventos ligados a questões de litígios
pendentes entre nações, e que, neste caso,
dizem respeito a Espanha.
Carlos Eduardo da Cruz Luna
Ler Mais...
DIÁRIO DO SUL (Évora), 5 de Setembro de
2006 GEMINAÇÃO ELVAS-OLIVENÇA
UMA PONTE ENTRE AS DUAS CIDADES (Marina
Pardal, COLABORADORA )
(Gravura com uma enorme fotografia do
Aqueduto da Amoreira, Elvas, e a legenda: "ELVAS.
A geminação entre esta cidade alentejana e
Olivença impulsionou a construção da nova
Ponte da Ajuda.")
Ler Mais...
Outras Noticias/
Other News
Jornal "PÚBLICO", 19-Setembro-2006
ESPANHA COM VOOS PARA GIBRALTAR JÀ A PARTIR DE DEZEMBRO
-MADRID E LONDRES CONTINUAM A DIVERGIR NA DECISIVA QUESTÃO DA SOBERANIA-
NUNO RIBEIRO, MADRID
A Espanha passa a ter ligações aéreas com Gibraltar a partir de Dezembro,
foi acordado na reunião do Foro Tripartido que ontem se reuniu na cidade
andaluza de Córdova. No encontro, o ministro dos Assuntos Exteriores de
Espanha, Miguel Angel Moratinos, o titular britânico da pasta da europa,
Geoffrey Hoon, e o ministro principal de Gibraltar (primeiro-ministro)
Peter Caruana assinaram um acordo no domínio das comunicações,
telecomunicações e pensões sociais.
Para além da utilização comum do aeroporto do Rochedo que será operado
através de uma empresa hispano-gibraltina, foram solucionados dois
pontos do contencioso que opõe a Espanha e o Reino Unido sobre
Gibraltar: a actualização das pensões de cerca de seis mil espanhóis que
trabalharam em Gibraltar e um novo convénio sobre telecomunicações.
Quanto às pensões, a sua revalorização a partir de 1989 é da
responsabilidade dos britânicos, desde que os pensionistas transfiram as
suas contas do fundo de pensões de Gibraltar para um novo a ser criado
em Londres. Quqnto às telecomunicações, a Espanha decidiu aceitar o
"roaming" do prefixo internacional, desde que as autoridades de
Gibraltar admitam toda a legislação comunitária em matéria de
liberalização de telecomunicações e ordenação do sector, o que
beneficiará os operadores no mercado espanhol.
O acordo assinado insere-se no âmbito da aproximação entre Madrid e
Londres, baseada na solução dos problemas práticos das populações de
Gibraltar e das áreas envolventes da Andaluzia.
EM ABERTO CONTINUA O PROBLEMA DE FUNDO: OS ESPANHÓIS
REIVINDICAM A POSSE DO ROCHEDO, CEDIDO À GRÃ-BRETANHA PELO TRATADO DE
UTREQUE DE 1713.
El futuro del Peñón
Moratinos espera que el pacto sobre Gibraltar facilite la negociación
final sobre la soberanía
Londres agradece "el gran valor" del presidente Zapatero y su ministro
de Asuntos Exteriores
PERU EGURBIDE - Córdoba
EL PAÍS - España - 19-09-2006
Jornal "PÚBLICO", 18-Setembro-2006 GIBRALTAR - ESPANHA E REINO UNIDO ASSINAM ACORDOS
A Espanha, o Reino Unido e Gibraltar vão assinar hoje em Córdova uma
série de acordos considerados históricos, designadamente sobre a
utilização conjunta do aeroporto existente no território, as reformas,
as telecomunicações e as modalidades de passagem da fronteira. A
cerimónia traduz uma melhoria das relações entre Madrid e Londres quanto
ao problema do "Rochedo", cedido à Inglaterra pela Espanha aquando do
Tratado de Utreque, em 1713, mas cuja posse depois disso os espanhóis
voltaram a reivindicar. O Fórum tripartido de conversações foi criado no
fim de 2004 para tentar desfazer o impasse.
18/Sep/2006
Ibarra to go in 2007
At a press conference today, Carlos
Rodriguez Ibarra, the President of
Extremadura that currently incorporates the
Portuguese territories of Olivença and part
of Alandroal, announced he will not seek
re-election next year and will retire from
politics on health grounds. (Rui daSilva)
16 Set 2006
«Hemos vivido demasiado tiempo de espaldas»
El ex-presidente de Portugal Jorge Sampaio, nombrado ayer "Hijo
adoptivo" de Alcañices, aboga por impulsar la cooperación
transfronteriza. http://www.laopinionde
zamora.es/secciones/
noticia.jsp?pNumEjemplar=1652
&pIdSeccion=5&pId
Noticia=169136
7 Set 2006 5º Colóquio Anual da Lusofonia
5º colóquio anual da lusofonia debate a língua na Galiza em
Bragança, capital dos Colóquios Anuais da Lusofonia, que acolhe a 5ª
edição, de 2 a 4 de Outubro 2006 no anfiteatro do Centro Cultural
Municipal na Praça da Sé, com o habitual apoio da Câmara Municipal de
Bragança. http://LUSOFONIA2006.
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