Afonso I, Duke of Braganza Afonso I, Duke of Braganza Dom Afonso I of Braganza (; 10 August 1377 – 15 December 1461) was the first Duke of Braganza and the eighth Count of Barcelos. He would start a dynasty, the House of Braganza, that would end up being the most powerful and wealthy in all of Portugal. His descendants would go on to become high-ranking nobles, imperial officials, and even the Kings of Portugal and the Emperors of Brazil. Historians believe he was born in Veiros, Estremoz, Alentejo, as a natural son of Portuguese King John I and Inês Peres. He married the heiress
Fernando II, Duke of Braganza focused on diminishing the powers of the two most powerful noble houses in the kingdom, House of Beja and Viseu and the House of Braganza. King John II accused his first cousin, Diogo I of Beja and Viseu (brother-in-law of Fernando II), of high treason and had him brutally executed. Soon after, the King also accused his second half-cousin, Fernando II of Braganza, of high treason and had him executed at Évora in 1483. Afterwards, the assets of the House of Braganza were confiscated and the family fled to Castile. The family returned in 1498 and had all their property