Editing John VI of Portugal (section)

===Marriage and succession===
[[File:Retrato_de_Joao_VI,_Principe_do_Brasil.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|Portrait of John as [[Prince of Brazil]] by [[Giuseppe Troni]], {{circa|1788}}]]
In 1785, [[Henrique de Meneses, 3rd Marquis of Louriçal]], arranged a marriage between John and Infanta [[Carlota Joaquina of Spain]], daughter of the [[Prince of Asturias|Prince and Princess of Asturias]] (later King [[Charles IV of Spain|Charles IV]] and Queen [[Maria Luisa of Parma|Maria Luisa]]). Fearing a new [[Iberian Union]], some in the Portuguese court viewed John's marriage to a Spanish infanta unfavorably. Carlota Joaquina endured four days of testing by the Portuguese ambassadors before the marriage pact was confirmed. Because John and Carlota Joaquina were related and because of the bride's youth (she was only 10 years old at the time), the marriage required a papal dispensation. They were second cousins, as John's grandmother, Mariana Victoria, was the sister of Carlota's grandfather, King [[Charles III of Spain]]. After being confirmed, the marriage capitulation was signed in the throne room of the Spanish court with great pomp and with the participation of both kingdoms. It was followed immediately by a proxy marriage.<ref name="Pedreira e Costa, pp. 38-43">Pedreira e Costa, pp.&nbsp;38–43</ref> The marriage was consummated five years later.

Carlota Joaquina was received at the [[Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa]] at the beginning of May 1785, and on 9 June, the couple received a nuptial benediction at the palace chapel. However, the marriage seemed to be an uncomfortable one.  An assiduous correspondence between John and Mariana at that time reveals that the absence of his sister weighed upon him and, comparing her to his young wife, he wrote, "She is very smart and has a lot of judgment, whereas you have rather little, and I like her a lot, but for all that I cannot love her equally."{{Attribution needed|date=April 2014}} John's young bride was not inclined to docility, requiring at times the correction of Queen Maria herself. In addition, the difference in their ages (John being 17 years old) made him uncomfortable and anxious. Because Carlota Joaquina was so young, the marriage had not been consummated, and John wrote, "Here's to the arrival of the time when I shall play a lot with the Infanta. The way these things go, I think six years from now. Better that she be a bit more grown up than when she came."{{Attribution needed|date=April 2014}} The consummation waited until 1790. In 1793, Carlota Joaquina gave birth to the first of nine children: [[Teresa, Princess of Beira]].<ref name="Pedreira e Costa, pp. 38-43"/>

The death of John's older brother, José, on 11 September 1788, left John as the heir apparent to the throne, with the titles of Prince of Brazil and Duke of Braganza.<ref name="Cronologia">[http://bndigital.bn.br/djoaovi/cronologia.html ''Cronologia Período Joanino''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112091524/http://bndigital.bn.br/djoaovi/cronologia.html |date=12 January 2012 }}. Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, 2010. In Portugal.</ref> Great things had been hoped for from José, who associated himself with the progressive ideas of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and appeared to have been inclined toward the [[anti-clerical]] policies of [[Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal]].

John, in contrast, was well known for his religiosity and his attachment to absolutism. The crisis of succession was aggravated with the death in November 1788 of the Queen's confessor, [[Inácio de São Caetano]], the [[titular archbishop]] of [[Thessalonica]]. The Archbishop had been a powerful political figure, influencing a controversial choice of the Queen's ministers that favored John, but not without encountering strong opposition from important ''[[fidalgo]]s'' who had ambitions for those posts. In the year after the deaths of his brother and the Archbishop, John became ill to the extent that his own survival was uncertain. He recovered, but in 1791, he again fell ill "bleeding from the mouth and intestines", according to notes left by the chaplain of the [[Pedro José Joaquim Vito de Meneses Coutinho, 6th Marquis of Marialva|Marquis of Marialva]], who added that John's spirit was always depressed. This created a tense climate and uncertainty about his future reign.<ref>Pedreira e Costa, pp. 42–54</ref>