John III of Portugal

John III (Portuguese: João III Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w]; 6 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious (Portuguese: o Piedoso), was the King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1521 until he died in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. John succeeded his father in 1521 at the age of nineteen.

During his rule, Portuguese possessions were extended in Asia and the Americas through the Portuguese colonization of Brazil. John III's policy of reinforcing Portugal's bases in India, such as Goa, secured Portugal's monopoly over the spice trade of cloves and nutmeg from the Maluku Islands. On the eve of his death in 1557, the Portuguese Empire had a global dimension and spanned almost 4 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles).

During his reign, the Portuguese became the first Europeans to contact Muromachi Japan. He abandoned Muslim territories in North Africa in favor of trade with India and investments in Brazil. In Europe, he improved relations with the Baltic region and the Rhineland, hoping that this would bolster Portuguese trade.