Joao I(April 11, 1357-August 14, 1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve (1385 - 1433).

He was Prometheus who stole a torch from ancient Greek civilization to illuminate the Atlantic coast; he was a leader of the early colonial cause armed with science, and a hero of exploration who dared to challenge the mystery of the world-"Five Thousand Years of the World" commented on the navigator Henry

João I was the founder of the Avian Dynasty in Portugal. He was known as "João the Great" and was probably the greatest king in Portugal history. During his reign, Portugal established a national policy of developing towards the sea, which sounded the prelude to the arrival of the era of great navigation. From his birth to his ascent to the throne of Portugal, João I consists of a series of romantic and bloody stories.

His father, Pedro I, King of Portugal, was a passionate and somewhat cruel man. In 1340, Pedro, who was still a prince at the time, married Constance, the princess of Castel, but he fell in love with Constance's maid Innes, cohabited with Innes openly, and gave birth to four children, including Joao, the protagonist of this article. However, their love aroused hostility from diehard forces. Some ministers in the court believed that Innes was a beauty and a disaster that would endanger the stability of the Portugal crown. Later, with the tacit consent of Pedro's father, King Alfonso IV, several ministers took advantage of Pedro's absence to rush into Innes's residence and kill Innes and several of his children. Prince Pedro rebelled angrily, but later endured it with the intervention of the queen. In 1357, as soon as Pedro ascended the throne, he used cruel means to kill the meddling ministers and made Innes queen. To this day, Lisbon still has evidence such as "Tears Spring" and "Tears Hall" commemorating this masterpiece of eternal love.

The young João escaped that disaster and was deeply loved by his father since he was a child. At the age of 6, he was made the leader of the Knights of Aish and received systematic religious and military education. But his illegitimate status hindered his desire for the throne. In 1367, Pedro I died, and João's half-brother Ferdinand I succeeded to the throne. In 1383, Ferdinand died without a son, and was succeeded by his daughter Beatrice and his queen Leonor was regent.

But on the one hand, because Ferdinand I was poor and unpopular during his reign, Leonor's regent meant the continuation of his policies. On the other hand, Queen Beatrice was already married to King Caster (one of Spain's predecessors), and her succession seriously endangered the sovereign independence of the Portugal state. As a result, instigated by some aristocrats, the people of Portugal launched an uprising in 1383. João took advantage of this opportunity to become the leader of the uprising with the support of young generals Alvarez and the Knights of Avish. Leonore was overthrown and fled back to her native country of Castel. João I seized the throne of his niece and was elected King of Portugal by Parliament in 1385. In the same year, they defeated the invading Caster army in the Battle of Aljubarota, defended the country's independence and consolidated their throne (in the 2004 European Nations Cup football match held in Portugal, major Portuguese media all compared the life-and-death battle between the Spanish and Portuguese teams to the "Battle of Aljubarota", which shows the importance of this battle in the eyes of Portuguese people). Because he was the leader of the Aish Knights, the dynasty he founded was named the Aish Dynasty (according to Western concepts, the succession of an illegitimate child means a change of dynasty).

The above event, known as the Revolution of 1383-1385, was a decisive turning point in Portugal's history. The old aristocracy's monopoly of senior officials was broken, and a group of lower-born but experienced legal scholars and officials united around the new king, bringing a fresh atmosphere to Portugal's politics. However, as a weak and weak country located in a remote corner of southwestern Europe, Portugal has no strength and space to develop into the mainland. Entering the ocean is the only way for it to become a strong country. After consolidating his throne, João set his eyes on the vast ocean.

Portugal was a pioneer in the era of great voyages, and João I and his son Henry the Voyager were among the vanguard forces. In 1415, João I and Prince Henry personally led a huge army of 19000 troops, 1700 navies and 200 warships to capture the important city of Ceuta (present-day Sabte) in the northwest corner of Africa. This incident is considered to be the official starting point of Portugal's maritime expansion policy. With the support and encouragement of João I, Prince Henry founded a sailing school, which recruited sailing talents from European countries (most of them in Italy), trained a large number of skilled navigators for Portugal, built seaports, improved ships, and resolutely carried out the cause of sailing and exploration. On the simple ships of that time, brave sailors carried the expectations of the nation and risked their lives to sail to the unknown "Devil's Sea" time and time again. In 1420, the Portugal discovered (for Europeans, it was "discovered") the Madeira Islands, and in 1431, they discovered the Azores Islands, becoming an important supply base for Atlantic navigation. By the time João died in 1433, Portugal's navigation industry was entering a prosperous period and the dawn of the sea power era had been seen. His successors continued their efforts, resulting in a series of feats such as Dias 'arrival at the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 and Da Gama's arrival in India in 1498.

João I's influence on history was also that he strengthened the power of the king. As the Portugal historian Saraiva said,"During the period of João I, the will of the king was the greatest power of the country, and nothing could limit it." In 1386, he signed the Treaty of Windsor with Britain and established the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance has been maintained in various forms for hundreds of years, becoming a long-term and effective national alliance rare in world history.

João I should obviously occupy a prominent position in this ranking, but he should rank lower than Queen Isabella I of Spain, who made important contributions to the era of great navigation. First of all, Portugal's navigation industry continued to advance through many generations, while Columbus's arrival in the Americas under the auspices of Isabella was more straightforward, and the latter brought about fundamental changes in the Americas in terms of ethnicity and culture, which had a greater impact than Gama's arrival in India. Moreover, Isabella's influence on Spanish history is greater than João's influence on Portugal's history, and Spain's influence on the world's historical pattern is much greater than that of Portugal. Emperor João ranked 49th in this list of important emperors.

Comments: Portugal's geographical location and environment determine that it must advance into the ocean to have a way out. However, the Portugal rulers before João I have always been obsessed with power struggles on the Iberian Peninsula or domestic internecine fighting. João I was not the first Portugal politician to realize the need to develop towards the sea, but he was the first to establish it as a policy. Since then, the face of Portugal has been completely new.