Braganza

Braganza (brəgän`zä), royal house that ruled Portugal from 1640 to 1910 and Brazil from 1822 to 1889. It took its name from the castle of Braganza or Bragança. The line was descended from Alfonso, the natural son of John I of Portugal, who became the duke of Braganza in 1442. Although Alfonso's grandson, Ferdinand, was executed (1483) for alleged treason by John II, the family steadily increased its possessions. John, 6th duke of Braganza, married a niece of King John III, and when the Portuguese threw off Spanish rule in 1640, their grandson became king as John IV. The house of Braganza ruled Portugal until the establishment of a republic in 1910. After Brazil declared (1822) its independence, it was ruled as an empire under Pedro I, son of John VI of Portugal, and Pedro II until a revolution made it a republic in 1889.

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Braganza 

a dynasty of kings of Portugal from 1640 to 1853 and emperors of Brazil from 1822 to 1889. The Braganza dynasty began in Portugal with Duke Juan Braganza, who was proclaimed King Juan IV in 1640 after the division of Portugal and Spain. Upon the death of Maria II da Gloria (queen from 1834 to 1853), the Braganza dynasty died out in Portugal. The descendants of Maria II, who married the prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Braganza-Coburg dynasty), ruled Portugal from 1853 until the Portuguese Revolution of 1910. The Braganza dynasty ruled in Brazil from its separation from Portugal until the establishment of a republic.