Inquirições
Encyclopedia
Inquirições are the Royal Portuguese commissions. They are put forward by the crown in accomplishing edicts.

Afonso II
Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , nicknamed "the Fat" , third king of Portugal, was born in Coimbra on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal by his wife, Dulce, Infanta of Aragon...

 instituted (from 1220) inquirições to investigate the nature of holdings and to recover whatever had been illegally taken from the crown. This issue was in response to the church's rein over Portuguese land as they supported Afonso's fight in the civil war with Sancho II
Sancho II of Portugal
Sancho II , nicknamed "the Pious" and "the Caped" or "the Capuched" , , fourth King of Portugal, was the eldest son of Afonso II of Portugal by his wife, Infanta Urraca of Castile...

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The General Inquirições

The general Inquirições were issued by King Afonso III
Afonso III of Portugal
Afonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian , the fifth King of Portugal and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249...

in 1258 to investigate the nature of holdings and to recover whatever had been illegally taken from the crown. The royal commissions were met with much protest by the prelates as it would have deprived the church of much property. Most of the prelates subsequently left the country.

Although Afonso was excommunicated and threatened with deposition, he continued to defy the church until shortly before his death early in 1279. Eventually, through the royal commission, centralized territories such as Trás-os-Montes were placed under control of the Crown and led to the compilation of valuable information essential to the study of Portuguese medieval history.
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