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Paper short abstract:

We will discuss the relevant role played by the sea and the vessel Santa Maria do Monte Sinai in the wedding of Beatrice of Portugal to Charles II of Savoy, namely through the connectedness of Europe and the Empire to this significant moment for the Portuguese crown foreigner policy

Paper long abstract:

Portuguese history is intrinsically related to the Atlantic. Throughout the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, this relationship with the sea intensified through the maritime expansion. Since travel and power settle in the discourse about the sea, courtly relationship with it became more complex even if women are almost always absent or settled in subordinate roles that escape the narration of History. Nevertheless, women were part of both maritime expansion and vessel traveling. Such is the case of Beatrice of Portugal that departed Lisbon on the way to Nice for her wedding to Charles II of Savoy in 1521 aboard Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai, one of the most powerful vessels of its time and that had served the Carreira das Índias until the previous year. For this, the interior of the ship was accommodated to the needs of female aristocratic domesticity, an opportunity to also express the lineage, fortune, and power of the Portuguese king.

By addressing the relevant role played by the sea in this event and the relation between choosing such vessel and the connectedness of Europe and the Empire to this significant moment for the Portuguese crown foreigner policy, we will also discuss the relationship between women and the sea