Page "John V of Portugal" Paragraph 8

His long reign was characterized by a strengthening of the king's power due to the incomes the crown earned by exploring the newly found gold and diamond mines in the Portuguese colony of Brazil.

A fifth of each ton extracted from these mines was crown property, the rest being divided among claim owners, contractors and public administrators.

This sudden wealth enabled the king to rule without summoning the Portuguese Cortes, thus becoming an absolute monarch.

Due to his centralist ruling, he had to endure the political opposition of several noble families and influential clergymen.

In what most probably was an effort to tame the upper nobility, John V built his own Versailles, the grand Royal Palace of Mafra and the Palace of Necessidades and it's park, in Lisbon .< Ref > http :// www. portugal. gov. pt / pt / os-ministerios / ministerio-dos-negocios-estrangeiros / quero-saber-mais / quero-aprender / mne-palacio-necessidades. aspx </ Ref >