victory at Montes Claros and with the signing of a Franco-Portuguese treaty in 1667, the Spanish Habsburgs finally agreed to recognize the House of Braganza as Portugal's new ruling dynasty on 13 February 1668. Recapitulation The five major battles of the war were: Battle of Montijo on 26 May 1644 Battle of the Lines of Elvas on 14 January 1659 Battle of Ameixial on 8 June 1663 Battle of Castelo Rodrigo on 7 July 1664 Battle of Montes Claros on 17 June 1665 The Portuguese were victorious in almost all of these engagements, and peace was concluded, with the help of English mediation, by the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668. Timeline 1640: A small group of conspirators stormed the royal palace in Lisbon and deposed the Vicereine of Portugal, Margaret of Savoy on 1 December 1640. She famously tried to calm the Portuguese people during demonstrations in the Terreiro do Paço, at the time, Lisbon's main square, but her efforts failed. The Duke of Bragança, head of the senior family among the Portuguese nobility, accepted the throne as John IV of Portugal later the same day. John's entire reign was dominated by the struggle to maintain Portuguese independence. 1641: A counter-revolution mounted by the Inquisition failed. It was quelled by Francisco de Lucena, who had its leaders executed. Miguel Luís de Menezes, 2nd Duke of Caminha, was executed for continuing to support the Habsburgs' claim to the Portuguese throne. 1641: Portugal signed alliances with France (1 June 1641) and Sweden (August 1641). 1641: Portugal and the Dutch Republic signed a 'Treaty of Offensive and Defensive Alliance', otherwise known as the Treaty of The Hague, on 12 July 1641. The treaty was not respected by either party; as a consequence, it had no effect on the Portuguese dependencies of Brazil and Angola that were under Dutch occupation. 1641: The Dutch began their occupation of São Tomé and of Ano Bom on 16 October 1641, where they remained until 6 January 1649. This was clearly a violation of the agreement made with Portugal only three months earlier. 1641: Portugal was ousted from Malacca by the Dutch. 1642: The Dutch took over all of the Portuguese Gold Coast (now Ghana). 1643: At the Battle of Rocroi (19 May 1643), in the Ardennes, the French defeated the Spanish. 1644: The Battle of Montijo near Badajoz, between the Portuguese and the Spanish, was fought on