a naval raid on Lisbon. Nonetheless, the overriding goal, a formal pact with France, continued to evade Portugal, whose weakness and isolation had been driven home by its virtual exclusion at the negotiations for the European settlement-of-settlements, the new realpolitik of the Peace of Westphalia (1648). With this treaty and the end of hostilities in Catalonia in 1652, Spain was again ready to direct its efforts against Portugal, but it faced a lack of men, resources, and, especially, good military commanders. Third stage: Portuguese victory By 1662, Spain had committed itself to a major effort to end the war. John of Austria the Younger, Philip IV's illegitimate son, led 14,000 men into Alentejo, and, the following year, they succeeded in taking Évora, the major city of the region. The Portuguese, under António Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquess of Marialva, were bolstered by the arrival of a British brigade which numbered 3,000 in August 1662. Many were veterans of the English Civil War and the Dutch Revolt.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Paul|first1=Hardacre|title=The English Contingent in Portugal, 1662–1668, Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, volume 38|date=1960|pages= 112–125}}</ref> For King Charles II, this was a convenient way of getting rid of demobilized soldiers of Cromwell's New Model Army and removing them from English territory. They were led by the German soldier of fortune, Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, Count of Mértola, The brigade under Schomberg's leadership, proved a decisive factor in winning back Portugal's independence. They defeated the Spanish in a major engagement at Ameixial on 8 June 1663, and this forced John of Austria to abandon Évora and retreat across the border with heavy losses. The Portuguese now had some 30,000 troops in the Alentejo-Extremadura theatre, but they could not draw the Spanish again into a major engagement until June 1665, when a new Spanish commander, the marquis of Caracena, took over Vila Viçosa with about 23,000 men, including recruits from Germany and Italy. The Portuguese relief column under António Luís de Meneses and Schomberg met them at Montes Claros on 17 June 1665. The Portuguese infantry and artillery emplacements broke the Spanish cavalry, and the Spanish force lost over 10,000 men, including casualties and prisoners. Shortly thereafter, the Portuguese retook Vila Viçosa. These were the last major engagements of the war. Both sides returned to skirmishing campaigns. Portugal, with the intercession of its English ally, had sought a truce, but after the decisive Portuguese