Portuguese plain architecture between spices and diamonds 1521-1706

«With the accession of John III in 1521, a new and subdued period in Portuguese affairs began. Under his father Manuel I the kingdom had reached its glittering apogee, when the spice trade of the East Indies brought unexampled wealth in its train. These sudden riches had led to extravagance – in overseas commitments, in domestic programs, in the ornate style that marked Manueline buildings. To John, in a leaner time, fell the duty of retrenchment. One result was the distinctively Portuguese “estilo chão” – plain style – which held sway in architecture from that time, through the period of Spanish political domination and for many years thereafter, until the discovery of diamonds in her Brazilian colony gave the country another influx of great wealth.»