Comuneros uprising
The Comuneros uprising ( Spanish : Guerra de las Comunidades de Castilla ) in the years 1520-1522 was an uprising in the part of Castile in Spain against the Habsburg King Charles I. It ended with the defeat of the rebels.
background
In 1516, King Ferdinand II of Aragon died, who had laid the foundation for the political unification of Spain through his marriage to Isabella I of Castile. Ferdinand had no surviving sons, so that the line of succession passed to the House of Habsburg: his daughter Johanna ("the madwoman") was married to Philip the Fair , who, however, had died in 1506; Philip's son Karl , a grandson of King Ferdinand through Johanna , was now entitled to inheritance . Charles, who was born in Flanders in 1500, was considered a foreigner by the Spaniards, especially since he brought his advisors with him from Flanders and intended to rule Spain in a largely absolutist way. When Ferdinand died, Karl was not quite 16 years old, but in view of the mental illness of his mother, the official regent, he strove for his own self-confident government at an early stage. In 1519, when Charles V was also elected German king, the Habsburg Empire finally rose to become a major European power. This challenged rival France, which resulted in lengthy and costly wars. Karl felt compelled to use the resources of Spain for his plans and increased taxes there accordingly, although the country was weakened by drought and crop failures. This caused increased displeasure among the population. In addition, Karl stayed out of the country after 1519 to take care of imperial affairs and left the administration of Spain to his governor Adrian of Utrecht, later Pope Hadrian VI. The dissatisfied took advantage of this situation for the survey.
course
The rebellion began on April 16, 1520 in the royal seat of Toledo . Adrian and the other representatives of the rule of Charles could be driven out. For the insurgents, therefore, the question of establishing a new and effective government quickly arose. Karl's mother Johanna was in the castle of Tordesillas , where she was held captive by Karl like her father. First, however, the rebels certain Juan de Padilla and Pedro Lasso de Vega to their leaders who, together with representatives of other cities that also arose in Ávila the Santa Junta de las Comunidades called into being. This declared itself the provisional government of Spain and the royal council of Charles for deposed. Immediately it was decided to form an army, especially as Adrian was about to regain the city of Medina del Campo with his troops .
The Comuneros meanwhile conquered Tordesillas and freed Johanna, whom they recognized as the sovereign ruler of Spain. On September 24, 1520, she took part for the only time in the meeting of the Cortes , the traditional meeting of the estates, which, according to the insurgents, should meet at least every three years from now on. Karl tried to win over the nobility by choosing his military leaders from among their ranks. In view of the emerging radicalization of the movement, which the peasants and the urban lower classes had now joined, some nobles wanted a stabilization of the situation and a compromise with Karl was considered. The rebels realized that the queen was not helping their cause; she refused to sign any edicts. Karl went over to the military counterattack. He succeeded in retaking Tordesillas and then ordered his mother to be arrested again in the castle.
Juan de Padilla had in the meantime been relieved of his post as Commander-in-Chief by the Comuneros, but he was called back after a defeat. In fact, he succeeded in February 1521 at Torrelobaton in a victory against Charles's troops, but this did not endanger his military superiority, as he brought reinforcements from the rest of the Habsburg Empire. On April 23rd, Charles's troops won the decisive victory over the rebels at the Battle of Villalar ; most of the leaders of the rebellion, including Juan de Padilla, Francisco Maldonado, and Juan Bravo, died in battle or were executed after the battle. The last city was the heavily fortified Toledo under Padilla's widow María Pacheco. On October 25, she negotiated a surrender with Karl, in which the lives of the rebels were to be spared. At the beginning of 1522 the fighting flared up again and the Comuneros were finally defeated. María Pacheco fled to Portugal .
Effects
Charles was the undisputed ruler of Spain, he was supported by the Spanish nobility and made Spain an integral part of the Habsburg Empire. There were no longer any major popular or aristocratic uprisings in the Spanish motherland under his rule. It was not until the Morisk uprising (1568–1570) during the reign of his son Philip that a similarly tense internal situation emerged. Queen Johanna, Karl's mother, remained in captivity until her death 35 years later.
literature
- Constantin von Höfler : The uprising of the Castilian cities against Emperor Karl V. Verlag Tempsky, Prague 1876.
- Joseph Pérez: La revolución des "Comunidades" de Castilla (1520-1521) . Editorial Siglo XXI, Madrid 1985, ISBN 84-323-0285-6 .
- Henry Latimer Seaver: The Great Revolt at Castile. A Study of the Comunero Movement of 1520-1521 . Houghton Mifflin, New York 1928.