First Castilian Civil War
The battle of Nájera according to Froissart
| date | 1351 to 1369 |
|---|---|
| place | Castile |
| Casus Belli | Disputes over the throne |
| output | Henry II's victory |
| consequences | Foundation of the Trastamara dynasty. Support of Castile for France in the Hundred Years' War. Ferdinandean Wars |
| Parties to the conflict | |
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| Commander | |
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Henry II of Castile
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The First Castilian Civil War was a War of Succession for the Kingdom of Castile that lasted from 1351 to 1369. The conflict began after the death of Alfonso XI. of Castile in March 1350. It became part of a longer conflict between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France : the Hundred Years War . It was fought mainly in Castile and on the coasts between local and allied forces by the ruling king, Peter I and his illegitimate brother Heinrich von Trastámara , in order to obtain the right to own the crown.
reasons
Peter I's father, Alfonso XI , was married to Maria of Portugal . From this relationship Peter I of Castile was born. But he also had a lover, Leonor de Guzman . With her he had several illegitimate children, including Henry II. This led to disputes over the succession because Leonor de Guzman made claims for their children against the throne because of the relationship. This dispute led to the split in Castile into two parties, one led by the queen and the other led by the king's mistress, during the lifetime of Alfonso XI.
Peter was called The Righteous by his followers . His enemies, however, called him The Cruel . The high nobles saw him as a tyrant who forced the royal will on free men. From their point of view, he had expanded his royal authority and waged war against the Crown of Aragon (called " The War of the Two Peter "). The lower classes, however, saw him as a just king because of his harsh judgments against the high nobility, who strived for more power at their expense.
The illegitimate eldest son of Leonor de Guzman, Heinrich von Trastámara, quickly received not only the support of the high nobles, but also the support of France, Aragon and also from the Pope . In 1366, he overthrew his half-brother as King of Castile, León , Toledo , and Seville and made himself king in the monastery of Las Huelgas .
conflict
The conflict began as early as 1351, shortly after Peter I's accession to the throne. After his accession to the throne, his mother Maria of Portugal had his father's lover, Leonor de Guzman, murdered. This led to the rebellion of the half-brothers of Peter I under the leadership of Heinrich. They were supported by the high nobility when he planned to curtail their power in favor of the lower classes in 1351.
In an attempt to stop them, they arranged for Peter I to marry Blanche of Bourbon in order to have France as an ally. The failure of this marriage, because Peter I sought an alliance with England, led to the escalation of this rebellion, as the now disgraced Chancellor Juan Alfonso de Albuquerque, the darling of the current Queen Mother, joined them because of the events, took over the reins and she further incited her rebellion. Furthermore, after the failure of the marriage, Peter I's wish to continue living with his beloved Maria Padilla led to the pope and the clergy turning away from him.
In the beginning, it was isolated acts of rebellion that were successfully put down by Peter I. These rebellions were suppressed again and again, with Juan Alfonso de Albuquerque finally dying in 1354 and Henry II again taking his place as leader of the rebellion. Because of the failure of the rebellions, Henry of Trastamara finally fled to France and Aragon, where he found refuge.
From there, Heinrich supported the King of Aragon when Peter I attacked the country and thus sparked the war between the two Peter . In the ensuing fighting, in which he also attacked Castile, several of his brothers died. Nevertheless, he was still unable to turn the situation in his favor and continued to act only from exile.
Escalation of the conflict (1366-1369)
In 1366, Henry, who was then living in France , assembled a large army in Montpellier, which also consisted of French and Aragonese troops, which both kingdoms made available to him. English mercenaries were also there. The army then marched into Castile with the support of the kings of France and Aragon ( Charles V and Peter IV ). This time he was successful and succeeded in forcing Peter to flee and proclaim himself King of Castile.
Peter of Castile then fled to Portugal and from Portugal he then fled across Galicia to Bayonne , a city in Gascon that was controlled by the English. There he asked Edward of Woodstock for help, and in return for land in Castile, he got it. With English troops led by Edward the Black Prince, Peter I returned to Castile and was able to regain the throne in 1367 after defeating Henry in the Battle of Najera , in which England regained its military superiority on the open battlefield could show. Heinrich therefore had to return to France and Peter I got the royal dignity back. But he did not keep his treaties with his allies and in time they left him, including the black prince.
In 1368, Henry and Charles V signed the Treaty of Toledo, in which Henry II undertook to provide the King of France with a fleet in the battle against England in the Hundred Years War in exchange for rural military aid to regain his throne . Henry of Trastamara then marched into Galicia, took several cities there and finally took Leon in April. After this event, all of Galicia sided with Henry. He then invaded Castile in 1369 and personally murdered his half-brother Peter I during the decisive battle of Montiel .
His death marked the end of the civil war. Henry II was then finally proclaimed King of Castile and first removed the Jews , whom Peter I protected, from high positions. Castile has since been an ally of the French in the Hundred Years War.
Consequences
With Henry's accession to the throne, the Burgundy-Ivrea dynasty in Castile ended. Instead, it was replaced by the House of Trastámara , who would rule Castile until 1504. In addition, this accession to the throne gave the Kingdom of France a decisive ally in the fight against the Kingdom of England in the Hundred Years' War . With the help of its superior navy, France was able to recapture most of the territories conquered by the English in France by 1386.
The end of the war also led to the Ferdinandine Wars , which were sparked when the Portuguese king claimed the Castilian throne, which Henry II had usurped, arguing that he was the legitimate successor of Peter I. England supports in an attempt to break the war alliance between Castile and France.
See also
bibliography
- Estow, Clara (1995). Pedro The Cruel of Castille 1350-1369. Suffer. (English) .
- Martínez Gómez Gordo, Juan Antonio (1998): Doña Blanca de Borbón. Guadalajara. (Spanish) .
- Rabbe, Alphon (1826). The history of Spain. Ribbon 1 Dresden.
- Wintle, Justin (2003). The Rough Guide History of Spain. Penguin Group. (English) .