War of the Castilian Succession

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Henry IV.
Joan of Castile
Alfons V.
Isabella I.
Ferdinand V.

The War of the Castilian Succession , which lasted from 1474 to 1479, was about the succession of Henry IV of Castile . The two pretenders to the throne were Heinrich's daughter Johanna von Kastilien and his half-sister Isabella with her husband Ferdinand , who were finally able to enforce their claim. The intervention of Portugal and France made the conflict international.

reasons

Although it was primarily about the succession of King Henry IV of Castile, who died on December 11, 1474, in Castile it was more a dispute about the power of the nobility, represented by the followers of Joanna against the power of the crown, represented by Isabella and Ferdinand. This conflict between an alliance of the large noble families (liga nobiliaria castellana) and the crown had been smoldering since the reign of King John II and broke out in various uprisings and armed conflicts in the last years of Henry IV's reign. Portugal's interest in the dispute was not primarily in asserting Joan's claim to the throne, but in weakening Castile in order to gain advantages in determining the areas of influence of Castile and Portugal in Africa and the Atlantic. Tensions existed between France and Aragón as France sought possession of Roussillon and the Perpignan area. France also showed great interest in the Kingdom of Mallorca and would have liked to bring the Kingdom of Navarre under its control. In addition, France and Aragon were in dispute over rule in Naples, Sicily and Sardinia. At the beginning of December 1474, a few days before the death of Henry IV, French troops marched into Roussillon and besieged Perpignan. In a treaty of alliance of September 1475, Portugal assured France that in the event of victory, France would cede Roussillon, Serdagne and Mallorca.

Background of the succession dispute

In 1440 the then 15-year-old later King Henry IV of Castile married the 16-year-old Blanka of Navarra (* 1424, † 1464). More than twelve years later, a court of the Bishop of Segovia declared the marriage null and void in 1453. The reason given was the husband's impotence (Heinrich IV). In 1455, a year after his proclamation as King of Castile, Henry married his cousin Juana de Avis y Aragón, the sister of the Portuguese King Alfonso V. Although there was a dispensation for the remarriage of Henry, but not for his marriage to a close one Blood relatives.

In 1462, after seven years of marriage, the queen gave birth to a girl, Johanna . The Cortes of Madrid recognized Johanna as heir to the throne. It was well known at court that the queen led a very revealing life. She is believed to have had many adventures and at least two illegitimate children. Johanna was nicknamed "La Beltraneja" because Beltrán de la Cueva was presumed to be the father.

This gave rise to two arguments against Johanna's succession to the throne. On the one hand, that she could not be Heinrich's daughter because of Heinrich IV's impotence. On the other hand, because of the invalidity of the marriage between Henry IV. And his second wife Juana de Avis y Aragón, she was not entitled to inheritance. Isabella took over the second argument, as it did not have to express herself on such sensitive issues as Henry IV's impotence and / or sexual inclinations or the affairs of the queen.

Heinrich himself recognized Johanna's inheritance claims in various agreements. So he disinherited her z. B. on November 30, 1464 under pressure from the nobility, but without declaring her illegitimate, and recognized his brother Alfons as heir to the throne.

On June 5, 1465, a group of nobles in Ávila proclaimed Alfons, who was 11 years old at the time, the half-brother of Henry IV, king. This proclamation was preceded by a play in which a doll, which was supposed to represent Henry IV, was removed the crown by Alfonso Carillo de Acuña, the Archbishop of Toledo, and then by Juan Fernández Pacheco y Téllez Girón , the Marquis of Villena, the scepter . This incident became known as the Farsa de Ávila . Under a King Alfonso who was in the care of some members of the high nobility, the authority and power of the crown would have suffered considerable losses. After Alfons' death, Isabella did not allow herself to be forced to succeed her brother in this regard.

When the Pact of Guisando was concluded between Henry IV and Isabella in 1468, the Apostolic Legate and Bishop of León released all persons from the oaths they had taken on Henry's daughter Johanna as the legitimate heir to the throne. In the pact itself, the king continued to assume that Joanna was his daughter, but that his marriage to her mother, Joanna of Portugal, was invalid because the dispensation required because of the close relatives of the spouses was missing. He made Isabella Princess of Asturias.

When he died on December 11, 1474, Henry IV left no will or any other instructions that would have regulated a succession to the throne.

Background of the expansion policy

Pope Nicholas V had already authorized the Portuguese to conquer countries in West Africa on June 18, 1452 in the Bull Dum diversas and Pope Nicholas V on January 8, 1455 in the Bull Romanus Pontifex . Castile, on the other hand, had an interest in the coastal strip of Africa east of the Canary Islands. Before and during the War of Succession, there were various clashes between Portuguese and Castilian conquerors and traders in the area. Portugal also had an interest in reaching India by circumnavigating Africa in order to avoid land trade between East Asia and the Mediterranean. During the war, the Castilians tried to interfere in the African trade, which until then had been a monopoly of the Portuguese. The Basque sailors had inflicted losses on the enemy; Castilian corsairs attacked Portuguese merchant ships; Andalusians made expeditions to the Gulf of Guinea.

course

Isabella was proclaimed queen in Segovia on December 13, 1474. The reactions to Isabella's proclamation varied among the kingdoms of the Crown of Castile. It received the approval of various of the important noble families, church princes and cities. For the time being, no hostilities developed, even if some aristocratic families waited and apparently did not take notice of the proclamation.

In simplified terms, the situation can be described in such a way that the northern part of the peninsula, with the exception of the areas on the Portuguese border, recognized or at least accepted the Catholic kings Isabella and Ferdinand as legitimate rulers. The Archbishopric of Toledo, the Marquisate of Villena, Estremadura, Andalusia, and Galicia (that is, more than half of the kingdom) resisted Isabella. However, Johanna's supporters were unable to do anything against Isabella without outside help. Princess Johanna was in the care of Diego López Pacheco y Portocarrero, Marques de Villena. He first negotiated with the Catholic Kings about an amicable solution to the conflict. He demanded that Johanna should be appropriately married according to her position. He promised to hand them over to the kings after such a marriage was agreed. However, when the Catholic Monarchs demanded immediate extradition, the Marques de Villena contacted the King of Portugal.

Portuguese invasion

As early as December 1474, the Portuguese King Alfonso V asked the Castilian nobles not to recognize Isabella but his niece Johanna as Queen of Castile. He summoned the Portuguese Cortes to approve funds for a war against Isabella. He had the fortresses on the border with Castile reinforced and set up an attack army. The army consisted of about 15,000 people, who from May 10, 1475 crossed the border at various points and marched towards Salamanca and Zamora . Alfons was able to move into Toro and establish himself there.

On May 29, 1475, the 43-year-old Portuguese King Alfonso V married his 13-year-old niece Johanna in Plasencia . The dispensation for this marriage was issued by Pope Sixtus IV on February 3, 1467 but was not published until a few months later.

Ferdinand and Isabella were able to assemble a troop of 2000 men (riders with armor and lances), 6000 riders and 20,000 infantrymen, with whom they marched towards Toro in July . In terms of number, the Castilian troops were far superior to the Portuguese. However, it was undisciplined and had no uniform command structure. On July 15, Ferdinand was informed that Zamora had opened the gates to the enemy. He then dropped his plan to take Toro. Since the Catholic kings lacked the means to finance the war due to the lack of taxes, they pawned their personal jewelry and requisitioned sacred vessels from the churches. This enabled the campaign in the summer of 1475 to be financed. In the following time the war took place in different places. Some supporters of Isabella, who had their own troops, were sent to the areas of the supporters of Joan to prevent them from supporting Alfonso V. In addition, a further advance of the Portuguese towards the north could be prevented. On January 19, 1476, Isabella was able to take possession of the fortress of Burgos after a siege and bombardment by artillery. After Ferdinand was able to occupy the city of Zamora, the fortress surrendered in March.

Battle of Toro

On March 1, 1476, the two opposing armies faced each other in a field battle near Toro. The supporters of Joan were led by Alfonso V of Portugal and his son John . The Archbishop of Toledo and the Bishop of Evora participated personally and with their own troops. Ferdinand was in command of the other side. He was supported by the Cardinal Mendoza, the Bishop of Avila and the Duke of Alba with their troops. After the fighting, both sides declared themselves winners. This was also evident in later years at corresponding memorial events. But even if the supporters of Johanna were not really defeated in the Battle of Toro, the result led to the Portuguese Prince Johann withdrawing to Portugal with a large part of his troops and Johanna.

Attack by France

In March 1475 a French army of 50,000 men crossed the border with Castile at Hendaye . The French were pushed back to Bayonne by a counteroffensive by the Castilians . The French siege of Fuenterrabía could also be repulsed by the Basque Navy. In June 1475, Alfonso V personally traveled to France to ask for more help. But France made no further move against Castile. It was not until October 9, 1478 that France and Castile made peace with the Treaty of St. Jean-de-Luz. This treaty did not concern the dispute between France and Aragón over Roussillon and Cerdagne. Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Aragon at that time.

Conflicts at sea and in Africa

At that time, Castile did not have a navy. Isabella granted Antón Rodríguez y Gonzalo Corona in Valladolid on August 19, 1475 permission to also head for parts of Africa south of Cape Bojador in order to trade there. In 1477, it also confirmed the rights of Genoese merchants from Seville to import wheat, gold and ivory from the African coast. The merchant ships were usually well armed. In March 1476, Isabella Antón Martín authorized Nero to make conquests for the Crown of Castile in the Cape Verde Islands .

Pacification of the country

Some of the Portuguese troops remained in Castilian territory after the Battle of Toro. They continued to control a number of places and fortresses at strategic points on the border with Portugal. Above all, these were pledges for possible peace negotiations. The Castilian nobles, who had stood up for Joan's succession to the throne, now sought rapprochement and reconciliation with the Catholic Kings. They traveled through the country and negotiated both with the nobles who had supported them and with those who had supported Johanna. They reorganized the domains of the noble families and in most cases they restored the situation that existed at the beginning of the reign of Henry IV. Even the leaders of the supporters of Johanna, the Marques de Villena, Diego López Pacheco y Portocarrero and the Archbishop of Toledo, Carrillo submitted to the Catholic Kings in September 1476. The civil war phase of the War of Succession practically came to an end.

After the Battle of Toro there was hardly any fighting between Portugal and Castile. It was not until February 1479 that Alfonso V attacked Castile again. A Portuguese army under the command of García de Meneses, the bishop of Evora, crossed the border near Badajoz. On February 24, 1479, the Portuguese were defeated in Albuera by the Castilian troops under the leadership of Alfonso de Cárdenas, Grand Master of the Order of Santiago . Then Alfons was ready to negotiate.

Treaty of Alcáçovas

At the request of her aunt Beatrix of Portugal the Duchess of Bragança, Isabella traveled to Alcántara in February 1479 to meet her there. Both sides brought in qualified legal scholars who, after months of negotiations, on September 4, 1479, negotiated a series of separate treaties known as the Treaty of Alcáçovas .

In the preamble, both sides undertake not to commit any acts of war against one another. You also waive any direct claims to the throne in the other countries.

  • In the first treaty, Portugal got the right to all islands and the monopoly of seafaring and trade south of the Canary Islands. Castile's right to the Canary Islands was recognized. Castile promised not to interfere in the conquest of the kingdom of Fez by Portugal.
  • The second treaty deals with Johanna's fate. She is offered the alternative either to marry the Castilian heir to the throne Johann when he has reached the age of 14. However, the latter can also refuse the marriage. In this case, Johanna would receive financial compensation. As an alternative, she was offered to enter a monastery.
  • The third treaty regulated the marriage between Alfonso, Infanta of Portugal and Isabella, the eldest daughter of the Catholic Kings.
  • The fourth treaty deals with the treatment of the Castilian nobles who had campaigned for Joan's succession to the throne. They were to be placed largely as they were before Isabella's accession to the throne.

The text of the treaties was signed by the negotiators on September 4, 1479 and ratified by King Alfons of Portugal on September 8, 1479 and by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on March 6, 1480. In the Bull Aeterni regis , Pope Sixtus IV gave his blessing to the content of the agreement on June 21, 1481.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: La guerra civil castellana y el enfrentamiento con Portugal. (1475-1479). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, accessed October 18, 2014 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: La guerra civil castellana y el enfrentamiento con Portugal. (1475-1479). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, accessed October 18, 2014 (Spanish).
  3. ↑ Walther L. Bernecker; Horst Pietschmann: History of Spain - From the early modern era to the present . 4th edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-17-018766-X , p. 40 .
  4. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 59 (From the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  5. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 61 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  6. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 60 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  7. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 60 f . (From the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  8. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 60 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  9. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 62 f . (From the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  10. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 68 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  11. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 99 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  12. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: La guerra civil castellana y el enfrentamiento con Portugal. (1475-1479). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, accessed October 18, 2014 (Spanish).
  13. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 82 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  14. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 93 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  15. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 85 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  16. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 89 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  17. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 89 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  18. ↑ Walther L. Bernecker; Horst Pietschmann: History of Spain - From the early modern era to the present . 4th edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-17-018766-X , p. 39 .
  19. ↑ Walther L. Bernecker; Horst Pietschmann: History of Spain - From the early modern era to the present . 4th edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-17-018766-X , p. 40 .
  20. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: La guerra civil castellana y el enfrentamiento con Portugal. (1475-1479). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, accessed October 18, 2014 (Spanish).
  21. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 92 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  22. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 98 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  23. ^ Jesús Varela Marcos: El Tratado de Tordesillas en la Politica Atlántica Castellana. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Universidad de Valladolid, October 1994, archived from the original on November 5, 2014 ; Retrieved on November 2, 2014 (Spanish, the text has also been published as a book). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / alojamientos.uva.es
  24. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: La guerra civil castellana y el enfrentamiento con Portugal. (1475-1479). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, accessed October 18, 2014 (Spanish).
  25. ↑ Walther L. Bernecker; Horst Pietschmann: History of Spain - From the early modern era to the present . 4th edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-17-018766-X , p. 41 .
  26. ↑ Walther L. Bernecker; Horst Pietschmann: History of Spain - From the early modern era to the present . 4th edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-17-018766-X , p. 41 .
  27. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: La guerra civil castellana y el enfrentamiento con Portugal. (1475-1479). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, accessed October 18, 2014 (Spanish).
  28. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: La guerra civil castellana y el enfrentamiento con Portugal. (1475-1479). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, accessed October 18, 2014 (Spanish).

literature

  • Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 394 (from the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  • Walther L. Bernecker; Horst Pietschmann: History of Spain - From the early modern era to the present . 4th edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-17-018766-X .

Web links

Commons : Isabella I (Castile)  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: La guerra civil castellana y el enfrentamiento con Portugal. (1475-1479). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, accessed October 18, 2014 (Spanish).

swell

  • Translator Dr. JA Robertson: Treaty Between Spain and Portugal, Concluded at Alcacovas, September 4, 1479. Lillian Goldman Law Library, accessed October 13, 2014 .
  • Sixtus IV: Aeterni Regis. Papal Bulls. June 21, 1481, accessed October 30, 2014 .
  • Alexander VI .: Bulas Inter Caetera. May 3, 1493, Retrieved October 30, 2014 (Spanish).
  • Justification of the decision on the annulment of the marriage between the Prince of Asturias Heinrich and the Princess Blanca from the year 1455 reprinted in: Ed. Marques de Pidal et al .: Colección de Documentos inéditos para la história de España . tape 40 . Imprenta de la Viuda de Calero, Madrid 1862, p. 444 (Spanish). www.archive.org/details/coleccindedocu40madruoft