Principality of Catalonia
121-697: Supported by : Crown of Aragon Supported by The Catalan Civil War , also called the Catalonian Civil War or the War against John II , was a civil war in the Principality of Catalonia , then part of the Crown of Aragon , between 1462 and 1472. The two factions, the royalists who supported John II of Aragon and the Catalan constitutionalists (Catalanists, pactists, and foralists), disputed
242-595: A Benedictine monk was the youngest of three brothers. His brothers Peter I (reigned 1094–1104) and Alfonso I El Batallador (The Battler, reigned 1104–1134) had fought against Castile for hegemony in the Iberian peninsula. Upon the death of Alfonso I, the Aragonese nobility that campaigned close to him feared being overwhelmed by the influence of Castile. And so, Ramiro was forced to leave his monastic life and proclaim himself King of Aragon. He married Agnes, sister of
363-519: A General Cortes at Monzón in 1470 the king received the subsidy he requested to carry on the war until the expulsion of the French from Catalonia. Duke John of Lorraine died at Barcelona on 16 December 1470, before an attack on the mountainous redoubt of Francesc de Verntallat could be carried out. With John of Lorraine dead, the Catalans lost their most important ally — King René lived until 1480, but
484-555: A League of Nobles in March 1460. They raised a large number of noblemen, took control of expenditure, and gained the acceptance of Alfonso of Castile , the King Henry's half-brother and Prince of Asturias. To counteract King John II's politicking, Henry IV reacted by invading Navarre in support of Charles, Prince of Viana . Charles was the heir to Navarre, and he revolted against his father John II in 1450 when he refused to cede
605-571: A centralised government. They were more an economic part of the Crown of Aragon than a political one. The fact that the King was keen on settling new kingdoms instead of merely expanding the existing kingdoms was a part of a power struggle that pitted the interests of the king against those of the existing nobility . This process was also under way in most of the European states that successfully effected
726-535: A centralised kingdom. The Crown of Aragon originated in 1137, when the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (along with the County of Provence , Girona , Cerdanya , Osona and other territories) merged by dynastic union upon the marriage of Petronilla of Aragon and Raymond Berenguer IV of Barcelona ; their individual titles combined in the person of their son Alfonso II of Aragon , who ascended to
847-472: A cousin of Joan of Portugal , whom he wanted to marry instead. Therefore, the reason he used to seek the annulment was the sort of spell that only affected his ability to consummate this one marriage, and would not cause any problems for him with other women. Pope Nicholas V corroborated the decision in December of the same year in a papal bull and provided a papal dispensation for Henry's new marriage with
968-467: A daughter, Joanna , nicknamed "La Beltraneja". Six years after the birth of the throne's heir, part of the nobility of Castile revolted against the king. The rebels claimed that the princess was not the daughter of the king, but actually the daughter of Beltrán de La Cueva , 1st Duke of Alburquerque (thus the nickname "Beltraneja"). This hypothesis was reinforced when the Queen had another two children with
1089-466: A delegation of Catalans approached Louis of France at Abbeville to seek his arbitration, but he loudly proclaimed himself a Catalan dynast and mused that "there are no mountains" between Catalonia and France. The Catalan legates wisely decided to return without his arbitration. Peter of Portugal sailed to Barcelona, where he landed in January 1464. He lifted the siege of Cervera, but failed to duplicate
1210-890: A legislative body, known as the Cortes in the Kingdom of Aragon (the Courts of Aragon ) or Corts in the Principality of Catalonia (the Catalan Courts ) and the Kingdom of Valencia (the Valencian Courts ). A Diputación del General or Diputació del General was established in each, becoming known as a Generalidad in Aragon and Generalitat in Catalonia and Valencia. From the 15th century onwards, every realm of
1331-479: A long period of conflict between the rival factions, Henry finally agreed to name Isabella his successor, in Guisando ( Ávila ), provided she allow him to arrange her strategic marriage. Isabella would go on to break this stipulation of the agreement. Henry died in 1474 and was buried at Santa María de Guadalupe , next to his mother. Henry was a striking man. Tall, blonde and well built, he had broken his nose as
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#17327733999731452-591: A lot of time at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid where he would stay for long periods of time. The Royal Alcazar was later replaced with the Royal Palace of Madrid by the rulers of Spain. Prince Henry celebrated his marriage to Blanche of Navarre in 1440, when he was 15 years old. The cardinal Juan de Cervantes presided over the official ceremony. Her parents were Blanche I of Navarre and John II of Navarre . The marriage had been agreed in 1436 as part of
1573-679: A marriage between his son Ferdinand and Henry's half-sister Isabella , formerly the proposed wife of Charles of Viana. In September 1468 Ferdinand took Berga . His proposed marriage won the approval of the Aragonese and Castilian magnates and was celebrated in Valladolid in October 1469. The Duke of Lorraine had returned to Catalonia in May that year and in June took Girona, which he had been holding out through 1467–68, and several smaller places. At
1694-691: A new dynastic union of the Crown of Aragon with the Crown of Castile by the Catholic Monarchs , joining what contemporaries referred to as "the Spains", led to what would become the Spanish composite monarchy under Habsburg monarchs . The Aragonese Crown continued to exist until it was abolished by the Nueva Planta decrees issued by King Philip V in 1707–1716 as a consequence of the defeat of Archduke Charles (as Charles III of Aragon) in
1815-614: A peace treaty with Isabella. In 1440, at the age of fifteen, he was married to Blanche II of Navarre . The marriage was never consummated. In 1453, after thirteen years, Henry sought an annulment. An official examination confirmed the virginity of Blanche, and a priest questioned the prostitutes of Segovia , who confirmed that Henry was sexually capable. Blanche was sent home; eight years later, she became de jure Queen of Navarre and died under strange circumstances. In 1455, Henry married Joan of Portugal , sister of Afonso V of Portugal . After six years of marriage, in 1462, she gave birth to
1936-466: A plot by some former Busca in support of the queen had been publicised and the deputy leader of the Consell, Francesc Pallarès, along with two former leaders, was executed in May. On 11 March, Juana and Ferdinand left unsafe Barcelona for Girona , hoping to receive protection from the French army there. John signed two treaties at Sauveterre (3 May) and Bayonne (9 May) with Louis XI of France whereby
2057-593: A rival king. This event is known in history as the Farce of Avila . Shortly thereafter, Alfonso began handing out land and titles as if he were already uncontested ruler. A civil war began. The most notable clash was at the Second Battle of Olmedo in 1467, which concluded as a draw. However, in 1468, at the age of only 14, Alfonso died, most likely from the plague (although poison and slit throat have been suggested). His will left his crown to his sister, Isabella, who
2178-457: A single state, the Kingdom of Spain , as it moved towards an absolutist centralized government under the new Bourbon dynasty. Some of the nationalist movements in Spain consider the former kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon to be the foundation of their nations, the Catalan nationalist movement being the most prominent. Spanish nationalism , on the other hand, tends to place more importance on
2299-419: A title previously held by Joanna. Henry agreed to the compromise with the stipulation that Alfonso someday marry Joanna, to ensure that they both would one day receive the crown. Not long after this, Henry reneged on his promise and began to support his daughter's claim once more. The nobles in league against him conducted a ceremonial deposition-in-effigy of Henry outside the city of Avila and crowned Alfonso as
2420-499: The status quo ante bellum . For the royalist side, the "rebels" were for having betrayed the fidelity they had sworn to their king; while the anti-royalists considered the royalists "traitors" for not being faithful to the laws of the "land", for being "enemies of public affairs" or simply for being "bad Catalans". Thus, the anti-royalist side developed a new conception of political society in which, according to Catalan historians Santiago Sobrequés and Jaume Sobrequés, "solidarity among
2541-696: The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in autumn 1212 to find that Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester , had conquered Toulouse , exiling Count Raymond VI of Toulouse , who was Peter's brother-in-law and vassal. Peter's army crossed the Pyrenees and arrived at Muret where they were joined by Raymond of Foix and Raymond of Toulouse's forces, in September 1213 to confront Montfort's army. The Battle of Muret began on 12 September 1213. The Catalan, Aragonese and Occitan forces were disorganised and disintegrated under
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#17327733999732662-536: The Beaumonteses , brought the two into conflict. In the early 1450s they were engaged in open warfare in Navarre . Charles was captured and released; and John tried to disinherit him by illegally naming his daughter Eleanor , who was married to Gaston IV of Foix , his successor. In 1451 John's new wife, Juana Enríquez , gave birth to a son, Ferdinand . In 1452 Charles fled his father first for France, later for
2783-544: The Capitulation of Pedralbes , Barcelona surrendered to King John, John agreed to let the warchief John of Calabria leave peacefully and a general pardon was granted. The Count of Pallars , however, was not pardoned. The acts of the Consell and the other organs of Catalan government since the death of Charles of Viana were approved and John swore to uphold the Constitucions. The Capitulation of Vilafranca, however,
2904-477: The Capitulation of Vilafranca , whereby Charles was recognised as his first-born son, lieutenant in perpetuity, and heir in all his realms. The king also surrendered his right to enter the Principality of Catalonia without the permission of the Generalitat. He was also forced to surrender royal prerogatives. The appointment of royal officials was to be done only on the advice of representative bodies. The treaty
3025-680: The Cathars or Albigensians, who rejected the authority and teachings of the Catholic Church , led to the loss of these possessions in southern France. Pope Innocent III called upon Philip II of France to suppress the Albigensians—the Albigensian Crusade , which led to bringing Occitania firmly under the control of the King of France, and the Capetian dynasty from northern France. Peter II of Aragon returned from
3146-515: The Catholic Monarchs who began the Inquisition , were contrary to the more plural development that preceded in the Crown of Aragon. The previous religious background was described as "longstanding tradition of Mudejarism , the royal sanctioning and protection of subject Muslim populations within Christian realms." Aesthetic Mudéjar architecture of Aragon has been observed as demonstrating
3267-461: The DCECH . The crown was made up of the following territories (which are nowadays parts of the modern countries of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Malta , and Andorra ). Sort by "Earliest annexion" to see the states in the chronological order they were joined to the crown. Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian : Enrique IV ; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), nicknamed
3388-526: The Duke of Aquitaine and betrothed his only daughter Petronilla of Aragon to Raymond Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona . The wedding agreement provided Berenguer with the title of Princeps Aragonum and Dominator Aragonensis (Ruler of the Kingdom and Commander of the Aragonese Military) but the title of King of Aragon was reserved for Ramiro II and Berenguer's future sons. Raymond Berenguer IV,
3509-507: The Dutch Revolt . When the war started, John II had been King of Navarre since 1425 through his first wife, Blanche I of Navarre , who had married him in 1420. When Blanche died in 1441, John retained the government of her lands and dispossessed his own eldest son, Charles (born 1421), who was made Prince of Viana in 1423. John tried to assuage his son with the lieutenancy of Navarre, but his son's French upbringing and French allies,
3630-655: The House of Trastámara ). This arrangement, however, did not last long. Before the birth of his daughter, Henry convened the Court in Madrid and Joanna was sworn in as Princess of Asturias. But a conflict with the nobility was created when Beltrán de la Cueva deposed Juan Pacheco, the Marquis of Villena, and his brother Pedro Girón, Master of Calatrava from Henry's court. This caused a change in alliances: Mendoza began to support
3751-600: The Infantes of Aragon would be constant. On 10 October 1444, he became the first and only prince of Jaén . In 1445 he won the First Battle of Olmedo , defeating the Infantes of Aragon. After the victory at Olmedo, Álvaro de Luna's power waned, and Prince Henry and Juan Pacheco's influence grew. Henry IV's father died on 20 July 1454 and he was proclaimed king the following day. One of King Henry's first priorities
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3872-513: The Kingdom of Aragon as the Aragonese noblemen had intended since even before the creation of the Crown of Aragon. The Kingdom of Valencia became the third member of the Crown together with Aragon and the Principality of Catalonia . The Kingdom of Majorca had an independent status with its own kings until 1349. In 1282, the Sicilians rose up against the second dynasty of the Angevins on
3993-536: The Kingdom of Aragon , the Principality of Catalonia (until the late 12th century the County of Barcelona and others), the Kingdom of Valencia , the Kingdom of Majorca , the Kingdom of Sicily , Malta , the Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sardinia . For brief periods the Crown of Aragon also controlled Montpellier , Provence , Corsica , and the twin Duchy of Athens and Neopatras in Latin Greece . In
4114-615: The Llibre del Consolat del Mar or Book of the Consulate of the Sea , written in Catalan , is one of the oldest compilations of maritime laws in the world). However, the different territories were only connected through the person of the monarch. A modern historian, Juan de Contreras y Lopez de Ayala, marquis of Lozoya , described the Crown of Aragon as being more like a confederacy than
4235-513: The Mediterranean Lingua Franca as a language. Although its official classification is that of a pidgin, some scholars adamantly oppose that classification and believe it would be better viewed as an interlanguage of Italian. Linguist Steven Dworkin hypothesized that Catalan was the point of entry for Mediterranean Lingua Franca terms into Spain, arguably the source of several Italian and Arabic loanwords in Spanish, citing
4356-559: The Reconquista by granting different grades of self-government either to cities or territories, instead of placing the new territories under the direct rule of nobility. In 1410, King Martin I died without living descendants or heirs. As a result, on the Compromise of Caspe , representatives from each Iberian state of the Crown, the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia and the Principality of Catalonia, chose Ferdinand of Antequera from
4477-699: The Sicilian Vespers and massacred the garrison soldiers throughout the island. Peter III responded to their call, and landed in Trapani to an enthusiastic welcome five months later. This caused Pope Martin IV to excommunicate the king, place Sicily under interdiction, and offer the kingdom of Aragon to a son of Philip III of France . When Peter III refused to impose the Charters of Aragon in Valencia,
4598-488: The War of the Spanish Succession . Formally, the political centre of the Crown of Aragon was Zaragoza , where kings were crowned at La Seo Cathedral . The 'de facto' capital and leading cultural, administrative and economic centre of the Crown of Aragon was Barcelona , followed by Valencia . Finally, Palma ( Majorca ) was an additional important city and seaport. The Crown of Aragon eventually included
4719-499: The counts of Foix , the counts of Toulouse and the counts of Barcelona were rivals in their attempts at controlling the various counties of the Hispanic Marches and pays of Occitania . And the House of Barcelona succeeded in extending its influence to the area that is now south of France through strong family ties, in the areas of the County of Provence , County of Toulouse and County of Foix . The rebellion of
4840-576: The expulsion of the Moriscos (1609). It was unable to prevent the separation of Sicily and Naples due to the establishment of the Council of Italy, the loss of Roussillon in 1659 after the Reapers' War in the Principality of Catalonia , the loss of Minorca and its Italian domains in 1707–1716, and the imposition of French language on Roussillon (1700) and Castilian as the language of government in all
4961-523: The treaty of Cazorla . The Kingdom of Majorca , including the Balearic Islands, and the counties of Cerdanya and Roussillon-Vallespir and the city of Montpellier , was held independently from 1276 to 1279 by James II of Majorca and as a vassal of the Crown of Aragon after that date until 1349, becoming a full member of the Crown of Aragon from 1349. Valencia was finally made a new kingdom with its own institutions and not an extension of
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5082-539: The Aragonese Kingdom of Sardinia finally extended throughout the island. The subduing of Sardinia having taken a century, Corsica , which had never been wrested from the Genoese, was dropped from the formal title of the Kingdom. Through the marriage of Peter IV to Maria of Sicily (1381), the Kingdom of Sicily , as well as the duchies of Athens and Neopatria , were finally implemented more firmly into
5203-435: The Aragonese out. The war between Arborea and Aragon was fought on and off for more than 100 years; this situation lasted until 1409, when the army of Arborea suffered a heavy defeat by the Aragonese army in the Battle of Sanluri ; the capital Oristano was lost in 1410. After some years during which Arborean rulers failed to organise a successful resurgence, they sold their remaining rights for 100,000 gold florins, and by 1420
5324-552: The Atlantic Ocean. Mercenaries from the territories in the Crown, known as Almogavars participated in the creation of this Mediterranean empire, and later found employment in countries all across southern Europe. The Crown of Aragon has been considered an empire which ruled in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years, with thalassocratic power to setting rules over the entire sea, (as documented, for instance, in
5445-760: The Capetian king Louis IX renounced any historical claim of feudal overlordship over Catalonia. The general principle was clear, Catalan influence north of the Pyrenees, beyond the Roussillon , Vallespir , Conflent and Capcir , was to cease. James I had realized that wasting his forces and distracting his energies in attempts to keep a footing in France would only end in disaster. In January 1266, James I besieged and captured Murcia, then settled his own men, mostly Catalans, there; and handed Murcia over to Castile with
5566-618: The Castilian dynasty of Trastámara as king of the Crown of Aragon as Ferdinand I of Aragon . Later, his grandson King Ferdinand II of Aragon recovered the northern Catalan counties—Roussillon and Cerdagne—which had been lost to France as well as the Kingdom of Navarre , which had recently joined the Crown of Aragon but had been lost after internal dynastic disputes. In 1469, Ferdinand married Infanta Isabella of Castile , half-sister of King Henry IV of Castile , who became Queen of Castile and León after Henry's death in 1474. Their marriage
5687-451: The Castilian throne as the Prince of Asturias . At the time of his birth, Castile was under control of Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo , who intended to select Henry's companions and direct his education. The companions of his own age included Juan Pacheco , who became his closest confidant. The struggles, reconciliations and intrigues for power among the aristocracy, Álvaro de Luna, and
5808-468: The Consell near Cervera at Rubinat on 21–22 July, and proceeded to take Tàrrega . After the victory he joined his forces with Gaston de Foix's at Montcada in September and marched towards Barcelona. The city was besieged until Hug Roger III could arrive with relief troops by sea in October. John II then marched on Tarragona , where the Archbishop Pere d'Urrea urged surrender. With
5929-458: The Crown of Aragon is the familiar coat of the Counts of Barcelona and Kings of Aragon . The Pennon was used exclusively by the monarchs of the Crown and was expressive of their sovereignty. James III of Majorca , vassal of the Crown of Aragon, used a coat of arms with four bars, as seen on the Leges palatinae miniatures. As separate states united to the Crown under the aeque principaliter principle, Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia each had
6050-445: The Crown was granted its own court of justice in the form of Royal Audience , resulting from the division of the Royal Court and the establishment of the Council of Aragon in its place. After the dynastic union with Castile and the establishment of the monarchs in that realm, the king began to be permanently represented in the realms of the Crown of Aragon by viceroys , one for each state, including Mallorca and Sardinia. The house of
6171-434: The Crown was the Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza from Peter II (12th century). The General Courts of the Crown (the simultaneous meeting of the Courts of Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia) used to gather at Monzón (13th to 16th centuries), the remaining meetings took place at Fraga , Zaragoza , Calatayud and Tarazona . The councillor headquarters were located at Barcelona (13th to 16th centuries) and Naples during
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#17327733999736292-423: The Crown. The Greek possessions were permanently lost to Nerio I Acciaioli in 1388 and Sicily was dissociated in the hands of Martin I from 1395 to 1409, but the Kingdom of Naples was added finally in 1442 by the conquest led by Alfonso V . The King's possessions outside of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands were ruled by proxy through local elites as petty kingdoms , rather than subjected directly to
6413-564: The Cuéllar Courts to launch an offensive against the Emirate of Granada . The campaigns of 1455 and 1458 developed into a war of attrition based on punitive raids and avoiding pitched battles. It was not popular with the aristocracy or the people. Juan Pacheco , the Marquis of Villena, and his brother Pedro Girón were put in charge of government decisions. King Henry also took other advisors, such as Beltrán de la Cueva , Miguel Lucas de Iranzo, and Gómez de Cáceres to balance against their influence. In 1458, King Alfonso V of Aragon died and
6534-409: The Duke of Lorraine was shortly forced to return to France to raise troops, Ferdinand campaigned northwards. All the while the king was working to foment a baronial rebellion against Louis XI of France and to foster a tripartite alliance between England , Burgundy , and Aragon. When, in 1468, the brother of the childless Henry IV of Castile, Alfonso de Trastámara y Avís , died, John rushed to propose
6655-480: The French king would lend 700 lances (4,200 knights plus their retainers) in military aid to John in exchange for 200,000 écus and, as surety of payment, the cession of the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne , and the right to garrison Perpignan and Cotlliure . In April, at Olite , the French king had already agreed to acquiesce in John's plan to make Eleanor and her husband his heirs in Navarre and dispossess his eldest daughter, Blanche II of Navarre , who
6776-489: The Impotent , was King of Castile and León and the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became more powerful and the nation became less centralised. Henry was born in 1425 at the Casa de las Aldabas (since destroyed) in Teresa Gil street of Valladolid . He was the son of John II of Castile and Maria of Aragon , daughter of King Ferdinand I of Aragon . He displaced his older sister, Eleanor , and became heir apparent to
6897-424: The Late Middle Ages, the southward territorial expansion of the Aragonese Crown in the Iberian Peninsula stopped in Murcia, which eventually consolidated as a realm of the Crown of Castile , the Kingdom of Murcia . Subsequently, the Aragonese Crown focused on the Mediterranean, governing as far afield as Greece and the Barbary Coast , whereas Portugal, which completed its southward expansion in 1249, would focus on
7018-456: The Navarrese throne so Henry could take it, and selected him as her protector, against her own father John II of Aragon . The remoteness of Aragon led to an approach to Portugal. In March 1453, before his divorce from Blanche was finalised, there was no record of negotiations for the new marriage between Henry and Joan of Portugal , sister of the king Afonso V of Portugal . The first marital approaches were made in December of that year, although
7139-401: The Sicilian nobility in 1460 ensured Sicilian grain and money to feed and finance the royalist cause in Catalonia after 1462. In April 1463 John II ceded Estella in Navarre to Castile and in June Henry formally renounced the Aragonese throne. In October the Consell offered the throne to the constable of Portugal , a grandson of James II of Urgell , who was acclaimed as Peter V . In November
7260-431: The assault of Montfort's squadrons. Peter himself was caught in the thick of fighting, and died as a result of a foolhardy act of bravado. Thus, the nobility of Toulouse, Foix and other vassals of the Crown of Aragon were defeated. The conflict concluded with the Treaty of Meaux-Paris in 1229, in which the Crown of Aragon agreed to renounce its rights over the south of Occitania with the integration of these territories into
7381-424: The civil war, and he failed to put them down. He did succeed in quashing a revolt in Sardinia. Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( UK : / ˈ ær ə ɡ ən / , US : /- ɡ ɒ n / ) was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona and ended as a consequence of the War of the Spanish Succession . At
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#17327733999737502-433: The court of his uncle, John's elder brother, Alfonso V at Naples . From 1454 John governed his brother's Spanish realms—the Crown of Aragon —as lieutenant. When Alfonso died in 1458, Charles was arrested and brought to Majorca . John succeeded Alfonso as ruler of the Crown of Aragon. In his will, Alfonso named Charles as his heir. Among John's early unpopular acts was to quit the war against Genoa , upsetting
7623-461: The dispute between the Anjevins and the Aragonese over Sicily, Pope Boniface VIII created ex novo a Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica and entrusted it as a fief to the Aragonese King James II , ignoring already existing, indigenous states. In 1324, James II finally started to seize the Pisan territories in the former states of Cagliari and Gallura . In 1347 Aragon made war on the Genoese Doria and Malaspina houses, which controlled most of
7744-400: The dominions of the King of France . King James I (13th century) returned to an era of expansion to the South, by conquering and incorporating Majorca , Ibiza , and a good share of the Kingdom of Valencia into the Crown. With the Treaty of Corbeil (1258) , which was based upon the principle of natural frontiers, the Capetians were recognised as heirs of the Carolingian dynasty , and
7865-418: The extent of royal rights in Catalonia. The French entered the war at times on the side on John II and at times with the Catalans. The Catalans, who at first rallied around John's son Charles of Viana , set up several pretenders in opposition to John during the course of the conflict. Barcelona remained their stronghold to the end: with its surrender the war came to a close. John, victorious, re-established
7986-506: The fact that female prostitutes testified to having intercourse with Henry. The question of Joanna's paternity and right to the throne is therefore not firmly answerable, given the lack of available reliable sources. The doubt of her legitimacy as an heir, the weakness of the king, the adultery of the queen, and the unruliness of the nobility all set the stage for a struggle for succession after Henry's death. Henry divorced his wife after her scandalous behavior with Bishop Fonseca's nephew. After
8107-412: The fall of Tarragona (31 October), Henry IV, who was approaching Barcelona by sea, opened negotiations with John and Louis XI. Throughout the winter of 1462–63, both armies were plagued with desertions and neither side could call on more than a few hundred, mostly demoralised, troops. John, though, was supported in Aragon and Valencia , and especially in Sardinia and Sicily . Major concessions to
8228-424: The feat at Lleida, which John captured in July, and several smaller towns. Vilafranca del Penedès , where the Capitulation had been signed three years earlier, fell to the king in August. Cervera, Amposta , and Tortosa fell to John II and John Ramon III, Count of Prades . Peter suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Calaf (or Battle of "Els Prats del Rei") on 28 February 1465, where the count of Pallars Sobirà
8349-500: The first ruler of the united dynasty, called himself Count of Barcelona and "Prince of Aragon". Alfonso II inherited two realms and with them, two different expansion processes. The House of Jiménez looked south in a battle against Castile for the control of the middle valley of the Ebro in the Iberian peninsula. The House of Barcelona looked north to its origins, Occitania , where through family ties it had significant influence, especially in Toulouse , Provence and Foix , towards
8470-406: The first to use it were the Genoese and Venetian trading colonies in the eastern Mediterranean after the year 1000. As the use of Lingua Franca spread in the Mediterranean, dialectal fragmentation emerged, the main difference being more use of Italian and Provençal vocabulary in the Middle East, while Ibero-Romance lexical material dominated in the Maghreb. After France became the dominant power in
8591-413: The frontiers and zones of expansion of each kingdom. Alfonso II assured Valencia by renouncing the Aragonese rights of annexing Murcia in exchange for securing the Aragonese frontier with Castile. This action should be seen as result of the aforementioned priority given over the Occitan and Catalan dominions of the Crown of Aragon. From the ninth century, the dukes of Aquitaine , the kings of Navarre ,
8712-476: The grounds of Henry's sexual impotence due to a curse. This neatly reflected the recent political changes: Castile had supported Charles, Prince of Viana in his fight against John II of Aragon for the Navarrese throne since 1451, and Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo had been executed in May 1453, leaving Henry with greater control of Castile. Henry alleged that he had been incapable of sexually consummating
8833-507: The height of its power in the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of present-day eastern Spain, parts of what is now southern France , and a Mediterranean empire which included the Balearic Islands , Sicily , Corsica , Sardinia , Malta , Southern Italy (from 1442), and parts of Greece (until 1388). The component realms of the Crown were not united politically except at
8954-406: The history of the Crown of Aragon remains a politically loaded topic in modern Spain, especially when it comes to asserting the level of independence enjoyed by constituents of the Crown, like the Principality of Catalonia, which is sometimes used to justify the level of autonomy (or independence) that should be enjoyed by contemporary Catalonia and other territories. The origin of Coat of arms of
9075-487: The influence of Andalusian and Arab culture in Aragon proper. Gothic architecture was also developed. The Mediterranean Lingua Franca was a mixed language used widely for commerce and diplomacy and was also current among slaves of the bagnio , Barbary pirates and European renegades in precolonial Algiers . Among the speakers who created the language, also called Sabir, were Muslims from Aragon called "Tagarins" (a term mentioned by Miguel Cervantes ). Historically,
9196-698: The king had violated four of the Usatges de Barcelona , four of the Constitucions de Catalunya , and the Furs (Laws) of Lleida . The parliament then demanded that John name Charles as his first-born son and heir. This he refused, and the parliament assembled an army under the Count of Modica . The army quickly captured Fraga and John capitulated in February. He freed Charles on 25 February and, on 21 June, signed
9317-590: The king, and Pacheco revived the Aristocratic League aimed at eliminating the influence of Beltrán de la Cueva. They had doubts about the paternity of Henry's daughter, saying that she was in fact the daughter of the new favourite, and started referring to her as "la Beltraneja" . The league of nobles, controlling the king's siblings Alfonso and Isabella , forced Henry at the 1464 Representation of Burgos to repudiate Joanna and recognize Alfonso as his official heir. Alfonso then became Prince of Asturias,
9438-525: The kingdom of Alfonso V. On the other hand, the General Archive of the Crown of Aragon , which was the official repository of royal documentation of the Crown since the reign of Alfonso II (12th century), was located in the Monastery of Santa María de Sigena until the year 1301 and then moved to Barcelona. In the early 15th century, the de facto capital was Valencia until Alfonso V came to
9559-530: The kingdoms on the Iberian peninsula, save the Kingdoms of Portugal and the Algarve, under one monarch—his co-monarch and mother Queen Joanna I in confinement—thereby furthering the creation of the Spanish monarchy, albeit a composite and decentralized one. The literary evocation of past splendour recalls correctly the great age of the 13th and 14th centuries, when Majorca, Valencia and Sicily were conquered,
9680-412: The lands of the former Logudoro state in north-western Sardinia, and added them to its direct domains. The Giudicato of Arborea , the only remaining independent Sardinian state, proved far more difficult to subdue. The rulers of Arborea developed the ambition to unite all of Sardinia under their rule and create a single Sardinian state, and at a certain point (1368–1388, 1392–1409) almost managed to drive
9801-545: The later dynastic union with the Crown of Castile , considering it the origin of one Spanish nation. The reprisals inflicted on the territories that had fought against Philip V in the War of Succession is given by some Valencian nationalists and Catalan nationalists as an argument against the centralism of Spanish nationalism and in favor of federalism, confederation, or even independence. Some Catalans associated their ancient political status with their Generalitat and resistance to Castile. Because restoration of fueros
9922-526: The latter area in the 19th century, Algerian Lingua Franca was heavily gallicised (to the extent that locals are reported having believed that they spoke French when conversing in Lingua Franca with the Frenchmen, who in turn thought they were speaking Arabic), and this version of the language was spoken into the nineteen hundreds... The similarities contribute to discussions of the classification of
10043-451: The level of the king, who ruled over each autonomous polity according to its own laws, raising funds under each tax structure, dealing separately with each Corts or Cortes , particularly the Kingdom of Aragon, the Principality of Catalonia , the Kingdom of Majorca , and the Kingdom of Valencia . The larger Crown of Aragon must not be confused with one of its constituent parts, the Kingdom of Aragon, from which it takes its name. In 1479,
10164-399: The marriage, despite having tried for over three years, the minimum period required by the church. Other women, prostitutes from Segovia, testified that they had had sexual relations with Henry, which is why he blamed his inability to consummate the marriage on a spell. Henry's alleged "permanent impotence" only affected his relations with Blanche. Blanche and Henry were cousins, and he was also
10285-424: The men of a country was produced by having common laws and inhabiting the same land, not as, until then, by the fact of being vassals of the same sovereign». Thus, the modern concept of homeland had emerged that went beyond mere territorial ascription to take on a legal character, so the Catalan rebellion would be, as the French historian Joseph Calmette described, "the first of modern revolutions', hundred years before
10406-611: The merchants of Barcelona. He also refused to aid his nephew, Ferdinand I of Naples , in securing his throne. In 1460 Charles left Majorca unauthorised and landed in Barcelona , where he was welcomed by the two chief factions, the Busca , which were merchants, artisans, and laborers, and the Biga , which were honored citizens and landlords. John did not initially react to the situation, but he called Charles to his court at Lleida to discuss
10527-399: The negotiations were long and the proposal wasn't definitively agreed until February 1455. According to chroniclers of the time, Joan did not provide a dowry and would not have to return anything even if the marriage turned out to be a failure. The length of the negotiations and the concessions could be interpreted as caused by the concerns about the rumours of Henry's impotence. The wedding
10648-402: The nephew of a bishop. Though many contemporary historians and chroniclers believed Henry was impotent or homosexual, the royal chronicles of his reign were all written or revised during the reign (and under the influence) of Isabella I , his half-sister and ultimate successor, whose strong interest in proving Joanna illegitimate renders these accounts at least partially suspect, in addition to
10769-654: The nobles and towns united in Zaragoza to demand a confirmation of their privileges, which the king had to accept in 1283. Thus began the Union of Aragon , which developed the power of the Justícia to mediate between the king and the Aragonese bourgeois. When James II of Aragon completed the conquest of the Kingdom of Valencia, the Crown of Aragon established itself as one of the major powers in Europe. In 1297, to solve
10890-514: The old Aragonese Crown lands in Spain (1707–1716). The Crown of Aragon and its institutions and public law were abolished between 1707 and 1716 only after the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) by the Nueva Planta decrees , issued by Philip V of Spain . The original political structure was swept away, the administration was subsumed into the Castilian laws, the states of the Crown of Aragon loss their status of separate entitites and were united formally with those of Castile to legally form
11011-557: The payment was made. John returned to Barcelona triumphant, but failed to raise the necessary funds. In the summer of 1474 the French conquered Roussillon and March 1475 Perpignan fell to them. The French raided the Empordà as far as Girona in 1476, and John, his allies tied up by their own wars, could not even oppose them. In October 1478 he ceded the two provinces to France until he could redeem them with cash. Revolts against his authority flared in Aragon and Valencia, which had stayed out of
11132-533: The peace negotiations between Castile and Navarre. The dowry included territories and villas that had previously belonged to Navarre but had been won by the Castillian side during the war, and the Castilians agreed to hand the lands back provided they would be given them back again as part of this dowry. In May 1453, the bishop of Segovia Luis Vázquez de Acuña annulled the marriage of Henry and Blanche, on
11253-508: The permanent political capital, but not the economic or administrative capital, owing to the obligation for kings to be crowned at the Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza . During the Crown of Aragon, the Catalan culture and language underwent a vigorous expansion. During the period of trade, Occitan-Catalan contributions to Maltese occurred. King Fernando II and Queen Isabella , as
11374-553: The population growth could be handled without social conflict, and the urban prosperity, which peaked in 1345, created the institutional and cultural achievements of the Crown. The Aragonese crown's wealth and power stagnated and its authority was steadily transferred to the new Spanish crown settled in Castile after that date—the demographic growth was partially offset by the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492), Muslims (1502) and
11495-492: The proposed marriage of Charles to Isabella , infanta of Castile . He still refused to recognise Charles as his "first born", probably seeking to reserve that title for Ferdinand, but arousing opposition in the meantime. Charles opened negotiations with Henry IV of Castile , his father's inveterate enemy. At Lleida on 2 December 1460 he was arrested and imprisoned in Morella . This caused an uproar in Catalonia, where Charles
11616-705: The reemergence of factionalism. Though the treaty allowed for the young Ferdinand, only nine years old, to succeed John, Ferdinand's mother was conspiring with the Busca against the Biga to have the treaty overturned. Civil war broke out with the war of the Remences led by Francesc de Verntallat in February 1462. The peasant revolted against the Consell del Principat with the hope of receiving royal support: Juana worked hard to stoke anti-Busca sentiment in Barcelona. In April
11737-422: The rest of his reign. Isabella became Castile's next monarch when he died in 1474. After the death of the king, war broke out in Castile. Joanna was supported by Portugal, while the eventual winner, Henry's half-sister Isabella I of Castile , had the support of Aragon . France initially supported Joanna, yet in 1476, after losing the Battle of Toro , France refused to help Joanna further and in 1478 signed
11858-519: The revolt. The king, however, intrigued against it and negotiations were scuttled before a treaty could take effect. John II took his first major offensive against the Principality by occupying Balaguer on 5 June. On 9 June 1462 the Consell declared him an enemy of the people and deposed him. In August the Generalitat offered the crown to Henry IV of Castile, who accepted and sent John of Beaumont as his lieutenant. John II meanwhile marched on Lleida , which he did not besiege. He then defeated an army of
11979-468: The sister of the Portuguese king. One of Henry's detractors, the historian Alfonso de Palencia , wrote that the marriage had been a sham and accused Henry of despising his wife and planning to commit adultery to bear children. According to Palencia, Henry demonstrated "most extreme abhorrence" to his wife, and indifference to the confines of marriage. However, in 1462 Blanche gave up her right to
12100-583: The south along the Mediterranean coast and towards the Mediterranean sea . Soon, Alfonso II of Aragon and I of Barcelona committed to conquering Valencia as the Aragonese nobility demanded. Like his father, he gave priority to the expansion and consolidation of the House of Barcelona 's influence in Occitania. Alfonso II signed the treaties of Cazorla , a multilateral treaty between Navarre , Aragon , León , Portugal, and Castile to redefine
12221-508: The throne in 1162. This union respected the existing institutions and parliaments of both territories. The combined state was initially known as Regno, Dominio et Corona Aragonum et Catalonie (only between 1286-1291), and later as Corona Regum Aragoniae , Corona Aragonum or simply Aragon . Petronilla's father King Ramiro, "The Monk" (reigned 1134–1137) who was raised in the Monastery of Saint Pons de Thomières, Viscounty of Béziers as
12342-611: The throne of Navarre. The campaign was a military success, but King Henry made peace with the League of Nobles in August 1461 to ward off the power of the Mendozas, which had allowed John II to intervene in Castile. King John II was in conflict with the Principality of Catalonia , and on the death of his eldest son, Charles of Viana, the principality elected Henry IV to be Count of Barcelona on 11 August 1462. King Henry's intervention
12463-521: The throne. During the 15th and the 16th centuries, the Crown's de facto capital was Naples . After Alfonso V of Aragon , Ferdinand II of Aragon settled the capital in Naples. Alfonso, in particular, wanted to transform Naples into a real Mediterranean capital and lavished huge sums to embellish it further. Later the courts were itinerant until Philip II of Spain . The Spanish historian Domingo Buesa Conde has argued that Zaragoza ought to be considered
12584-531: The transition to the Early Modern state. Thus, the new territories gained from the Moors —namely Valencia and Majorca—were given furs as an instrument of self-government in order to limit the power of nobility in these new acquisitions and, at the same time, increase their allegiance to the monarchy itself. The trend in the neighbouring kingdom of Castile was quite similar, both kingdoms giving impetus to
12705-488: The treaty of Bayonne, counter-attacked a few weeks later, but some Castilian troops under Prince Ferdinand successfully resisted. John began negotiations that led to a truce in July and a treaty at Perpignan on 17 September. John recognised the treaty of Bayonne in return for French recognition of his sovereignty in the disputed provinces. John agreed to pay 300,000 écus , and Roussillon and Cerdagne were proclaimed "neutral" until
12826-525: Was a dynastic union which became the constituent event for the dawn of the Monarchy of Spain . At that point both the Castile and the states of the Crown of Aragon remained distinct polities, each keeping its own traditional institutions, parliaments and laws. The process of territorial consolidation was completed when their grandson King Charles I , known as Emperor Charles V, in 1516 ruled over all of
12947-616: Was a grandson of John I of Aragon —was designed to fracture the French alliance. René sent as his lieutenant his blind son John II, Duke of Lorraine , with much needed reinforcements. Speedily John besieged Girona, captured Banyoles , occupied the Empordà , and entered Barcelona in August 1466. The entire Empordà, however, did not remain occupied for long. In October John of Lorraine defeated Prince Ferdinand at Viladamat . The prince sustained heavy losses and John II, who had recently landed at Empúries , fled with his son to Tarragona. When
13068-487: Was a victory for the Catalanists (who stressed Catalan independence and pre-eminence), pactists (who stressed the relationship between monarch and Catalonia as a mutual agreement), and the foralists (who stressed the ancient privileges, the fueros , of Catalonia). Charles died of tuberculosis in Barcelona on 23 September, a fact which threatened the treaty of June. While Charles had inspired unity, his death sparked
13189-443: Was asked to take her brother's place as the champion of the rebels. Shortly thereafter at the negotiation of Toros de Guisando , in which she and her allies received most of what they desired, Henry agreed to exclude Joanna la Beltraneja from the succession, and to recognize Isabella as his official heir. Though Henry continued to resist this decision when possible, his actions were ineffective, and he remained at peace with Isabella for
13310-561: Was captured. Peter died at Granollers in June 1466. Tortosa capitulated shortly after his death, as did some other small places. The king had offered to pardon his enemies and respect the Constitucions and the municipal privileges, so that the Generalitat was debating submission, but a minority on the Consell was deadset against it. On 30 July 1466 the Consell elected René the Good , the Count of Anjou and Provence and failed claimant to several crowns, as their new king. His election—he
13431-445: Was celebrated in May 1455, but without an affidavit of official bull authorizing the wedding between them, although they were first cousins (their mothers were sisters) and half second cousins (their paternal grandmothers were half-sisters). On 28 February 1462, the queen gave birth to a daughter Joanna la Beltraneja , whose paternity came into question during the conflict for succession to the Castillian throne when Henry died. Henry IV
13552-585: Was framed as a rivalry between him and John II, making Catalonia an unstable point in the Crown of Aragon. But he was unsuccessful, and the Castillian economy would suffer from an enmity with France, who had supported John II with the Treaty of Bayonne . Henry IV therefore agreed to a settlement in the Judgment of Bayonne , resulting in the abandonment of the Catalans . During his reign as king, Henry IV spent
13673-421: Was given over to Eleanor and Gaston's custody. She was poisoned in prison in 1464. At the same time the Consell del Principat formed an army to put down the rebellion of the remences . The army of the Consell was placed under the command of Hug Roger III , Count of Pallars Sobirà , commander of the army of the Generalitat. After besieging and capturing Hostalric on 23 May, Hug Roger marched on Girona, where he
13794-454: Was immensely popular, and the king was forced to suspend court. The Generalitat and the Consell de Cent , the municipal council of Barcelona, created a Consell del Principat ("Council of the Principality") to settle the matter of the rightful succession. the Catalan Courts (the parliament) were called for 8 January 1461. At the parliament, Joan Dusai, the noted doctor of laws , ruled that
13915-634: Was not personally present in Catalonia; he appointed John's eldest bastard son, John of Calabria, Count of Briey, his new lieutenant. In 1471 the French troops fighting with the Catalans retired to France and the advantage shifted decidedly to John II. Joan Margarit , the Bishop of Girona , returned his city to John (October 1471), followed by other towns. King John II campaigned in the Alt Empordà until June 1472 and then against Barcelona. A naval and land siege lasted from November 1471 to 16 October 1472. By
14036-399: Was one of its tenets, Carlism won support in the lands of the Crown of Aragon during the 19th century. The Romanticism of the 19th century Catalan Renaixença movement evoked a "Pyrenean realm" that corresponded more to the vision of 13th century troubadours than to the historical reality of the Crown. This vision survives today as "a nostalgic programme of politicised culture". Thus,
14157-475: Was received warmly on 6 June while the queen and the prince took refuge in the citadel, the Força Vella ("old fort"), throughout June. Gaston of Foix , leading a French army, took Girona on 23 July and rescued the queen and prince. Throughout the summer the Generalitat and the municipal council of Barcelona worked with the peasant leaders and various noble factions to draw up an agreement and bring an end to
14278-411: Was rejected. The last action of the war was on the part of the Catalan barons of Roussillon and Cerdagne, which had been assigned to France as surety for war subsidies. The French were only slowly expelled. On 1 February 1473, John entered Perpignan to the joy of its citizens. He placed Catalan garrisons in the castles of Bellegarde , Collioure , and Salses . The French, angered by the abridgement of
14399-456: Was succeeded by his brother, John II of Navarre. King John II resumed his interference in Castillian politics, supporting the aristocratic opposition to Juan Pacheco's ambitions. With the support of the King Henry, Pacheco moved to seize Álvaro de Luna's assets, but his widow allied herself with the Mendoza family, causing a division among the aristocracy. This process resulted in the formation of
14520-463: Was the alliance with Portugal. He achieved this by marrying a second time to Joan of Portugal , daughter of King Edward of Portugal , in 1455; and by meeting her brother King Afonso V of Portugal in Elvas in 1456. His other main concerns were the possibility of intervention from King John II of Navarre , establishing peace with France and Aragon, and pardoning various aristocrats. Henry IV convened
14641-412: Was twenty-six years old when his half-sister Isabella was born. She was the daughter of his father's second marriage in 1447, to Isabella of Portugal . Henry made a number of attempts throughout his reign to arrange a politically advantageous marriage for his much younger sister. The first attempt was when the six-year-old Isabella was betrothed to Ferdinand , son of John II of Navarre (a cadet branch of
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