- Castilian Civil War
:"For the other conflict sometimes called the 'Castilian Civil War,' see
War of the Castilian Succession ."Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=The First Castilian Civil War
partof=
caption=Battle of Nájera , from a fifteenth-century manuscript, the English and Pedro are on the right.
date=1366 to1369
place=
casus=
territory=
result= Victory forHenry of Trastámara
combatant1=
combatant2=Forces ofHenry of Trastámara ;France ;Crown of Aragon
commander1=Pedro of Castile Edward, the Black Prince John of Gaunt
commander2=Henry of Trastámara Charles V of France Bertrand du Guesclin
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=
casualties2=The First Castilian Civil War [For the second, seeWar of the Castilian Succession .] lasted three years from1366 to1369 . It became part of the larger conflict then raging between theKingdom of England and theKingdom of France : theHundred Years' War . It was fought primarily in theKingdom of Castile and its coastal waters between the local and allied forces of the reigning king, Peter, and his illegitimate brother Henry of Trastámara over the right to the crown.Causes
Peter was called by his supporters "The Just" and by his detractors "The Cruel". To the higher ranks of the nobility, he was a tyrant, forcing the royal will on hitherto free men. He had greatly extended the royal authority and had entered into a war with Aragon (called "
The War of the Two Peters ").His illegitimate brother Henry quickly obtained the support of not only the upper noblesse, but France, Aragon, and the
Papacy . In 1366, he officially deposed his brother as king of Castile, León, Toledo, andSeville and had himself proclaimed king in the monastery ofLas Huelgas .Conflict
In 1366, Henry, then living in
France , assembled a large army, with both French andAragon ese components and English mercenaries, atMontpellier and invaded Castile with the support of the kings of France and Aragon (Charles V and Peter IV respectively). He successfully forced Peter to flee.Peter fled to
Bayonne , a city in English-heldGascony . There, he petitionedEdward, the Black Prince , for aid and, in exchange for lands in Castile, received it. With English troops led by the prince, he returned to Castile and reasserted his royal power in1367 , forcing Henry to return to France after the successfulBattle of Nájera (Navarette) . He refused, however, to make good on his dealings with the English and his allies, including the Prince of Wales himself, soon left. In1368 , Henry and Charles of France signed theTreaty of Toledo whereby the Castilians lent a fleet in theBay of Biscay to the French in return for military aid on land.Henry reentered Castile in
1369 and murdered Peter at theBattle of Campo de Montiel . He was acclaimed Henry II and immediately solidified his rule by removingJews from high office. Castile became, at this time, a stern ally of the French in their ongoing wars.Notes
ources
*Wintle, Justin. "The Rough Guide History of Spain".
Penguin Group ,2003 .
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