alternatehistory.com

The Treaty of Montehermoso, signed after a few months of complicated bartering by the Catholic Monarchs and Manuel I, provided the framework for the upbringing of Miguel I and the nature of the union of Portugal, Castile, and Aragon.

• The Treaty of Tordesillas (June 7, 1494) and its Papal supplement, Inter caetera, were to be upheld as they were currently interpreted.
• The respective Cortes of Portugal, Castile, and Aragon shall continue to function separately.
• Military cooperation and freedom of movement between the three kingdoms shall only be allowed under royal prerogative and by direct order.
• Miguel shall reside exclusively in Portugal for the first 13 years of his life, after which he shall reside in Portugal, Castile, and Aragon each for 1/3rd of the year (January-April in Castile, May-August in Aragon, and September-December in Portugal).

While the plan for Miguel’s future had been detailed preliminarily in the Treaty of Montehermoso, the Infante Miguel was still to inherit three previously adversarial kingdoms, therefore his instruction would be one of competition between his father and his maternal grandparents. The clause requiring Miguel’s first 13 years spent in Portugal did not prevent Isabel and Fernando from visiting him with an army of Castilian and Aragonese courtiers, sometimes for as many as two months at a time.

The ambitious Manuel and the wily Fernando contended strenuously for the mind of Miguel, but the truly decisive influence in the development of the young Infante’s temperament and conscience was none other than his mother and grandmother. The Infanta Isabel was defined by her religious devotion, indeed, she was hardly ever seen apart from her rosary and prayed the hours diligently every day - both habits that Miguel would follow to the letter. Also, the Infanta possessed a remarkable level of physical courage despite her own frailness - being present for many of her parents military exploits (such as the siege of Granada) - which was a trait which Miguel would mirror (himself also never being very strong in constitution). Isabel of Castile, meanwhile, would raise Miguel with the same unique brand of sternness and affection with which she raised her eldest daughter. Miguel would inherit much of Fernando’s political savviness and Manuel’s sense of thrift and capability for multitasking, but more than either of these would Miguel take to his mother and grandmother's fervent piety, their ardor for law and order, and their belief in Spain’s prophetic role as champion of the cross and a guiding light unto the world.


Miguel’s mother, the Infanta Isabel, bore three more children after him, two daughters and another son - Maria (October 17th, 1500), who died at the age of 4, Beatriz (April 9th, 1502), and Fernando (December 8th, 1504) - the Infanta would never quite recover from the exhaustion of the latter's birth, which, combined with the cold of winter, caused severe complications for the Infanta, who would ultimately die many years later on October 18th, 1511 at the age of 41. Isabel of Castile loved her children dearly, and, just as the death of the Infante Juan had nearly caused her to die of sorrow, the death of her eldest, favorite daughter exhausted what remained of her formerly indefatigable resolve. On December 3rd, 1513, Isabel of Castile passed away at the age of 62, having been struggling with a long, sporadic decline in health since the death of the Infante Juan in 1497. As Isabel had outlived her daughter, Miguel was set to succeed her directly. However, Miguel, being only 15 at the time, was still in his minority, and thus Fernando was named regent of Castile, a position he would hold until Miguel was to accede to the throne two years later, on September 12th 1515.