AHC : War of the Castilian Succession with Louis XI help

In my TL, Louis XI quickly gains the control of Burgundy after the death of Charles the Bold and manage to get an engagement between his son and Mary of Burgundy. OTL Afonso went to France to obtain the assistance of the french king but was deceived by the French monarch and returned to Portugal in 1477. So in my scenario louis XI give him a help of three thousand soldier and few pieces of artillery as well as 150,000 golden crown (in the early August 1477).

I want to know if it would change the course of the war ? i started to make some search and it seems feasible but in Isabella of Castile already begun to impose her reign, so in your opinion could the Portugeses win with this help ?
 
As far as I am aware, the French did actually join in the war of Castillan succession IOTL, a factor which actually turned the war in favor of the Isabellistas, due to the French being seen as invaders.
 
Yeah, but OTl this help quickly fade seen Louis XI was involved in the burgundian conflit so Afonso V of Portugal departed towards France to involve France to a greater extent in the war but he failed miserably.

But here without the war louis XI would gladly help and the Portuguese continued the war some time by example with this help maybe the portugese troop could help the rebell in the Utrera but at the same time Isabella started already to strengthen his reign but some defeat could push some noble to rebel.
 
Diego of Viseu or the OTL Manuel I can marry Joanna of Castile after the war since the marriage with Afonso V is technically invalid and was done to protect her claims.
 
Diego of Viseu or the OTL Manuel I can marry Joanna of Castile after the war since the marriage with Afonso V is technically invalid and was done to protect her claims.
Why would either of them marry Joanna? Prince John, future John II, would oppose that because it would just strengthened the House of Viseu and that was the last thing that the King and the Prince wanted to do. Marrying any of those two, considering that both had claims to the Portuguese Crown, would be stupid.

I want to know if it would change the course of the war ? i started to make some search and it seems feasible but in Isabella of Castile already begun to impose her reign, so in your opinion could the Portugeses win with this help ?

Problem is that the overall objective of King Afonso V wasn't really to form a union with Castela, that would just be the bonus, he only wanted to avoid a union between Castela and Aragão, because Portugal always wanted to be one doing that union in the long term and because those two combined would have 5 times Portugal's population and territory , and he wanted to force the Castillians to accept Portuguese Hegemony in Africa.

Overall the war went pretty well for Portugal, we won the naval part of it, and the Battle of Toro, while inconclusive, proved to all powers in the Peninsula that the Portuguese army was a power to be recon with. But the war was very unpopular in Portugal, while the army was marching to Toro the Castilians were looting the border regions of Portugal, and many soldiers deserted before the battle or were forced to garrison strongholds in the lands under occupation and but the problem was that by 77 the nobility and the Captains were sick and tired of the war, Africa was much more lucrative for them than a war in Castela.

In the end 3000 men is too small a number to make a real diference, and Portugal had a policy of not using foreign cannons because of the dodgy quality, the Crown favoured hiring German and Bohemian gunsmiths and bring them, and their families, to Lisbon so that they would produce the weapons in Portugal to make sure the quality was the best possible, the gold would be useful, it always is, but money wasn't the problem, between the sugar from Madeira and the gold and slaves from Guinea money wasn't a problem for the crown, the problem is the deep unpopularity of the war in Portugal, if the war had support from everyone Afonso could had fielded a well equipped twenty-five thousand strong army with many experienced Captains from the wars in Africa.

What could change the war, was if France invaded Aragão, even a small army would force Ferdinand to leave Castela to go protect his Kingdom leaving Isabella alone against Afonso and the pro-Portuguese nobility, if that happens then that would place the Castilians loyal to Isabella on the defensive, which means no more looted Portuguese lands, which could make the nobility, and the Captains, more supportive of the war.
 
Why would either of them marry Joanna? Prince John, future John II, would oppose that because it would just strengthened the House of Viseu and that was the last thing that the King and the Prince wanted to do. Marrying any of those two, considering that both had claims to the Portuguese Crown, would be stupid.



Problem is that the overall objective of King Afonso V wasn't really to form a union with Castela, that would just be the bonus, he only wanted to avoid a union between Castela and Aragão, because Portugal always wanted to be one doing that union in the long term and because those two combined would have 5 times Portugal's population and territory , and he wanted to force the Castillians to accept Portuguese Hegemony in Africa.

Overall the war went pretty well for Portugal, we won the naval part of it, and the Battle of Toro, while inconclusive, proved to all powers in the Peninsula that the Portuguese army was a power to be recon with. But the war was very unpopular in Portugal, while the army was marching to Toro the Castilians were looting the border regions of Portugal, and many soldiers deserted before the battle or were forced to garrison strongholds in the lands under occupation and but the problem was that by 77 the nobility and the Captains were sick and tired of the war, Africa was much more lucrative for them than a war in Castela.

In the end 3000 men is too small a number to make a real diference, and Portugal had a policy of not using foreign cannons because of the dodgy quality, the Crown favoured hiring German and Bohemian gunsmiths and bring them, and their families, to Lisbon so that they would produce the weapons in Portugal to make sure the quality was the best possible, the gold would be useful, it always is, but money wasn't the problem, between the sugar from Madeira and the gold and slaves from Guinea money wasn't a problem for the crown, the problem is the deep unpopularity of the war in Portugal, if the war had support from everyone Afonso could had fielded a well equipped twenty-five thousand strong army with many experienced Captains from the wars in Africa.

What could change the war, was if France invaded Aragão, even a small army would force Ferdinand to leave Castela to go protect his Kingdom leaving Isabella alone against Afonso and the pro-Portuguese nobility, if that happens then that would place the Castilians loyal to Isabella on the defensive, which means no more looted Portuguese lands, which could make the nobility, and the Captains, more supportive of the war.
Of course, a full-fledged French invasion of Aragon could go very bad very quickly. France might have an effect of surprise, hence ruining the advantage brought by the Pyrrenean mountains (Louis XI owned Cerdagna and Roussillon).
 
Of course, a full-fledged French invasion of Aragon could go very bad very quickly. France might have an effect of surprise, hence ruining the advantage brought by the Pyrrenean mountains (Louis XI owned Cerdagna and Roussillon).

Even if it fails miserably it would probably stop the Castilian raids into Portugal, for a while at least, which was the main argument against the war in Portugal, that would probably give the King enough support for a second great attack against Castela, which OTL was only possible after the naval victory in Guinea. A 78 attack, instead of 79 one, could had changed the way the war would end.
 
Pethaps the Duke of Orleans can marry Juana instead..

Why would Castela ever agree to that? Or Portugal for that matter? No one wanted the French to have a claim to Castela, Juana's future would always be decided in the final peace treaty and that will depend on who wins the war.
 
What could change the war, was if France invaded Aragão, even a small army would force Ferdinand to leave Castela to go protect his Kingdom leaving Isabella alone against Afonso and the pro-Portuguese nobility, if that happens then that would place the Castilians loyal to Isabella on the defensive, which means no more looted Portuguese lands, which could make the nobility, and the Captains, more supportive of the war.

It could be feasible, not with a big force but it could happened in the early 1478, John II of Aragon would need the help of the Aragonese force in the Castilla so without them and with the help send by Louis XI (mentionned in the begining of the thread) to Alfonso of Portugal. But the problem is that Louis XI would not join the war if he's not sure that the war will be short (few year) or that he will be able to sign a peace quickly.


Pethaps the Duke of Orleans can marry Juana instead..

The duke of Orleans is already married
 
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