Aragon: a bridge of blue sea


Jaime III of Aragon (Barcelona, 1443 - Coll de Panissars, 1471),
called "the Unfortunate" (Spanish: el Desdichado, Catalan "el Dissortat")
King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica and king of Naples,
and count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdanya.​


Jaime III had a brief and unlucky life and an even shorter and unfortunate reign. In 1463, even before he could be crowned after the death of his father, his right to the crown was soon disputed by Carlos, earl of Urgell, that, stated his own right, as his own line was the true heir of the kingdom and that neither Jaime nor Alfonso were the true sons of the late Pedro V, but the result of the love affair between the late queen Maria with one of her favourites, either the Duke of Terrassa or the Duke of Pratdip. Carlos of Urgell went even further when he doubted that Maria could be the real mother of the two princes because she was not capable of having childs because of her age.

Chaos ensued.

Jaime III was supported by some powerful lords, among them Bernat Gilabert de Cruïlles, earl of Cruïlles; Pedro Fernandez de Azagra, lord of Albarracín; Berenguer d'Anglesola, earl of Anglesola; Lope Ferrench de Luna; and the two brother Salvador of Lleonart, Lord of Alella, and his younger brother, Francesc. With their help, he was crownded in Zaragoza on 2 February 1463, but this act was not recognized by neither the Catalan nor the Valencia Parliaments until the new king did not affirm the liberties and privileges of this two kingdoms, as it was traditional.

Bad advised or hardly inclined to go neither to Barcelona, whose city council backed Carlos d'Urgell, nor to Valencia, which had been the first big city of the Aragonese kingdom where the illegetimacy rumours began to spread and it had a strong Urgellist party, Jaime III refused to do so. Carlos, also loosing his temper, led a small force toward Zaragoza, and was met by Jaime's forces at Belchite, west of Zaragoza, on 22 March 1463. The relatively small Battle of Belchite was the first open conflict of the civil war. The result was a loyalist defeat. Several prominent Loyalist leaders, including Azagra and Roger, duke of Terrasa, were killed, and Jaime had to fled to Zaragoza, where he was captured by Carlos of Urgell.

In the light of this military success, Carlos pressed his claim to the throne based on the illegitimacy of the king and of his brother. Carlos entered Zaragoza on 1 April 1463 with all the ceremony usually reserved for a monarch. Parliament was assembled, and when Carlos entered he went straight for the throne. Perhaos he may had thoguth that the Lords would encourage him to take for himself, but he only found stunned silence. He then made public his claim to the throne. The Aragonese and a small part of the Valencian Lords were shocked by his presumptions.

On the next day, Carlos was to produce detailed genealogies to support his claim based on his descent, and also to bring forward proves of the bastardy of the royal princes. However, something unexpected happened. Carlos felt ill during the session, which had to be suspended. That afternoon, 1 April 1463, Carlos died.

When the news of Carlos' death were known, the Catalan and Valencian Parliaments created a common Consell del Regne ("Council of the Kingdom") to settle the matter of the rightful succession. A parliament was called for 8 May 1463. In that parliament Jaime was deposed and Pedro, the heir of Carlos of Urgell, was proclaimed King of Aragon.

When Jaime heard that, he began to negotiate with Louis XI of France. Three weeks later a treaty was signed at Bayonne (29 May 1463) whereby the French king would lend 700 lances (4,200 knights plus their retainers) in military aid to Jaime 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.

At the same time the Consell del Regne formed an army, which was placed under the command of Hug Roger III, Count of Pallars Sobirà, and began to negotiate an alliance with Enrique IV of Castile. When Jaime III attempted to muster the help of his kingdom of Navarra, the Agramonteses rose against him and offered the crown of Navarre to Pedro of Urgell.
 
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Pedro VI of Aragon (Igualada, 1442 - Valencia, 1494),
called " the Magnanimous" (Spanish: el Magnánimo, Catalan "el Magnánim"),
King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Naples and Navarra
and count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdanya.​


Pedro VI can be credited with the restoration of political stability in Aragon and ending the ongoing feuds within the realm. When his father, Carlos, died, probably poisoned, Pedro's mother, Margarita of Montferrato (daughter of Juan II of Montferrato), pressed his son to put his claim to the crown with the now famous words: “O rei o no res” (either a King or nothing).

Thus, Pedro was proclaimed King of Aragon by the Consell del Regne ("Council of the Kingdom") on May 8th, 1463. Then, along with his uncle, Joan Ramon Folc of Cardona, earl of Cardona (1418 - 1471) and Cardona's cousin, Joan de Cardona i de Navarra (? - 1471), raised an army and joined the forces led by Hug Roger of Pallars.

The war began badly for Jaime III, as his Beaumontese allies were defeated at the battle of Aibar (14 June 1463), where most of the Beaumontese leaders (as Luis of Beaumont, earl of Lerín, and his uncle, Juan of Beaumont) were captured and executed on the field. Three hundred other Beaumontese were slain in the battle. Alfonso of Aragon, Jaime's brother, had to flee to save his life.

Pedro, instead of advacing directly towards Zaragoza, moved to Huesca, to open a way of communication with this Agramontese supporters. To try to block him, Jaime III moved his army to Huesca. The battle was a small affair, that ended with the rout of the loyalist army, which broke and run away when their flanks were turned.

Then Pedro took up position north of Zaragoza astride the main road from the north, waiting for reinforcements. while Jaime called all his loyal lords to muster a new army at Zaragoza. However, the inhabitants of the city opted to bar the gates, which caused Jaime first to heistate and then to withdraw to Teruel, losing many soldiers who deserted and returned home. Pedro entered Zaragoza, on 2 July 1463, where he was proclaimed again Pedro VI King of Aragon. Within a few weeks he had confirmed his hold on the throne with a decisive victory at the Battle of Teruel, 29 August 1463, where one of the strongest supporters of Jaime, Pedro Fernandez de Azagra, lord of Albarracín, was killed on the battlefield. A newsletter circulated a week after the battle reported that 7,000 died on the battlefield.

Defeated, Jaime fled to France with his brother Alfonso. His army lost more in their rout from the battlefield that in the actual battle. On his part, Pedro, having effectively broken the military strength of Jaime, marched to Pamplona to be crowned there as king of Navarre.

Since most of Aragon's leading families had remained loyal to James III or remained uncommitted, the new king relied heavily on the support of the Cardonas, who held vast estates and had been so instrumental in bringing Pedro to the throne. However, the king increasingly became estranged from them as he found new supporters in Catalonia and Navarre.

He married Isabella of Castille, daughter of King Juan II of Castille, on 1 May 1464. This marriage was criticised as an impulsive action which did not add anything to the security of Aragon, as King Enrique IV of Castille had an heir, prince Juan*, born in 1462. Cardona was appalled, as he had made preliminary arrangements with King Louis XI of France for Pedro to marry Louis' sister-in-law Bona of Savoy, and, with this marriage, breaking up the alliance of Louis with Jaime. Cardona was humiliated and enraged.

Even worse, the offence caused by the circumstances of the marriage itself was magnified as Isabel opposed policies favoured by Cardona (aimed at France) and successfully influenced the king, that began to feel atracted by the events taking place at Castille. Over time, as Cardona became progressively more alienated from Pedro VI, his intentions turned toward treason and Cardona fled to to France on May 1466. There, he made an alliance with Jaime III.

In an accord between Louis XI, Jaime III and himself, Cardona agreed to restore Jaime in return for French support for a military invasion of Aragon. The invading army crossed the border on 9 September 1470. This time, Pedro VI was caught by surprise and forced to flee to Valencia when he learned that Cardona's cousin, Joan de Cardona i de Navarra, had also switched sides, making Pedro's military position untenable.

Once in Valencia, Pedro VI was relieved when the cousin of his wife, king Enrique IV of Castille, had send an army under the command of Beltrán de la Cueva, Duke of Alburquerque, to help him, With his loyal forces and Alburquerque's army, Pedro reentered Catalonia. Lleida opened its gates to him and as he marched southwards to Barcelona, he began to gather support. Pedro VI entered Barcelona unopposed and then defeated Cardona at the battle of Girona (March 1471), where Cardona was slain, and then, he eliminated the remaining enemy forces at the Battle of Panissars (April 1471), where he blocked the withdrawal of James, who was killed on the battlefield, along with his brother Alfonso and Joan de Cardona i de Navarra, and his army destroyed.

(to be continued)

* Blame the Butterfly Effect...
 
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Awesome!!!

Subbed!! Very interesting timeline, love that you did not simply give Aragon an amazing leader. Few TLs start with bad leaders, great idea.
 

Pedro VI of Aragon (Igualada, 1442 - Valencia, 1494),
called " the Magnanimous" (Spanish: el Magnánimo, Catalan "el Magnánim"),
King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Naples and Navarra
and count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdanya.​



Once the war was over, Pedro VI settled to reign and to redress the country. In 1475, when Edward IV of England declared war on France, Pedro threatened King Louis IX with joining the English as a "repayment" for the unlucky alliance of Louis with the late James III. When Edward IV invaded France in alliance with Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, landing with a force of around 16,000 troops in June of that year, Pedro VI mustered his army in the Roussillon and prepared to invade.

Even if Edward IV's allies, Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and Francis II, Duke of Brittany, did little to support him, Louis IX sent Edward and Pedro word that he was willing to negotiate a settlement. The negotiations with Edward IV ended with the treaty of Picquigny and the ones with Pedro VI with the treaty of Carcassone (August 1475). Basically, Louis IX bribed Pedro with a truce for five years and 50,000 crowns and pensions to many of Pedro's Lords, in exchange for Pedro's not taking arms to pursue his claim on several duchies and earldoms of the South of France (claims that had, in fact, being given up in the Treaty of Corbeil, signed in May 1258). The "bribe" helped Pedro to recoup his finances.'

Then troubles started in earnest in Castille. In 1472, Juan, the heir of Enrique IV of Castille, died. He was ten years old and the only male son of Enrique. He had a daughter, Maria, but there were rumours that the infanta was the child of Beltrán de la Cueva, a royal favorite at court. As her mother had some love affaire with a nephew of Bishop Fonseca, the rumours were believed, even more when Enrique divorced her in 1468. After the death of Juan, on 9 May 1474, Maria was officially proclaimed heiress to the throne of Castile and created Princess of Asturias. Enrique had the nobles of Castile swear allegiance to her and promise that they would support her as monarch. However, when Enrique IV died in 1476, some noblemen recognized Maria as monarchs, while others recognized her half-aunt as Queen Isabel I of Castile initiating the War of the Castilian Succession (1476-1477).

Maria had the support of her husband, King Afonso V of Portugal, and also the help of some of the high Castilian nobility: the Archbishop of Toledo, Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña; the mighty Marquis of Villena, Diego López Pacheco; the Estúñiga family. On the other hand, Isabel was supported by the Pedro VI of Aragon, and by most of the Castilian nobility and clergy: the powerful Mendoza family; the Duke of Medina Sidonia, Enrique Pérez de Guzmán.

A Portuguese army entered Castile under the command of Afonso V on May 1476, and advanced to Plasencia, where Maria and Afonso were proclaimed sovereigns of Castile and were married. From Plasencia, they marched to Burgos. There Afonso hoped to be able to unite with any troops sent by his ally, Louis XI of France. However, Louis backed from joining him, as he had a truce with Pedro VI and he was busy settling accounts with Burgundy.

Even worse, Afonso found fewer supporters in Castile than he expected, and changed his plans, preferring to instead consolidate his control in the area closest to Portugal. Pedro VI wasted little time concentrating his battle-hardened army in Tordesillas, and on July 15 marched against Afonso, who tried to avoid direct combat. Pedro, lacking the necessary resources for a siege, was forced to return to Tordesillas. Afonso V, considering its options, decided to withdraw to Zamora. This lack of aggressiveness debilitated his standing and Maria's in Castile, and his supporters began to change sides. Supporters of Isabel counter-attacked by gaining control of the lands of a significant portion of lands of the Marquisate of Villena, who was taken prisoner by Pedro VI and later on hanged by command of Isabel, who also forfeited his lands (1). On December 4, Zamora rebelled against King Afonso, who was forced to flee to Toro, and, in January 1476, Burgos surrendered to Isabel.

In February 1476, the reinforced Portuguese army, left its base in Toro and marched against Pedro VI in Zamora. However, the Castilian winter hit hard the invading army, that was slowed down and then caugh by surprise by the Aragonese near of Alba de Tormes.After three hours of fighting under the cover of rain and nightfall, Afonso V withdrew to Portgual with part of his troops. The rest of his forces, along with his son John, perished on the battlefield.

The war was over and Isabel was queen of Castille.

(1) His son Diego would recover the titles and part of the lands of his father in 1507.

(to be continued)
 
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So this puts Castile in the position of being a pawn of Aragon and Portugal to spite one another? very interesting, how old is Queen Isabella at this point? Also how does Granada fair so far? same as OTL?
 
Right now (1476), Isabella is 24 years old, and Pedro V is 34.

I don't think that Isabella is going to allow herself to be the puppet of no one. It is going to be an interesting marriage... :D

Granada is going to follow, more or less, the fate of OTL. I dont plan anything special for them.
 
The factual limits on the Royal power

Although not explicitly address by the author and was not necessary to the development of the narrative ... but one can assume that it happened in the narrative background.

The Royal marriage, TTL have had the same safeguards, guarantees and restrictive clauses imposed mutually by the parties involved in the negotiation of the union of the royal couple.

This was provided by both parties to avoid even if to allow, Isabel was dominated by her husband and from Aragon to prevent the kingdom's largest union exact upon.

Also in certain situations it is revealed the factual limitations, to the royal power in TTL or OTL, which were imposed on it by the nobility to the monarchs.
 
Indeed. Isabel is only to reign in Castille and Pedro is only to reign in Aragon. Both are going to give suppost and advice to each other, but no direct intervention, to avoid the mess of past kings.

Basically, Isabel remembers too well the weakeness of the Trastamara kings and how they had been toys in the hands of the nobility (Alburquerque, Pacheco, de Luna, etc), so she's not going to accept that.

And Pedro has lost a rival in the west and won an ally that may help him to settle accounts with France, if we ever come to that...:D
 

Pedro VI of Aragon (Igualada, 1442 - Valencia, 1494),
called " he Magnanimous" (Spanish: el Magnánimo, Catalan "el Magnánim"),
King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Naples and Navarra
and count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdanya.​


The war with Portugal lasted for another three years and ended with the peace treatie signed at Alcáçovas (4 September 1479) Portugal gave up the throne of Castile in favour of Isabel in exchange for a very favourable share of the Atlantic territories disputed with Castile (they all went to Portugal with the exception of the Canary Islands: Guinea with its mines of gold, Cape Verde, Madeira, Azores and the right of conquest over the kingdom of Fez),

After having fought two wars in less than ten years, Pedro VI was more than willing to settle and have peace. Alas, poor Pedro, lived another kind of war, this time with his wife. Isabel, who proved herself to have a memorable temper and wasted no time to make her husband to know that she, and not him, was the queen of Castille. Not even the birth of her son John, Prince of Asturias, on 30 June 1478, soothed her.

By 1480, Granada was the only Muslim state in the Peninsula. Protected by natural barriers and fortified towns, it had withstood the long process of the reconquista. On 1 February 1482, Pedro and Isabel began the war for Granada. The Spanish monarchs recruited soldiers from many European countries and improved their artillery with the latest and best cannons. Systematically, they proceeded to take the kingdom piece by piece. In 1483 they laid siege to Ronda, which surrendered after only a fortnight due to extensive bombardment. In 1483 Loja was taken, and Málaga in 1484. After that, Granada had to be forgotten for a while.

In 1485, Toledo, Zamora, Guadalajara and Valladolid rebelled in support of Maria. The rebellion was headed by Gonzalo Bravo de Laguna. The rebellion was defeated soon a Bravo de Laguna killed. While Isabel wanted to make an example with the surviving rebels, it was persuaded by Pedro to show remarkable clemency: she pardoned them.

After the fall of Baza in 1487, the siege of Granada began in the spring of 1488 and at the end of the year, Muhammad XII surrendered. On January 2, 1489 Isabella and Pedro entered Granada to receive the keys of the city and the principal mosque was reconsecrated as a church.

Pedro VI was a fiscally prudent monarch who restored the fortunes of an effectively bankrupt exchequer. He introduced stability to the financial administration of Aragon by keeping the same financial advisors throughout his reign. He also improved tax collection within the realm by introducing ruthlessly efficient mechanisms of taxation. Royal government was also reformed with the introduction of the King's Council that kept the nobility in check.

Pedro VI's policy was both to maintain peace and to create economic prosperity. Up to a point, he succeeded. To strengthen his position he subsidised shipbuilding, so strengthening the navy and improving trading opportunities. He and Isabel concluded the Treaty of Medina del Campo (1489) with Henry VII of England (1457-1409), by which his second male son, Jaime, Duke of Girona, was married to Mary Tudor and his daughter Catherine of Aragon was married to Henry's heir, Arthur. The two Spanish monarchs also concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Portugal, which betrothed his daughter Isabel to to Alfonso, Prince of Portugal. They also formed an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1493–1519).

Just three years after entering Granada, Isabella and Pedro agreed to sponsor Christopher Columbus on an expedition to reach the Indies by sailing west.On 3 August 1492 his expedition departed and arrived in what is now known as Watling Island on 12 October. He named it San Salvador, after Jesus the Savior. He returned the next year and presented his findings to the monarchs, bringing natives and gold under a hero's welcome.

Then luck seemed to abandon the king. In 1493 Pedro VI's first son and heir-apparent, Juan, Prince of Asturias, died suddenly, very likely from a viral respiratory illness. This made Jaime, Duke of Girona heir-apparent to the throne. The King, normally a reserved man who rarely showed much emotion in public unless angry, surprised his courtiers by his intense grief and sobbing at his son's death, while his concern for the Queen is obvious in his reaction to the Queen's death the following year (1494), when he shut himself away for several days, refusing to speak to anyone.

It is said that it was this extreme sadness that caused his death on September 19, 1494.


__________________________________________________
Children of Pedro VI of Aragon & Isabel of Castilla

Isabel (1470–1498) married firstly to Alfonso, Prince of Portugal. Married secondly to Manuel I of Portugal.
John (1478–1493), Prince of Asturias. Married Mary Tudor.
Joanna (1479–1555). Married Philip the Handsome.
Jaime IV of Aragon, I of Castille (1480-1536). Married Archduchess Margaret of Austria.
Maria (1482–1517), married Manuel I of Portugal, her sister's widower,
Catherine (1485–1536), married firstly to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Married his younger brother, Henry VIII of England.
 
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And thus this TL is over, after covering the timeline said in the first post of this thread.

Shall the history of the next kings of Aragon (and Castille) be told?

Stay tunned, just in case...;)

Thanks for reading this small nonsense, chaps.:D I hope you have enjoyed it.
 
And thus this TL is over, after covering the timeline said in the first post of this thread.

Shall the history of the next kings of Aragon (and Castille) be told?

Stay tunned, just in case...;)

Thanks for reading this small nonsense, chaps.:D I hope you have enjoyed it.


Thank you, for this short timeline, should be encouraged those developed in the medieval Spain.

I will be attentive in case you decide to continue it in this thread, or if you start another. :)
 
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