King Ferdinand II of Aragon assassinated in Barcelona on 7 December 1492
- Thread starter Henry Manson
- Start date
Anne can die in August 1493 , March 1494, August 1494, September 1496 with a stillbirth/miscarriage, that means Maria is old enough that Charles isn't likely to have to wait "long". Admittedly, he'd probably prefer to marry the Bourbon girl he wanted to (ICR who she was, @Jan Olbracht made a tree with this scenario I think), but as far as foreign candidates go, it'd probably come down to Charlotte of Naples (OTL considered for him briefly) and Maria of Aragon
Personally I'd think he'd go for Charlotte of Naples due to closer age gap and dowry...but Maria can also be a choice definitely. Would Isabella approve of this match?
balllightning
Banned
What about Maria of Aragon and a Central/Eastern European prince or king? The Polish-Lithuanians and the Bohemia-Hungarians are good Catholics by the incredibly religiously fickle (elder) Isabella of Castile’s standards.
Well Poland or Hungary would be better for Maria, than Scotland but only marginally so. Perhaps a more strategically useful match would be with Savoy or possible Naples (Ferdinand dying means the Spanish won't directly conquer it from their Napolitan cousins)
balllightning
Banned
How would the Trastamara children have taken the news of their father’s assassination, now that we’ve talked about Isabella’s own reaction to such news? What about Ferdinand’s Aragonese Neapolitan cousins?
In 1498, it is possible for a Maria-Charles VIII match, especially if Charles Orlando survives.
Summing up, there was a precedent of a long regency, with Jaime I, who became king when he was five years old and the regency lasted until he was around sixteen, IIRC.
Isabel would be out of the question as regent, that's for sure.
I mean they’re probably pissed and get behind Isabella’s grief. Maybe one or two feel uncomfortable with Isabella literally burning the assassin alive if that’s the execution route she goes in but that’s unlikely. They’re all pretty young here.
Edit: Also in a scenario where Isabella decides to throw her support behind Naples via a marriage, we could see Maria take Catherine’s place in England maybe? Again it’s not greatly supported as Maria was never really pushed above her sister OTL for Arthur but it’s a distinct possibility. But more likely Catherine goes to England and maybe Maria marries Ferdinand II of Naples instead of him marrying his aunt, which would leave Joanna of Naples free for elsewhere (maybe she ends up on Hungary or Scotland?).
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If they need a regent for the young king of Aragon, they could go with the son of Fernando's illegitimate half brother, Juan, Count of Ribagorza. He was already viceroy of Catalonia at the time, plus he's family and is way back in the line of succession.
Isabel may also not be anywhere near as hostile to Fernando's Neapolitan relatives either, so it may make political sense for her to marry one of her daughters to whoever is king or heir in Naples. She may also be more interested in maintaining peace with France than trying to actively antagonize them like Fernando wanted.
I also understand that the main driving force in expelling the Jews from Aragon and Castile was Fernando. Isabel intended to keep them under her own protection in Castile and may decide to allow them to remain. With Juan under her influence, he may be encouraged to do the same in Aragon.
Isabel may also not be anywhere near as hostile to Fernando's Neapolitan relatives either, so it may make political sense for her to marry one of her daughters to whoever is king or heir in Naples. She may also be more interested in maintaining peace with France than trying to actively antagonize them like Fernando wanted.
I also understand that the main driving force in expelling the Jews from Aragon and Castile was Fernando. Isabel intended to keep them under her own protection in Castile and may decide to allow them to remain. With Juan under her influence, he may be encouraged to do the same in Aragon.
Really? I’d always thought Isabella was the driving force of the Inquisition. If so, that’d have some big consequences culturally in Spain that I’m definitely not equipped to discuss tbh
Remember, the Inquisition was meant to make sure that the Jews and Muslims that converted to Christianity were actually converting truthfully and not actually practicing in secret.
However, in reading more into this, the Catholic Monarchs had been the last of the major monarchs at the time to expel their Jews and were facing political and Papal pressure to do so and fall in line. By this point in 1492, the wheels of expulsion may be too far along.
Absolutely false. Isabella and her confessors were the ones to push for the expulsion, Ferdinand was fine with them staying and paying taxes for preventing the expulsion…
Big if, assuming Charles VIII himself won't hit a head on a door perhaps they can have a lot of sons that stop Louis XII getting anywhere near the throne
There's also Ferdinand's cousin the Duke of Segorbe.
Who's the most prominent clergyman in Aragon at this point?
I think who the regent will be Ferdinand‘s own (illegitimate) son, Alonso, who was already in his 20s and an important clergyman.
Absolutely nobody will allow a bastard to rule in the name of the king, imagine the precedent it will set.