Would a stronger de la Cerda rebellion be the best chance of (re)separating the Kingdoms of Leon and Castile?
Could Leon later unify with Portugal or is Castile more likely?
Could Leon later unify with Portugal or is Castile more likely?
Leon & Castile or Portugal
- Thread starter The Professor
- Start date
Ok perhaps I could have been clearer.
The "rebellion" I was referencing was the by the founding members of the de la Cerdas - the sons of Infante Fernando "de la Cerda", eldest son of Alfonso X (IV, IX, & III) King of Leon, Castile & Galicia -and their uncle John.
When Fernando predeceased his father, Alfonso's 2nd son Sancho went to war to be declared heir above his nephew. He won the right to Castile while Fernando's son Alfonso won the right to Leon. (It appears Galicia remained in revolt under the 4th brother John)
However on Alfonso's death Sancho, with his wife Maria de Molina, usurped Leon.
On Sancho's death in 1296 Fernando's sons - Alfonso & Fernando - made a bid to gain Alfonso both Castile & Leon, backed by their relative the King of Aragon and in alliance with the King of Portugal who backed John for Galicia - with John also claiming Leon and Seville (a vassal kingdom of L-G).
Maria's diplomatic skill as Regent cost John the support of Portugal in 1301 and he resigned his claims in exchange for a myriad of minor titles.
This lead to Alfonso having to abandon his claims in a similar matter in 1304 as part of a treaty with Aragon.
So, how could Leon have won independence under John or Alfonso?
Would this have been brief - i.e. later reclaimed by Castile - or more long lasting?
Would a union of Leon +/- Galicia +/- Seville with Portugal have been possible? And what would the consequences be?
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Sadly I'm not too familiar with the event in question. But it is an interesting question nonetheless.
I suppose that the best case would be Ferdinand IV timely kicking the bucket (he is a kid in the Middle Ages after all) at the height of the double de la Cerda invasion. That way you end with a second partition of Castile and Leon with Seville going to Leon as they had agreed... for a while. Seville is too big, rich, and geographically favoured to be controlled from Castile to be left alone, so expect them to go to war against each other sooner or later.
Other option is to get Juan "el de Tarifa" to give up his claim on Seville earlier and concentrate on the north while he has Portuguese support (hard considering he's Andalusian but well, not impossible), then force a deal by which he becomes king of Galicia and maybe Leon at the cost of recognizing Ferdinand IV as king of Castile and maybe joining him on a war against Aragon and the other de la Cerdas.
Getting Galicia, Leon, Badajoz and Seville for long is akin to having a cake and eating it. Not going to happen.
I suppose that the best case would be Ferdinand IV timely kicking the bucket (he is a kid in the Middle Ages after all) at the height of the double de la Cerda invasion. That way you end with a second partition of Castile and Leon with Seville going to Leon as they had agreed... for a while. Seville is too big, rich, and geographically favoured to be controlled from Castile to be left alone, so expect them to go to war against each other sooner or later.
Other option is to get Juan "el de Tarifa" to give up his claim on Seville earlier and concentrate on the north while he has Portuguese support (hard considering he's Andalusian but well, not impossible), then force a deal by which he becomes king of Galicia and maybe Leon at the cost of recognizing Ferdinand IV as king of Castile and maybe joining him on a war against Aragon and the other de la Cerdas.
Getting Galicia, Leon, Badajoz and Seville for long is akin to having a cake and eating it. Not going to happen.
Is Seville more geographically favoured by Castile? I understood it to be on the southern borders of Leon and New Castile/Toledo.
Juan/John is no more Andalusian than his older brothers Ferdinand de la Cerda, Sancho IV, and Peter, but serving in Seville for so long did gain him loyalty there.
Even though Castile managed it?
I'm thinking we could kill Fernando IV earlier leaving a surviving daughter Eleanor in Portuguese hands (her mother Constance could return to her father King Denis for protection).
This leaves F's brother Pedro as King of Castile.
Could we see Eleanor married off to Alfonso de la Cerda's eldest, or perhaps John of Galicia's in retrun for alliance?
Perhaps John is confirmed King of Galicia and Alfonso King of Seville.