Able rule of Alfonso XI in domestic affairs.

Alfonso XI (1312-1350) shares with Alfonso X the honor of being the greatest Castilian king of this era, and he was by far more successful than his great-grandfather had been. Naturally, civil wars broke out at the beginning of the reign; a dispute over the regency served as one of the pretexts. María de Molina came forward again, and saved her grandson as she had saved his father, although she was unable to put down the insurrections. In 1325, when he was but fourteen years old, Alfonso was declared of age, and began his reign with an act which was characteristic of the man and his time. He summoned an uncle of his, his principal opponent, to a meeting at his palace, under a pretence of coming to an agreement with him, and when the latter came had him put to death. He tried the same policy with success against other leaders, and intimidated the rest so that he soon had the situation under control. Alfonso combined a hand of iron with great diplomatic skill, both of which were necessary if a king were to succeed in that period. An exponent of the monarchical ideas of Alfonso X, he proceeded by diverse routes to his end. Thus, in dealing with the nobles he made agreements with some, deceived others, punished still others for their infractions of the law, developed a distrust of one another among them, employed them in wars against the Moslems (in order to distract their forces and their attention), destroyed their castles whenever he had a sufficient pretext, and flattered them when he had them submissive,—as by encouraging them in the practices of chivalry and by enrolling them in a new military order which he created to reward warlike services. In fine he employed all such methods as would tend to reduce the power of the nobles without stirring up unnecessary opposition. He was strong, but was also prudent. He followed the same policy with the towns and the military orders. For example, he promised that no royal town should ever be granted to a noble (or churchman),—a promise which was not observed by his successors or even by Alfonso himself. He was also successful in getting generous grants of money from the Cortes, which assisted him materially in the carrying out of his policy. He won the favor of the people by correcting abuses in the administration of justice and by his willingness to hear their complaints alleging infractions of the law, whether by his own officials or by the nobles. He procured the comparative security of the roads, and in other ways interested himself in the economic betterment of his people. Meanwhile, he enhanced his own authority in local government, and always maintained that the national legislative function belonged to the king alone, not only for the making or amending of laws, but also for interpreting them.

The acquisition of Álava and repulse of a Moslem invasion.

Alfonso’s great work was the political and administrative organization of the country, but there were two external events of his reign which are worth recording. In 1332 the Basque province of Álava was added to Castile, although with a recognition of the jurisdiction of the law of Álava. More important, perhaps, was a great conflict with Granada and the Benimerines of Morocco, who once more tried to emulate the successes of their coreligionists of the eighth century. The kings of Aragon and Portugal joined Alfonso to avert this peril, and a great battle was fought in 1340 at the river Salado, near Tarifa, where the Moslem forces were completely defeated. Though not yet forty at the time of his death Alfonso had already written his name in large letters on the pages of Castilian history.

Pedro “the Cruel.”

The work of Alfonso XI seemed to be rendered in vain by the civil wars of the reign of his successor, Pedro I, variously called “the Cruel” or “the Just” (1350-1369). In fact, the basis of the structure which Alfonso had reared was not destroyed, and even Pedro took some steps which tended to increase the royal power. He was not the man for the times, however, since he lacked the patience and diplomacy which had distinguished his father. He was, above all, impetuous and determined to procure immediate remedies for any ill which beset him, even to the point of extreme cruelty. He possessed a stern hand, energy, and courage, but he had to deal with a nobility as turbulent and unsubmissive as was the spirit of Pedro himself. The tale of his reign may be told at somewhat greater length than some of the others,—not that it was more important, but by way of illustrating the usual course of the civil wars in that time.

Civil wars of the reign of Pedro “the Cruel.”

Pedro I was the only legitimate son of Alfonso XI, who had left five illegitimate sons by his mistress, Leonor de Guzmán, to each of whom he had given important holdings and titles. On the death of Alfonso, his wife (Pedro’s mother) procured the arrest of Leonor de Guzmán and later her assassination. Naturally, this incensed the five sons of Leonor, although all but the eldest, Count Henry of Trastamara, appeared to accept the situation. Other pretexts for internal strife were not lacking. Pedro was a mere boy, and at one time became sick and seemed about to die, whereupon the nobles began to prepare for a dynastic struggle. Pedro lived, however, but caused discontent by choosing a Portuguese, named Alburquerque, as his leading adviser and favorite; the chief basis for the objections of the nobles was that each one wished the post for himself. The resistance to Alburquerque was the rallying-cry in the early period of the wars, in which Pedro’s illegitimate brothers joined against him. Pedro was successful, and it is noteworthy that he dealt leniently with his brothers, in contrast with his energetic cruelty against the other rebels. In 1353, as the result of negotiations which had been arranged by Alburquerque, Pedro married a French princess, Blanche of Bourbon. Previously, however, he had entered into relations with a handsome young lady of good family, named María de Padilla, to whom he remained ardently devoted for the rest of his life. So blindly in love with her was he that Alburquerque had to take him from the arms of María in order to have him assist at his own wedding. Three days later the youthful Pedro deserted his wife in favor of his mistress. Alburquerque wisely took himself away, the Padillas were established as the favorites at court, and the young queen was imprisoned. The nobles could no longer pretend that they were fighting Alburquerque; on the contrary, they joined the very man they had assumed to oppose, in a war against the king, with various alleged objects, but in fact with the usual desire of seizing an opportunity for increasing their own power. At one time they contrived to capture Pedro, but he escaped and wreaked a fearful vengeance on his enemies, though once again he allowed his brothers, who as usual were against him, to submit. Meanwhile, Pedro’s marital experiences included a new wife, for he found two bishops who declared his first marriage null, despite the pope’s efforts to get the king to return to Blanche of Bourbon. Pedro married Juana de Castro, but this time was able to wait only one day before returning to María de Padilla. These events had their influence in the civil wars, for many towns refrained from giving Pedro aid or joined against him out of disgust for his actions.

The wars with Henry of Trastamara.

The wars were renewed from the side of Aragon, where Henry of Trastamara, who for years had been the Castilian monarch’s principal opponent, formed an alliance with the king of Aragon. The ruler of Aragon at that time was Pedro IV, a man of the type of Alfonso XI. Having overcome the seigniorial elements in his own realm he did not scruple to take advantage of Pedro I’s difficulties in the same regard to seek a profit for himself, or at least to damage a neighboring king of whom he felt suspicious. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities Pedro I gave himself up to a riot of assassinations, and among his victims were three of his half brothers and several members of their families. His enemies were not yet able to defeat him, however, even with the aid of Aragon, and a peace was signed in 1361. Shortly afterward, both Blanche of Bourbon and María de Padilla died, the latter deeply bemoaned by Pedro I. In 1363 Henry of Trastamara and Pedro IV again formed a league against the Castilian king, and it was at this time that Henry first set up a claim to the crown of Castile. To aid them in their project they employed the celebrated “White companies,” an army of military adventurers of all nations who sold their services to the highest bidder. They were at that time in southern France and (as usually happened in such cases) were regarded as unwelcome guests now that their aid was no longer required there. The pope (then resident at Avignon) gave them a vast sum of money on condition that they would go to Aragon, and Pedro IV offered them an equal amount and rights of pillage (other than in his own realm) if they would come. Therefore, led by a French knight, Bertrand du Guesclin, they entered Spain, and in 1366 procured the conquest of most of Castile for Henry, who had himself crowned king. Pedro I sought aid of his English neighbors, for England at that time possessed a great part of western France, and, in return for certain concessions which Pedro promised, Edward III of England was persuaded to give him an army under the command of the celebrated military leader, Edward, the Black Prince. It was Henry’s turn to be defeated, and he fled to France. Pedro I now took cruel vengeance on his enemies, disgusting the English leader, besides which he failed to keep the promises by which he had procured his aid. The English troops therefore went back to France, at a time when a fresh insurrection was about to break out in Castile, and when Henry of Trastamara was returning with a new army. Pedro I was utterly defeated at Montiel, and was besieged in a castle where he took refuge. Captured by Henry through a trick, he engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with his half brother, and seemed to be winning, but with the aid of one of his partisans Henry at length got the upper hand and killed Pedro,—a fitting close to a violent reign.