The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 10 : $b Spain and Portugal
History
The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 10 : $b Spain and Portugal
World history
But if the majority of the people were in favour of the new reign, there
were yet many barons, and those of considerable influence, who espoused
the interests of Juana. The marquis of Villena, with other barons of
the same party, resolved to marry the young princess to Alfonso V of
Portugal, assisted by whose arms they hoped to make head against the
reigning pair. Alfonso readily embraced the proposals of the disaffected:
he collected troops, and at the same time, as uncle of Juana, applied to
the pope for a dispensation to celebrate the marriage.
However important the stake for which the two parties now began to
contend, the details of that contention are too obscure in themselves,
and were too indecisive, to merit minute attention. Though the Portuguese
obtained some partial successes, among others the strong fortress of
Zamora, the war was decidedly in favour of the Castilian sovereigns: in
the very first campaign the marquis of Villena had the mortification to
see his hereditary domains in possession of the royal forces; while many
of the towns and forts, which had at first declared for Juana, returned
to their duty. In 1476 the Portuguese king was compelled to retreat from
Zamora, which was invested by Ferdinand; near Toro he was overtaken by
his active enemy, and a battle ensued, in which victory declared for the
latter;[48] it was immediately followed by the surrender of the fortress.
About the same time, Madrid, which had held for Juana, capitulated to the
duke del Infantado: Ucles followed the example. Both the marquis and the
primate were now tired of their ally and their cause. Negotiations were
opened; and, in September, 1479, satisfactorily concluded at Alcacebas.
The principal conditions were that Alfonso should renounce the title of
king of Castile; that he should neither marry, nor in any way favour the
pretensions of Doña Juana; that “this pretended daughter of the late
king, Don Henry,” should be allowed six months to decide whether she
would wait until the infante Juan (only son of Ferdinand and Isabella,
then but a year old) arrived at a marriageable age, or take the veil;
that the Portuguese should restore the few places they still held in
Estremadura. It was added that if, on arriving at a proper age, the
infante should be averse to the match, he had only to pay 100,000
pistoles to be at liberty to marry whom he pleased. The unfortunate
lady, seeing that she was sacrificed to the interests of the two kings,
professed in the convent of St. Clair at Coimbra.[49]
The very year in which peace was thus happily restored between Castile
and Portugal, Ferdinand, by the death of his father, Juan II, was called
to the throne of Aragon. Having received the homage and confirmed the
privileges of his Aragonese subjects at Saragossa, of the Catalonians
at Barcelona, and of the Valencians in the capital of that province, he
returned into Castile.[g]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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