The conqueror of Naples was succeeded as King of Aragon by his brother Juan II., a very different man. Juan had married Blanche, the heiress of Navarre, by whom he had a son Carlos, Prince of Viana, and a daughter Leonor. Juan II. began to persecute his son in 1450, before his accession, and when he was only King of Navarre by right of his wife. Carlos, when he came of age, felt that he was the rightful King of Navarre, and not his father. He took up arms, was defeated, and taken prisoner. He was confined in the castle of Monroy, but he escaped to Naples, and after the death of his uncle Alfonso he took refuge in Sicily. Juan II. sent an envoy to induce the Prince of Viana to come to Majorca, where he landed in August 1459, and was very cordially received by the people. Juan II. published an order that all the castles in Majorca were to be delivered over to the Prince; but he sent a secret order at the same time that some of the strongest, including the castle of Belver, were not to be given up, and that Carlos was to be detained if he entered Belver. Knowing that the word of his father could not be depended upon, and fearful of arrest, the Prince resolved to proceed to Barcelona and seek an interview. He landed on March 20, 1460, and his father pretended to be reconciled, fearing insurrections in his son’s favour; but the Prince of Viana died, under very suspicious circumstances, in the following year. His sister Leonor then became Queen of Navarre, and by her marriage with Gaston de Foix the title descended to Henry IV., and again became merged in the crown of France. Juan II. had married secondly Juana Henriquez, daughter of the Admiral of Castille, and by her he had a son Fernando, and a daughter Juana, Queen of Naples. After a reign of twenty years Juan II. died, and was succeeded by his son Fernando II. in 1479. The marriage of Fernando with Isabella of Castille united the two kingdoms, and Majorca, with the other islands, became a part of the kingdom of Spain. But Majorca retained her constitution and privileges during the sway of the Austrian dynasty. CHAPTER XIV The Majorcans as navigators The intelligence and energy of the Catalans of Barcelona and Majorca, combined with their industry and perseverance, raised the kingdom of Aragon to a very important position as a maritime Power in the Mediterranean. Long the rivals of the Genoese, the Catalans at one time gained complete ascendency. Their fleets dominated the western half of the great inland sea, with Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, and the Balearic Islands either under the sovereignty or in close alliance with the Kings of Aragon. Their trading vessels frequented the Levant and the Ægean Sea, and Catalan consulates and factories were established in Macedonia, in Greece, and on the islands. Voyages were even undertaken beyond the Pillars of Hercules.