Henry II Of CASTILE

Notes:

Henry of Trastamara (January 13, 1334 Sevilla - May 29, 1379 Santo Domingo de la Calzada) (Enrique de Trast·mara), was the illegitimate son of Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor of Guzman, and half brother to Pedro of Castile the Cruel (or the Lawful, depending on who wrote the history). He became Henry II of Castile (Enrique II de Castilla) after defeating and killing Pedro in the Castilian Civil War (1366-1369).

As head of a band of mercenaries, and with the aid of Bertrand du Guesclin, he drove Pedro from his throne in 1366. He was, however, defeated the next year at the Battle of N·jera (Navarette), and Pedro was restored. Henry defeated Pedro at the Battle of Montiel and then murdered him in 1369. Henry then went to war against Portugal and England in the Hundred Years' War. For most of his reign he had to fight off the attempts of John of Gaunt, a son of Edward III of England, to claim the Castilian throne in right of his second wife, Pedro's daughter.

Henry married Juana Manuel, daughter of Juan Manuel of Castile, head of a younger branch of the royal house of Castile. Their son was John I of Castile.

Henry was the first nobleman to use Anti-Semitism as a political tool in Spain. This led to an end to the convivencia, and a period of riots and pogroms, and can be seen as sowing the seeds of the persecution of the Jews by the Spanish Inquisition, beginning a hundred years later.

Family/Spouse: Juana Manuel Of CASTILE. Juana (daughter of Juan Manuel Of CASTILE and Blanca Nunez De Lara DE LA CERDA) was born in 1339; died on 27 Mar 1381. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Juan I King Of CASTILE was born on 24 Aug 1358; died on 09 Oct 1390.
2. Eleanor Of CASTILE was born after 1363; died in Feb 1416.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Alfonso XI King Of Castile

Alfonso married Eleanor Of GUZMAN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Fernando IV King Of Castile And Leon

Ferdinand married Costanza Of PORTUGAL. Costanza (daughter of Denis King Of PORTUGAL and Isabel St. Elizabeth Of ARAGON) was born on 03 Jan 1290; died on 18 Nov 1313. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Sancho IV the Brave (1257 or 1258 ? 25 April 1295, Toledo) was the king of Castile and LeÛn from 1284 to his death. He was the second son of Alfonso X and Yolanda, daughter of James I of Aragon.

His elder brother, Ferdinand de la Cerda, died in November 1275, and in 1282 Sancho assembled a coalition of nobles to declare for him against Ferdinand's son Alfonso, then took control of the kingdom when Alfonso X died in 1284. This was all against the wishes of their father, but Sancho was crowned in Toledo nevertheless.

Sancho was recognised and supported by the majority of the nobility and the cities, but a sizable minority opposed him throughout his reign and worked for the heirs of Ferdinand de la Cerda. One of the leaders of the opposition was Don Juan, his uncle, who united to his cause the lord of Vizcaya, Lope DÌaz III de Haro. Sancho responded by executing the lord of Vizcaya and incarcerating his uncle. According to the chroniclers, he cemented his hold on power by executing 4,000 other followers of the infante Alfonso, son of Ferdinand de la Cerda, in Badajoz. He executed 400 more in Talavera and much more als in ¡vila and Toledo.

Upon dispensing with this opposition, Sancho pardoned his uncle, who was released. Don Juan bided his time before fomenting revolt again: the conflict over Tarifa. He called in the aid of the Marinids of Morroco and besieged Guzm·n the Good in his castle (1291). At this siege occurred that famous act of heroism, the innocent death of the son of Guzm·n. Tarifa was faithfully defended until Sancho could rescue it and the Marinids retreated to Morroco. The intent of both Don Juan and the king of Morroco (to invade) was foiled.

When James II succeeded to the Crown of Aragon, he endeavoured to bind the two crowns more closely and to unite in the Reconquista. Indeed, both of James predecessors had tried to do likewise. Sancho was also the friend and tutor of Juan Manuel, Lord of Villena.

Just before succumbing to a fatal illness, he appointed his queen, MarÌa de Molina, to act as regent for his nine year-old son, Ferdinand IV. He died in 1295 in Toledo.

Sancho married Maria DE MOLINA in 1282. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Diniz King Of Portugal

Notes:

Denis I, King of Portugal (Portuguese: Dinis or Diniz IPA [di'ni?]), called o Lavrador (Portuguese: "the Farmer"), (October 9, 1261 in Lisbon ? January 7, 1325 in SantarÈm) was the sixth king of Portugal and Algarve. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, princess Beatrice of Castile, Dinis succeeded his father in 1279.

As heir to the throne prince Dinis was summoned by his father (Afonso III) to share government responsibilities. At the time of his accession to the throne, Portugal was again in diplomatic conflicts with the Catholic church. Dinis signed a favouring agreement with the pope and swore to protect the Church's interests in Portugal. Due to this, he granted asylum to the Templar knights persecuted in France and created the Order of Christ, designed to be a continuation of the Order of the Temple.

With the Reconquista completed and the Portuguese territory freed from Moorish occupation, Dinis was essentially an administrative king, not a military one. However, a short war between Castile and Portugal broke during his reign, for the possession of the town of Serpa and Moura. After this, Dinis avoided war: he was a notably peace-loving monarch during a tempestuous time in European history. With Portugal finally recognized as an independent country by his neighbours, Dinis signed a border pact with Ferdinand IV of Castile (1297) which has endured to the present day.

Dinis' main priority of government was the organization of the country. He pursued his father's policies on legislation and centralization of power. Dinis promulgated the nucleus of a Portuguese civil and criminal law code, protecting the lower classes from abuse and extortion. As king, he travelled around the country, correcting unjust situations and resolving problems. He ordered the construction of numerous castles, created new towns, and granted privileges due cities to several others. With his wife, princess Isabella of Aragon, Dinis worked to improve the life of the poor and founded several social institutions.

Always concerned with the country's infrastructure, Dinis ordered the exploration of mines of copper, silver, tin and iron and organized the export of excess production to other European countries. The first Portuguese commercial agreement was signed with England in 1308. Dinis effectively founded the Portuguese navy under command of a Genoese admiral and ordered the construction of several docks.

His main concern was the redevelopment and promotion of rural infrastructure, hence the nickname the Farmer. Dinis redistributed the land, promoted agriculture, organized communities of farmers and took personal interest in the development of exports. He instituted regular markets in a number of towns and regulated their activities. One of his main achievements was the protection of agricultural lands from advancing coastal sands, by ordering the planting of a pine forest near Leiria. This forest still exists as one of the most important of Portugal and is known as the Pinhal de Leiria.

King Diniz statue at the University of CoimbraCulture was another interest of King Dinis. He had a fondness for literature and wrote several books himself, with topics ranging from administration to hunting, science and poetry. In his days, Lisbon was one of Europe's centers of culture and knowledge. The University of Coimbra was founded by his decree Magna Charta Priveligiorum.

The latest part of his peaceful reign was nevertheless marked by internal conflicts. The contenders were his two sons: Afonso the legitimate heir, and Afonso Sanches his natural son, who quarrelled frequently among themselves for royal favour. At the time of Dinis death in 1325 he had placed Portugal on an equal footing with the other Iberian Kingdoms.

Denis married Isabel St. Elizabeth Of ARAGON in 1281. Isabel (daughter of Pedro III King Of ARAGON and Constance Of SICILY) was born in 1271; died in 1336. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]