Henry II Of CASTILE

Male 1334 - 1379  (45 years)


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  • Name Henry II Of CASTILE  [1
    Birth 13 Jan 1334  Sevilla Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Death 29 May 1379  Santo Domingo de la Calzada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    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.
    Person ID I10381  Main Tree

    Father Alfonso XI King Of Castile And LEON,   b. 13 Aug 1311   d. 26 Mar 1350 (Age 38 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Mother Eleanor Of GUZMAN 
    Relationship Natural 
    Family ID F17425  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Juana Manuel Of CASTILE,   b. 1339   d. 27 Mar 1381 (Age 42 years) 
    Children 
     1. Juan I King Of CASTILE,   b. 24 Aug 1358   d. 09 Oct 1390 (Age 32 years)  [Birth]
     2. Eleanor Of CASTILE,   b. Aft 1363   d. Feb 1416 (Age < 51 years)  [Natural]
    Family ID F07094  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Sources 
    1. [S03581] Wikipedia Encyclopedia.