1.
Peter of Castile
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Peter, called the Cruel or the Just, was the king of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the branch of the House of Ivrea. Peter was born in the tower of the Monasterio de Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas in Burgos. His parents were Alfonso XI of Castile and Maria of Portugal, according to chancellor and chronicler Pero López de Ayala, he had a pale complexion, blue eyes and very light blonde hair, he was tall and muscular. He was accustomed to long, strenuous hours of work, lisped a little and he was well read and a patron of the arts, and in his formative years he enjoyed entertainment, music and poetry. Peter began his reign when almost sixteen years old and subjected to the control of his mother and her favourites, joan soon contracted the disease and died. Though at first controlled by his mother, Peter emancipated himself with the encouragement of the minister Alburquerque, becoming attached to María de Padilla, he married her in secret in 1353. María turned him against Alburquerque, who fled to Portugal, in the summer of 1353, the young king was practically coerced by his mother and the nobles into marrying Blanche of Bourbon, he deserted her at once. This marriage necessitated Peters denying that he had married María, but his relationship with her continued and he also apparently went through the form of marriage with Juana de Castro, widow of Don Diego de Haro, convincing her that his previous marriage to Queen Blanche was a nullity. The bishops of Avila and Salamanca were asked to concur, and were afraid to say otherwise, Peter and Juana were married in Cuellar, and Juana was proclaimed Queen of Castile. After two nights he then deserted her, a period of turmoil followed in which the king was for a time overpowered and in effect imprisoned. The dissension within the party striving to coerce him enabled him to escape from Toro, in 1361, Queen Blanche died at Medina Sidonia. Legend claims that Peter murdered her, one version of the story says she was poisoned, also that year Maria de Padilla died in Seville, possibly of the plague. The king of Aragon then supported Peters bastard brothers against him and it was during this period that Peter perpetrated the series of murders which made him notorious. In 1366 began the calamitous Castilian Civil War, which would see him dethroned, Peters rival Henry of Trastámara continuously depicted Peter as King of the Jews, and had some success in taking advantage of popular Castilian resentment towards the Jews. Henry of Trastámara instigated pogroms beginning a period of anti-Jewish riots, Peter took forceful measures against this, including the execution of at least five anti-Jewish leaders of a riot. In the summer of 1366, Peter took refuge with Edward, the Black Prince, but he disgusted his ally with his faithlessness and ferocity, as well as his failure to repay the costs of the campaign, as he had promised to do. The health of the Black Prince broke down, and he left the Iberian Peninsula, meanwhile, Henry of Trastámara returned to Castile in September,1368
2.
Salamanca
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Salamanca is a city in northwestern Spain that is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the community of Castile and León. The city lies on several hills by the Tormes River and its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is one of the most important university cities in Spain, Salamanca attracts thousands of international students, generating a diverse environment. It is situated approximately 200 kilometres west of the Spanish capital Madrid and 80 km east of the Portuguese border, with its 30,000 students, the university is, together with tourism, a primary source of income in Salamanca. In the 3rd century BC, Hannibal laid siege to the city, with the fall of the Carthaginians to the Romans, the city of Helmantica, as it was known, began to take more importance as a commercial hub in the Roman Hispania due to its favorable location. Salamanca lay on a Roman road, known as the Vía de la Plata and its Roman bridge dates from the 1st century, and was a part of this road. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the Alans established in Lusitania, later the city was conquered by the Visigoths and included in their territory. The city was already an episcopal see, and signatures of bishops of Salamanca are found in the Councils of Toledo, Salamanca surrendered to the Moors, led by Musa bin Nusair, in the year 712 AD. For years, this area between the south of Duero River and the north of Tormes River, became the battlefield between the Christian kingdoms and the Muslim Al-Andalus rulers. The constant fighting of the Kingdom of León first, and the Kingdom of Castile and León later against the Caliphate depopulated Salamanca, after the battle of Simancas the Christians resettled this area. After the capture of Toledo by Alfonso VI of León and Castile in 1085, raymond of Burgundy, instructed by his father-in-law Alfonso VI of León, led a group of settlers of various origins in 1102. Soon it became one of the most significant and prestigious academic centres in Europe, during the 16th century, the city reached its height of splendour. During that period, the University of Salamanca hosted the most important intellectuals of the time, in 1551, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ordered an inquiry to find out if the science of Andreas Vesalius, physician and anatomist, was in line with Catholic doctrine. Vesalius came to Salamanca that same year to appear before the board and was acquitted, Salamanca suffered the general downturns of the Kingdom of Castile during the 17th century, but in the 18th century it experienced a rebirth. In this period, the new baroque Cathedral and main square were finished, the battle which raged that day is famous as a defining moment in military history, many thousands of men were slaughtered by cannon fire in the space of only a few short hours. During the devastating Spanish Civil War the city went over to the Nationalist side and was used as the de facto capital. The Nationalists soon moved most of the departments to Burgos. Like much of fervently Catholic and largely rural Leon and Old Castile regions, Salamanca was a supporter of the Nationalist side
3.
Gibraltar
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Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and shares its border with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the landmark of the region. At its foot is a populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne, the territory was subsequently ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Today Gibraltars economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, the sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government. The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules. The pronunciation of the name in modern Spanish is, evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar between 28,000 and 24,000 BP has been discovered at Gorhams Cave, making Gibraltar possibly the last known holdout of the Neanderthals. Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC, subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar by Heracles. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania from 414 AD until the Islamic conquest of Iberia in 711 AD, in 1160, the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mumin ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath, on completion of the works in the town, the Sultan crossed the Strait to look at the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months. The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today, from 1274 onwards, the town was fought over and captured by the Nasrids of Granada, the Marinids of Morocco and the kings of Castile. In 1462, Gibraltar was finally captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, after the conquest, King Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. In 1501, Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, the occupation of the town by Alliance forces caused the exodus of the population to the surrounding area of the Campo de Gibraltar. As the Alliances campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated and ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britains withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during the American War of Independence
4.
Henry II of Castile
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Henry II, called the Fratricidal or the one of las Mercedes, was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother, Peter the Cruel, after numerous rebellions, as king he was involved in the Ferdinand Wars and the Hundred Years War. Henry was the fourth of ten children of King Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor de Guzmán. He was born a twin to Fadrique Alfonso, Lord of Haro, at birth, he was adopted by Rodrigo Álvarez de las Asturias. Rodrigo died the year and Henry inherited his lordship of Noreña. It made him the head of the new Trastámara dynasty, arising from the branch of Burgundy-Ivrea. While Alfonso XI lived, his lover Eleanor gave a great many titles and privileges to their sons and this caused discontent among many of the noblemen and in particular the queen, Maria of Portugal, and her son, Pedro, known as Pedro the Cruel and the Just. They had a chance for revenge when Alfonso XI died unexpectedly from a fever in the siege of Gibraltar in March,1350 and they pushed Eleanor, her sons and their supporters aside, and Henry and his brothers fled and scattered. They were fearful of what their brother, the new king Pedro I of Castile, the late king had not even been buried. Although Eleanor and her sons reached an agreement with Pedro to live peacefully in his court, Henry and his brothers Fadrique, Tello and Sancho staged numerous rebellions against the new king. In 1351, the King took counsel from Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque and he became convinced that his fathers lover was the instigator of the uprisings, so he ordered Eleanor to be incarcerated and finally executed in Talavera de la Reina. After that, Henry fled to Portugal and he was pardoned by Pedro and returned to Castile, then revolted in Asturias in 1352. He reconciled with his brother, only to rebel against him again in a long, intermittent war, which ended with Henrys flight to France, shortly after, Henry and his men spent time in Peter IV of Aragons army in their war against Castile. During that conflict, he was defeated and held prisoner in Nájera and he was liberated and exiled himself to France once more. Then Peter IV of Aragon attacked Castile again, Henry agreed to help him on condition that he would lend his support to destroying his brother, Pedro of Castile. This became the Castilian Civil War, the attack combined Henrys Castillian allies, the Aragonese and the French. Henry was proclaimed king in Calahorra, in return, he had to reward his allies with titles and riches for the help they had provided. This earned him the nickname el de las Mercedes, Pedro of Castile fled north to Bordeaux, the capital of the English dominions in France, where Edward, the Black Prince held court
5.
Kingdom of Galicia
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The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which adopted Catholicism officially and it was part of the Kingdom of the Spanish Visigothic monarchs from 585 to 711. Compostela became capital of Galicia in the 11th century, while the independence of Portugal determined its southern boundary, the representative assembly of the Kingdom was then the Junta or Cortes of the Kingdom of Galicia, which briefly declared itself sovereign when Galicia alone remained free of Napoleonic occupation. The kingdom and its Junta were dissolved by Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the origin of the kingdom lies in the 5th century, when the Suebi settled permanently in the former Roman province of Gallaecia. Their king, Hermeric, probably signed a foedus, or pact, with the Roman Emperor Honorius, the Suebi set their capital in the former Bracara Augusta, setting the foundations of a kingdom which was first acknowledged as Regnum Suevorum, but later as Regnum Galliciense. The independent Suebic kingdom of Galicia lasted from 410 to 585, in 410 Gallaecia was divided, ad habitandum, among two Germanic people, the Hasdingi Vandals, who settled the eastern lands, and the Suebi, who established themselves in the coastal areas. As with most Germanic invasions, the number of the original Suebi is estimated to be low, generally fewer than 100,000. They settled mainly in the regions around modern northern Portugal and Western Galicia, in the towns of Braga and Porto, in 419 a war broke out between the Vandal king Gunderic and the Suebis Hermeric. After a blockade alongside the Nervasian Mountains, the Suebi obtained Roman help, in the absence of competitors, the Suebi began a period of expansion, first inside Gallaecia, and later into other Roman provinces. In 438 Hermeric ratified a treaty with the Gallaeci, the native. In 448 Rechila died, leaving the state to his son Rechiar. Rechiar married a Visigothic princess, and was also the first Germanic king to mint coins in ancient Roman territories, Rechiar led further expansions to the east, marauding through the Provincia Tarraconensis, which was still held by Rome. The Roman emperor Avitus sent an army of foederates, under the direction of the Visigoth Theoderic II. Rechiar fled, but he was pursued and captured, then executed in 457, in the aftermath of Rechiars death, multiple candidates for the throne appeared, finally grouping into two allegiances. By 465 Remismund, who established a policy of friendship with the Goths, five of the attendant bishops used Germanic names, showing the integration of the different communities of the country. After clashing in frontier lands, Miro and Leovigild agreed upon a temporary peace, the Suebi maintained their independence until 585, when Leovigild, on the pretext of conflict over the succession, invaded the Suebic kingdom and finally defeated it. Audeca, the last king of the Suebi, who had deposed his brother-in-law Eboric and this same year a nobleman named Malaric rebelled against the Goths, but he was defeated. As with the Visigothic language, there are traces of the Suebi tongue remaining
6.
Moors
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Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people, and mainstream scholars observed in 1911 that The term Moors has no real ethnological value. Medieval and early modern Europeans variously applied the name to Arabs, Berber North Africans and Muslim Europeans. The term has also used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names Ceylon Moors and Indian Moors in Sri Lanka, in 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from North Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. The Iberian peninsula then came to be known in classical Arabic as Al-Andalus, in 827, the Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily, developing it as a port. They eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy, in 1224 the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to the settlement of Lucera, which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300. The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Iberia, the Berber tribes of the region were noted in Classical literature as Mauri, which was subsequently rendered as Moors in English and in related variations in other European languages. Mauri is recorded as the name by Strabo in the early 1st century. This appellation was also adopted into Latin, whereas the Greek name for the tribe was Maurusii, in medieval Romance languages, variations of the Latin word for the Moors developed different applications and connotations. During the context of the Crusades and the Reconquista, the term Moors included the suggestion of infidels. Apart from these associations and context, Moor and Moorish designate a specific ethnic group speaking Hassaniya Arabic. They inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, in Niger and Mali, these peoples are also known as the Azawagh Arabs, after the Azawagh region of the Sahara. Some authors have pointed out that in modern colloquial Spanish use of the term moro is derogatory for Moroccans in particular, however, this designation has gained more acceptance in the south. In the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, many modern Filipinos call the large, local Muslim minority concentrated in Mindanao, the word is a catch-all term, as Moro may come from several distinct ethno-linguistic groups such as the Maranao people. The term was introduced by Spanish colonisers, and has since been appropriated by Filipino Muslims as an endonym, moreno can mean dark-skinned in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and the Philippines. Also in Spanish, morapio is a name for wine, especially that which has not been baptized or mixed with water. Among Spanish speakers, moro came to have a broader meaning, Moro refers to all things dark, as in Moor, moreno, etc. It was also used as a nickname, for instance, the Milanese Duke Ludovico Sforza was called Il Moro because of his dark complexion, in Portugal, mouro may refer to supernatural beings known as enchanted moura, where moor implies alien and non-Christian
7.
Alfonso X of Castile
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Alfonso X, called the Wise, was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death. During the Imperial election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be King of the Romans on 1 April and he renounced his imperial claim in 1275, and in creating an alliance with England in 1254, his claim on Gascony as well. Alfonso X fostered the development of a court that encouraged learning. Jews, Muslims, and Christians had prominent roles in his court, Alfonso was a prolific author of Galician poetry, such as the Cantigas de Santa Maria, which are equally notable for their musical notation as for their literary merit. Alfonsos scientific interests—he is sometimes nicknamed the Astrologer —led him to sponsor the creation of the Alfonsine tables, as a legislator he introduced the first vernacular law code in Spain, the Siete Partidas. He created the Mesta, an association of farmers in the central plain. He fought a war with Portugal, but a less successful one with Granada. The end of his reign was marred by a war with his eldest surviving son, the future Sancho IV. Born in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile, Alfonso was the eldest son of Ferdinand III of Castile and his mother was the paternal cousin of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, to whom Alfonso is often compared. His maternal grandparents were Philip of Swabia and Irene Angelina, little is known about his upbringing, but he was most likely raised in Toledo. For the first nine years of his life Alfonso was only heir to Castile until his paternal grandfather king Alfonso IX of Leon died and his father united the kingdoms of Castile and Leon. He began his career as a soldier, under the command of his father, after the election of Theobald I as king of Navarre, his father tried to arrange a marriage for Alfonso with Theobalds daughter, Blanche of Navarre, but the move was unsuccessful. At the same time, he had a relationship with Mayor Guillén de Guzmán. In 1240, he married Mayor Guillén de Guzmán, but the marriage was later annulled, in the same period he conquered several Muslim strongholds in Al-Andalus alongside his father, such as Murcia, Alicante and Cadiz. In 1249, Alfonso married Violante of Aragon, the daughter of King James I of Aragon and Yolande of Hungary, Alfonso succeeded his father as King of Castile and León in 1252. The following year he invaded Portugal, capturing the region of the Algarve, King Afonso III of Portugal had to surrender, but he gained an agreement by which, after he consented to marry Alfonso Xs daughter Beatrice of Castile, the land would be returned to their heirs. In 1263 he returned Algarve to the King of Portugal and signed the Treaty of Badajoz, in 1254 Alfonso X signed a treaty of alliance with the King of England and Duke of Aquitaine, Henry III, supporting him in the war against Louis IX of France. In 1256, at the death of William II of Holland, Alfonsos descent from the Hohenstaufen through his mother, Alfonsos election as King of the Romans by the imperial prince-electors misled him into complicated schemes that involved excessive expense but never succeeded
8.
Marinid dynasty
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The Marinid dynasty or Banu abd al-Haqq was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Zenata Berber descent that ruled Morocco from the 13th to the 15th century. In 1244, the Marinids overthrew the Almohad dynasty, which controlled Morocco and it briefly held sway over all the Maghreb in the mid-14th century. The Marinids were overthrown after the 1465 revolt, the Wattasids, a related dynasty, came to power in 1472. The Marinids were a branch of the Wassin, a nomadic Zenata Berber tribe that lived in Ifriqiya, the tribe had first frequented the area between Sijilmasa and Figuig. The Marinids took their name from their ancestor, Marin ibn Wartajan al-Zenati, after arriving in Morocco, they initially submitted to the Almohads, the ruling dynasty at the time. After successfully contributing to the Battle of Alarcos, in central Spain, starting in 1213, they began to tax farming communities of north-eastern Morocco. The relationship between them and the Almohads became strained and starting in 1215, there were outbreaks of fighting between the two parties. In 1217 they tried to occupy eastern Morocco, but they were expelled, after which they pulled back, here they remain for nearly 30 years. Between 1244 and 1248 the Marinids were able to take Taza, Rabat, Salé, the Marinid leadership installed in Fes declared war on the Almohads, fighting with the aid of Christian mercenaries. Abu Yusuf Yaqub captured Marrakech in 1269, after the Nasrids ceded Algeciras to the Marinids, Abu Yusuf went to Al-Andalus to support the ongoing struggle against the Kingdom of Castile. The Marinid dynasty then tried to extend its control to include the traffic of the Strait of Gibraltar. It was in period that the Spanish Christians were first able to take the fighting to Morocco, in 1260 and 1267 they attempted an invasion of Morocco. After gaining a foothold in Spain, the Marinids became active in the conflict between Muslims and Christians in Iberia, in 1276 they founded Fes Jdid, which they made their administrative and military centre. It is from the Marinid period that Fes reputation as an important intellectual centre largely dates, they established the first madrassas in the city, the principal monuments in the medina, the residences and public buildings, date from the Marinid period. Despte internal infighting, Abu Said Uthman II initiated huge construction projects across Morocco, several madrassas were built, the Al-Attarine Madrasa being the most famous. The building of these madrassas were necessary to create a dependent bureaucratic class, in order to undermine the marabouts, the Marinids also strongly influenced the policy of the Emirate of Granada, from which they enlarged their army in 1275. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Castile made several incursions into Morocco, in 1260, Castilian forces raided Salé and, in 1267, initiated a full-scale invasion of Morocco, but the Marinids repelled them. At the height of their power, during the rule of Abu al-Hasan Ali and it consisted of 40.000 Zenata cavalry, while Arab nomads contributed to the cavalry and Andalusians were included as archers
9.
Iberian Peninsula
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The Iberian Peninsula /aɪˈbɪəriən pəˈnɪnsjᵿlə/, also known as Iberia /aɪˈbɪəriə/, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory. With an area of approximately 582,000 km2, it is the second largest European peninsula, at that time, the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabos Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the land mass southwest of there. The ancient Greeks reached the Iberian Peninsula, of which they had heard from the Phoenicians, hecataeus of Miletus was the first known to use the term Iberia, which he wrote about circa 500 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus says of the Phocaeans that it was they who made the Greeks acquainted with. According to Strabo, prior historians used Iberia to mean the country side of the Ἶβηρος as far north as the river Rhône in France. Polybius respects that limit, but identifies Iberia as the Mediterranean side as far south as Gibraltar, elsewhere he says that Saguntum is on the seaward foot of the range of hills connecting Iberia and Celtiberia. Strabo refers to the Carretanians as people of the Iberian stock living in the Pyrenees, according to Charles Ebel, the ancient sources in both Latin and Greek use Hispania and Hiberia as synonyms. The confusion of the words was because of an overlapping in political, the Latin word Hiberia, similar to the Greek Iberia, literally translates to land of the Hiberians. This word was derived from the river Ebro, which the Romans called Hiberus, hiber was thus used as a term for peoples living near the river Ebro. The first mention in Roman literature was by the annalist poet Ennius in 200 BC. Virgil refers to the Ipacatos Hiberos in his Georgics, the Roman geographers and other prose writers from the time of the late Roman Republic called the entire peninsula Hispania. As they became interested in the former Carthaginian territories, the Romans began to use the names Hispania Citerior. At the time Hispania was made up of three Roman provinces, Hispania Baetica, Hispania Tarraconensis, and Lusitania, Strabo says that the Romans use Hispania and Iberia synonymously, distinguishing between the near northern and the far southern provinces. Whatever language may generally have been spoken on the peninsula soon gave way to Latin, except for that of the Vascones, the Iberian Peninsula has always been associated with the Ebro, Ibēros in ancient Greek and Ibērus or Hibērus in Latin. The association was so known it was hardly necessary to state, for example. Pliny goes so far as to assert that the Greeks had called the whole of Spain Hiberia because of the Hiberus River, the river appears in the Ebro Treaty of 226 BC between Rome and Carthage, setting the limit of Carthaginian interest at the Ebro. The fullest description of the treaty, stated in Appian, uses Ibērus, with reference to this border, Polybius states that the native name is Ibēr, apparently the original word, stripped of its Greek or Latin -os or -us termination
10.
Valladolid
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Valladolid is a city in Spain and the de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 309,714 people, making it Spains 13th most populous municipality and its metropolitan area ranks 20th in Spain with a population of 414,244 people in 23 municipalities. The city is situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within five winegrowing regions, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Toro, Tierra de León, Valladolid was originally settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and later the Romans themselves. It remained a settlement until being re-established by King Alfonso VI of Castile as a Lordship for the Count Pedro Ansúrez in 1072. The Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, married in Valladolid in 1469 and established it as the capital of the Kingdom of Castile and later of united Spain. Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid in 1506, while authors Francisco de Quevedo, the city was briefly the capital of Habsburg Spain under Phillip III between 1601 and 1606, before returning indefinitely to Madrid. The city then declined until the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, among the events that are held each year in the city there is Holy Week, Valladolid International Film Week, and the Theatre Festival and street arts. There is no evidence for the origin of the modern name of Valladolid. Another theory suggests that the name derives from the Arabic expression Ballad Al-Walid بلد الوليد, yet a third claims that it derives from Vallis Olivetum, meaning valley of the olives. In texts from the ages the town is called Vallisoletum, meaning sunny valley. The city is popularly called Pucela, a nickname whose origin is not clear. Another theory is that Pucela comes from the fact that Pozzolana cement was sold there, the Vaccaei was a Celtic tribe, the first people with stable presence on the sector of the middle valley of the River Duero documented in historical times. Remains of Celtiberian and of a Roman camp have been excavated near the city, the nucleus of the city was originally located in the area of the current San Miguel y el Rosarillo square, and was surrounded by a palisade. Archaeological proofs of the existence of three ancient lines of walls have been found, the area was captured from the Moors in the 10th century, and Valladolid was a village until King Alfonso VI of León and Castile donated it to Count Pedro Ansúrez in 1072. He built a palace for himself and his wife, Countess Eylo, the Collegiate of St. Mary, in 1469 Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon were married in the city, by the 15th century Valladolid was the residence of the kings of Castile. In 1506 Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid still convinced that he had reached the Indies in a house that is now a Museum dedicated to him and it was made the capital of the kingdom again between 1601 and 1606 by Philip III. The city was damaged by a flood of the rivers Pisuerga. Despite the damage to the old city by the 1960s economic boom, the Science Museum is next to the river Pisuerga
11.
Ferdinand IV of Castile
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Ferdinand IV of Castile called the Summoned, was a King of Castile and León from 1295 until his death. At that time, and also for the rest of his reign, his mother tried to placate the nobility, confronted her sons enemies and he died in Jaén on 7 September 1312 aged 26, and his mortal remains are now in the Royal Collegiate Church of Saint Hippolytus. Ferdinand was born in the city of Seville on 6 December 1285 as the child and eldest son of King Sancho IV of Castile. He was baptized at Seville Cathedral by Archbishop Raimundo de Losana and was proclaimed heir to the Crown. King Sancho IV entrusted to Fernán Pérez Ponce de León the raising of his newborn son, the prince and his tutor left for the city of Zamora, where the family of Fernán Pérez resided. Likewise the King appointed Isidro González and Alfonso Godínez as Chancellors of the prince, Fernán Pérez Ponce de León and his wife, Urraca Gutiérrez de Meneses, had a significant influence on Ferdinands character, and he would show them, as a King, a profound gratitude. Already in his infancy the question of his marriage was raised, in the agreement signed by Sancho IV and King Denis of Portugal in September 1291, was established the betrothal between Ferdinand and the Infanta Constance, daughter of the Portuguese sovereign. The death of Sancho IV a year put an end to the negotiations with the French court. King Sancho IV of Castile died in the city of Toledo on 25 April 1295, after the burial of the sovereign at Toledo Cathedral, his widow María de Molina retired to the Alcázar of Toledo for a mourning of nine days. The now Dowager Queen was in charge of the regency of her 9-years-old son, because the marriage between Sancho IV and María de Molina was without validity, all their children are illegitimate, so the Dowager Queen had to face numerous problems to kept her son in the throne. To this were added the problems with Aragon, Portugal and France, who tried to take advantage of the political instability that suffered the Kingdom of Castile in their own benefit. At the same time, Diego López V de Haro, Lord of Biscay, Nuño González de Lara, and Juan Núñez II de Lara, among many others nobles, sowed confusion and anarchy in the kingdom. In the Cortes of Valladolid in 1295, Henry of Castile the Senator was appointed guardian of the King, but the Dowager Queen María de Molina got that the custody of her son was entrusted to her. He later passed to the Kingdom of Portugal, where he pressed King Denis of Portugal to declare war to Castile and, at the same time, to support his claims to the Castilian throne. Shortly after, King James II of Aragon returned the Infanta Isabella of Castile to the Castilian court without having married with her, and declared the war to the Kingdom of Castile. At the beginning of 1296, John of Castile rebelled against Ferdinand IV and took Astudillo, Paredes de Nava and Dueñas, while his son Alfonso of Valencia seized Mansilla. In April 1296 Alfonso de la Cerda invaded the Kingdom of Castile accompanied by Aragonese troops, and went to the city of León, where John of Castile was proclaimed King of León, Seville and Galicia. Immediately afterwards, John of Castile accompanied Alfonso de la Cerda to Sahagún, due to the mortality that extended between the besiegers of Mayorga, their commanders were forced to raise the siege
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hannay, D. (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the .svg)
