The Alkasovas Treaty - concluded on September 4, 1479 in the town of Alkasovas between the Catholic kings on the one hand, and the Portuguese king Afonso V and his son Juan - on the other, which ended the war for the Castilian inheritance .
Content
Background
After the death in 1474 of King Enrique IV, the younger half-sister Isabella (married to Ferdinand of Aragon) on the one hand, and the daughter of the late king Juan Beltranekh , on the other, began to claim the crown of Castile and Leon . In 1475, Juana married her maternal uncle, King of Portugal Afonso V, and became Queen of Portugal, with the result that Portugal entered the war on her side.
In addition to the dynastic rights war itself, the Portuguese and Castilian fleets seized the seas, trying to control the paths to overseas territories. As a result, the Catholic kings managed to win on land, but the Portuguese were victorious at sea. After that, both sides sat down at the negotiating table and signed an agreement fixing the situation.
Contract
The main provisions of the contract were as follows:
- Afonso and Juan renounce their claims to the Castilian throne in favor of the Catholic kings, who, in turn, renounce claims to the throne of Portugal;
- of the disputed territories in the Atlantic, only the Canary Islands remained for Castile, the rights to the remaining possessions ( Madeira , Azores , Cape Verde and Guinea ) were assigned to Portugal, which also received exclusive rights to conquer the kingdom of Fez ;
- Portugal secured exclusive rights to sail, conquer and trade in the Atlantic Ocean south of the Canary Islands, including territories that will be opened in the future;
- Portugal received reimbursement of military expenses in the form of a dowry of Princess Isabella , who married Prince Afonso ;
- Afonso and Isabella were to remain in Portugal until they came of age, all the expenses of their stay were borne by the Catholic kings;
- Juan Beltranekha was given the opportunity to choose — either to marry Prince Juan of Asturias or to go to a monastery (Juana preferred a monastery);
- supporters of Afonso and Juan in Castile were forgiven.
Summary and Consequences
Due to the fact that the treaty forbade Castilian ships to sail south of the Canary Islands without special Portuguese permission, this prompted the Catholic kings in 1492 to support the expedition of Christopher Columbus , who decided to sail west.