Alfonso, Prince of Asturias ( November 14, 1453 - July 5, 1468 ) is a Castilian prince whom the Spanish magnates of the 15th century tried to enthrone instead of his half-brother Enrique IV . Alfonso was the only (surviving) son of the Castilian king Juan II from his second wife Isabel of Portugal . From the same marriage, the royal couple had a daughter, the older sister of Alfonso Isabella I. Enrique IV was the son of Juan II from his first marriage with Maria of Aragon , and thus he was Alfonso and Isabella I half-brother.
| Alfonso of Castile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfonso de castilla | ||||
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| Predecessor | Juan Beltraneja | |||
| Successor | Isabella I | |||
| Birth | November 14, 1453 Tordesillas , Castile and Leon | |||
| Death | July 5, 1468 (aged 14) Cardenos , Castile and Leon | |||
| Burial place | ||||
| Kind | Trastamara | |||
| Father | Juan II of Castile | |||
| Mother | Isabel Portuguese | |||
| Religion | ||||
Origin
After the death of Juan II in 1454, Enrique IV, who became king, sent Isabel of Portugal to exile with his children. Moreover, Isabel was divided with the children: she was exiled to Arevalo , and the children to Segovia . Around 1460, when Alfonso was seven years old, Enrique IV transferred the children to Madrid and entrusted their upbringing to his wife (second) Juan of Portugal . There were rumors that Juan of Portugal tried to poison Alfonso at least once, trying to clear the way to the throne for her own daughter, Juana .
From the beginning of the 1460s, the Spanish nobility began to increasingly oppose the rule of Enrique IV. There are persistent rumors in the kingdom that the father of Princess Juana is not the king at all, but the Queen’s lover, the court aristocrat Beltran de la Cueva . Juan was called the offensive nickname "Beltraneha", which has been attached to her name for centuries. In the event that Juana was not the native daughter of Enrique IV, Alfonso became heir to the throne. It must be said that the question of whether Juan was Enrica IV’s own daughter or not remains the most discussed issue of Spanish historians for the past 500 years.
Heir to the throne
A group of influential tycoons with full influence on the teenager Alfonso forced Enrique IV in 1464 to recognize Alfonso as the official heir to the throne, bypassing Juan. Alfonso passed from Juan the title " Prince of Asturias ." Enrique IV hoped that, having matured, Alfonso would marry Juan, and thus, the problem of the throne would be solved, having arranged all the parties concerned.
However, soon after this, the king changed his mind and decided again to declare Juan the heir to the throne. This resulted in an open rebellion of Castilian grandees against the king. In June 1465, near Avila, the rebels declared Enrique IV deposed and proclaimed the new king Alfonso [1] . Between the supporters of Enrique IV and his opponents, a war broke out.
At the height of the military confrontation in 1468, at the age of 14, Alfonso dies, most likely from the plague , although versions of poisoning and murder were also actively discussed (and are still being discussed) by his supporters, opponents, and historians. According to the official testament of Alfonso, he transferred power in Castile to his sister Isabella I. Supporters of Alfonso asked Isabella I to lead the party of opponents Enrique IV, but she refused. Soon she signed a contract with the Bulls of Gisando with Enrique IV, according to which Isabella became the official heiress of Enrique, received the title of Princess of Asturias and great gifts. This put an end to the civil war, and after the death of Enrique in 1474, Isabella became Queen of Castile.
Alfonso was buried in the Cartesian monastery of Miraflores in Burgos , along with his father and mother.
Notes
- ↑ Álvarez de Toledo, Luisa Isabel (2006). África versus América (2ª edición) ア ー カ イ ブ さ れ た コ ピ ー . Date of treatment January 12, 2010. Archived December 15, 2009. . Sanlúcar de Barrameda: Fundación Casa Medina-Sidonia.