Andalusia Andalusia Andalusia ' onMouseout='HidePop("85557")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Úbeda">Úbeda
Úbeda from Arabic is a town in the province of Jaén in Spain's autonomous community of Andalusia. It has 34,462 inhabiants...
, and
BaezaBaeza is a town of approximately 15,000 inhabitants in Andalusia, Spain, in the province of Jaén, perched on a cliff in the Loma de Baeza, a mountain range between the river Guadalquivir on the south and its tributary the Guadalimar on the north...
, unique in Andalusia, but with time they were drawn back into the royalists. Murcia stayed with the rebel cause, but did not coordinate much with the Junta, and the rebellion there had a character closer to the nearby Revolt of the Brotherhoods in
ValenciaThe Christian Kingdom of Valencia , located in the Eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon...
in
AragonThe Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon.At the height of its power by the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain, Southwestern France, as well as...
. In
ExtremaduraExtremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. It includes the provinces of Cáceres and Badajoz...
to the southwest, the city of
PlasenciaPlasencia is a walled market city in the province of Cáceres and part of the region of Extremadura in Western Spain...
joined the
Comunidades, but this was undermined by the close proximity of other royalist cities such as
Ciudad RodrigoCiudad Rodrigo is a small cathedral city in Salamanca Province in western Spain ....
and
CáceresCáceres is the capital of Cáceres Province, in Extremadura, Spain . Its 2007 census population was 91,606 inhabitants . The municipio has a land area of 1,750.33 km² and is the largest in geographical extent in Spain.There have been settlements near Cáceres since prehistoric times...
. A close correlation can be drawn between poor economic fortunes over the previous twenty years and the rebellion; central Castile suffered from agricultural failure and other setbacks under the Royal Council, while Andalusia was relatively prosperous with its maritime trade. Andalusia's leadership also feared that in the instability of a civil war, the Moriscos of Granada would likely revolt.
Popular and governmental response
Turning of the nobles
The growing success of the comuneros emboldened people to accuse members of the old government of complicity with royal abuses. The protests attacked the landed nobility as well, many of whom had illegally taken property during the reign of the regents and weak kings after Isabella's death. In
DueñasDueñas is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain....
, the Count of Buendía's vassals revolted against him on September 1, 1520, encouraged by rebel monks. This uprising was followed by others of a similar anti-feudal nature. The leadership of the comuneros was forced to take a stance on these new rebellions; reluctant to openly endorse them, the Junta initially denounced them but did nothing to oppose them. The dynamics of the uprising thus changed profoundly, as it could now jeopardize the status of the entire
manorial systemManorialism or Seigneurialism or Feudal Society was the organizing principle of rural economy and society widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe...
. The nobles had previously been somewhat sympathetic to the cause due to their loss of privileges to the central government. However, these new developments lead to a dramatic drop in support for the comuneros from aristocrats, who were frightened by the more radical elements of the revolution.
Response of Charles V
At first, Charles seemed not to grasp the magnitude of the revolt. He continued to demand payments from Castile; with the government of Castile still in arrears, Cardinal Adrian found it impossible to secure any new loans. A letter from Cardinal Adrian on August 25 warned Charles of the severity of the situation:
Once he realized that a full-fledged revolution was underway, Charles responded vigorously. Through Cardinal Adrian, he undertook new policy initiatives, such as canceling the taxes granted in the Cortes of Corunna. Most important was the appointment of two new Castilian co-regents: the
Constable of CastileConstable of Castile was a title created by John I, King of Castile in 1382, to substitute the title Alférez Mayor del Reino. The constable was the second person in power in the kingdom, after the King, and his responsibility was to command the military in the absence of the ruler.In 1473 Henry IV...
,
Íñigo FernándezÍñigo Fernández de Velasco was a Spanish nobleman.He was constable of Castile and Duke of Frias.He took part in the Castilian War of the Communities, and led the royalist army to victory at the Battle of Villalar....
, and the
Admiral of CastileAdmiral of Castile was a post with a long and important history in Spain. One famous holder was Fadrique Enríquez....
,
Fadrique EnríquezFadrique Enríquez was the Admiral of Castile. He played an important role in defeating the Revolt of the Comuneros....
. This negated two of the most salient complaints of the rebels. In addition, Adrian approached the nobles to convince them that their best interests lay with the king. The Royal Council was re-established in the fief of Admiral Enríquez,
Medina de RiosecoMedina de Rioseco is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 5,037 inhabitants. During the Peninsular War, it was here that the Battle of Medina del Rioseco took place on July 14,...
, which enabled the Council to be nearer to the revolting cities and reassure skeptical supporters. While the royal army was still in tatters, many high nobles maintained their own well-trained mercenary armies—armies that with the revolt's recent radicalization would now fight for the king.
Organization, funding, and diplomacy
The first political defeats of the comuneros came in October 1520. The comuneros' attempt to use Queen Joanna for legitimacy did not bear fruit, as she blocked their initiatives and refused to sign any edicts. In turn, dissenting voices inside the comuneros now began to be heard, especially in
BurgosBurgos is a city of northern Spain, at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,000 inhabitants in the city proper and another 15,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and Léon...
. The wavering position of Burgos was soon known to the royalists, and the Constable of Castile negotiated with Burgos's government. The Royal Council granted a number of significant concessions to Burgos in exchange for them leaving the Junta.
Following this incident, the Royal Council hoped that other cities would imitate Burgos and leave the comuneros peacefully. Valladolid, the former seat of royal power, was considered especially likely to turn, but too many supporters of the king had left city politics and lost their influence. It remained rebel-controlled. The Admiral of Castile continued his campaign to try to convince the comuneros to return to the royal government and thereby avoid a violent suppression. This attitude concealed a great shortage of funds on the royal side.
During October and November 1520, both sides accepted that a military conclusion would soon be necessary and actively devoted themselves to fundraising, recruiting soldiers, and training their troops. The comuneros organized their militias in the major cities and levied new taxes on the countryside; they also took measures aimed at eliminating waste, routinely auditing their treasurers and dismissing those thought to be corrupt. The royal government, which had lost much of its revenue due to the revolt, sought loans from
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
and from conservative Castilian bankers, who saw reassuring signs in the switch of the allegiance of Burgos.
Battle of Tordesillas
Leadership disputes
Gradually, both the city of Toledo and its leader
Juan de PadillaJuan López de Padilla was an insurrectionary leader in the Castilian War of the Communities, where the people of Castile made a stand against policies of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his Flemish ministers.Padilla was the eldest son of the commendator of Castile...
lost influence within the Junta, though Padilla retained popularity and prestige among the commoners. Two new figures emerged within the
Comunidades, Pedro Girón and
Antonio Osorio de AcuñaDon Antonio Osorio de Acuña was a Spanish bishop of Zamora, appointed 4 January 1507, during the reigns of Ferdinand II and Charles V. He filled that see in 1519, when the civil war broke out in Spain...
. Girón was one of the most powerful nobles who supported the comuneros; his rebellion is thought to originate from Charles' refusal to grant Girón the prestigious
Duchy of Medina-SidoniaThe Dukes of Medina Sidonia are Grandees of Spain, holding the oldest dukedom extant in the Kingdom, first awarded by King John II of Castile in 1455...
a year prior to the war. Antonio de Acuña was the
Bishop of ZamoraThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora is a diocese located in the city of Zamora in the Ecclesiastical province of Valladolid in Spain.-Leadership:* Bishops of Zamora ** Bishop Gregorio Martínez Sacristán...
. Acuña was also the head of the
Comunidad in Zamora and the leader of its army, which included more than 300 priests.
On the royalist side, the nobles could not agree on what tactics to use. Some preferred to directly challenge the rebels in combat, while others such as the Constable of Castile favored continued waiting and the building of defensive fortifications. The Admiral of Castile preferred negotiations and exhausting all the possible peaceful options first. Patience, however, began to run thin; armies were expensive to maintain once assembled. In late November 1520, both armies took positions between Medina de Rioseco and Tordesillas, and a confrontation was inevitable.
Royal capture
With Pedro Girón in command, the army of the comuneros advanced on
Medina de RiosecoMedina de Rioseco is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 5,037 inhabitants. During the Peninsular War, it was here that the Battle of Medina del Rioseco took place on July 14,...
, following the orders of the Junta. Girón established his headquarters in
VillabrágimaVillabrágima is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 1,173 inhabitants....
, a town merely 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the royalist army. The royalists occupied nearby villages to cut communication lines back to other comuneros.
This situation continued until December 2, when Girón, apparently thinking the royal army would remain entrenched, moved his forces west to the small town of
VillalpandoVillalpando is a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 1,624 inhabitants....
. The town surrendered the next day without resistance, and the troops began looting the estates in the area. However, with this movement, the comuneros left the path to Tordesillas completely unprotected. The royal army took advantage of the blunder, marching by night on December 4 and occupying Tordesillas the next day. The small rebel garrison was overwhelmed.
Seizure of Tordesillas marked a serious defeat for the comuneros, who lost
Queen JoannaJoanna , called Joanna the Mad reigned as Queen of Castile jointly with her husband Philip the Handsome and later also as Queen of Aragon jointly with her son the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. She is most famous for having been obsessed with her husband, never recovering from his loss...
and with her their claim to legitimacy. In addition, thirteen representatives of the Junta were imprisoned, though others fled and escaped. Morale fell among the rebels, and much angry criticism was directed towards Pedro Girón for his maneuvering of the troops out of position and for his failure to attempt to retake Tordesillas or capture Medina de Rioseco. Girón was obliged to resign from his post and withdrew from the war.
Reorganization of the comuneros
Following the loss of Tordesillas, the comuneros regrouped in
Valladolid||-||} is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, upon the Pisuerga River and within the Ribera del Duero wine-making region. It is the capital of the province of Valladolid and of the autonomous community of Castile and Leon.- Etymology :...
. The Junta reconvened on December 15, but with only eleven cities represented, down from a height of fourteen. Soria and Guadalajara's representatives did not return, and Burgos had left earlier. Valladolid would be the third capital of the rebels, after Ávila and Tordesillas.
The situation was somewhat worse for the army, with a large number of desertions in Valladolid and Villalpando. This forced the rebels to intensify their recruitment drives, especially in Toledo, Salamanca, and Valladolid itself. With these new recruits and the arrival of Juan de Padilla to Valladolid, the rebel military apparatus was rebuilt and morale bolstered. At the beginning of 1521, the comuneros prepared for an all-out war, despite disagreements within the movement. Some suggested seeking a peaceful resolution, while others favored continuing the war. Those who favored war were divided between two tactics: occupy
SimancasSimancas is a town and municipality of central Spain, located in the province of Valladolid, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. It is situated approximately 8 miles southwest of the provincial capital Valladolid, on the road to Zamora and the right bank of the river Pisuerga...
and
TorrelobatónTorrelobatón is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 577 inhabitants....
, a less ambitious proposal defended by Pero Laso de la Vega; or lay siege to Burgos, a tactic favored by Padilla.
Military initiatives in Palencia and Burgos
In the far north of Castile, the rebel army began a series of operations conducted by
Antonio de AcuñaDon Antonio Osorio de Acuña was a Spanish bishop of Zamora, appointed 4 January 1507, during the reigns of Ferdinand II and Charles V. He filled that see in 1519, when the civil war broke out in Spain...
, bishop of Zamora. They received orders from the Junta on December 23 to try and raise a rebellion in
PalenciaPalencia is a province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of León, Cantabria, Burgos, and Valladolid.Of the population of 176,125 , 45% live in the capital, Palencia...
. They were tasked with expelling royalists, collecting taxes on behalf of the Junta, and creating an administration sympathetic to the comuneros cause. Acuña's army made a series of raids into the area around
DueñasDueñas is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain....
, raising more than 4,000 ducats and inspiring the peasantry. He returned to Valladolid in early 1521, then came back to Dueñas on January 10 to begin a major offensive against the nobles of Tierra de Campos. The nobles' land and holdings were completely devastated.
In mid-January, Pedro de Ayala, Count of Salvatierra, joined the comuneros and organized an army of about two thousand men who set about raiding the north of Castile. Nearby, Burgos awaited the fulfillment of the pledges made by Cardinal Adrian after they had joined the royalist cause two months prior. The slow response led to dissatisfaction and uncertainty in the city. Ayala and Acuña, aware of this situation, decided to besiege Burgos, Ayala from its north and Acuña from its south. They also sought to undermine the defenses by encouraging a revolt of the inhabitants of Burgos.
Royalist response
Still in Germany, Charles V issued the Edict of Worms on December 17, 1520 (not to be confused with the Edict of Worms of May 25, 1521, against
Martin LutherMartin Luther changed the course of Western civilization by initiating the Protestant Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he confronted indulgence salesmen with his The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could...
), which condemned 249 prominent
Comunidad members. For secular rebels, the punishment was death; clergy were to receive lighter penalties. Similarly, the edict also declared that those who supported the
Comunidades were traitors, disloyal, rebels, and infidels.
The Royal Council's next move was the occupation of
AmpudiaAmpudia is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 677 inhabitants.-External links:*...
in Palencia, a town loyal to the Count of Salvatierra. The Junta sent Padilla to meet Acuña; their combined force besieged the royal army at
the castle of MormojónTorremormojón is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 78 inhabitants....
. The royal army slipped away by nightfall, and Mormojón was forced to pay tribute to avoid being pillaged. Ampudia was recovered by the rebels the next day, January 16.
Meanwhile, the rebellion in Burgos scheduled for January 23 was a failure due to poor coordination with the besieging army; it started two days early and was easily crushed. The comuneros of Burgos had to surrender, and this was the last rebellion to be seen in Castile.
Padilla's decision on the rebels' next move
After abandoning the siege of Burgos due to the failure of its revolt, Padilla decided to return to Valladolid, while Acuña opted to resume his skirmishing and harassment of noble properties around Tierra de Campos. With this series of actions, Acuña intended to destroy or occupy the homes of the prominent nobles. The rebels now set themselves completely against the
manorial systemManorialism or Seigneurialism or Feudal Society was the organizing principle of rural economy and society widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe...
. This would be one of the strongest features of the second phase of the rebellion.
After the recent setbacks suffered by the comuneros, Padilla realized that they needed a victory to raise morale. He decided to take
TorrelobatónTorrelobatón is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 577 inhabitants....
and its castle. Torrelobatón was a stronghold halfway between Tordesillas and Medina de Rioseco, and was very close to Valladolid. Taking it would grant the rebels an excellent fortress for launching military operations and remove a threat on Valladolid.
Battle of Torrelobatón
On February 21, 1521, the siege of Torrelobatón began. Outnumbered, the town nevertheless resisted for four days, thanks to its walls. On February 25, the comuneros entered the town and subjected it to a massive looting spree as a reward to the troops. Only churches were spared. The castle resisted for another two days. The comuneros then threatened to
hangHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. It hurts a lot. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", although it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would...
all of the inhabitants, at which point the castle surrendered. The defenders did secure an agreement to spare half of the goods inside the castle, thus avoiding further looting.
The victory in Torrelobatón lifted the spirits of the rebel camp while worrying the royalists about the rebel advance, exactly as Padilla hoped. The faith of the nobles in Cardinal Adrian was once again shaken, as he was accused of having done nothing to avoid losing Torrelobatón. The Constable of Castile began to send troops to the Tordesillas area to contain the rebels and prevent any further advances.
Despite the renewed enthusiasm among the rebels, a decision was made to remain in their positions near Valladolid without pressing their advantage or launching a new attack. This caused many of the soldiers to return to their home communities, tired of waiting for salaries and new orders. This was a problem the comunero forces had throughout the war; they possessed only a small number of full-time soldiers, and their militias were constantly "dissolving and recruiting." A serious attempt to negotiate a peaceful end to the war was tried again by the moderates, but was undercut by extremists of both sides.
In the north, after the failure of the siege of Burgos in January, the Count of Salvatierra resumed his campaign. He set off to cause an uprising in
MerindadesLocated in the north of the province of Burgos, the Merindades are the birth place of the name "Castilla". Most of the villages of the Merindades were quoted in the "Becerro de Behetrias" at the moment of the creation of the subdivision Merindad by Pedro of Castile.- See Also:* Provincia de Burgos-...
, the homeland of the Constable of Castile, and besieged
Medina de PomarMedina de Pomar is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 5,282 inhabitants....
and
FríasFrías is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 314 inhabitants....
.
Acuña's southern campaign
William de CroÿWilliam de Croÿ was Archbishop of Toledo from 1517–1521...
, the young Flemish Archbishop of Toledo appointed by Charles, died in January 1521 in
Worms, GermanyWorms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over title of "Oldest City in Germany"...
. In Valladolid, the Junta proposed to Antonio de Acuña that he submit himself as a candidate for the seat.
Acuña departed for Toledo in February, a small troop under his command. He traveled south, declaring his impending claim on the archdiocese to every village as he passed. This raised enthusiasm among the commoners, who received him with cheers, but aroused suspicion in the aristocracy. They feared Acuña might attack their holdings as he did in Tierra de Campos. The Marquis of Villena and Duke of Infantado contacted Acuña and persuaded him to sign a pact of mutual neutrality.
Acuña soon had to confront Antonio de Zúñiga, who had been appointed commander of the royalist army in the Toledo area. Zúñiga was a
priorPrior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
in the Knights of St. John, who maintained a base in Castile at the time. Acuña received information that Zúñiga was in the area of
Corral de AlmaguerCorral de Almaguer is a Spanish municipality of Toledo province, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Its population is 5.549 and its surface is 329 km², with a density of 16.9 people/km²....
, and pursued battle with him near Tembleque. Zúñiga drove the rebel forces off, and then launched a counterattack of his own between Lillo and
El RomeralEl Romeral is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 807 inhabitants....
, inflicting a crushing defeat on Acuña. Acuña, a relentless self-promoter, tried to minimize the loss and even claimed that he had emerged victorious from the confrontation.
Undaunted, Acuña continued into Toledo. He appeared at the Zocodover Plaza in the heart of the city on March 29, 1521,
Good FridayGood Friday, also called Holy Friday, Black Friday, or Great Friday, is a holiday observed primarily by adherents to Christianity commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary...
. The crowd gathered around him and took him directly to the cathedral, claiming the archbishop's chair for him. The next day he met with María Pacheco, wife of Juan de Padilla and
de facto leader of the Toledo
Comunidad in her husband's absence. A brief rivalry emerged between the two, but it was resolved after mutual attempts at reconciliation.
Once settled in the
archdiocese of ToledoFor the Diocese in Brazil, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo, Brazil.
For the Diocese in the United States, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo....
, Acuña began to recruit any men he could find, enlisting soldiers from fifteen to sixty years old. After royalist troops burned the town of
MoraMora is a town and municipality in Toledo province, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. The area is most famous for the abandoned ruins of the San Marcos de Yegros monastery of the Order of Santiago, located northeast of the town of Mora about 10 km on the Calle de los...
on April 12, Acuña returned to the countryside with roughly 1,500 men under his command. He moved into
YepesYepes is a villa in the northern region of the province of Toledo, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain.- Population :...
, and from there conducted raids and operations against royalist-controlled rural areas. He first attacked and pillaged
Villaseca de la SagraVillaseca de la Sagra is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 1,581 inhabitants....
, then faced Zúñiga again in an inconclusive battle near the Tagus river in
IllescasIllescas is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 15830 inhabitants....
. Light skirmishing near Toledo would continue until news of Villalar ended the war.
Battle of Villalar
In early April 1521, the royalist side moved to combine their armies and threaten Torrelobatón. The
Constable of CastileConstable of Castile was a title created by John I, King of Castile in 1382, to substitute the title Alférez Mayor del Reino. The constable was the second person in power in the kingdom, after the King, and his responsibility was to command the military in the absence of the ruler.In 1473 Henry IV...
moved his troops (including soldiers recently transferred from the defense of Navarre) southwest from Burgos to meet with the
AdmiralFadrique Enríquez was the Admiral of Castile. He played an important role in defeating the Revolt of the Comuneros....
's forces near Tordesillas. Meanwhile, the comuneros reinforced their troops at Torrelobatón, which was far less secure than the comuneros preferred. Their forces were suffering from desertions, and the presence of royalist artillery would make Torrelobatón's castle vulnerable.
Juan de PadillaJuan López de Padilla was an insurrectionary leader in the Castilian War of the Communities, where the people of Castile made a stand against policies of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his Flemish ministers.Padilla was the eldest son of the commendator of Castile...
considered withdrawing to Toro to seek reinforcements in early April, but wavered. He delayed his decision until the early hours of April 23, losing considerable time and allowing the royalists to unite their forces in
PeñaflorPeñaflor de Hornija is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 415 inhabitants....
.
The combined royalist army pursued the comuneros. Once again, the royalists had a strong advantage in cavalry, with their army consisting of 6,000 infantry and 2,400 cavalry against Padilla's 7,000 infantry and 400 cavalry. Heavy rain slowed Padilla's infantry more than the royalist cavalry and rendered the primitive firearms of the rebels' 1,000 arquebusiers nearly useless. Padilla hoped to reach the relative safety of Toro and the heights of
Vega de ValdetroncoVega de Valdetronco is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 162 inhabitants....
, but his infantry was too slow. He gave battle with the harrying royalist cavalry at the town of Villalar. The cavalry charges scattered the rebel ranks, and the battle became a slaughter. There were an estimated 500–1,000 rebel casualties and many desertions.
The three most important leaders of the rebellion were captured:
Juan de PadillaJuan López de Padilla was an insurrectionary leader in the Castilian War of the Communities, where the people of Castile made a stand against policies of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his Flemish ministers.Padilla was the eldest son of the commendator of Castile...
,
Juan BravoJuan Bravo was a leader of the rebel Comuneros in the Castilian War of the Communities....
, and
Francisco MaldonadoFrancisco Maldonado was a leader of the rebel Comuneros from Salamanca in the Revolt of the Comuneros.He was captured at the Battle of Villalar, and beheaded the following day....
. They were beheaded the next morning in the Plaza of Villalar, with a large portion of the royalist nobility present. The remains of the rebel army at Villalar fragmented, with some attempting to join Acuña's army near Toledo and others deserting. The rebellion had been struck a crippling blow.
End of the war
After the Battle of Villalar, the towns of
northern CastileOld Castile is a historic region of Spain, which included territory that later corresponded to the provinces of politically, Santander , Burgos, Logroño , Soria, Segovia, Ávila, Valladolid, Palencia....
soon succumbed to the king's troops, with all its cities returning their allegiance to the king by early May. Only Madrid and Toledo kept their
Comunidades alive.
Resistance of Toledo
The first news of Villalar arrived in Toledo on April 26, but was largely ignored by the local
Comunidad. The magnitude of the defeat became apparent in a few days, after the first survivors began arriving in the city and confirmed the fact that the three rebel leaders had been executed. Toledo was declared in mourning over the death of Juan de Padilla.
After the death of Padilla, Bishop Acuña lost popularity in favour of María Pacheco, Padilla's widow. People began to suggest negotiating with the royalists, seeking to avoid further suffering in the city. The situation looked even worse after the surrender of Madrid on May 11. The fall of Toledo seemed only to be a matter of time.
However, one ray of hope remained for the rebels. Castile had withdrawn some of its troops from occupied
NavarreThe Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
to fight the comuneros, and
King Francis I of FranceFrancis I , was king of France from 1515 until his death.Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch. His reign saw France make immense cultural advances...
used the opportunity to invade with support from the Navarrese. The royalist army was forced to march on Navarre to respond rather than besiege Toledo. Acuña left Toledo to travel to Navarre, but he was recognized and caught. It is disputed whether he was seeking to join the French and continue fighting, or was simply fleeing.
María Pacheco took control of the city and the remains of the rebel army, living in the
AlcázarThe Alcázar of Toledo is a stone fortification located in the highest part of Toledo, Spain. Once used as a Roman palace in the 3rd century, it was restored under Alfonso VI and Alfonso X and renovated in 1535.-Spanish Civil War:...
, collecting taxes, and strengthening defenses. She requested the intervention of her uncle, the respected Marquis of Villena, to negotiate with the Royal Council, hoping he would be able to obtain better concessions. The Marquis eventually abandoned the negotiations, and María Pacheco took on personal negotiations with Prior Zúñiga, the commander of the besieging forces. Her demands, though somewhat galling to honor, were ultimately minor, such as guaranteeing the property and reputation of her children.
Still concerned about the French, the royal government gave in. With the support of all parties, the surrender of Toledo was orchestrated on October 25, 1521. Thus, on October 31 the comuneros left the Alcázar of Toledo and new officials were appointed to run the city. The truce guaranteed the freedom and property of all the comuneros.
Revolt of February 1522
The new administrator of Toledo restored order and brought the city back under royal control. However, he also provoked former comuneros. María Pacheco continued her presence in the city and refused to hand over all the hidden weapons until Charles V personally signed the agreements reached with the Order of St. John. This unstable situation came to an end on February 3, 1522, when the generous terms of the surrender were annulled. Royal soldiers filled the city and the administrator ordered Pacheco's execution. Riots broke out in protest. The incident was temporarily remedied thanks to the intervention of María de Mendoza, the sister of María Pacheco. Another truce was granted, and while the former comuneros were defeated, the distraction was exploited by María Pacheco to escape to Portugal disguised as a farmer.
Pardon of 1522
Charles V returned to Spain on July 16, 1522. Acts of repression and retaliation against former comuneros did occur, but only sporadically. Embarrassingly large numbers of important people had supported the comuneros, or at least were suspiciously slow to declare allegiance to the king, and Charles thought it unwise to press the issue too much.
Back in Valladolid, Charles declared a
general pardonA pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by a head of state, such as a monarch or president, or by a competent church authority. Clemency is an associated term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime itself. The...
on November 1. The pardon gave amnesty to everyone involved in the revolt with the exception of 293 comuneros, a small figure given the huge number of rebels. Both Pacheco and Bishop Acuña were among the 293 excluded from the pardon. More pardons were issued later, after pressure from the Cortes; by 1527, the repression was completely at end. Of the 293, 23 were executed, 20 died in prison, 50 purchased amnesty, and 100 were pardoned later. The fates of the rest are unknown.
Aftermath
María Pacheco successfully escaped to Portugal, where she lived in exile the remaining ten years of her life. Bishop Acuña, captured in Navarre, was stripped of his ecclesiastical standing and executed after he killed a guard while trying to escape. Pedro Girón received a pardon conditional on him going into exile to Oran in North Africa, where he served as a commander against the Moors.
Queen JoannaJoanna , called Joanna the Mad reigned as Queen of Castile jointly with her husband Philip the Handsome and later also as Queen of Aragon jointly with her son the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. She is most famous for having been obsessed with her husband, never recovering from his loss...
was locked in Tordesillas by her son. She would remain there for thirty-five years, the rest of her life.
Emperor Charles VCharles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556...
would go on to rule one of the largest and most sprawling empires in European history. As a consequence, Charles was nearly constantly at war, fighting France,
EnglandThe War of the League of Cognac was fought between the Habsburg dominions of Charles V—primarily Spain and the Holy Roman Empire—and the League of Cognac, an alliance including France, Pope Clement VII, the Republic of Venice, England, the Duchy of Milan, and Florence.- Prelude :Shocked by the...
, the
Papal StatesThe Sack of Rome on 5 May 1527 was a military event carried out by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, then part of the Papal States...
, the Ottoman Turks, the Aztecs, the
IncasAfter years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 182 Spanish soldiers under Francisco Pizarro and their native allies attacked and defeated the army of the Inca Empire and captured its emperor in the 1532 Battle of Cajamarca...
, and the Protestant
Schmalkaldic LeagueThe Schmalkaldic War refers to the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Charles V and the Schmalkaldic League within the domains of the Holy Roman Empire...
during his reign. Spain would provide the bulk of the Habsburgs' armies and financial resources over this period. Charles placed Castilians in high governmental positions in both Castile and the Empire at large, and generally left the administration of Castile in Castilian hands. In that sense, the revolt could be considered successful.
Some of the reforms of
Isabella IIsabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon, laid the foundation for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor....
which reduced noble power were reversed as a price for luring the nobility to the royalist side. However, Charles understood that noble encroachment of power had helped cause the revolt, and embarked upon a new reform program. Unpopular, corrupt, and ineffective officials were replaced; judicial functions of the
Royal CouncilThe Council of Castile , known earlier as the Royal Council , was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself. It was established under Queen Isabella in 1480 as the chief body dealing with administrative and judicial matters of...
were limited; and local courts were revitalized. Charles also adjusted the membership of the Royal Council; its hated president was replaced, the aristocracy's role reduced, and more gentry were added to it. Realizing that the urban elite needed to have a stake in the royal government once more, Charles gave many of them positions, privileges, and government salaries. The Cortes, while not as important as the comuneros had hoped, nevertheless maintained its power; it was still required to approve new taxes and could advise the king. Charles also discouraged his officials from using overly coercive methods, after seeing his heavy-handed treatment of the Cortes of Corunna backfire. If anything, the co-option of the middle class worked too well; when Charles' successor
King Phillip IIPhilip II was King of Spain and Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, during his wife Mary Tudor's reign, King of England and Ireland...
demanded a ruinously large tax increase in the 1580s, the Cortes was too dependent on the Crown for money to effectively resist policies that would wreck the economy.
Later influence
The revolt, fresh in the memory of Spain, is referenced in several literary works during
Spain's Golden AgeThe Spanish Golden Age period of flourishing in arts and literature in Spain, coinciding with the political rise and decline of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty...
.
Don Quixote, fully titled The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha , is a novel written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes...
references the rebellion in a conversation with
SanchoSancho Panza is a fictional character in the novel Don Quixote written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1602. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote, and provides comments throughout the novel, known as sanchismos, that are a combination of broad humor, ironic Spanish proverbs,...
, and
Francisco de QuevedoFrancisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas was a nobleman, politician and writer of the Spanish Golden Age. Along with his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora, Quevedo was one of the most prominent Spanish poets of the age. His style is characterized by what was called conceptismo...
uses the word "comunero" as a synonym for "rebel" in his works.
In the 18th century, the comuneros were not held in high regard by the
Spanish EmpireThe Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in world history, and one of the first global empires. It included territories and colonies in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, from the 15th century through—in the case of its African holdings—the latter portion of the 20th century...
. The government was not amenable to encouraging rebellions, and only used the term to condemn opposition. In the
Revolt of the Comuneros in ParaguayThe Revolt of the Comuneros is a series of uprisings by settlers in Paraguay against the Spanish authorities lasting from 1721 to 1732. Underlying causes were economic, but there were also issues of freedom and self-government...
, the rebels did not take the name willingly; it was only meant to disparage them as traitors. Another
Revolt of the Comuneros in New GranadaThe Revolt of the Comuneros is series of uprisings by local inhabitants in Viceroyalty of New Granada, now Colombia, against the Spanish authorities between 1740 and 1779. While underlying causes may have been economic, ideas of freedom and self-government were expressed...
(modern Colombia) was similarly unrelated to the original except in name.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the image of the comuneros began to be rehabilitated by scholars such as Manuel Quintana as precursors of freedom and martyrs against
absolutismAbsolutism or The Age of Absolutism is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by any other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites...
. The decline of Castilian liberty was linked to the later decline of Spain. The first major commemorative event came in 1821, the third centenary of the
Battle of VillalarThe Battle of Villalar was a battle in the Revolt of the Comuneros fought on April 23, 1521 near the town of Villalar in Valladolid province, Spain. The royalist supporters of King Charles I won a crushing victory over the comuneros rebels. Three of the most important rebel leaders were...
.
Juan Martín DíezJuan Martín Díez, called the Empecinado , was a historic Spaniard famous for his contributions to the Peninsular War.-Early life:Díez was born in Castrillo de Duero on September 5, 1775. He was a farmer and his house still exists in its original location...
, a nationalistic liberal military leader who had fought in the resistance against Napoleon, led an expedition to find and exhume the remains of the three leaders executed in 1521. Díez praised the comuneros on behalf of the liberal government in power at the time, likely the first positive governmental recognition for their cause. This view was challenged by conservatives who viewed a centralized state as modern and progressive, especially after the anarchy and fragmentation of the
1868 Revolution in SpainThe Glorious Revolution took place in Spain in 1868,deposing Queen Isabella II.An 1866 rebellion led by General Juan Prim and a revolt of the sergeants at San Gil barracks sent a signal to Spanish liberals and republicans that there was serious unrest with the state of affairs in Spain that...
. Manuel Danvila, a conservative government minister, published the six-volume
Historia critica y documentada de las Comunidades de Castilla from 1897–1900, one of the most important works of scholarship on the revolt. Drawing on collected original sources, Danvila emphasized the fiscal demands of the comuneros, and cast them as traditionalist, reactionary, medieval, and feudal. Though a liberal, intellectual
Gregorio MarañónGregorio Marañón y Posadillo was a Spanish physician, scientist, historian, writer and philosopher. He was born in Madrid on 19 May 1887, where he died on 27 March 1960...
shared the dim view of the comuneros that once again prevailed in Spain; he cast the conflict as one between a modern, progressive state open to beneficent foreign influence against a conservative, reactionary, and xenophobic Spain hypersensitive to religious and cultural deviance with an insistence on spurious racial purity.
General FrancoFrancisco Franco Bahamonde, commonly known as Francisco Franco , or simply Franco, was a military general and dictator of Spain from October 1936, and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975...
's government from 1939–1975 also encouraged an unfavorable interpretation of the comuneros. According to approved historians such as
José María PemánJosé María Pemán y Pemartín was a Spanish journalist, poet, novelist, essayist, and right-wing intellectual....
, the revolt was fundamentally an issue of petty Spanish regionalism, something which Franco did his best to discourage. Additionally, the comuneros did not properly appreciate Spain's "imperial destiny."
Since the mid-twentieth century, others have sought more materialist reasons for the revolt. Historians such as
José Antonio MaravallJosé Antonio Maravall Casesnoves was a Spanish historian and essayist.-Biography:Maravall studied philosophy and law at the University of Murcia, where he completed his final degree in political science and economics at the Central University, where he was a student of Jose Ortega y Gasset. He...
and
Joseph PérezJoseph Perez is a French historian specializing in Spanish history. Perez has specialized in the births of the modern Spanish state and the Latin American nations...
portray the developing revolt as alliances of different social coalitions around shifting economic interests, with the "industrial bourgeoisie" of artisans and woolworkers combining with the intellectuals and the low nobility against the aristocrats and the merchants. Maravall, who views the revolt as one of the first modern revolutions, especially stresses the ideological conflict and intellectual nature of the revolt, with features such as the first proposed written constitution of Castile.
With
Spain's transition to democracyThe Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on November 20, 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
following Franco's death, celebration of the comuneros started to become permissible again. On April 23, 1976, a small ceremony was held clandestinely in Villalar; only two years later, in 1978, the event had become a huge demonstration of 200,000 in support of Castilian autonomy. The
autonomous communityThe Autonomous Community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution...
of
Castile and LeónCastile and León , known formally as the Community of Castile and León, is one of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain. It was constructed from Old Castile and León in 1983...
was created in response to public demand in 1983, and it recognized April 23 as an
official holidayCastile and León Day is a holiday celebrated on April 23 in the autonomous community of Castile and León, a subdivision of Spain. The date is the anniversary of the Battle of Villalar, in which Castilian rebels were dealt a crushing defeat by the forces of King Charles I in the Revolt of the...
in 1986. Similarly, each February 3 since 1988 has been celebrated by the
Castilian nationalistCastilian nationalism, or Castilianism, is a political movement that advocates for the national recognition of Castile, and in some cases, its independence....
party
Tierra ComuneraTierra Comunera is a nationalist political party in the Spanish historical region of Castile. It is modelled after the Basque and Catalan nationalist parties but does not advocate full independence for Castile, instead favoring cooperation or unification among what they call the five Castilian...
in Toledo. The celebration highlights the roles of
Juan de PadillaJuan López de Padilla was an insurrectionary leader in the Castilian War of the Communities, where the people of Castile made a stand against policies of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his Flemish ministers.Padilla was the eldest son of the commendator of Castile...
and María Pacheco, and is done in memory of the rebellion in 1522, the last event of the war.
See also
- List of people associated with the Revolt of the Comuneros
- Military history of the Revolt of the Comuneros
Military conflict in the Revolt of the Comuneros spanned from 1520 to 1521. The Revolt began with mobs of urban workers attacking government officials, grew to low-level combat between small militias, and eventually saw massed armies fighting battles and sieges...
- Revolt of the Brotherhoods
- Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre
A series of wars between 1512–1524 led to the Spanish conquest of the Iberian part of Navarre. Ferdinand of Aragon was in 1512 both King of Aragon and Regent of Castile. When Pope Julius II declared a Holy League against France, Navarre tried to remain neutral...
- Italian War of 1521–1526