The Crown of Aragon

At the origin of the creation of the Crown of Spain is the convergence of the two main kingdoms existing on the peninsula in the 15th century: Castile and Aragon. This last crown has its germ more than four hundred years before when Ramiro I transform Aragon into a kingdom.

Next, in this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we are going to study the summary history of the Crown of Aragon so that you know in more detail this historical moment in the conformation of our country.

Index

1. The formation of the Crown of Aragon
2. Kingdom consolidation
3. Mediterranean expansion
4. The House of Trastamara and the unification of the peninsula

The origins of the Crown of Aragon date back to Eleventh century, when Ramiro I (1035-1063) began the transformation of Aragon from county to kingdom. Later, in the XII century, the situation of the peninsula drew a scene of beginning of Muslim weakness in the face of the consolidation of the great Christian kingdoms. It is the case of the

His son, Alfonso II (1164-1196), will embody the birth of the Crown of Aragon as a great kingdom, although this did not result in to the total merger of the two territories, since borders continued to exist and a certain autonomy.

We continue with our summarized history of the Crown of Aragon speaking, now, of the time of consolidation. In the thirteenth century It is when the Aragonese crown is consolidated with the long reign of James I the Conqueror (1213-1276).

It is a period of unrest with the nobility, which the king will appease, and also of an important territorial expansion. The Balearics, which will later serve as the basis for expansion throughout the Mediterranean, and the muslim kingdom of Valencia. If the conquest of Mallorca was basically a Catalan work, the most important weight of the expansion by Valencia was supported by the Aragonese nobility and the councils of Lower Aragon, in a company that took more than thirteen years.

Less luck will Jaime I have with his rights over it South of France, in Provence and Languedoc, since through an agreement with the French king he will renounce his claims on Catalonia after the Aragonese did the same with theirs on this part of the country Gallic. Therefore, the Aragonese expansion by land ended, leaving only the incursions by sea, beginning the great Catalan-Aragonese expansion through the Mediterranean.

After the death of Jaime I, his testament divided the kingdom between his two sons: Aragon remains in the power of Peter III (1276-1285) and the kingdom of Majorca and the ultra-Pyrenean domains (Cerdanya, Roussillon and Montpellier), in the hands of the infant Jaime, who will possess them as fiefdom of the kingdom of Aragon.

Image: in the footsteps of Herodotus. - blogger

Pedro III will continue the expansion in the Mediterranean initiated by his father, who used the consulates of the sea as great support for commercial activity, carrying out an implement of political and military action. First of all, conquered Sicily with the support of the Catalan fleet, led by the Neapolitan Roger de Lauria. This fact provoked enmity with the papacy, which excommunicated Pedro III, and a French invasion that did not bear fruit.

This crisis situation also gave rise to a rebellion of the Aragonese nobility in search of greater power, with the result of a reduction of the authority of the king. For this reason, from now on the monarchs will have to swear the privileges and freedoms of the kingdom of Aragon.

The first Aragonese monarch to carry out this oath will be the successor of Pedro III, Alfonso III (1285-1291), whose reign will be marked by the return of the kingdom of Mallorca to the crown, to the detriment of his uncle Jaime, and the conquest of the Muslims of the island of Menorca. His brother succeeds him, James II (1291-1327) that continues the Mediterranean expansion achieving the Greek duchies of Athens and Neopatria and occupying the island of Sardinia, which will generate a great rivalry with Genoa.

With Pedro IV (1336-1387) occurs the time of maximum Aragonese expansion and also in a second phase a beginning of recession after the scourge of the Black Death. There are two events that define the first part of his reign: on the one hand, the restitution of the unity of the kingdoms created and dissociated in the first century of the century (Roussillon, Cerdanya, Balearic Islands, Sicily ...) and, on the other, the reinforcement of the royal authority against the nobility, after being defeated in the Battle of Épila (1348).

During the reign of Pedro IV, the Crown of Aragon came into conflict with the Castile of Pedro I the Cruel, in the so-called ‘War of the two Pedros’. The alliance between Castilians and Genoese was the trigger for the dispute, which at first favored of Castile, although it finally ended with the death of Pedro I and the arrival to the Castilian throne of the dynasty Trastamara.

With the government of Martin I (1396-1410) a crisis phase in the kingdom, with economic problems and the breakdown of the unity of the Mediterranean empire. The death of him without descendants of him will open the Aragonese throne to a new dynasty.

Image: M'Sur

And we end this lesson on the summarized history of the Crown of Aragon by talking about the candidates to occupy the throne of the Crown of Aragon who were the Infante Fernando de Castilla, grandson of Pedro IV de Aragón and brother of Enrique III of Castile, and Jaime, count of Urgel, second nephew of Pedro IV and brother-in-law of Martín I of Aragon.

The dynastic lawsuit was resolved through the Calpe Commitment (1412), with which the problem was solved without reaching arms, resulting in the election of the Infante Fernando. This initiates the Trastamara dynasty -the same one that reigned in Castile- in Aragon as Ferdinand I (1412-1416).

The new king is badly received in Catalonia, who was on the side of the Count of Urgel. In his short reign, the monarch will have to defend his position against the attacks of the Catalan nobleman until he is defeated and imprisoned. Fernando I will die shortly after, his son succeeding him Alfonso V (1416-1458), who spent much of his reign fighting in Italy until Naples was incorporated into the Crown of Aragon.

The Aragonese monarch settled in this Italian city, where he created one of the most important Renaissance courts of the time. After Alfonso's death, Naples will again separate from Aragon, having declared the king as heir to Ferrante, one of his illegitimate children. The armed conflicts in Italy marked the future of the Crown of Aragon until practically the time of the Catholic Monarchs.

Alfonso V's successor, his brother John ii (1458-1479), he was king consort of Navarre, due to his bond with Blanca de Navarra. His reign will be distinguished by the confrontations with his son Carlos, prince of Viana, to whom he will have to cede control of Catalonia. The death of Carlos will lead to a civil war in Catalonia for twelve years, which will end with an agreement in which the king agrees to respect the privileges and privileges of Catalonia. On the death of Juan II, the Crown of Navarre passed to his daughter Leonor and that of Aragon, to his son Fernando.

Ferdinand II (1479-1516) had married ten years before with Isabel of Castile, who acceded to the Castilian throne in 1474 after the death of his brother Enrique IV. In this way, with the Catholic Monarchs the unity of the two peninsular kingdoms. They are known as the Catholic kings.

Image: es Zaragoza - blogger

If you want to read more articles similar to The Crown of Aragon - Summary History, we recommend that you enter our category of Story.