Henry II of Castile - Biography

Biography

Henry was the fourth of twelve illegitimate sons of Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor de Guzmán. Eleanor was a great-granddaughter of Alfonso IX of León. He was born as a twin, and was the first boy born to the couple who survived to adulthood. His twin brother was Fadrique Alfonso, Lord of Haro.

At birth, he was adopted by Rodrigo Álvarez de las Asturias. Rodrigo died the following year and Henry inherited his lordship of Noreña. His father later made him Count of Trastámara and lord over Lemos and Sarria in Galicia, and the towns of Cabrera and Ribera, which constituted a large and important heritage in the northeast of the peninsular. It made him the head of the new Trastámara dynasty, arising from the main branch of Burgundy-Ivrea.

While Alfonso XI lived, his lover Eleanor gave a great many titles and privileges to their sons. This caused discontent among many noblemen and in particular the legitimate queen, the lady Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile, and the legitimate prince Peter, known as Peter 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. The king had not even been buried. 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, could do to them.

Although Eleanor and her sons reached an agreement with Peter to live peacefully in his court, the situation remained unstable. Henry and his brothers Fadrique, Tello and Sancho staged numerous rebellions against the new king. Also, to strengthen his position and gain allies, Henry married Juana Manuel, the daughter of Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena, adelantado mayor of Murcia and Lord of Villena, the most prosperous nobleman of the realm. In 1351, the king took counsel from Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque, María of Portugal's right-hand man. He became convinced that his father's 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. He was pardoned by Peter 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 Henry's flight to France, where he entered into the service of John II of France.

Shortly after, Henry and his men spent time in Peter IV of Aragon's army in their war against Castile (1358). During that conflict, he was defeated and held prisoner in Nájera (1360). He was liberated (with the help of Juan Ramírez de Arellano, among others) and exiled himself to France once more.

Then Peter IV of Aragon attacked Castile again and Henry agreed to help him, on condition that he would lend his support to destroying his brother Peter of Castile. This became the Castilian Civil War. The attack combined Henry's Castillian allies, the Aragonese and the French (a company of Bertrand du Guesclin's mercenaries, expelled by Peter, who had taken refuge in Guyenne). Henry was proclaimed king in Calahorra (1366). In return he had to reward his allies with titles and riches to pay for the help they had provided. This earned him the nickname el de las Mercedes.

During this time, Peter I organised a Castilian invasion of the English domains to the north of the Pyrenees. Edward, Prince of Wales (also known as the Black Prince) fought back with a huge army of knights and archers.

Peter I defeated and captured Henry in the Battle of Nájera, but freed him on the 3 April 1367. Henry returned to France under the protection of Charles V of France. They reorganised their army at Peyrepertuse Castle. Then with the help of many Castilian rebels and Bertrand du Guesclin's Frenchmen, they defeated Peter at the Battle of Montiel (14 March 1369). Henry killed The Cruel King, now a prisoner, with his own hand. This definitively won him the Castilian throne and the name of Henry II.

Before being consolidated in his throne and being able to hand on power to his son John, Henry had to defeat Ferdinand I of Portugal. He embarked on the three Ferdinand Wars. Ferdinand's main ally in these wars was John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the husband of Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster, who was Peter I's daughter. Henry was allied with Charles V of France. He put the Castilian navy at Charles' disposal and they played a key part in the siege of La Rochelle, and the Battle of La Rochelle where the admiral Ambrosio Boccanegra completely defeated the English side.

Henry recompensed his allies, but he still had to defend his interests in the kingdom of Castile and León. Consequently, he denied the King of Aragon the territories that he had promised him in the difficult times.

Henry then went to war against Portugal and England in the Hundred Years' War. For most of his reign he had to fight off the attempts of John of Gaunt, a son of Edward III of England, to claim the Castilian throne in right of his second wife, Peter's daughter, Infanta Constance of Castile. In his domestic policy he started to rebuild the kingdom; protected the Jews even though he had fought against them in the civil war; sped up the transformation of the royal administration; and held numerous courts. He also permanently set up the Lordship of Biscay after the death of his brother Tello. In foreign policy, he favoured France over England.

Henry was arguably the first ruler since the Visigothic King Ergica to utilise opposition to Jewish activities in Iberian Peninsula as part of his policy.

He died on 29 May 1379 in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. His son John I of Castile succeeded him on the throne.