Castilian Civil War

The First Castilian Civil War
	Part of the Hundred Years' War
	; Battle of Nájera, from a fifteenth-century manuscript, the English and Pedro are on the left while the French and Henry are on the right.
Date	1351–1369
Location	Crown of Castile
Result	Victory for Henry of Trastámara
Belligerents
Henry of Trastámara; Kingdom of France ; Crown of Aragon	Elite European mercenaries
Commanders and leaders
Henry of Trastámara ; Bertrand du Guesclin	Edward, the Black Prince

The Castilian Civil War was a

Peter, and his illegitimate brother Henry of Trastámara

over the right to the crown.

Causes

Peter was called by his supporters "The Just" and by his detractors "The Cruel". To the higher ranks of the nobility, he was a tyrant, forcing the royal will on hitherto free men. He had greatly extended the royal authority and had entered into a war with the

The War of the Two Peters

").

His illegitimate brother Henry quickly obtained the support of not only the upper noblesse, but France, Aragon, and the

Las Huelgas

.

Conflict

In 1366, Henry, then living in France, assembled a large army, with both French and Aragonese components, at Montpellier and invaded Castile with the support of the kings of France and Aragon (Charles V and Peter IV respectively). He successfully forced Peter to flee.

Peter fled to

Battle of Nájera (Navarette). He refused, however, to make good on his dealings with the English and his allies, including the Prince of Wales himself, soon left. In 1368, Henry and Charles of France signed the Treaty of Toledo whereby the Castilians lent a fleet in the Bay of Biscay

to the French in return for military aid on land.

Henry entered Galicia, took some towns and then

Battle of Campo de Montiel. He was acclaimed Henry II and immediately solidified his rule by removing Jews

from high office. Castile became, at this time, a stern ally of the French in their ongoing wars.

Sources

Wintle, Justin. The Rough Guide History of Spain. Penguin Group, 2003.