John II of Castile

John II
King of Castile and León
Reign	25 December 1406 – 20 July 1454
Predecessor	Henry III
Successor	Henry IV
Born	6 March 1405 Toro, Zamora
Died	20 July 1454(1454-07-20) (aged 49) Valladolid
Burial	Miraflores Charterhouse
Spouses	Maria of Aragon ​ ​ (m. 1420; died 1445)​ Isabella of Portugal ​ ​ (m. 1447)​
Issue among others...	Catherine, Princess of Asturias Eleanor, Princess of Asturias Henry IV Isabella I Alfonso, Prince of Asturias
House	Trastámara
Father	Henry III of Castile
Mother	Catherine of Lancaster
Signature

John II of Castile (Spanish: Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was

in 1405.

Regency

John was the son of King Henry III and his wife, Catherine of Lancaster, a granddaughter of King Peter; Peter had been ousted by Henry III's grandfather King Henry II.^[2] John succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, and united in his person the claims of both Peter and Henry II. His mother and his uncle, King Ferdinand I of Aragon, were co-regents during his minority. When Ferdinand I died in 1416, his mother governed alone until her death in 1418.

John II's reign, lasting 48 years, was one of the longest in Castilian history, but John himself was not a particularly capable monarch.^[3] His birth was a consequence of a diplomatic agreement in 1386, negotiated by his grandfather's royal steward and ambassador Diego López de Medrano, Lord of Agoncillo, and two others, between John of Gaunt and John I of Castile over the Crown of Castile.^[4][5][6] This agreement ultimately led to the 1388 Treaty of Bayonne, which arranged the marriage of his mother Catherine of Lancaster to his father Henry III of Castile.^[7]

Born on 6 March 1405, John II of Castile was under the

Laws

John II's Regents declared the Valladolid laws in 1411, which restricted the social activity of Jews. Among the most notable of the provisions were outlining that Jews must wear distinctive clothes and banned them from holding administrative positions.^[11] However, once John took control of the throne for himself in 1418, he (though likely influenced politically by de Luna) reversed such ordinances, favoring instead a more tolerant attitude toward the already battered Jewish population of Castile following the mass wave of conversions between 1391 and 1415.

In 1431, John placed

.

He was "[T]all and handsome, fair-skinned and slightly ruddy... his hair was the color of a very mature hazelnut, the nose a little snub, the eyes between green and blue... he had very graceful legs and feet and hands."^[13]

John II was the single largest contributor to the continuing construction of the Alcázar of Segovia and built the "New Tower" known today as the "Tower of John II".

John II died on 20 July 1454 in Valladolid.

In 1418, John married Maria of Aragon, the oldest daughter of his paternal uncle, Ferdinand I of Aragon.^[2] The marriage produced:

• Catherine, Princess of Asturias (1422–1424), his heiress presumptive from her birth until her death
• Eleanor, Princess of Asturias (1423–1425), his heiress presumptive from the death of Catherine until the birth of Henry
• King Henry IV of Castile (1425–1474)^[2]
• Infanta Maria (1428–1429)

Of all their children, only the future

, with whom he had two children:

• Queen Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504)^[2]
• Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1453–1468)^[2]

• Castilian Civil War of 1437–1445

Sources

• Harvey, L. P. (1990). Islamic Spain, 1250 to 1500. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
  .
• Previte-Orton, C.W. (1912). "The States of Western Europe". The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 872–910.

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•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "John II.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 441.

John II of Castile House of Trastámara Born: 6 March 1405 Died: 20 July 1454
Regnal titles
Preceded by Henry III	King of Castile and León 1406–1454	Succeeded by Henry IV
Spanish royalty
Preceded by Infanta Maria	Prince of Asturias 1405–1406	Succeeded by Infanta Catherine