Battle of Villalar Ends Hopes For Castilian Liberation From Carlos V: April 23, 1521

The battle of Villalar in northern Spain is seen as a watershed event for the solidification of power of Carlos V.  The nobles and commons in Castile had long chafed under the the rule of either Ferdinand, his daughter Joanna or, her husband Philip of Burgundy. Too often the monarch was out of town and did not, could not or would not settle their grievances.

Meanwhile there were wars between the various houses, against the muslims, against the French, against the Italians and there was ever recurring plague. The young monarch Carlos who had come to accept his crown had done little to earn it, except be born of illustrious parents and survive to young adulthood. He had been raised in Bruges and had no knowledge of Spain or the Spanish language. How could he rule, and at such a young age?

Through the four to five years since the death of Ferdinand and the retreat of Joanna a number of uprisings had occurred. Toledo, Toro, Burgos, Avila, Salamanca, Madrid. Castile had already been heavily taxed by Joanna and when Carlos arrived he set his friends from the Burgund court at key positions who began trying to extract further levies. This boiled over into armed resistance. They petitioned their young king with a set of grievances which demanded their traditional civil liberties, the dismissal of foreign officials, a national Castilian policy and for him to live permanently in Castile. The young king was not ready for this. The comuneros turned to Joanna who sympathized with them even in writing. Carlos had appointed Adrian of Utrecht (future pope Adrian VI) to act in his interests. He advised that if Joanna would have her way and grant support to the comuneros it might irrevocably split the kingdom of Castile. She relented.

The Constable of Castile came south to attack the rebels. The leader of these Juan de Padillo waited too long to act. The result was a decisive blow. The leaders were captured and hung the next day. Young Carlos, the nobles would say, had a great victory that day.

A reenactment was filmed.