Revolt of the Comuneros: Difference between revisions

At this point, most of the members of the Cortes in Santiago intended to vote against the king's requested duties and taxes, even with the Cortes stacked with royalists. In response, Charles decided to suspend the Cortes on April 4.<ref>[[#Sea28|Seaver 1928]], p. 75.</ref> He convened them again in [[a Coruña|Corunna]] <!--See talk page for why Corunna is used, not A/La Coruña.--> on April 22, this time getting his program passed.<ref name="Lynch38" /> On May 20, he embarked for Germany, and left as regent of his Spanish possessions his former tutor, Adrian of Utrecht (better known as the future Pope Adrian VI).<ref>[[#Sea28|Seaver 1928]], pp. 77–79.</ref>

 

===Rebelliousness in Toledo===

[[File:Toledo Skyline Panorama, Spain - Dec 2006.jpg|thumb|300px|alt=A cityscape; two tall buildings dominate the view, the Alcázar and the Cathedral.|Toledo, home of the first ''Comunidad'']]

These claims, especially the first two, spread quickly through society.<ref name="perez53" /> Ideas began to circulate of replacing the king; Toledo's leaders floated the possibility of turning the cities of Castile into independent [[City-state|free cities]], similar to [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]] and other [[Repubbliche Marinare|Italian republics]].<ref name="perez53" /> Competing proposals suggested keeping the monarchy, but dethroning Charles. They proposed that he be replaced by either his mother Queen Joanna or his Castilian-born brother [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand]].<ref name="Hal159" /> With these ideas, the revolt shifted from a simple protest against taxes to a broader revolution. Many cities, while not quite in outright revolt, stopped sending taxes to the Royal Council and began to self-govern.<ref name="hal164">[[#Hal81|Haliczer 1981]], p. 164.</ref>

 

===Blockade of Segovia===

[[File:AcueductoSegovia edit1.jpg|thumb|alt=A stone aqueduct bordered by a modern road and smaller houses.|Segovia, the city of the first armed clash between the comuneros and the royalists]]

The situation moved closer to armed conflict on June 10. [[Rodrigo Ronquillo]] had been sent to Segovia by the [[Council of Castile|Royal Council]] to investigate the recent murder of Segovia's legislator, but Segovia refused him entry. Unable to besiege a city of 30,000 with only a small force, Ronquillo instead set out to blockade foodstuffs and other supplies from entering Segovia. The people of Segovia, led by militia leader and noble Juan Bravo, rallied around the ''Comunidad''. Segovia requested aid against Ronquillo's army from the ''Comunidades'' of Toledo and Madrid. The cities responded by sending their militias, captained by Juan López de Padilla and [[Juan de Zapata]], who won in the first major confrontation between the forces of the king and the rebels.<ref name="hal163"/>

 

 

===Burning of Medina del Campo===

Faced with the situation in Segovia, Regent and Cardinal [[Adrian of Utrecht]] decided to use the royal artillery, located in nearby [[Medina del Campo]], to take Segovia and defeat Padilla. Adrian ordered his commander [[Antonio de Fonseca]] to seize the artillery.<ref name="hal165">[[#Hal81|Haliczer 1981]], p. 165.</ref> Fonseca arrived on August 21 in Medina, but encountered heavy resistance from the townspeople, as the city had strong trade links to Segovia. Fonseca ordered the setting of a fire to distract the resistance, but it grew out of control. Much of the town was destroyed, including a [[Franciscan]] monastery and a trade warehouse containing goods valued at more than 400,000 [[ducat]]s.<ref name="sea129" /> Fonseca had to withdraw his troops, and the event was a public relations disaster for the government.<ref name="sea129">[[#Sea28|Seaver 1928]], p. 129.</ref><ref name="Halp6" /> Uprisings throughout Castile occurred, even in cities that previously had been neutral such as Castile's capital, [[Valladolid]]. The establishment of the ''Comunidad'' of Valladolid caused the most important core of the [[Geography of Spain#The Inner Plateau and associated mountains|Iberian plateau]] to declare for the rebels, upending the stability of the government. New members now joined the Junta of Ávila and the Royal Council looked discredited; Adrian had to flee to [[Medina de Rioseco]] as Valladolid fell.<ref name="Halp6">[[#Hal81|Haliczer 1981]], p. 6.</ref> The royal army, with many of its soldiers unpaid for months, started to disintegrate.<ref name="hal165" />

 

[[File:Johanna I van Castilië.JPG|thumb|right|alt=A lady with a long, thin face wearing red robes and a hood in the style of a nun.|[[Joanna the Mad]], officially the Queen and co-regent of Castile with her son Charles, actually had no power whatsoever]]

The comunero army now properly organized itself, integrating the militias of Toledo, Madrid, and Segovia. Once told of Fonseca's attack, the comunero forces went to Medina del Campo and took possession of the artillery that had just been denied to Fonseca's troops.<ref>[[#Per01|Pérez 2001]], p. 60.</ref> On August 29, the comuneros' army arrived at [[Tordesillas]] with the goal of declaring [[Joanna of Castile|Queen Joanna]] the sole sovereign. The Junta moved from Ávila to Tordesillas at the Queen's request and invited cities that had not yet sent representatives to do so.<ref>[[#Sea28|Seaver 1928]], p. 164.</ref> A total of thirteen cities were represented in the Junta of Tordesillas: [[Burgos]], [[Soria]], [[Segovia]], [[Ávila, Spain|Ávila]], [[Valladolid]], [[León, Spain|León]], [[Salamanca]], [[Zamora, Spain|Zamora]], [[Toro, Zamora|Toro]], [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], [[Cuenca, Spain|Cuenca]], [[Guadalajara, Spain|Guadalajara]], and [[Madrid]].<ref>[[#Hal81|Haliczer 1981]], p. 167.</ref> The only invited cities that failed to attend were the four Andalusian cities: [[Seville]], [[Granada]], [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordova]], and [[Jaén, Spain|Jaén]]. Since most of the kingdom was represented at Tordesillas, the Junta renamed itself the {{lang|es|[[Cortes Generales|Cortes y Junta General del Reino]]}} ("General Assembly of the Kingdom").<ref>[[#Per01|Pérez 2001]], p. 61. In the spelling of the time, it was rendered ''Cortes e Junta General del Reyno''.</ref> On September 24, 1520, the mad Queen, for the only time, presided over the Cortes.<ref>[[#Sea28|Seaver 1928]], p. 147.</ref>