BATTLE OF VILLALAR

Villalar (23th April 1521)

When, in 1517, Charles I, aged 17, arrived in Spain, he spoke no Spanish at all, and none of his advisers or members of his retinue was of Spanish origin. These people, vain and ambitious, were given the key posts in the government and the Court; new tributes to be imposed on the Spanish people were enacted. This caused a great deal of dissent among the Spanish subjects. Opposition grew stiffer when Charles requested more funds from the Cortes to finance his claim to the German Imperial throne.

When Charles left Spain to be crowned Emperor, a widespread popular uprising took place in the 'comunidades' (Castilian towns), led by the bourgeoisie.

The 'comuneros' put forward a number of demands to the King:

1. They wanted the King to acknowledge the Kingdom's civil liberties

2. To depose all foreign advisers

3. To have permanent residence in Spain

4. To carry out a national policy.

Faced with this challenge to his authority and ideals, Charles cunningly won over the nobility. The 'comuneros', lacking in organization, were defeated in 1521 at Villalar by the King's armies and their leaders (Juan de Padilla, Pedro Bravo and Antonio Maldonado) executed. This victory put an end to the revolt and meant the continuity of absolutist royal authority in Castile.

In Castile, the failure of the revolt strengthened the monarchy and helped to establish royal absolutism. The Cortes of Castile became, henceforth, merely a tax-granting body. Throughout the rest of his reign, Charles asked large sums of money from Castile, and the Cortes invariably complied. Since the nobles of Castile were exempt from taxation, it was the commons/commoners that paid. This was the money that largely sustained Charles's vast empire. Castile was, in effect, bled for the sake of interests and enterprises that were not related to Spain and of no benefit to the Spanish. During his reign of nearly forty years as king of Spain, Charles spent not quite sixteen in the country.

Yet there were compensations to the Spanish for their association with Charles's empire. He learned the Spanish language and came to love Spain more than any of his other territories. He employed Spaniards in posts throughout his domains. With the opening up of great territories in the New World to Spanish dominion, the idea of empire became congenial to the Spaniards, particularly to the Castilians.

(Data partially taken at Camelot International) and SPAIN FROM FERDINAND AND ISABELLA TO PHILIP II AND THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS.

More information at:

Juan de Padilla at "Britannica Online".

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