Battle of Aljubarrota

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Battle of Aljubarrota
Part of the Portuguese Crisis of 1383–85
Illustration of the Battle of Aljubarrota by Jean de Wavrin
Date 14 August 1385 Location Near Aljubarrota, central Portugal Result Decisive Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Portugal Supported by: Kingdom of England	Crown of Castile Supported by: Kingdom of France Crown of Aragon Italian allies
Commanders and leaders
John I of Portugal Nuno Álvares Pereira	John I of Castile Pedro Álvares Pereira †
Strength
About 6,600 men:[1] 4,000 foot soldiers 1,700 lances 800 crossbowmen 200 English longbowmen	About 31,000 men:[1] 15,000 foot soldiers 6,000 lances 8,000 crossbowmen More than 2,000 French heavy knights 15 mortars
Casualties and losses
Less than 1,000	4,000 to 5,000 5,000 in the aftermath

v t e Portuguese Crisis of 1383–1385
Atoleiros Lisbon Galicia Leça Tejo Trancoso Aljubarrota Valverde

The Battle of Aljubarrota (Portuguese pronunciation: [alʒuβɐˈʁɔtɐ]; see Aljubarrota) was a battle fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the army of King John I of Castile with its Aragonese, Italian and French allies at São Jorge, between the towns of Leiria and Alcobaça, in central Portugal. The result was a decisive victory for the Portuguese, ruling out Castilian ambitions to the Portuguese throne, ending the 1383–85 Crisis and assuring John as King of Portugal.

Portuguese independence was confirmed and a new dynasty, the House of Aviz, was established. Scattered border confrontations with Castilian troops would persist until the death of John I of Castile in 1390, but these posed no real threat to the new dynasty. To celebrate his victory and acknowledge divine help, John I of Portugal ordered the construction of the monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória na Batalha and the founding of the town of Batalha (pronounced [bɐˈtaʎɐ] (listen); Portuguese for '"battle"'), close to the site where the battle was fought. The king, his wife Philippa of Lancaster, and several of his sons are buried in this monastery, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Contents

• 1 Prelude
• 2 Portuguese dispositions
• 3 Castile arrives
• 4 Battle
• 5 Aftermath
• 6 Sources
• 7 Notes
• 8 References
• 9 External links

Prelude[edit]

Main article: 1383–85 Crisis

The end of the 14th century in Europe was a time of revolution and crisis, with the Hundred Years' War between the English and the French for Western France, the Black Death devastating the continent, and famine afflicting the poor. Portugal was no exception. In October 1383, King Ferdinand I of Portugal died with no son to inherit the crown. The only child of his marriage with Leonor Telles de Meneses was a girl, Princess Beatrice of Portugal.

In April of that same year the King had signed the Treaty of Salvaterra de Magos with King Juan I of Castile. The treaty determined that Princess Beatrice was to marry Juan I, king of Castile, and the Crown of Portugal would belong to the descendants of this union. This situation left the majority of the Portuguese discontent, and the Portuguese nobility was unwilling to support the claim of the princess because that could mean the incorporation of Portugal into Castile