What was the revolt of the Comuneros in Castile?

The revolt of the Comuneros

La guerra de las Comunidades

1520–23 April 1521. The young Charles I arrived in Spain in 1517 surrounded by Flemish advisers and asking for money.

Where: Spain, Castile, Toledo

What happened

The young Charles I arrived in Spain in 1517 surrounded by Flemish advisers and asking for money. When he was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and the Cortes at La Coruña voted him a new tax in March 1520, the towns of Castile rose. Segovia killed its own deputy; Toledo, Valladolid and others formed a Junta that went to Tordesillas to claim the authority of Charles's confined mother, Queen Juana. Royal forces defeated the Comunero army at Villalar on 23 April 1521 and beheaded its leaders, Juan de Padilla, Juan Bravo and Francisco Maldonado, the next day; Toledo held out under Padilla's widow María Pacheco for months more. The defeat consolidated royal power. Castilla y León now keeps 23 April as its regional day.

Say it

Las ciudades de Castilla se rebelaron contra el nuevo rey.

The towns of Castile rebelled against the new king.

Why it matters

The Comuneros became a symbol of Castilian liberties and later of Spanish liberalism; their defeat left the Crown free to spend Castile's taxes on an empire.

Connected

Sources

  1. La Guerra de las Comunidades — Archivos de Castilla y León, Junta de Castilla y León
  2. Villalar de los Comuneros — Turismo de Castilla y León, Junta de Castilla y León
  3. Cronología de Carlos I de España y V de Alemania — Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes