The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Volume III Part 16

[75] I borrow the words of one contemporary; "Quo quidem die omnis Hispaniae felicitas, omne decus, omnium virtutum pulcherrimum specimen interiit," (L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, lib. 21,)--and the sentiments of all.

[76] If the reader needs further testimony of this, he will find abundance collected by the indefatigable Clemencin, in the 21st Il.u.s.t. of the Mem.

de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi.

[77] It would be easy to cite the authority over and over again of such writers as Marina, Sempere, Llorente, Navarrete, Quintana, and others, who have done such honor to the literature of Spain in the present century. It will be sufficient, however, to advert to the remarkable tribute paid to Isabella's character by the Royal Spanish Academy of History; who in 1805 appointed their late secretary, Clemencin, to deliver a eulogy on that ill.u.s.trious theme; and who raised a still n.o.bler monument to her memory, by the publication, in 1821, of the various doc.u.ments compiled by him for the ill.u.s.tration of her reign, as a separate volume of their valuable Memoirs.

CHAPTER XVII.

FERDINAND REGENT.--HIS SECOND MARRIAGE.--DISSENSIONS WITH PHILIP.-- RESIGNATION OF THE REGENCY.

1504-1506.

Ferdinand Regent.--Philip's Pretensions.--Ferdinand's Perplexities.-- Impolitic Treaty with France.--The King's Second Marriage.--Landing of Philip and Joanna.--Unpopularity of Ferdinand.--His Interview with his Son-in-law.--He resigns the Regency.

The death of Isabella gives a new complexion to our history, a princ.i.p.al object of which has been the ill.u.s.tration of her personal character and public administration. The latter part of the narrative, it is true, has been chiefly occupied with the foreign relations of Spain, in which her interference has been less obvious than in the domestic. But still we have been made conscious of her presence and parental supervision, by the maintenance of order, and the general prosperity of the nation. Her death will make us more sensible of this influence; since it was the signal for disorders which even the genius and authority of Ferdinand were unable to suppress.

While the queen's remains were yet scarcely cold, King Ferdinand took the usual measures for announcing the succession. He resigned the crown of Castile, which he had worn with so much glory for thirty years. From a platform raised in the great square of Toledo, the heralds proclaimed, with sound of trumpet, the accession of Philip and Joanna to the Castilian throne, and the royal standard was unfurled by the duke of Alva, in honor of the ill.u.s.trious pair. The king of Aragon then publicly a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of administrator or governor of Castile, as provided by the queen's testament, and received the obeisance of such of the n.o.bles as were present, in his new capacity. These proceedings took place on the evening of the same day on which the queen expired. [1]

A circular letter was next addressed to the princ.i.p.al cities, requiring them, after the customary celebration of the obsequies of their late sovereign, to raise the royal banners in the name of Joanna; and writs were immediately issued in her name, without mention of Philip's, for the convocation of a cortes to ratify these proceedings. [2]

The a.s.sembly met at Toro, January 11th, 1505. The queen's will, or rather such clauses of it as related to the succession, were read aloud, and received the entire approbation of the commons, who, together with the grandees and prelates present, took the oaths of allegiance to Joanna, as queen and lady proprietor, and to Philip as her husband. They then determined that the exigency, contemplated in the testament, of Joanna's incapacity, actually existed, [3] and proceeded to tender their homage to King Ferdinand, as the lawful governor of the realm in her name. The latter in turn made the customary oath to respect the laws and liberties of the kingdom, and the whole was terminated by an emba.s.sy from the cortes, with a written account of its proceedings, to their new sovereigns in Flanders. [4]

All seemed now done, that was demanded for giving a const.i.tutional sanction to Ferdinand's authority as regent. By the written law of the land, the sovereign was empowered to nominate a regency, in case of the minority or incapacity of the heir apparent. [5] This had been done in the present instance by Isabella, and at the earnest solicitation of the cortes, made two years previously to her death. It had received the cordial approbation of that body, which had undeniable authority to control such testamentary provisions. [6] Thus, from the first to the last stage of the proceeding, the whole had gone on with a scrupulous attention to const.i.tutional forms. Yet the authority of the new regent was far from being firmly seated; and it was the conviction of this, which had led him to accelerate measures.

Many of the n.o.bles were extremely dissatisfied with the queen's settlement of the regency, which had taken air before her death; and they had even gone so far as to send to Flanders before that event, and invite Philip to a.s.sume the government himself, as the natural guardian of his wife. [7]

These discontented lords, if they did not refuse to join in the public acts of acknowledgment to Ferdinand at Toro, at least were not reserved in intimating their dissatisfaction. [8] Among the most prominent were the marquis of Villena, who may be said to have been nursed to faction from the cradle, and the duke of Najara, both potent n.o.bles, whose broad domains had been grievously clipped by the resumption of the crown lands so scrupulously enforced by the late government, and who looked forward to their speedy recovery under the careless rule of a young, inexperienced prince like Philip. [9]

But the most efficient of his partisans was Don Juan Manuel, Ferdinand's amba.s.sador at the court of Maximilian. This n.o.bleman, descended from one of the most ill.u.s.trious houses in Castile, was a person of uncommon parts; restless and intriguing, plausible in his address, bold in his plans, but exceedingly cautious, and even cunning, in the execution of them. He had formerly insinuated himself into Philip's confidence, during his visit to Spain, and, on receiving news of the queen's death, hastened without delay to join him in the Netherlands.

Through his means, an extensive correspondence was soon opened with the discontented Castilian lords; and Philip was persuaded, not only to a.s.sert his pretensions to undivided supremacy in Castile, but to send a letter to his royal father-in-law, requiring him to resign the government at once, and retire into Aragon. [10] The demand was treated with some contempt by Ferdinand, who admonished him of his incompetency to govern a nation like the Spaniards, whom he understood so little, but urged him at the same time to present himself before them with his wife, as soon as possible.

[12]

Ferdinand's situation, however, was far from comfortable. Philip's, or rather Manuel's, emissaries were busily stirring up the embers of disaffection. They dwelt on the advantages to be gained from the free and lavish disposition of Philip, which they contrasted with the parsimonious temper of the stern _old Catalan_, who had so long held them under his yoke. [13] Ferdinand, whose policy it had been to crush the overgrown power of the n.o.bility, and who, as a foreigner, had none of the natural claims to loyalty enjoyed by his late queen, was extremely odious to that jealous and haughty body. The number of Philip's adherents increased in it every day, and soon comprehended the most considerable names in the kingdom.

The king, who watched these symptoms of disaffection with deep anxiety, said little, says Martyr, but coolly scrutinized the minds of those around him, dissembling as far as possible his own sentiments. [14] He received further and more unequivocal evidence, at this time, of the alienation of his son-in-law. An Aragonese gentleman, named Conchillos, whom he had placed near the person of his daughter, obtained a letter from her, in which she approved in the fullest manner of her father's retaining the administration of the kingdom. The letter was betrayed to Philip; the unfortunate secretary was seized and thrown into a dungeon, and Joanna was placed under a rigorous confinement, which much aggravated her malady.

[15]

With this affront, the king received also the alarming intelligence, that the emperor Maximilian and his son Philip were tampering with the fidelity of the Great Captain; endeavoring to secure Naples in any event to the archduke, who claimed it as the appurtenance of Castile, by whose armies its conquest, in fact, had been achieved. There were not wanting persons of high standing at Ferdinand's court, to infuse suspicions, however unwarrantable, into the royal mind, of the loyalty of his viceroy, a Castilian by birth, and who owed his elevation exclusively to the queen.

[16]

The king was still further annoyed by reports of the intimate relations subsisting between his old enemy, Louis the Twelfth, and Philip, whose children were affianced to each other. The French monarch, it was said, was prepared to support his ally in an invasion of Castile, for the recovery of his rights, by a diversion in his favor on the side of Roussillon, as well as of Naples. [17]

The Catholic king felt sorely perplexed by these multiplied embarra.s.sments. During the brief period of his regency, he had endeavored to recommend himself to the people by a strict and impartial administration of the laws, and the maintenance of public order. The people, indeed, appreciated the value of a government under which they had been protected from the oppressions of the aristocracy more effectually than at any former period. They had testified their good-will by the alacrity with which they confirmed Isabella's testamentary dispositions, at Toro. But all this served only to sharpen the aversion of the n.o.bles.

Some of Ferdinand's counsellors would have persuaded him to carry measures with a higher hand. They urged him to resume the t.i.tle of King of Castile, which he had so long possessed as husband of the late queen; [18] and others even advised him to a.s.semble an armed force, which should overawe all opposition to his authority at home, and secure the country from invasion. He had facilities for this in the disbanded levies lately returned from Italy, as well as in a considerable body drawn from his native dominions of Aragon, waiting his orders on the frontier. [19] Such violent measures, however, were repugnant to his habitual policy, temperate and cautious. He shrunk from a contest, in which even success must bring unspeakable calamities on the country, [20] and, if he ever seriously entertained such views, [21] he abandoned them, and employed his levies on another destination in Africa. [22] His situation, however, grew every hour more critical. Alarmed by rumors of Louis's military preparations, for which liberal supplies were voted by the states general; trembling for the fate of his Italian possessions; deserted and betrayed by the great n.o.bility at home; there seemed now no alternative left for him but to maintain his ground by force, or to resign at once, as required by Philip, and retire into Aragon. This latter course appears never to have been contemplated by him. He resolved at all hazards to keep the reins in his own grasp, influenced in part, probably, by the consciousness of his rights, as well as by a sense of duty, which forbade him to resign the trust he had voluntarily a.s.sumed into such incompetent hands as those of Philip and his counsellors; and partly, no doubt, by natural reluctance to relinquish the authority which he had enjoyed for so many years. To keep it, he had recourse to an expedient, such as neither friend nor foe could have antic.i.p.ated.

He saw the only chance of maintaining his present position lay in detaching France from the interests of Philip, and securing her to himself. The great obstacle to this was their conflicting claims on Naples. This he proposed to obviate by proposals of marriage to some member of the royal family, in whose favor these claims, with the consent of King Louis, might be resigned. He accordingly despatched a confidential envoy privately into France, with ample instructions for arranging the preliminaries. This person was Juan de Enguera, a Catalan monk of much repute for his learning, and a member of the royal council. [23]

Louis the Twelfth had viewed with much satisfaction the growing misunderstanding betwixt Philip and his father-in-law, and had cunningly used his influence over the young prince to foment it. He felt the deepest disquietude at the prospect of the enormous inheritance which was to devolve on the former, comprehending Burgundy and Flanders, Austria, and probably the Empire, together with the united crowns of Spain and their rich dependencies. By the proposed marriage, a dismemberment might be made at least of the Spanish monarchy; and the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, pa.s.sing under different sceptres, might serve, as they had formerly done, to neutralize each other. It was true, this would involve a rupture with Philip, to whose son his own daughter was promised in marriage. But this match, extremely distasteful to his subjects, gradually became so to Louis, as every way prejudicial to the interests of France. [24]

Without much delay, therefore, preliminaries were arranged with the Aragonese envoy, and immediately after, in the month of August, the count of Cifuentes, and Thomas Malferit, regent of the royal chancery, were publicly sent as plenipotentiaries on the part of King Ferdinand, to conclude and execute the treaty.

It was agreed, as the basis of the alliance, that the Catholic king should be married to Germaine, daughter of Jean de Foix, viscount of Narbonne, and of one of the sisters of Louis the Twelfth, and granddaughter to Leonora, queen of Navarre,--that guilty sister of King Ferdinand, whose fate is recorded in the earlier part of our History. The princess Germaine, it will be seen, therefore, was nearly related to both the contracting parties. She was at this time eighteen years of age, and very beautiful. [25] She had been educated in the palace of her royal uncle, where she had imbibed the free and volatile manners of his gay, luxurious court. To this lady Louis the Twelfth consented to resign his claims on Naples, to be secured by way of dowry to her and her heirs, male or female, in perpetuity. In case of her decease without issue, the moiety of the kingdom recognized as his by the part.i.tion treaty with Spain was to revert to him. It was further agreed, that Ferdinand should reimburse Louis the Twelfth for the expenses of the Neapolitan war, by the payment of one million gold ducats, in ten yearly instalments; and lastly, that a complete amnesty should be granted by him to the lords of the Angevin or French party in Naples, who should receive full rest.i.tution of their confiscated honors and estates. A mutual treaty of alliance and commerce was to subsist henceforth between France and Spain, and the two monarchs, holding one another, to quote the words of the instrument, "as two souls, in one and the same body," pledged themselves to the maintenance and defence of their respective rights and kingdoms against every other power whatever. This treaty was signed by the French king at Blois, October 12th, 1505, and ratified by Ferdinand the Catholic, at Segovia, on the 16th of the same month. [26]

Such were the disgraceful and most impolitic terms of this compact, by which Ferdinand, in order to secure the brief possession of a barren authority, and perhaps to gratify some unworthy feelings of revenge, was content to barter away all those solid advantages, flowing from the union of the Spanish monarchies, which had been the great and wise object of his own and Isabella's policy. For, in the event of male issue,--and that he should have issue was by no means improbable, considering he was not yet fifty-four years of age,--Aragon and its dependencies must be totally severed from Castile. [27] In the other alternative, the splendid Italian conquests, which after such cost of toil and treasure he had finally secured to himself, must be shared with his unsuccessful compet.i.tor. In any event, he had pledged himself to such an indemnification of the Angevin faction in Naples, as must create inextricable embarra.s.sment, and inflict great injury on his loyal partisans, into whose hands their estates had already pa.s.sed. And last, though not least, he dishonored by this unsuitable and precipitate alliance his late ill.u.s.trious queen, the memory of whose transcendent excellence, if it had faded in any degree from his own breast, was too deeply seated in those of her subjects, to allow them to look on the present union otherwise than as a national indignity.

So, indeed, they did regard it; although the people of Aragon, in whom late events had rekindled their ancient jealousy of Castile, viewed the match with more complacency, as likely to restore them to that political importance which had been somewhat impaired by the union with their more powerful neighbor. [28]

The European nations could not comprehend an arrangement, so irreconcilable with the usual sagacious policy of the Catholic king. The petty Italian powers, who, since the introduction of France and Spain into their political system, were controlled by them more or less in all their movements, viewed this sinister conjunction as auspicious of no good to their interests or independence. As for the archduke Philip, he could scarcely credit the possibility of this desperate act, which struck off at a blow so rich a portion of his inheritance. He soon received confirmation, however, of its truth, by a prohibition from Louis the Twelfth, to attempt a pa.s.sage through his dominions into Spain, until he should come to some amicable understanding with his father-in-law. [29]

Philip, or rather Manuel, who exercised unbounded influence over his counsels, saw the necessity now of temporizing. The correspondence was resumed with Ferdinand, and an arrangement was at length concluded between the parties, known as the concord of Salamanca, November 24th, 1505. The substance of it was, that Castile should be governed in the joint names of Ferdinand, Philip, and Joanna, but that the first should be ent.i.tled, as his share, to one-half of the public revenue. This treaty, executed in good faith by the Catholic king, was only intended by Philip to lull the suspicions of the former, until he could effect a landing in the kingdom, where, he confidently believed, nothing but his presence was wanting to insure success. He completed the perfidious proceeding by sending an epistle, well garnished with soft and honeyed phrase, to his royal father- in-law. These artifices had their effect, and completely imposed, not only on Louis, but on the more shrewd and suspicious Ferdinand. [30]

On the 8th of January, 1506, Philip and Joanna embarked on board a splendid and numerous armada, and set sail from a port in Zealand. A furious tempest scattered the fleet soon after leaving the harbor; Philip's s.h.i.+p, which took fire in the storm, narrowly escaped foundering; and it was not without great difficulty that they succeeded in bringing her, a miserable wreck, into the English port of Weymouth. [31] King Henry the Seventh, on learning the misfortunes of Philip and his consort, was prompt to show every mark of respect and consideration for the royal pair, thus thrown upon his island. They were escorted in magnificent style to Windsor, and detained with dubious hospitality for nearly three months.

During this time, Henry the Seventh availed himself of the situation and inexperience of his young guest so far as to extort from him two treaties, not altogether reconcilable, as far as the latter was concerned, with sound policy or honor. [32] The respect which the English monarch entertained for Ferdinand the Catholic, as well as their family connection, led him to offer his services as a common mediator between the father and son. He would have persuaded the latter, says Lord Bacon, "to be ruled by the counsel of a prince, so prudent, so experienced, and so fortunate as King Ferdinand;" to which the archduke replied, "If his father-in-law would let him govern Castile, he should govern him." [33]

At length Philip, having rea.s.sembled his Flemish fleet at Weymouth, embarked with Joanna and his numerous suite of courtiers and military retainers, and reached Coruna, in the northwestern corner of Galicia, after a prosperous voyage, on the 28th of April.

A short time previous to this event, the count of Cifuentes having pa.s.sed into France for the purpose, the betrothed bride of King Ferdinand quitted that country under his escort, attended by a brilliant train of French and Neapolitan lords. [34] On the borders, at Fontarabia, she was received by the archbishop of Saragossa, Ferdinand's natural son, with a numerous retinue, composed chiefly of Aragonese and Catalan n.o.bility, and was conducted with much solemnity to Duenas, where she was joined by the king.

In this place, where thirty years before he had been united to Isabella, he now, as if to embitter still further the recollections of the past, led to the altar her young and beautiful successor. "It seemed hard," says Martyr, in his quiet way, "that these nuptials should take place so soon, and that too in Isabella's own kingdom of Castile, where she had lived without peer, and where her ashes are still held in as much veneration as she enjoyed while living." [35]

It was less than six weeks after this that Philip and Joanna landed at Coruna. Ferdinand, who had expected them at some nearer northern port, prepared without loss of time to go forward and receive them. He sent on an express to arrange the place of meeting with Philip, and advanced himself as far as Leon. But Philip had no intention of such an interview at present. He had purposely landed in a remote corner of the country, in order to gain time for his partisans to come forward and declare themselves. Missives had been despatched to the princ.i.p.al n.o.bles and cavaliers, and they were answered by great numbers of all ranks, who pressed forward to welcome and pay court to the young monarch. [36] Among them were the names of most of the considerable Castilian families, and several, as Villena and Najara, were accompanied by large, well-appointed retinues of armed followers. The archduke brought over with him a body of three thousand German infantry, in complete order. He soon mustered an additional force of six thousand native Spaniards, which, with the chivalry who thronged to meet him, placed him in a condition to dictate terms to his father-in-law; and he now openly proclaimed, that he had no intention of abiding by the concord of Salamanca, and that he would never consent to an arrangement prejudicing in any degree his and his wife's exclusive possession of the crown of Castile. [37] It was in vain that Ferdinand endeavored to gain Don Juan Manuel to his interests by the most liberal offers. He could offer nothing to compete with the absolute ascendency which the favorite held over his young sovereign. It was in vain that Martyr, and afterwards Ximenes, were sent to the archduke, to settle the grounds of accommodation, or at least the place of interview with the king. Philip listened to them with courtesy, but would abate not a jot of his pretensions; and Manuel did not care to expose his royal master to the influence of Ferdinand's superior address and sagacity in a personal interview. [38]

Martyr gives a picture, by no means unfavorable, of Philip at this time.

He had an agreeable person, a generous disposition, free and open manners, with a certain n.o.bleness of soul, although spurred on by a most craving ambition. But he was so ignorant of affairs, that he became the dupe of artful men, who played on him for their own purposes. [39]

Ferdinand, at length, finding that Philip, who had now left Coruna, was advancing by a circuitous route into the interior, on purpose to avoid him, and that all access to his daughter was absolutely refused, could no longer repress his indignation; and he prepared a circular letter, to be sent to the different parts of the country, calling on it to rise and aid him in rescuing the queen, their sovereign, from her present shameful captivity. [40] It does not appear that he sent it. He probably found that the call would not be answered; for the French match had lost him even that degree of favor, with which he had been regarded by the commons; so the very expedient, on which he relied for perpetuating his authority in Castile, was the chief cause of his losing it altogether.

He was doomed to experience still more mortifying indignities. By the orders of the marquis of Astorga and the count of Benevente, he was actually refused admittance into those cities; while proclamation was made by the same arrogant lords, prohibiting any of their va.s.sals from aiding or harboring his Aragonese followers. "A sad spectacle, indeed," exclaims the loyal Martyr, "to behold a monarch, yesterday almost omnipotent, thus wandering a vagabond in his own kingdom, refused even the sight of his own child!" [41]

Of all the gay tribe of courtiers who fluttered around him in his prosperity, the only Castilians of note who now remained true were the duke of Alva and the count of Cifuentes. [42] For even his son-in-law, the constable of Castile, had deserted him. There were some, however, at a distance from the scene of operations, as the good Talavera, for instance, and the count of Tendilla, who saw with much concern the prospect of changing the steady and well-tried hand, which had held the helm for more than thirty years, for the capricious guidance of Philip and his favorites. [43]

An end was at length put to this scandalous exhibition, and Manuel, whether from increased confidence in his own resources, or the fear of bringing public odium on himself, consented to trust his royal charge to the peril of an interview. The place selected was an open plain near Puebla de Senabria, on the borders of Leon and Galicia. But, even then, the precautions taken were of a kind truly ludicrous, considering the forlorn condition of King Ferdinand. The whole military apparatus of the archduke was put in motion, as if he expected to win the crown by battle.

First came the well-appointed German spearmen, all in fighting order.

Then, the s.h.i.+ning squadrons of the n.o.ble Castilian chivalry, and their armed retainers. Next followed the

"Ayer era Rey de Espana, oy no lo soy de una villa; ayer villas y castillos, oy ninguno posseya; ayer tenia criados," etc.

The lament of King Roderic, in this fine old ballad, would seem hardly too extravagant in the mouth of his royal descendant. archduke, seated on his war-horse and encompa.s.sed by his body-guard; while the rear was closed by the long files of archers and light cavalry of the country. [44]

Ferdinand, on the other hand, came into the field attended by about two hundred n.o.bles and gentlemen, chiefly Aragonese and Italians, riding on mules, and simply attired in the short black cloak and bonnet of the country, with no other weapon than the sword usually worn. The king trusted, says Zurita, to the majesty of his presence, and the reputation he had acquired by his long and able administration.

The Castilian n.o.bles, brought into contact with Ferdinand, could not well avoid paying their obeisance to him. He received them in his usual gracious and affable manner, making remarks, the good humor of which was occasionally seasoned with something of a more pungent character. To the duke of Najara, who was noted for being a vain-glorious person, and who came forward with a gallant retinue in all the panoply of war, he exclaimed, "So, duke, you are mindful as ever, I see, of the duties of a great captain!" Among others, was Garcila.s.so de la Vega, Ferdinand's minister formerly at Rome. Like many of the Castilian lords, he wore armor under his dress, the better to guard against surprise. The king, embracing him, felt the mail beneath, and, tapping him familiarly on the shoulder, said, "I congratulate you, Garcila.s.so; you have grown wonderfully l.u.s.ty since we last met." The desertion, however, of one who had received so many favors from him, touched him more nearly than all the rest.

As Philip drew near, it was observed he wore an anxious, embarra.s.sed air, while his father-in-law maintained the same serene and cheerful aspect as usual. After exchanging salutations, the two monarchs alighted, and entered a small hermitage in the neighborhood, attended only by Manuel and Archbishop Ximenes. They had no sooner entered, than the latter, addressing the favorite with an air of authority it was not easy to resist, told him, "It was not meet to intrude on the private concerns of their masters," and, taking his arm, led him out of the apartment and coolly locked the door on him, saying at the same time, that "He would serve as porter." The conference led to no result. Philip was well schooled in his part, and remained, says Martyr, immovable as a rock. [45]

There was so little mutual confidence between the parties, that the name of Joanna, whom Ferdinand desired so much to see, was not even mentioned during the interview. [46]