Juana I of Castile, wrongly called "the Mad", may be one of the figures in Spanish history about whom the most has been written. Despite the vast literature on her figure, many aspects of her biography are still debated or have not yet been treated sufficiently exhaustively. One of the most discussed episodes, and at the same time least known, is the period between September 1506 and August 1507, when Juana plunged Castile into misrule.
Daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, Juana did not seem destined to inherit her parents' kingdoms. However, she became the first in line of succession after the deaths of her brothers Juan in 1496 and Isabel in 1498, and her nephew Miguel in 1500 (Fernández Guisasola, 2023). On November 26, 1504, Isabel the Catholic died, and her daughter Juana became Queen of Castile.
Juana never showed interest in governing. Traditionally it has been considered that she suffered from a severe mental disorder that incapacitated her. Recent authors like Aram (2001) and Fleming (2018) defend that the queen was sane but became a victim of family conspiracy. However, even these biographies have had to acknowledge the unstable and violent behavior of the queen. These realities are not anomalous; Juana could suffer from mental health issues and lack the desire to govern, making her a victim of family conspiracy.
After more than a year of diplomatic conflict, Philip managed to get his father-in-law to surrender and became the de facto ruler. However, legally his role was only that of consort to Doña Juana, and he governed in her name (Calderón Ortega, 2001, pp. 131-135). Meanwhile, Don Fernando left Castile and prepared a journey to the newly conquered kingdom of Naples. Philip's victory was short-lived as on September 25, 1506 he succumbed to a rapid and sudden illness.
With her husband dead and her father far away, Queen Juana became the sole authority in Castile. This would have been the moment when she could have exercised her authority if she had wanted to, but she maintained her refusal to govern. The only legal document that the sovereign signed was a provision that annulled all appointments made by her husband, including that of president of the Royal Council. She also signed a series of letters regarding the maintenance of her household and children (Aram, 1998).
Suárez de Valtodano, bishop of Jaén and president of the Royal Council, was the only figure with relative authority besides the queen. In fact, he had attempted unsuccessfully to convene Cortes to incapacitate the queen and have nobles govern (Granda, 2013, pp. 125-127). With his dismissal, the political crisis worsened, leading to a social crisis due to altercations between members of different noble factions, and finally an economic crisis. Therefore, the term Castilian Anarchy has been proposed to refer to this period of total misrule with grave consequences for the Crown of Castile (Fernández Guisasola, 2022, pp. 645-647).
Different noble factions fought for control of the kingdom. On one side, some nobles supported Emperor Maximilian, Juana's father-in-law, to be regent, while others supported the return of Ferdinand the Catholic (Fernández de Córdova, 2021). Although a faction of the queen has been spoken about, these people were close to Fernando and encouraged the possibility that Juana would govern personally, possibly waiting for the Catholic King's return. An informal government was formed with leaders from both factions, the Dukes of Najera and Frías, and Archbishop Cisneros (Calderón Ortega, 2001, pp. 177-178). This period has been called "the first regency of Cisneros," but he never governed officially, making it a misnomer.
The queen remained oblivious to the Castilian reality. Very few people could approach her. Only the ladies she chose, Cisneros, and a few of her late mother's counselors had access to her. Many other people sought the intercession of the two women to whom she entrusted her confidence, her half-sister Juana of Aragon, Duchess of Frías, and María de Ulloa, mother of the Count of Salinas (Fleming, 2018, p. 141). In December 1506, the queen moved to the small municipality of Torquemada, where the court could not be installed.
The isolationism of the queen had consequences when she gave birth to Infanta Catalina on January 14, 1507. Unable to install herself in Torquemada, the court had moved to Palencia, and Juana did not have a qualified woman who could help her during childbirth. María de Ulloa was the one who assisted at the birth of the new infanta (Rodríguez Villa, 1892, p. 220). This was a complicated moment where the queen's life was in danger (Fleming, 2018, p. 160).
The queen continued with her same policy during the following months while Ferdinand remained in Naples. It is not known if one of the reasons why he did not return to Castile immediately was that the Castilians preferred his governance over the anarchy provided by his daughter. In any case, the experience of misrule made people who had previously opposed the Catholic King more favorable.
As the kingdoms sank into conflict and economic crisis, Juana continued her isolated life. She moved to Hornillos and finally to Tórtoles, where she reunited with her father Fernando. It is impossible to know exactly what happened in that meeting, although subsequent events suggest that Juana freely ceded governance to her father. Ferdinand resumed the governorship, a position he held until his death in 1516 (Ladero Quesada, 2019). Subsequently, the queen's eldest son, Charles of Ghent, proclaimed himself co-ruler in what was a coup against Castilian law and his mother's figure (D’Amico & Danet, 2022, p. 67).
Juana originally settled in Arcos (current province of Burgos), but in 1509 she was confined by her father to the palace at Tordesillas, where she remained for the rest of her days (Zalama Rodríguez, 2000). In 1520 the comuneros "freed" her so that she would make laws as they wanted, but Doña Juana refused to undermine her son's authority and ultimately remained imprisoned under his orders (Pérez, 2006, pp. 78-80). She only left for a few months between 1533 and 1534 when she was secretly transferred to avoid an outbreak of plague (Fleming, 2019, p. 282). She died on April 12, 1555, still as queen but far from the power she did not want to wield.
In conclusion, beyond the alleged incapacity attributed to Juana I of Castile, her lack of desire to govern had negative consequences for her realms. First, it produced a political confrontation between male relatives eager to exercise power in her name. When these men disappeared and Juana maintained her refusal to rule Castile, the kingdom plunged into political disputes, social conflicts, and an economic crisis. For this tumultuous period without formal executive authority, the term Castilian Anarchy has been proposed. Ultimately, Juana I of Castile could avoid exercising any power but ended up as a prisoner of her father and later her son, in effect a queen without governance.
Bibliography
Aram, B. (2001) The Queen Juana. Government, Power, and Piety. Marcial Pons.
Aram, B. (1998). Juana "the Mad's" Signature: The Problem of Invoking Royal Authority, 1505-1507. The Sixteenth Century Journal, 29, (2), 331-358.
Calderón Ortega, M. (2001). Felipe the Handsome. Espasa-Calpe.
D’Amico, J. C. & Danet, A. (2022). Charles V. An Imperial Dream for Europe Perrin.
Fernández de Córdova Miralles, Á. (2021). Political factions under Juana I of Castile after the death of Philip the Handsome (1506): testimony of ambassador Ferrer. Modern Times, 43, 24-43.
Fernández Guisasola, L. F. (2022). Juana I, Queen Proprietor, Nominal, Honorary? Legal difficulties of the succession of the Catholic Monarchs. Hidalguía: The Journal of Genealogy, Nobility and Arms, 391, 633-662.
Fernández Guisasola, L. F. (2023). Miguel de la Paz: The Last Hope of the Catholic Monarchs. Arqueo Times, 7, 8-11.
Fleming, G. B. (2018). Legitimacy and Conflict in Sixteenth-Century Castile. Palgrave Macmillan.
Granda, S. (2013). The Presidency of the Council of Castile. Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales.
Ladero Quesada, M. A. (2019). The Last Years of Ferdinand the Catholic. Dykinson.
Pérez, J. (2008). Juana the Mad and the comuneros. In M. Fernández Álvarez (Ed.). Doña Juana, Queen of Castile (pp. 70-82). Marcial Pons.
Rodríguez Villa, A. (1892). The Queen Doña Juana the Mad: Historical Study. M. Murillo.
Zalama Rodríguez, M. A. (2000). Daily life and art in the palace of Queen Juana I at Tordesillas. Universidad de Salamanca.
Comments