The Catholic Monarchs may be two of the most well-known figures in the history of the Iberian Peninsula. With their marriage, they united the Crowns of Castile and Aragon, and throughout their reign, they achieved notable military victories in Granada and Naples, as well as financing Christopher Columbus's voyages to the American continent and implementing a broad administrative reform. However, this success did not extend to their succession, losing several of their heirs (Francisco Olmos, 2002). Miguel de la Paz is the last of these princes who died before being able to succeed in the kingdoms of his grandparents, a final hope of maintaining their work.
The natural heir of the Catholic Monarchs is Prince Juan, their only son. Ill since childhood, Prince Juan died from a fever on October 4, 1497. In a letter from his nephew, Emperor Charles V, to his son, the future Philip II, it mentions that the death of Prince Juan was due to exhaustion from maintaining relations with his wife (Fernández Álvarez, 1975, pp. 90-103). The widow of Juan, Margaret of Austria, was pregnant with her husband's child who would have become heir to the Catholic Monarchs. However, she miscarried shortly after.
With the extinction of their patrilineal descent, the heiress of the Catholic Monarchs becomes their eldest daughter, Isabel. The new princess had just married King Manuel I of Portugal, so this succession would have been a "positive adjustment" that allowed for the dynastic union of three kingdoms (Carretero Zamora, 1988, p. 191). The right of the kings of Portugal to inherit from the Catholic Monarchs is challenged by Archduke Philip of Austria, who claims the title of Prince of Asturias as husband of Infanta Juana, second daughter of Isabel and Fernando. This claim produces a diplomatic conflict between the Habsburgs and the Trastámara, but it does not weaken Princess Isabel's rights (Aram, 2001, p. 94).
The Cortes of Toledo in 1498 recognized Isabel as heir to Castile (Carretero Zamora, 1993, pp. 73-76). However, the Cortes of Zaragoza refused to recognize her as princess of Aragon because she was a woman. The debate over the succession of Aragon dragged on for months during which Princess Isabel developed her pregnancy. Before the Cortes reached a conclusion, Isabel of Aragon died in childbirth of her son on August 23 (García Gallo, 1966, pp. 89-92).
This child was named Miguel by his mother's posthumous wish. He is destined to be heir both of his father and of his maternal grandparents, and thus to unite the Iberian Peninsula with the exception of Navarre. Both Manuel as well as Isabel and Fernando desired custody of their grandson, eventually winning the position for the grandparents (Martínez Alcorlo, 2021, pp. 291-294).
The Cortes of Zaragoza did not show Miguel the same opposition as his mother because he was a male, and recognized him as heir to his grandfather Fernando. Subsequently, the monarchs moved to Castile with the prince, where he is recognized as successor to his grandmother in the Cortes of Ocaña in 1499. Due to Queen Isabel's advanced illness, the procurators feared she would not survive until Miguel reached majority age, so they asked her to designate a regent who would govern if Prince Miguel ascended to the throne too young (Carretero Zamora, 1993, pp. 76-78). In the oath, it is allowed for the queen to reflect this decision in her will.
Paradoxically, it is the kingdom of Portugal, where Miguel would be heir as eldest son of its king, that raises more objections to his oath as heir. In the absence of his son, King Manuel requested from the Cortes of Lisbon in 1499 that they recognize Miguel as their prince. As he was raised outside of Portugal, it is assumed that he would inherit a foreign culture, so Manuel must sign what are called Articles of Lisbon or Chapters of King Don Manuel, guaranteeing the independence of Portugal should his son inherit three different kingdoms (Bouza, 1998, pp. 121-133).
Miguel was the last hope of the Catholic Monarchs to have a successor who would continue their work, which is why they claimed his upbringing. Queen Isabel settled with him in Granada, where the prince died at two years old on July 20, 1500.
His aunt Juana succeeded as heir to Castile and Aragon., who would reign as Joanna I for half a century, though she never governed effectively (Fernández Guisasola, 2022). Her ascension to the throne marked the end of the Trastámara dynasty and the rise of their descendants, the Habsburgs, not only from a dynastic perspective but also due to having different political interests.
Ferdinand the Catholic attempted to continue his work at least in Aragon and the newly acquired kingdoms of Naples and Navarre. To this end, he remarried with Germana de Foix shortly after Queen Isabel's death (November 26, 1504) to have descendants that would prevent Juana I from inheriting her father’s territories as well. However, the only descendant of this marriage is a child named Juan who died months after his birth in 1509.
Initially, the remains of Prince Miguel rested in the convent of San Francisco de la Alhambra alongside those of his grandparents. Later, Charles V ordered the transfer of the three royal bodies to the Royal Chapel of Granada, where they also rest Juana I and Philip I of Castile. The prince is the only one of the interred who does not have an effigy marking his place of burial (Redondo Cantera, 2010).
In conclusion, Miguel de la Paz was born with the potential to be king of most of the Iberian Peninsula, or all of it if one considers that Ferdinand the Catholic conquered the kingdom of Navarre in 1512. His death and the dynastic change from Trastámara to Habsburg thwarted the hopes of the Catholic Monarchs for a successor who would continue their political work. The king himself tried to avoid the consequences of this change by trying to have new descendants to break the union with Castile. Despite his potential importance, his early death turned him into an insignificant figure whose place of burial is not even marked.
Bibliography
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Bouza, F. (1998). Image and propaganda. Chapters of cultural history during the reign of Philip II. Akal.
Carretero Zamora, J. M. (1988). Cortes, monarchy, cities. The Cortes of Castile at the beginning of modern times. Siglo XXI de España.
Carretero Zamora, J. M. (1993). Documentary corpus of the Cortes of Castilla (1475-1517). Cortes of Castilla-La Mancha.
Fernández Álvarez, M. (1975). Documentary corpus of Charles V, vol. 2. Consejero Superior de Investigaciones Científicas.
Fernández Guisasola, L. F. (2022). Juana I, ¿reina propietaria, nominal, honoraria? Dificultades jurídicas de la sucesión de los Reyes Católicos. Hidalguía: the journal of genealogy, nobility and heraldry, 391, 633-662.
Francisco Olmos, J. M. (2002). The succession of the Catholic kings (1475-1504). Texts and documents. Cuadernos de investigación histórica, 19, 129-166.
García Gallo, A. (1966). The succession to the throne in the Crown of Aragon. Anuario de Historia del Derecho Español, 88-89, 5-187.
Martínez Alcorlo, R. (2021). Isabel of Castile and Aragon, princess and queen of Portugal (1470-1498). Sylex.Redondo Cantera, M. J. (2010). The tombs of the Royal Chapel in Granada. In M. A. Zalama Rodríguez (Ed.), Juana I in Tordesillas: her world, her environment (pp. 185-214). Ayuntamiento de Tordesillas.
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