Irmandiño revolts facts for kids
The Irmandiño revolts were two big uprisings that happened in the 1400s in the Kingdom of Galicia. People in Galicia, like farmers and city dwellers, fought against the powerful local nobles. These nobles were trying to keep their control over the land and its people.
These revolts were also part of a larger trend of popular uprisings across Europe during the 1300s and 1400s. This was a time when many parts of Europe faced tough economic times and other problems. Similar rebellions also broke out in other parts of Spain, such as in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.
Contents
Why the Revolts Started
Even though the Kingdom of Galicia was joined with the Crown of Castile in 1037, it kept many unique features. Galicia's economy relied a lot on farming. Powerful lords, both noble and church leaders, held a huge amount of control.
Galicia was also quite isolated from the rest of the kingdom because of its mountains and location. The Galician nobles made this isolation even stronger by controlling politics. These powerful lords, like the Osorios, Andrade, and Moscosos families, had too much power. They often treated the common people in the countryside very unfairly.
This unfair treatment caused a lot of anger and led to two main uprisings:
- The Irmandade Fusquenlla (the Fusquenlla Brotherhood) from 1431 to 1435.
- The Grande Guerra Irmandiña ("Great Brotherhood War") from 1467 to 1469.
The word irmandade here means "brotherhood" and refers to these groups of rebels. It should not be confused with the hermandades, which were a type of police force. Even though the revolts eventually failed, they helped set the stage for Galicia to come under the direct control of the Spanish crown. The Catholic Monarchs later worked to centralize power across Spain.
The First Irmandiño Revolt
The Irmandade Fusquenlla was formed in 1431. It started on the lands of the Andrade lords because of the harsh way Nuno Freire de Andrade, known as "the Bad," treated people.
The revolt began in the towns of Pontedeume and Betanzos. It quickly spread to other areas, including the regions around the cities of Lugo, Mondoñedo, and Santiago de Compostela. The leader of this first revolt was a low-ranking noble named Roi Xordo from A Coruña. The revolt was put down in 1435, and Roi Xordo died during the punishments that followed.
The Great Irmandiño War
The Great Irmandiño War (which in Galician is Gran Guerra Irmandiña) started in 1467. However, a few years earlier, a man named Alonso de Lanzós had already begun forming a "general brotherhood" (irmandade xeral). He had the support of Henry IV of Castile and several city councils, including those in A Coruña, Betanzos, Ferrol, and Lugo.
During this war, the city councils became very important players. This made the conflict feel more like a true civil war than just a simple uprising, unlike the first revolt three decades earlier.
Why the Second Revolt Happened
Several years of bad harvests and widespread diseases like plagues led to this popular revolt. Records from trials after the revolt suggest that the Irmandiños had about 80,000 fighters. Many different social groups joined and helped lead the rebellion:
- Peasants (farmers)
- City dwellers
- Lower-ranking nobles
- Even some members of the clergy (church officials), with some church leaders even giving money to support the Irmandiños.
The main leaders of the revolt were lower nobles. Pedro de Osório led the armies in central Galicia. Alonso de Lanzós was in charge of the war in northern Galicia. Diego de Lemos led the fight in the southern part of the Province of Lugo and northern Province of Ourense. People in medieval Galicia had a strong feeling against the powerful lords, seeing them as "evildoers." This mindset helped make the Irmandiño Wars possible.
Fighting the Nobles
The Irmandiños fought against the higher nobles, who owned many castles and forts. They also fought against the heads of the main churches and monasteries. During the two years of the war, the Irmandiños destroyed about 130 castles and forts. The Lemos, Andrade, and Moscoso families were the main targets of the rebels. They generally left the church authorities alone.
At the start of the war, many nobles fled to Portugal or Castile. But in 1469, Pedro Madruga began a counter-attack from Portugal. He had the support of other nobles, the kings of Castile and Portugal, and the armed forces of the archbishop of Santiago de Compostela. The nobles' army had better weapons, including new arquebuses (early firearms). They also took advantage of disagreements within the Irmandiño movement and eventually defeated them. The leaders of the rebellion were arrested and executed.
What Happened After the Revolts
The Irmandiño revolts helped prepare the way for the Catholic Monarchs to centralize power about 20 years later. They appointed a governor and created a special court called an audiencia for the Kingdom of Galicia. This court took over the job of giving justice from the local lords and put it under the control of the Crown.
The Catholic Monarchs also ordered that none of the castles destroyed by the Irmandiños should be rebuilt. They also placed the Galician monasteries under the authority of their related Castilian religious orders.
The Catholic Monarchs also removed or weakened the powerful lords. For example, Pedro Madruga, who was loyal to the king of Portugal and supported Joanna la Beltraneja in her claim to the Castilian throne against Isabella I of Castile, died in 1486. Another powerful lord, Pedro Pardo de Cela, was executed, and his lands became part of the royal domain. Finally, in 1480, Ferdinand and Isabella extended the power of the Santa Hermandad (a kind of police force) to Galicia. They also ended any remaining forms of serfdom (where people were tied to the land) in the region.
Remembering the Revolts Today
Every year, a large-scale role-playing event called "Irmandiños A Revolta" is held. The Xunta de Galicia (the regional government) helps fund this event to promote historical reenactment. In past years, up to 800 people have taken part, making it one of the largest historical role-playing events in the world.
See also
In Spanish: Revuelta Irmandiña para niños
