Luis de la Cerda facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Luis de la Cerda
Prince of Fortuna Count of Clermont
Prince of Fortuna
Reign	November 1344 – 5 July 1348
Successor	Luis de la Cerda y Guzmán
Born	Luis de la Cerda France
Died	July 5, 1348 Lamotte-du-Rhône
Spouse	Leonor de Guzmán, Guiote D'Uzès
Issue	Luis de la Cerda y Guzmán Juan de la Cerda y Guzmán Isabel de la Cerda
House	House de la Cerda
Father	Alfonso de la Cerda
Mother	Matilde of Brienne-Eu
Religion	Roman Catholic

Luis de La Cerda, also known as Louis of Spain (born in France, 1291 – died in Lamotte-du-Rhône, July 5, 1348), was a royal prince from the Crown of Castile. He lived and served in the Kingdom of France. Luis de la Cerda held important titles like Count of Talmont and Count of Clermont. He also became an admiral of France, leading the country's navy.

In 1344, Pope Clement VI named him the first 'Prince of Fortuna'. This title meant he was the ruler of the Canary Islands. However, Luis de la Cerda never actually visited these islands.

Luis de la Cerda's Life

His Family's Story

Luis de la Cerda was the second son of Alfonso de la Cerda. Alfonso was known as "the disinherited" because he was supposed to become king of Kingdom of León. But his uncle, Sancho IV, took the throne in 1284. This forced Alfonso and his family to live in exile.

Because of this, Luis and most of his brothers and sisters grew up in France. Their grandmother, Blanche of France, was a daughter of King Louis IX of France. This family connection helped them in France.

His Marriage

In 1306, Luis de la Cerda married Leonor de Guzman. She was the daughter of Alonso Perez de Guzman, a famous defender of Tarifa. Through his wife, Luis became the lord of several places, including Deza and Enciso.

He lived in Castile for some time. He was present at the crowning of King Alfonso XI. The king even honored Luis with a special order of chivalry.

Early Military Experience

Luis de la Cerda gained his first military experience in 1333. He served King Alfonso XI during the Fourth siege of Gibraltar. This battle was fought against the Moors.

Serving the French King

Many historians believe Luis returned to France to improve his standing. As a cousin of the French King, he joined the French royal court.

King Philip VI of France gave Luis de la Cerda important titles. He became the Count of Clermont and the first Count of Talmont around 1338 or 1339. These lands were located near English territories. This meant they were often in danger during conflicts.

The Hundred Years' War

First Battles

In 1339, the French army used Luis's castle at Talmont. They were defending Lille. At this time, Luis was called a "Sovereign captain."

In 1340, Luis was given a very important job. He became the admiral on March 13. The previous admiral had been badly hurt in a naval battle. During a break in the fighting, Luis worked hard to rebuild the French navy. He ordered new ships and found crews from coastal areas.

Fighting in Brittany

During the Breton War of Succession, Luis joined the Duke of Normandy's army in October 1341. They gathered a large army in Angers. Many important lords joined them.

They besieged Nantes. During this siege, hungry civilians tried to get food outside the city walls. Luis attacked them, chasing them back to the walls. Many people were killed or captured in the fight.

Luis stepped down as admiral in March 1341. We don't know why he left this important role. By spring 1342, he had joined the army of Charles de Blois as a commander.

During the siege of Hennebont, Luis received siege weapons. He worked quickly to break through the defenses. The defenders were about to surrender when an English fleet arrived. The people inside the town came out and destroyed one of Luis's siege weapons. Luis decided to stop the siege and join the main army attacking Auray.

Luis then moved to Dinan. This town had only the Rance river and wooden fences for defense. Luis planned to build rafts to cross the river. But after four days, the town's defenders killed their own captain and opened the gates.

Luis then crossed Brittany to attack the town of Guérande. He used his Spanish and Genoese soldiers to attack from all sides. They took many goods from the town, even from churches. When Charles de Blois heard about this, he ordered Luis to hang 24 of the main troublemakers. Luis left Guérande with a lot of stolen goods. He then joined Charles at Auray.

Luis and his soldiers then sailed to Quimper and Quimperlé to continue taking goods. News of their actions reached the English forces led by de Mauny. He left Hennebont and went to Quimperlé. Luis's forces were still on shore. De Mauny damaged their ships and then landed his own troops. He divided his men into three groups to find Luis's soldiers. Luis fought back, but his forces were defeated. His nephew, Alphonse, was killed.

Luis recovered at Rennes. After six weeks, he rejoined Charles de Blois for a second attempt to capture Hennebont. The English defenders made fun of Luis from the walls. This made Luis very angry. According to old stories, Luis asked Charles de Blois for a special favor. Charles agreed without thinking much about it. Luis then asked to have two captured English knights, Jean le Bouteiller and Hubert de Frenay. He wanted them beheaded in front of the city walls. Charles was shocked. He said these prisoners were Christians, not Moors, and that such an act would be wrong. But Luis refused to change his mind. He threatened to leave the army if he didn't get his way. Charles gave in.

The English defenders had spies in Charles's camp. They learned about the plan and decided to rescue the knights. While one English leader created a distraction, de Mauny went into the empty camp. He recaptured the two knights and brought them back safely. The second siege of Hennebont continued without success. It was finally stopped in mid-October. Charles then attacked the small town of Jugon. The rest of the army stayed in Garhaix under Luis's command.

Luis was also involved in a naval battle near the Island of Guernsey in 1342. It was between an English fleet and a French-Breton fleet, mostly made up of Luis's soldiers. The battle started in the afternoon and continued until night. A storm during the night forced the ships to separate. But the French-Bretons had captured four English ships loaded with supplies. However, this did not stop the English commander from landing his troops in Brittany. Luis continued to seize English supply ships. He also surprised an enemy fleet and captured four ships, sinking three of them. Luis became very rich from the goods and treasures he captured during the war.

War in Guyenne

In 1346, Luis returned to serve King Philippe de Valois during the War in the Guyenne region. He took part in a campaign led by the Duke of Normandy against the English. This campaign ended without success at the fortress of Aiguillon. However, Luis later became known for finally breaking through the walls of this fortress.

Prince of the Fortunate Islands

The Canary islands were known since ancient times. But Europeans had little contact with them until the early 1300s. Then, a captain named Lanceloto Malocello found the island of Lanzarote. Interest in the islands grew quickly after a 1341 trip sponsored by Afonso IV of Portugal. This trip provided detailed descriptions of the native people, called the 'Guanches'.

European merchants became interested in capturing natives to sell as slaves. So, expeditions from Majorca began to sail to the Canary Islands for this purpose.

Luis de la Cerda was serving as a French ambassador to the Pope in Avignon. He suggested a different idea to Pope Clement VI. Luis proposed conquering the islands and converting the native Guanches to Christianity.

On November 15, 1344, Pope Clement VI issued a special order. It gave the Canary Islands forever to Luis de la Cerda and his family. He was given the title "Prince of Fortuna." This meant he could mint coins and had other royal powers. In return, Luis promised to convert the natives to Christianity. He also promised to pay the Pope 400 gold florins each year. The Pope's order listed eleven islands by their old names. After receiving a crown and scepter from the Pope, Luis was announced as the new king of the islands. People soon started calling him Infante de la Fortuna.

Pope Clement VI issued another order in January 1345. This order made Luis's plan to conquer the islands a crusade. This meant anyone who joined would receive special religious benefits. The Pope sent letters to the rulers of Portugal, Castile, Aragon, France, and other places. He asked them to recognize Luis's title and help his expedition.

The Portuguese king Afonso IV immediately protested. He said Portugal had discovered the islands first. But he accepted the Pope's authority. King Alfonso XI of Castile also protested. He claimed the islands were part of Castile's territory. But he still recognized Luis's title.

Despite these formal recognitions, Luis's plans faced problems. The kings of Spain and Portugal were not very helpful. Luis managed to get some ships from Peter IV of Aragon. But other rulers were not willing to help. The start of the Hundred Years War again in 1346 stopped the project. Luis had to return to military service for France. Because of this, no expedition to the Canary Islands was launched before Luis's death on July 5, 1348.

Some stories say that the ships prepared for Luis eventually sailed to the Canaries on their own. They supposedly tried to land on La Gomera but were driven back by the natives. However, there is no clear proof of this expedition.

Death and Burial

Luis de la Cerda was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Gilles in France. His titles, including Count of Talmont and Prince of Fortuna, were passed to his oldest living son, Luis de la Cerda y Guzmán.

Later, when the male family line ended, the titles went to Luis de la Cerda's daughter, Isabel de la Cerda Pérez de Guzmán. Her family, the Counts (and later Dukes) of Medinacelli, continued to claim the lordship of the Canary Islands. Even though the Pope's title of Prince of Fortuna was supposed to end if no expedition happened within five years, the family still pressed their claim.

Luis de la Cerda's Children

In 1306, Luis de la Cerda married Leonor de Guzmán. They had several children:

• Alfonso, Maria, Blanca, Fernando, and a second Maria de la Cerda. All of these children died when they were young.
• Luis de la Cerda y Guzmán (born around 1325 – died 1383). He became the second Prince of Fortuna and second Count of Talmont.
• Juan de la Cerda y Guzmán (1327–1357). He was Lord of Puerto de Santa María and Gibraleón.
• Isabel de la Cerda y Guzmán (born around 1329 – died 1382). She was Lady of Puerto de Santa María. She married twice.

After his first wife died, Luis de la Cerda married Guiote D'Uzès. They did not have any children together.

Luis de la Cerda also had a son outside of marriage named Juan de España. He was born in France in 1347 and was mentioned in his father's will.

Sources

• Monumenta Henricina, (1960–1967), Manuel Lopes de Almeida, Idalino Ferreira da Costa Brochado and Antonio Joaquim Dias Dinis, editors, Coimbra. vol. 1 (1143–1411)
• Fernández-Armesto, F. (2007) Before Columbus: exploration and colonisation from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic 1229-1492. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Meliá, Juan Tous (2000) Guía histórica del Museo Militar Regional de Canarias Tenerife. online
• 4 volumes. Vol. 1

See also

In Spanish: Luis de la Cerda para niños