Peace of Caltabellotta facts for kids

The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed on August 31, 1302, was an important agreement. It was the last in a series of treaties, like the ones signed in Tarascon and Anagni. These treaties aimed to end a long war between two powerful families: the Anjou family and the Barcelona family. They were fighting for control of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the island of Sicily and the southern part of Italy, known as the Mezzogiorno.

This peace treaty officially divided the old Kingdom of Sicily into two parts. The island part, which was called the Kingdom of Trinacria, went to Frederick III. He had already been ruling it. The mainland part, the Mezzogiorno, was still called the Kingdom of Sicily at the time, but today we know it as the Kingdom of Naples. This part went to Charles II, who had also been ruling it. So, the treaty basically made the current situation official.

The treaty also said that after Frederick's death, Trinacria would go back to the Anjou family. Until then, Charles agreed to pay Frederick a large sum of money: 100,000 ounces of gold. In return, Frederick immediately gave up all his lands in Calabria and other places on the mainland. He also released Charles's son, Philip, the Prince of Taranto, from his prison in Cefalù. To further seal the peace, a marriage was arranged between Charles's daughter, Eleanor, and Frederick.

What Happened Next

The Peace of Caltabellotta had big effects on some soldiers known as the Almogavars. Their leader, Roger de Flor, and his group, the Catalan Company, had to find new work because the war was over. They ended up working for the Byzantine emperor, Andronicus II Palaeologus.

One Almogàvar named Bernat de Rocafort refused to give back two castles he held in Calabria to Charles. He wanted to be paid first. He was eventually captured and left to die in a special prison cell called an oubliette. This happened in 1309 under Robert the Wise, who was Charles's successor.

Sources

• Nicol, Donald M. (1994). [Peace of Caltabellotta at Google Books The Byzantine Lady: Ten Portraits, 1250–1500]. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45531-6. Peace of Caltabellotta at Google Books.

See also

In Spanish: Paz de Caltabellota para niños