Revolt of the Brotherhoods facts for kids
The Revolt of the Brotherhoods (called Revolta de les Germanies in Catalan and Rebelión de las Germanías in Spanish) was a big uprising by groups of skilled workers, known as Germanies or guilds. They were fighting against the government of King Charles V in the Kingdom of Valencia, which was part of the Crown of Aragon. This revolt happened from 1519 to 1523, with most of the fighting in 1521. A similar revolt also broke out in Majorca, another part of Aragon, from 1521 to 1523.
The rebels wanted more control over their own government and less power for the king and nobles. They were inspired by the way cities in Italy, like Genoa, governed themselves. The revolt also had a strong anti-Muslim side. Rebels attacked Muslim farmers (called mudéjars) and forced them to become Christians. The agermanats (the rebels) were similar to the comuneros in Castile, who also fought against King Charles from 1520 to 1522. Both rebellions happened partly because Charles, who was now King of both Castile and Aragon, left Spain to become Holy Roman Emperor in Germany. He left behind a royal council and a regent (someone who rules for the king) who weren't very popular.
Contents
Why the Revolt Started
Money Troubles and Pirate Attacks
Valencia faced many problems in the early 1500s. In the last years of King Ferdinand II's rule, the government became weaker and more corrupt. Aragon's economy wasn't as strong as other parts of Spain. It relied more on farming and less on profitable sea trade. Valencia's economy was controlled by two main groups: the nobles, who owned most of the land and farms, and the Germanies (guilds), who controlled crafts and city businesses. Bad harvests, floods, and diseases like the plague made the economy even worse.
The biggest danger was war. King Ferdinand spent a lot of money on wars in Italy and invading Navarre. This put a huge strain on Aragon and Castile's money. Spain also had very bad relations with Muslim countries in North Africa after the Reconquista (the Christian reconquest of Spain). Barbary pirates constantly attacked the coast of Aragon. There were also worries about a revolt by the recently converted Muslim population in Granada. To protect the coast without spending money on the army, Ferdinand allowed the Germanies to arm themselves and form their own defense groups. The local nobles didn't like this, fearing what an armed public might do.
King Charles Takes Over
King Ferdinand died in 1516. His daughter Joanna became queen, but she was mentally unstable. Within weeks, her son, Charles I, declared himself co-ruler of Castile and Aragon. Charles had grown up in the Netherlands, and his affairs were mostly managed by a Flemish noble named William de Croÿ. In 1517, the 17-year-old King came to Castile and was officially recognized as king. His Flemish court caused a lot of anger because de Croÿ openly sold government jobs for money and gave positions to other Flemish nobles.
In 1518, Charles traveled to Barcelona in Aragon. He spent almost two years there, negotiating with Aragon's parliament (the cortes) to be recognized as king. Aragon kept more local control than Castile, partly because it was poorer, so there was less tax money to fight over.
In 1519, Charles's grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, died. Charles competed with King Francis I of France to become the new Holy Roman Emperor, spending a lot of money to bribe the electors (princes who chose the emperor). Charles won and became Emperor Charles V. He left Aragon to go back to Castile to raise money to pay his debts. The new taxes in Castile helped start the Revolt of the Comuneros there. More importantly for Aragon, in the summer of 1519, Charles officially allowed the Germanies to arm themselves against the pirate attacks. This time, he forced the Valencian nobles to accept his decision.
First Phase: The Council of Thirteen (1519)
In 1519, the plague hit Valencia. Many important nobles died, and others fled to the countryside. People believed the plague was a punishment for bad behavior. They rioted against those they suspected of immorality and also against Muslims. The government tried to stop the rioters, but the rioters instead removed the government.
The Germanies stepped in to fill this power gap. They slowly took over the royal government of the capital city of Valencia. A new government called the "Council of Thirteen" (Junta dels Tretze in Catalan, Junta de los Trece in Spanish) was formed. It had one representative from each guild. Joan Llorenç became the main leader. He wanted a government like the self-governing cities in Italy, such as the Republic of Genoa. Llorenç and the Council of Thirteen gave power to the Germanies. They brought back their control over their professions and made it illegal for anyone to work who wasn't part of a guild.
King Charles I was in Aachen, Germany, in 1520 for his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor. At first, he only tried to take back his permission for the Germanies to arm themselves and other agreements, but the rebels ignored him completely. Tensions grew when Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, a Castilian war veteran, was named viceroy (the king's representative) in April 1520. At this point, the Germanies took full control. Mendoza was forced to run away, and popular representatives replaced most of the remaining government officials and courts. Councils of Thirteen also took power in other cities of Valencia as the revolt spread. What started as a quiet show of power now became a civil war.
Second Phase: The War (1520–1521)
The moderate leader Joan Llorenç died in 1520. He was replaced by Vicent Peris. Llorenç's death meant the moderate group, who wanted good governance, lost their strongest voice. The more radical group took over. They wanted to change land ownership and reduce the power of the nobles. Peris was very aggressive towards both the nobles and the Muslims.
In the summer of 1520, some fighting began. Rebels attacked the viscounty of Xelva, looted noble palaces, and shared out nearby land. The Muslim areas of Valencia city were attacked and burned after being accused of helping the nobility. However, the war truly grew in June 1521. The royalist forces were split into two groups. In the south, the viceroy personally led an army from Denia. Nobles from Andalusia also sent an army, led by Pedro Fajardo, 1st Marquis of los Vélez. In the north, Alonso de Aragon, the Duke of Segorbe, led another force.
The Germanies took control of several cities at once. In the north, they controlled the regions of Maestrat and Camp de Morvedre. In the south, they took Alzira, Xàtiva, Gandia, and Elx.
In the north, the agermanats led by Jaime Ros lost two battles quickly: first at Orpesa and then at the Battle of Almenara. The southern front had more success. The rebels, led by Vicent Peris, captured the castle of Xàtiva. They also won an important victory in the Battle of Gandia on July 23, 1521, against the viceroy's own troops. After the battle, the agermanats looted Gandia and its farmlands. They also forced all the Muslims in the Safor region to be baptized as Christians.
After these quick battles, the leaders of the Germanies became disorganized. The wealthy city people of Valencia wanted to negotiate a peace, but the military leaders wanted to keep fighting. Because of these internal arguments, the agermanats suffered a huge defeat just one week after their victory at Gandia, in the Battle of Oriola. The Marquis of Los Vélez led the winning royal army, which had new soldiers from Andalusia. About 4,000 agermanats were killed. Almost all of southern Valencia fell back into royalist hands. The Council of Thirteen resigned, and three months later, on November 1, the City of Valencia surrendered to the royal army.
Third Phase: Countryside Fighters (1522)
Vicent Peris, after hiding in the strong fort at Xàtiva for some months, secretly returned to Valencia on the night of February 18, 1522. He hoped to restart the Germanies and the revolt. While meeting with his supporters, he was seen or betrayed. A desperate night battle broke out in the streets between the agermanats and royal soldiers. Peris was eventually trapped and forced out when his house was set on fire. He was arrested, and on March 3, 1522, he was executed along with his closest supporters.
Only Xàtiva and Alzira remained under the control of the Germanies. A mysterious new leader appeared for the Germanies, calling himself "The Hidden One" (L'Encobert in Catalan, El Encubierto in Spanish). History books are not clear about him, but The Hidden One claimed to be a prince who had been hidden away as a child. He said he had a special vision from prophets who told him his true background and that he must save Valencia. The Hidden One focused on a more religious and spiritual revolt, rather than the social changes that Peris wanted. He gained support from local country leaders and rich farmers. In this phase, the Germanies' actions were limited to the Horta region of Valencia, Alzira, and Xàtiva. They looted farms, attacked castles, and forced any Muslims in their areas to convert to Christianity.
Realizing that the revolt was not completely over, the royal government offered a large reward for The Hidden One. He was killed by people looking for the money in Burjassot on May 19, 1522. Many others soon claimed to be The Hidden One, but none were charismatic enough to take over leadership of the Germanies. Viceroy Mendoza also tried to make peace, offering good terms to those who surrendered and agreed to return to royal rule. In December 1522, the strongholds of Xàtiva and Alzira fell, which finally ended the Revolt of the Germanies in Valencia.
Germanies of Majorca (1521–1523)
The revolt in Valencia was known in other parts of Aragon. It inspired a new overthrow of the government in the Kingdom of Majorca after seven guild members were unfairly imprisoned. Just like in Valencia, a Council of Thirteen was formed to rule, led by Juan Crespí. The rebels took control of the capital and removed the governor-general, Miguel de Gurrea, who fled to Ibiza. The nobles who survived a terrible massacre in Bellver Castle took refuge in Alcúdia. This was the only part of the island that remained loyal to the King during the year and a half that the Germanies ruled Majorca. During this time, the Council of Thirteen ran an independent government and did not work with their allies in Valencia.
In August 1522, the emperor sent 800 soldiers to help Gurrea. By the next year, they had taken the capital. On March 8, 1523, the agermanats surrendered with the help of the bishop. Even with this help, more than 200 agermanats were executed, and many others ran away.
Aftermath
Forced Conversion of Muslims
The Muslims of the Kingdom of Valencia suffered for several reasons. The ongoing wars with Muslim pirates kept tensions high between Christians and Muslims. Former Muslims (called Moriscos) were still a problem in recently conquered Granada, which made people in Valencia less sympathetic to Muslims there. There were also economic reasons. Nobles used poorer Muslims as cheap labor, which caused anger between them and low-paid or jobless Christians who were jealous of their jobs and felt their wages were lowered. Noble estates competed with the guilds for economic power, so Muslims were seen as part of the opposing system. Finally, some agermanats believed in a universal brotherhood of all Christian people. They thought converting all Muslims would save their souls and their children's souls.
The forced conversion of the Muslims was most intense in the summer of 1521, after the victory at Gandia. Once the revolt was defeated, the noblemen questioned if these forced baptisms were valid. To decide, Emperor Charles called a group of religious scholars and legal experts in Madrid. In 1525, this group decided that the new converts should remain Christian. They argued that the baptism was a free choice, as it was an alternative to death. Only if there had been no choice at all would the baptism be invalid.
This decision caused two uprisings from the recently converted population: one in Benaguasil in November 1525 and another in Sierra de Espadán in Castellón in March 1526. This decision ended the special status of Muslims (mudéjars) in the country. However, it created a new problem of Moriscos in Valencia whose Christian faith was, understandably, not truly sincere.
Punishment of the Germanies
When Valencia fell and the viceroy entered the city in late 1521, a moderate punishment began. Viceroy Diego Hurtado de Mendoza did not want to start another revolt. He took action against the most important leaders but gave a general pardon to minor agermanats who had only served in the army.
However, Mendoza was replaced as viceroy by Germaine of Foix, King Ferdinand's second wife. She returned to the country with Charles and a new German husband (who was also named viceroy with her). She favored a harsher policy towards the rebels. About 800 death sentences were given to former rebels. Sources differ on how many she personally ordered, but it seems likely she directly approved at least 100 death warrants. Heavy fines were placed on the guilds as punishment. Also, cities that had sided with the Germanies had to pay more than 360,000 ducats in fines, and 2,000,000 ducats were collected for damages to property during the war.
The period of harsher punishment ended on December 23, 1524. Germaine signed a pardon for one of the six main guilds of Valencia City, and by extension, for the other Germanies. King Charles signed another general pardon in 1528, which suggests that some scattered punishments might have continued after that. Germaine supported the idea of a unified Spain. Valencian nationalists point to her pardon as one of the first official documents in Aragon written in Castilian Spanish.
Later Influence
The failure of the Revolt is often seen as a key moment for Valencia. It helped shift Valencia from a feudal system (where nobles had a lot of power) to a more modern, centralized state with a strong king. The local nobility became weaker because they needed the king's help to defeat the rebels. The conversion of the Muslims reduced the number of cheap laborers that the nobles had relied on. And while it might be a coincidence, Germaine's presence in Valencia helped weaken the old nobility and strengthen the king's power in Valencia.
A later uprising in 1693 was partly inspired by the Revolt of the Germanies and took their name from it. The rebels called themselves the Segona Germania (Second Brotherhood) and demanded to be free from high feudal rents and duties. This revolt was quickly stopped by the Spanish government with little bloodshed. Even though it took the name, this later revolt was quite different. The Second Brotherhood was mostly made up of peasants, not the middle-class guild members of the 1519–1523 revolt. It also did not have the anti-Muslim aspect of the original rebellion.
See also
In Spanish: Germanías para niños
