Charles V’s Reign: Legacy, Conflicts, and Wars
The Empire of Charles V: Internal Conflicts
a) The Heritage of Charles V
- Maternal Inheritance: The Crown of Aragon, Castile and Navarre, North African possessions, and Italian territories.
- Paternal Inheritance: Netherlands and Franche-Comté.
- 1515: Territories of his grandfather Maximilian I (Holy Roman Emperor) south of present-day Germany, Austria, and the Tyrol. Also, the rights to the imperial crown (Charles V in 1519).
This vast and diverse inheritance consisted of heterogeneous states that were not unified. Charles V’s revenue and power came from his own heritage, particularly Castile and precious metals from the Indies. Castile gradually became the focus of his policy.
b) The Comuneros and Germanías Revolts
Upon arriving in Castile, Charles V was perceived as a foreigner who didn’t know the language and was surrounded by foreign advisors. His primary concern seemed to be winning the title of emperor, and once achieved, he left the kingdom. The resulting discontent soon escalated into revolts.
The Revolt of the Comuneros (1520-1522)
Several Castilian towns, including Toledo, Segovia, and Salamanca, formed a community to oppose Charles V’s rule. They objected to the foreign authorities accompanying the king, the nobility, and the appointed magistrates. The rebel cities demanded several conditions from the monarch: no foreign advisors, adherence to the will of the kingdom (represented by the procurators of the cities in the Courts), limitation of royal power, tax cuts, protection for the textile industry, and diminished power of the nobility. The movement was initially led by lower-ranking nobles, teachers, and some clergy. The aristocracy remained aloof until the commoners, seeking popular support, encouraged anti-seigneurial movements. At that point, the nobility sided with the monarch’s representatives. The comuneros were defeated at the Battle of Villalar (1521), and their leaders (Bravo, Padilla, and Maldonado) were executed. This ended the revolt and strengthened royal authority.
The Revolt of the Germanies (1519-1523)
This rebellion broke out in Valencia and spread to Mallorca. It was characterized by its anti-seigneurial nature. Artisans, impoverished peasants, lower clergy, and disgruntled merchants (facing plague, the flight of the nobility, and the king’s absence) refused to submit to the monarch’s representative. The revolt targeted feudal lords and their Mudéjar servants, demanding the abolition of seigneurial jurisdiction and feudal taxes, and opposing the abuses and presence of Muslims. Royal and noble troops joined forces to suppress the revolt, inflicting heavy damage on the towns.
Conclusion: The monarchy emerged as the victor in both revolts. The Cortes of Castile became a submissive institution. The nobility, fearful and weakened by the rebellions, became loyal allies of the king. This allowed the subsequent costly and ambitious foreign policy to be financed with Castilian resources, encountering little opposition.
c) Foreign Policy
Charles V’s foreign policy focused on defending his dynastic inheritance and maintaining hegemony in Europe.
Confrontation with France
Several factors fueled the conflict with France:
- Personal rivalry with Francis I
- Legacy of past struggles: Navarre and hegemony in Italy
Charles V engaged in six wars with France. The first, in 1521, saw France invade Navarre and attempt to secure hegemony in northern Italy from Milan. The French were defeated at Pavia in 1525 (Francis I was captured), giving Charles V control of Milan. Fighting resumed in 1536 in Italy and the Netherlands, continuing for 20 years with intermittent periods of peace. The last of these wars concluded during the reign of his son, Philip II, who defeated the French at St. Quentin (1557). The subsequent Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559) between Philip II and Henry II of France established a long period of Habsburg dominance in Italy and Western Europe.
War against the Ottoman Empire
This war unfolded on two fronts:
- Central Europe: Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566) occupied Hungary and besieged Vienna.
- Western Mediterranean: Suleiman’s privateers, including Barbarossa, occupied Tripoli and Algiers, raiding coastal towns in Italy and Spain.
The war against the Ottomans was not a priority for Charles V, as resources were allocated to other campaigns. The Western Mediterranean remained unsafe until the Battle of Lepanto (1571).
War in Germany
against Charles V, Luther’s Reformation and some German princes who see it as an opportunity to increase their incomes and independence from the emperor.
Charles V was in favor of a compromise between Luther and the Pope and called a meeting at Worms in 1521 (the year of Villalar, the invasion of France and Navarre for expulsion by the Turks of the Knights of Malta from Rhodes) . In Worms, arlos V fixed his position condemning Luther and the Pope called a council to reform the Church: some German princes
protested (Protestant).
When in 1545 the pope convened the Council of Trent the breakdown was a fact and caused a war between the Protestant princes and Charles V’s victory Muhlberg increased its power in Germany, but did not resolve the issue. The Peace of Augsburg (1555) recognized the princes the right to impose their religion on their subjects: cuius regio, eius religio.
During this period, 1555-56, Charles V renounced his dominions in the Iberian peninsula, in Burgundy and Italy in favor of Philip II and assigned its rights and imperial Austrian dominions to his brother Ferdinand, retiring to the monastery of Yuste.