Editing Henry II of Castile (section)

== Biography ==
Henry was the fourth of ten illegitimate children of King [[Alfonso XI of Castile]] and [[Eleanor de Guzmán]],{{sfn|Bartlett|2020|p=174}} a great-granddaughter of [[Alfonso IX of León]].  He was born a twin to [[Fadrique Alfonso, Lord of Haro]], and was the first boy born to the couple that survived to adulthood.

At birth, he was adopted by Rodrigo Álvarez de las Asturias.  Rodrigo died the following year and Henry inherited his lordship of Noreña.  His father later made him Count of Trastámara and lord over Lemos and Sarria in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], and the towns of Cabrera and Ribera, which constituted a large and important heritage in the northwest of the peninsula.  It made him the head of the new Trastámara dynasty, arising from the main branch of Burgundy-Ivrea.

While Alfonso XI lived, his lover Eleanor gave a great many titles and privileges to their sons.  This caused discontent among many of the noblemen and in particular the queen, [[Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile|Maria of Portugal]], and her son, [[Peter of Castile|Peter]].

They had a chance for revenge when Alfonso XI died unexpectedly from a fever in the siege of [[Gibraltar]] in March, 1350. They pushed Eleanor, her sons and their supporters aside, and Henry and his brothers fled and scattered.  They were fearful of what their brother, King Peter, could do to them.  The late king had not even been buried.

Although Eleanor and her sons reached an agreement with Peter to live peacefully in his court, the situation remained unstable.  Henry and his brothers Fadrique, [[Tello Alfonso, Lord of Aguilar de Campoo|Tello]] and [[Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque|Sancho]] staged numerous rebellions against the new king.  Also, to strengthen his position and gain allies, Henry married [[Juana Manuel]], the daughter of [[Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena]], [[Adelantado mayor de Murcia|adelantado mayor of Murcia]] and Lord of [[Villena]], the most prosperous nobleman of the realm.  In 1351, the King took counsel from [[Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque]], María of Portugal's right-hand man.   He became convinced that his father's lover was the instigator of the uprisings, so he ordered Eleanor to be incarcerated and finally executed in [[Talavera de la Reina]].

After that, Henry fled to Portugal.  He was pardoned by Pedro and returned to Castile, then revolted in [[Asturias]] in 1352.  He reconciled with his brother, only to rebel against him again in a long, intermittent war, which ended with Henry's flight to [[France]], where he entered the service of [[John II of France]].

Shortly after, Henry and his men spent time in [[Peter IV of Aragon]]'s army in their war against Castile (1358).  During that conflict, he was defeated and held prisoner in [[Nájera]] (1360). He was liberated (with the help of Juan Ramírez de Arellano, among others) and exiled himself to France once more.

Then Peter IV of Aragon attacked Castile again. Henry agreed to help him on condition that he would lend his support to destroying his half-brother.  This became the [[Castilian Civil War]].  The attack combined Henry's Castillian allies, the Aragonese and the French (a company of [[Bertrand du Guesclin]]'s mercenaries, expelled by Peter of Castile, who had taken refuge in [[Guyenne]]).  Henry was proclaimed king in Calahorra (1366).<ref name=Hume>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zewkAAAAYAAJ&q=henry+ii+of+castile&pg=PA530 Hume, Martin Andrew Sharp. ''The Spanish People'', D. Appleton, 1911]</ref>  In return, he had to reward his allies with titles and riches for the help they had provided.  This earned him the nickname ''el de las mercedes'' ("mercedes" being Spanish for "mercies").

Peter of Castile fled north to [[Bordeaux]], the capital of the English dominions in France, where [[Edward, the Black Prince]] held court. Edward agreed to help Peter recover his throne. Despite the fact that the army suffered so badly from dysentery that it is said that one out of every five Englishmen would not return home,<ref name="Green, David 2009">Green, David. "Masculinity and Medicine: Thomas Washington and the Death of the Black Prince." Journal of Medieval History 35.1 (2009). 34-51</ref> on 3 April 1367 an Anglo-Gascon army, led by Edward and his younger brother, [[John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster]], met the Castilian forces (supported by French mercenaries under Bertrand du Guesclin). Peter then defeated Henry in the [[Battle of Nájera]], but Henry escaped{{sfn|Sumption|1999|p=554}} and returned to France under the protection of [[Charles V of France]]. King Peter and Prince Edward parted ways over the funding of the expedition, and the Black Prince returned to Bordeaux, having contracted an illness on this expedition that would ail him until his death in 1376.

They reorganised their army at [[Peyrepertuse]] Castle.  Then, with the help of many Castilian rebels and Bertrand du Guesclin's Frenchmen, they defeated Peter at the [[Battle of Montiel]] on 14 March 1369.{{sfn|Todesca|2015|p=129}}  Henry killed "the Cruel King", now a prisoner, with his own hand.{{sfn|Todesca|2015|p=141}}  This definitively won him the Castilian throne and the name of Henry II.

Before being consolidated in his throne and being able to hand on power to his son John, Henry had to defeat [[Ferdinand I of Portugal]].  He embarked on the three [[Ferdinand Wars]].  Ferdinand's main ally in these wars was [[John of Gaunt]], the husband of Peter's daughter [[Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster|Constance]].  Henry was allied with [[Charles V of France]]. He put the Castilian navy at Charles' disposal and they played a key part in the [[siege]] of [[La Rochelle]], and the [[Battle of La Rochelle]] where the admiral [[Ambrosio Boccanegra]] completely defeated the English side.

Henry recompensed his allies, but he still had to defend his interests in the kingdom of Castile and León.  Consequently, he denied the [[List of Aragonese monarchs|King of Aragon]] the territories that he had promised him in the difficult times.

Henry then went to war against [[Portugal]] and [[England]] in the [[Hundred Years' War]]. For most of his reign he had to fight off the attempts of [[John of Gaunt]], a son of [[Edward III of England]], to claim the Castilian throne in right of Constance.  In his domestic policy he started to rebuild the kingdom, sped up the transformation of the royal administration; and held numerous courts.  He also permanently set up the [[Lordship of Biscay]] after the death of his brother [[Tello Alfonso, Lord of Aguilar de Campoo|Tello]].  In foreign policy, he favoured France over [[England]].

He died on 29 May 1379 in [[Santo Domingo de la Calzada]].  His son [[John I of Castile]] succeeded him on the throne.