The Battle of Villalar was a battle in the
Revolt of the Comuneros
The Revolt of the Comuneros ( es, Guerra de las Comunidades de Castilla, "War of the Communities of Castile") was an uprising by citizens of Castile against the rule of Charles I and his administration between 1520 and 1521. At its height, th ...
fought on 23 April 1521 near the town of
Villalar
Villalar de los Comuneros is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 449 inhabitants.
In its vicinity there was a crucial defeat of ...
in
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...
province,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. The royalist supporters of
King Charles I won a crushing victory over the comuneros rebels. Three of the most important rebel leaders were captured,
Juan de Padilla
Juan de Padilla, OFM (1500–1542) was a Spanish Catholic priest and missionary who spent much of his life exploring North America with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. He was killed in what would become Kansas by Native Americans in 1542.
...
,
Juan Bravo
Juan Bravo (c. 1483, Atienza–24 April 1521, Villalar de los Comuneros) was a leader of the rebel Comuneros in the Castilian Revolt of the Comuneros.
His father was Gonzalo Ortega Bravo de Laguna, and his mother was María de Mendoza, daugh ...
, and
Francisco Maldonado
Francisco Maldonado (1480 in Salamanca – 24 April 1521) was a leader of the rebel Comuneros from Salamanca in the Revolt of the Comuneros. He was captured at the Battle of Villalar
The Battle of Villalar was a battle in the Revolt of the Co ...
. They were executed the next day, effectively ending armed resistance to Charles I.
Background
Maneuvers in March and April 1521
In late March 1521, the royalist side moved to combine their armies and threaten
Torrelobatón
Torrelobatón is a municipality located in the Valladolid (province), province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 577 inhab ...
, a rebel stronghold. The
Constable of Castile
Constable of Castile ( es, Condestable de Castilla) was a title created by John I, King of Castile in 1382, to substitute the title ''Alférez Mayor del Reino''. The constable was the second person in power in the kingdom, after the King, and h ...
began to move his troops (including soldiers recently transferred from the defense of Navarre) southwest from Burgos to meet with the
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
's forces near
Tordesillas
Tordesillas () is a town and municipality in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, central Spain. It is located southwest of the provincial capital, Valladolid at an elevation of . The population was c. 9,000 .
The town is located ...
. This was possible due to the comunero-aligned Count of Salvatierra's force being caught up in the siege of
Medina de Pomar
Medina de Pomar is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. It is situated 77 km from Bilbao, and 88 km from Burgos, the capital of the province, 8 kilometres from Villarcayo and about 20  ...
; the Count's forces had previously been enough of a threat to force the Constable to maintain a large army to defend Burgos. The Constable's army had approximately 3,000 infantry, 600 cavalry, 2
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s, 2
culverin
A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but later was used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The term is derived from the French "''couleuvrine''" (from ''couleuvre'' "grass snake", following the La ...
, and 5
light artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
pieces. His army took up positions in
Becerril de Campos
Becerril de Campos is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain.
According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1,028 inhabitants.
It is home to the football club CD Becerril
Club D ...
, near
Palencia
Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia.
Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...
. Meanwhile, the comuneros reinforced their troops at Torrelobatón, which was far less secure than the comuneros preferred. Their forces were suffering from desertions, and the presence of royalist artillery would make Torrelobatón's castle vulnerable. They had two strategic possibilities: prevent the Constable and Admiral from uniting their forces by striking at the Constable while he was still on the field, or carry out low-level harrying operations to try to slow the Constable down. The comuneros did neither, and thus allowed the Constable to approach nearly unchecked. The commander of the comunero armies,
Juan de Padilla
Juan de Padilla, OFM (1500–1542) was a Spanish Catholic priest and missionary who spent much of his life exploring North America with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. He was killed in what would become Kansas by Native Americans in 1542.
...
, considered withdrawing to
Toro to seek reinforcements in early April, but wavered. He delayed his decision until the early hours of 23 April, losing considerable time and allowing the royalists to unite their forces in
Peñaflor.
[ Seaver 1928, p. 324–325.]
Battle
The Royalist army pursued the Comuneros. As had been the case through most of the war, the Royalists had a strong advantage in cavalry, with their army consisting of 6,000 infantry and 2,400 cavalry against Padilla's 7,000 infantry and 400 cavalry. Heavy rain slowed Padilla's infantry more than the royalist cavalry and rendered the primitive firearms of the rebels' 1,000
arquebusiers
An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier.
Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...
nearly useless.
Padilla hoped to reach the relative safety of Toro and the heights of
Vega de Valdetronco
Vega de Valdetronco is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE
INE, Ine or ine may refer to:
Institutions
* Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research ...
, but his infantry was too slow. He gave battle with the harrying royalist cavalry at the town of Villalar.
The Comuneros set up their artillery to try to blunt the cavalry charge, but this failed. According to some reports, the artillery did more damage to the comuneros than the royalist cavalry. Sources differ on the reasons behind this. According to the account of Pedro de Alcocer (a friend of the Padillas), the Comuneros were betrayed; the artillery and some 300 soldiers had been bought off by the royalists prior to the battle, and switched sides. The artillery intentionally fired high and destroyed their powder. A slightly more subdued theory blames the rain for the ineffectiveness of the Comunero artillery. Finally, it is possible that in the heat of the battle, the artillerymen simply panicked and made mistakes.
The cavalry charges scattered the rebel ranks thus ending the battle and becoming a slaughter. There were an estimated 500–1,000 rebel casualties and many desertions. The three most important leaders of the rebellion were captured:
Juan de Padilla
Juan de Padilla, OFM (1500–1542) was a Spanish Catholic priest and missionary who spent much of his life exploring North America with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. He was killed in what would become Kansas by Native Americans in 1542.
...
,
Juan Bravo
Juan Bravo (c. 1483, Atienza–24 April 1521, Villalar de los Comuneros) was a leader of the rebel Comuneros in the Castilian Revolt of the Comuneros.
His father was Gonzalo Ortega Bravo de Laguna, and his mother was María de Mendoza, daugh ...
, and
Francisco Maldonado
Francisco Maldonado (1480 in Salamanca – 24 April 1521) was a leader of the rebel Comuneros from Salamanca in the Revolt of the Comuneros. He was captured at the Battle of Villalar
The Battle of Villalar was a battle in the Revolt of the Co ...
. They were beheaded the next morning in the Plaza of Villalar, in front of a large portion of the Royalist noblemen.
[ Pérez 2001, p. 111.] The remains of the rebel army at Villalar fragmented, with some attempting to join Acuña's army near Toledo and others fleeing to Portugal. The rebellion was struck a crippling blow.
Aftermath
Demoralized, and without leaders or an army, the rebel cities of
Old Castile
Old Castile ( es, Castilla la Vieja ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions along the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: San ...
soon surrendered to the Constable's armies. It took slightly longer for the Constable's armies to march south to
New Castile and retake Madrid. They likely would have taken
Toledo
Toledo most commonly refers to:
* Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain
* Province of Toledo, Spain
* Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States
Toledo may also refer to:
Places Belize
* Toledo District
* Toledo Settlement
Bolivia
* Toledo, Orur ...
as well, but a
French invasion of Spanish-controlled Navarre meant that the army needed to immediately be recalled north to fight the French and Navarrese. As a result, the Revolt stretched out several months more, with Toledo resisting until October.
Legacy
The Battle of Villalar would later be claimed by Spanish liberals as the blow that extinguished Castilian liberties in favor of autocratic Spanish monarchy. This view started in the 1820s, as
Juan Martín Díez
Juan Martín Díez, nicknamed El Empecinado ( es, the Undaunted), (5 September 1775 – 20 August 1825) was a Spanish military leader and guerrilla fighter, who fought in the Peninsular War.
On October 8, 1808, the privilege of using the name ...
''"El Empecinado"'', a nationalistic liberal military leader during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
, led an expedition to find and exhume the remains of the three Castilian leaders executed in 1521. Later, some city councils called for celebrations at Villalar in the 1920s. After the end of Franco's dictatorship, this view became more generalized. The
autonomous community
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administra ...
of
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
made 23 April the official holiday of
Castile and León Day
Castile and León Day ( es, Día de Castilla y León) is a holiday celebrated on April 23 in the autonomous community of Castile and León, a subdivision of Spain. The date is the anniversary of the Battle of Villalar, in which Castilian rebels ...
in 1986, although it had been popularly celebrated since 1976. It is celebrated yearly at Villalar, which has since the
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...
renamed itself
Villalar de los Comuneros
Villalar de los Comuneros is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 449 inhabitants.
In its vicinity there was a crucial defeat o ...
, honouring the Castilian rebels.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Villalar, Battle of
Battles involving Spain
1521 in Europe
Conflicts in 1521
Battles of the Early Modern period
16th century in Spain
1521 in Spain
History of the province of Valladolid