Juan López de Padilla (1490 – 24 April 1521) was an insurrectionary leader in the

Castilian War of the Communities The Revolt of the Comuneros (, "War of the Communities of Castile") was an uprising by citizens of Crown of Castile, Castile against the rule of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles I and his administration between 1520 and 1521. At its hei ...

, where the people of Castile made a stand against policies of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Charles V and his Flemish ministers.

Life

Padilla was born in

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( ; ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, the capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla� ...

, the eldest son of the ''commendator'' of Castile. In 1520, after the Castilian deputies had demanded in vain Charles V's return to Castile, regard for ''cortes''' rights and the administration of their economy by Spaniards, a "holy junta" was formed with Padilla as its head. At first, the junta attempted to establish a national government in the name of Juana of Castile, but lost the support of the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

when it abolished their privileges and asserted

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

. Though the nobles' army subsequently captured Tordesillas, Padilla led the capture of Torrelobatón and other towns, but any advantage gained was neutralized by the junta after it granted an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

. When hostilities resumed, their army was comprehensively defeated near Villalar, on 23 April 1521 and Padilla taken prisoner. He was publicly beheaded the following day. Afterwards, Padilla's wife, Doña María Pacheco, defended Toledo against the royal troops for six months, but ultimately took refuge in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Eponyms

*Juan de Padilla high school, in Illescas, Toledo.IES Juan de Padilla (Illescas, Toledo)
Edu.jccm.es *Juan de Padilla street, in Aranda de Duero,

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

*Juan de Padilla street, in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

*Juan de Padilla street, in Sevilla *Juan de Padilla street, in Torrejón de la Calzada,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Juan Lopez de 1490 births 1521 deaths People from Toledo, Spain Spanish rebels People executed by Spain by decapitation Executed Spanish people 16th-century executions by Spain People of the Revolt of the Comuneros

Life

Eponyms

Further reading

References

Sources