Fernando Sánchez de Tovar
Encyclopedia
Fernando Sánchez de Tovar or Fernán Sánchez de Tovar († Lisbon
, 1384) was a significant Castilian
soldier and Admiral
of the Middle Ages
.
of Pedro of Castile
at the start of the First Castilian Civil War, but in 1366 he betrayed the King and delivered the city of Calahorra
to Pedro's brother and enemy, Henry of Trastámara. One year later, Fernando Sánchez de Tovar fought on Henry's side in the Battle of Nájera.
In 1374 he succeed the Genoese
Ambrosio Boccanegra
as Major Admiral of Castile
.
Due to the hostile politics of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
, the new King Henry II of Castile joined the French
side during the Hundred Years' War
and declared war on England
. As a result, Sánchez de Tovar led the Castilian fleet along with the French Jean de Vienne
to South England
and sacked the Isle of Wight
and the English ports of Rye
, Rottingdean
, Lewes
, Folkestone
, Plymouth
, Portsmouth
and Hastings
. In 1380 the joint fleet sailed up the Thames and burned Gravesend
, near London
.
In 1381 Sánchez de Tovar returned to the Iberian Peninsula
to fight against England's ally, Portugal
, and defeated a Portuguese squadron at the Battle of the Saltes Island
during the Third Ferdinand War
. John I of Castile
, son and successor of Henry II, created him Lord of Belves. In 1382 he traveled to France and joined the army of Charles VI
during the siege of Brugge
, ruled by the rebel Philip van Artevelde
, but he soon returned to Castile.
Ferdinand I of Portugal
died in 1383 without heir and John I of Castile claimed the Portuguese throne because he was married to the only daughter of the late king, Beatrice of Portugal
. However, the Master of the Order of Aviz
and bastard son of Ferdinand, John of Avis
, also claimed the throne and Castile declared war against him, starting the 1383-1385 crisis. In this new campaign, Sánchez de Tovar led the Castilian fleet against the Portuguese and took part in the siege of Lisbon
, where he died in 1384 from the plague.
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 1384) was a significant Castilian
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
soldier and Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
Soldier of Castile
Fernando Sánchez de Tovar was the Adelantado MayorAdelantado
Adelantado was a military title held by some Spanish conquistadores of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.Adelantados were granted directly by the Monarch the right to become governors and justices of a specific region, which they charged with conquering, in exchange for funding and organizing the...
of Pedro of Castile
Pedro of Castile
Peter , sometimes called "the Cruel" or "the Lawful" , was the king of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. He was the son of Alfonso XI of Castile and Maria of Portugal, daughter of Afonso IV of Portugal...
at the start of the First Castilian Civil War, but in 1366 he betrayed the King and delivered the city of Calahorra
Calahorra
Calahorra, , La Rioja, Spain is a municipality in the comarca of Rioja Baja, near the border with Navarre on the right bank of the Ebro. During ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as Calagurris.-Location:...
to Pedro's brother and enemy, Henry of Trastámara. One year later, Fernando Sánchez de Tovar fought on Henry's side in the Battle of Nájera.
Admiral
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
Ambrosio Boccanegra
Ambrosio Boccanegra
Ambrosio Boccanegra was an Italian admiral born in the Republic of Genoa in Italy, who served the Crown of Castile as a Castilian admiral during the Hundred Years' War. He commanded the Castilian-French forces in their defeat of the English at the Battle of La Rochelle in 1372.-References:...
as Major Admiral of Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
.
Due to the hostile politics of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
, the new King Henry II of Castile joined the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
side during the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
and declared war on England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. As a result, Sánchez de Tovar led the Castilian fleet along with the French Jean de Vienne
Jean de Vienne
Jean de Vienne was a French knight, general and Admiral of France during the Hundred Years' War.-Early life:Jean de Vienne was born at Dole, in what is now Franche-Comté. As a nobleman, he started his military career at the age of 19, and was made a knight at 21.-Career:By the age of 24, de Vienne...
to South England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and sacked the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
and the English ports of Rye
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
, Rottingdean
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a coastal village next to the town of Brighton and technically within the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England...
, Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
and Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
. In 1380 the joint fleet sailed up the Thames and burned Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
, near London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In 1381 Sánchez de Tovar returned to the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
to fight against England's ally, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and defeated a Portuguese squadron at the Battle of the Saltes Island
Battle of the Saltes Island
The naval Battle of the Saltes Island or Battle of Saltes took place on 17 July 1381, off Saltes Island, between the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal during the Third Ferdinand War...
during the Third Ferdinand War
Third Ferdinand War
The Third Ferdinand War was the last conflict of the Ferdinand Wars, and took place between 1381–1382, between the Crown of Castile and the Kingdoms of Portugal and England...
. John I of Castile
John I of Castile
John I was the king of Crown of Castile, was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile, daughter of Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena, head of a younger branch of the royal house of Castile...
, son and successor of Henry II, created him Lord of Belves. In 1382 he traveled to France and joined the army of Charles VI
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
during the siege of Brugge
Brügge
Brügge is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.Its small church and market square are noted for their beauty....
, ruled by the rebel Philip van Artevelde
Philip van Artevelde
Philip van Artevelde was a Flemish patriot, the son of Jacob van Artevelde. Because of his father's prominence he was godson of English queen Philippa of Hainault, who held him in her arms during his baptism....
, but he soon returned to Castile.
Ferdinand I of Portugal
Ferdinand I of Portugal
Ferdinand I , sometimes referred to as the Handsome or rarely as the Inconstant , was the ninth King of Portugal and the Algarve, the second son of Peter I and his wife, Constance of Castile...
died in 1383 without heir and John I of Castile claimed the Portuguese throne because he was married to the only daughter of the late king, Beatrice of Portugal
Beatrice of Portugal
Beatrice was the only surviving child of King Ferdinand I of Portugal and his wife, Leonor Telles de Menezes. She married King John I of Castile. In the absence of a male heir, she claimed the throne of Portugal, supported by her husband. This led to the 1383–1385 Crisis, in which the Portuguese...
. However, the Master of the Order of Aviz
Order of Aviz
The Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1910 Royal Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1789 Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz , previously Knights of St. Benedict of Aviz or Friars of Santa Maria of Évora, is a Portuguese Order of Chivalry...
and bastard son of Ferdinand, John of Avis
John I of Portugal
John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...
, also claimed the throne and Castile declared war against him, starting the 1383-1385 crisis. In this new campaign, Sánchez de Tovar led the Castilian fleet against the Portuguese and took part in the siege of Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, where he died in 1384 from the plague.