Revolta de les Germanies
Encyclopedia
Germania (guild)
were guilds of artisans in the Kingdom of Valencia in Spain. Each germania represented a single trade. The germanies are similar to the of Castile, which were paramilitary law-enforcement militias...
) against the government of King Charles I
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
in the Kingdom of Valencia, part of the Crown of Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
. It took place from 1519–1523, with most of the fighting occurring during 1521. The Valencian revolt inspired a related revolt in the island of Majorca, also part of Aragon, which lasted from 1521–1523.
The revolt was an anti-monarchist, anti-feudal autonomist movement inspired by the Italian republics
Most Serene Republic
Most Serene Republic is a title attached to the following countries:* Republic of Venice , city-state that existed from 697 to 1797 based in the city of Venice with continuously controlled territory along the eastern Adriatic at its strongest period...
. It also bore a strong anti-Islamic aspect, as rebels rioted against Aragon's population of mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
s and imposed forced conversions to Christianity. The agermanats are comparable to the comuneros of neighboring Castile, who fought a similar revolt against Charles from 1520–1522. Both rebellions were partially inspired by the departure for Germany of Charles, the new King of both Castile and Aragon (in a personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
that would form the basis for the Kingdom of Spain
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...
), to take the throne as Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
and leaving behind a somewhat disreputable Royal Council and regent.
Economic troubles and pirate raids
Valencia was dealing with a variety of problems in the early 16th century. In King Ferdinand IIFerdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
's later years as ruler, the government slowly decayed and became more corrupt. The economy in Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
was not as vibrant as in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, as it was more based on agriculture and less on the lucrative maritime trade. Valencia's economy was dominated by two somewhat static factions: the landed nobles, who controlled agriculture and the countryside, and the Germanies (guilds), which controlled light manufacturing, crafts, and the cities. Outbreaks of famine, flood, and plague impeded the economy still further.
However, the most imminent threat to the country was that of warfare. Ferdinand pursued an ambitious foreign policy, participating in the Italian Wars
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...
and invading Navarre
Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre
A series of wars between 1512–1524 led to the Spanish conquest of the Iberian part of Navarre. Ferdinand of Aragon was in 1512 both King of Aragon and Regent of Castile. When Pope Julius II declared a Holy League against France, Navarre tried to remain neutral...
in 1512 during a war against France. This stretched the finances of Aragon and Castile to their limit. Spanish relations with Muslim nations and North Africa were still exceedingly poor after the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
, and the coast of Aragon was constantly raided by Barbary pirates. Revolt of the oppressed Muslim-convert
Morisco
Moriscos or Mouriscos , meaning "Moorish", were the converted Christian inhabitants of Spain and Portugal of Muslim heritage. Over time the term was used in a pejorative sense applied to those nominal Catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing Islam.-Demographics:By the beginning of the...
population in the recently conquered Granada
Emirate of Granada
The Emirate of Granada , also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada , was an emirate established in 1238 following the defeat of Muhammad an-Nasir of the Almohad dynasty by an alliance of Christian kingdoms at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212...
was also a concern. Royal troops were required to be stationed in Granada and Navarre to maintain order. In order to maintain a coastal defense against the pirates without the cost of deploying the army, Ferdinand gave the Germanies permission to arm themselves and form their own paramilitary brigades. The local nobles did not approve of this and initially tried to prevent the Germanies from arming, fearful of the consequences of an armed citizenry.
Succession of Charles I
Ferdinand died in January 1516 and was succeeded by his mentally unstable daughter JoannaJoanna of Castile
Joanna , nicknamed Joanna the Mad , was the first queen regnant to reign over both the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon , a union which evolved into modern Spain...
. Within a few weeks, her son proclaimed himself her co-ruler as King Charles I of Castile and Aragon
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
. Charles had been raised in Netherlands and his affairs were mostly controlled by the Flemish noble William de Croÿ, sieur de Chièvres
William de Croÿ
William II de Croÿ, Lord of Chièvres , later Duke of Sora and Arce, Baron of Roccaguglielma William II de Croÿ, Lord of Chièvres (1458 – 28 May 1521) (also known as: Guillaume II de Croÿ, sieur de Chièvres in French; Guillermo II de Croÿ, señor de Chièvres, Xevres or Xebres in Spanish;...
. In 1517, the seventeen-year-old King sailed to Castile, where he was formally recognised as King of Castile. There, his Flemish court provoked much scandal, as de Croÿ shamelessly sold government privileges for personal money and installed other Flemish nobles into government offices. In May 1518, Charles traveled to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in Aragon, where he would remain for a year. Here, he haggled with Aragon's slightly stronger cortes
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
for privileges and his formal recognition as King of Aragon. Aragon managed to maintain more local control than Castile did, but mostly because Aragon was poorer and there was no point in pressing the issue for extra tax money that wasn't there to be collected.
In 1519, the King's paternal grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
, died. Charles competed with King Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
to win the imperial election by aggressively bribing prince-elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
s. Charles won, becoming Emperor Charles V. He left Aragon to return to the wealthier Castile to raise funds to pay down the debts he had incurred in the election. The taxes granted to Charles at a Castilian cortes in Corunna
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
would help spark the Revolt of the Comuneros of Castile. Of more importance for Aragon, in the summer of 1519 Charles granted his permission to the Germanies to arm themselves against the raiding Muslim fleets. While permission had previously been granted under Ferdinand, Charles was able to force the Valencian nobles to accept this decision.
First phase, 1519: The Council of Thirteen in Valencia
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
struck Valencia. Several of the most important nobles died, and many of the others fled to the countryside. The superstitious population concluded that the disease was punishment for immorality, and rioted against people suspected of being homosexual as well as Muslims. The government tried to contain the rioters, but the rioters deposed the government instead. The Germanies stepped into this power vacuum, and gradually replaced the royal government of the capital of Valencia. The "Council of Thirteen" , comprising one representative from each union, became the new government of the capital city. Joan Llorenç
Joan Llorenç
Joan Llorenç was the leader of a germania of Valencia. He became one of the most influential leaders in what would later be known as the Revolt of the Brotherhoods, though during his leadership warfare had not yet broken out.Llorenç sought to expand the role the guilds played in the city and to...
(Juan Llorens) emerged as the leader and intellectual statesmen of the Germanies, and he sought a representative government similar to the Italian republics
Most Serene Republic
Most Serene Republic is a title attached to the following countries:* Republic of Venice , city-state that existed from 697 to 1797 based in the city of Venice with continuously controlled territory along the eastern Adriatic at its strongest period...
such as the Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
. Llorenç and the Council of Thirteen gave power to the Germanies, who re-established their monopolies on their professions and forbade anyone to work who did not affiliate with one of the guilds.
King Charles I was in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, Germany in 1520 where he was dealing with his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor. The only steps he took initially was to revoke his grant of arms to the Germanies and several other concessions, measures which were completely ignored. The tension increased with the nomination of the Castilian war veteran Diego Hurtado de Mendoza as viceroy in April of 1520. At this point, the Germanies staged a coup d'état in which Mendoza was forced to flee and popular representatives replaced most of the remaining government functions and the courts. Councils of Thirteen took power in the other cities of Valencia as the revolt spread. With this, what had previously been a quiet assertion of power became a civil war.
Second phase, 1520–1521: War
The moderate Joan LlorençJoan Llorenç
Joan Llorenç was the leader of a germania of Valencia. He became one of the most influential leaders in what would later be known as the Revolt of the Brotherhoods, though during his leadership warfare had not yet broken out.Llorenç sought to expand the role the guilds played in the city and to...
died in 1520, and was replaced by Vicent Peris. The death of Llorenç robbed the moderate faction (including Caro, Sorolla, and Montfort), concerned with the good governance of Valencia, of its strongest voice; the radical faction took power (including Urgellés, Estellés, Peris, and Borrell) which sought land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
and a social revolution to reduce the power of the aristocracy. Peris took an extremely aggressive stand toward both the nobles and the mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
s.
In the summer of 1520, some military actions occurred such as an assault on the viscounty of Xelva, the pillage of noble palaces, and the redistribution of nearby land. The Moorish quarters of the city of Valencia were attacked and burned after an accusation of collaboration with the nobility. However, the war did not truly expand until June 1521. The royalists were separated into two groups. In the south, the viceroy personally led a force based out of Denia
Dénia
Dénia is a city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, the judicial seat of the comarca of Marina Alta...
. Andalusian nobles sent an army to assist as well, headed by Pedro Fajardo, 1st Marquis of los Vélez. In the north, Alonso de Aragon, the Duke of Segorbe
Segorbe
Segorbe is a municipality in the mountainous coastal province of Castelló, autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The former Palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli now houses the city's mayor...
, captained a force. The Germanies took over several cities at once: in the north, the regions of the Maestrat and Camp de Morvedre
Camp de Morvedre
Camp de Morvedre is a comarca in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain.- Municipalities :*Albalat dels Tarongers*Alfara de Algimia*Algar de Palancia*Algimia de Alfara*Benavites*Benifairó de les Valls*Canet d'En Berenguer*Estivella...
; and in the south, in Alzira
Alzira
Alzira may refer to:*Alzira , an opera by Giuseppe Verdi*Alzira, Valencia, a town in Spain, also known as Alcira...
, Xàtiva
Xàtiva
Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways....
, Gandia
Gandia
Gandia is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar, 65 km south of Valencia and 96 km north of Alicante....
, and Elx
Elx
Elche or Elx is a city located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó, in the Alicante province which, in turn, is a part of the Valencian Community, Spain...
.
In the north, the agermanats led by Jaime Ros suffered two defeats in short succession, first in the Battle of Orpesa and afterwards in the Battle of Almenara
Battle of Almenara (1521)
The Battle of Almenara was fought between the Agermanados and the troops of Viceroy Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, on 18 July 1521, at Almenara ....
. The southern front saw more success, as the rebels commanded by Vicent Peris took the castle of Xàtiva and won an important victory in the Battle of Gandia against the personal troops of the viceroy on July 23, 1521. After the battle, the agermanats looted the town and farmland of the Gandia region, and undertook a campaign of forced baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s upon all the Muslims of the Safor
Safor
Safor is a comarca within the province of Valencia, Spain. The capital is the city of Gandia, but also includes the towns of Oliva, Piles and Daimús, among others...
.
After this quick succession of battles, the leadership of the Germanies fell into disarray. The Valencian bourgeoisie favored some form of negotiated exit, while the military leaders urged the Germanies to fight on. Distracted by internal disputes, the agermanats suffered a crushing defeat a mere week after their victory at Gandia in the Battle of Oriola
Battle of Oriola (1521)
The Battle of Oriola was an armed conflict fought between the troops of the Germanías and those of Pedro Fajardo y Chacón, Marqués de los Vélez, on 30 August 1521 in Oriola , in the Kingdom of Valencia ....
on August 20. The Marquis of Los Vélez commanded the victorious royal army manned with reinforcements from Andalusia, and approximately 4,000 agermanats were killed. Almost all of the south of the Kingdom of Valencia fell back into royalist hands. The Council of Thirteen resigned, and three months later, on November 1, the City of Valencia surrendered to the royalist army.
Third phase, 1522: Countryside Marauders
Vicent Peris, after holing up in the secure fort for some months at Xàtiva, came back to Valencia on the night of February 18, 1522. He hoped to revive the Germanies and respark the revolt. Meeting with his supporters, he was somehow seen or betrayed, and a desperate night battle in the streets broke out between the agermanats and royal soldiers. Eventually, Peris was cornered and smoked out by setting his house on fire. He was arrested, and on March 3, 1522, he was executed along with his closest supporters by drawing and quarteringHanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
.
Only Xàtiva and Alzira remained under the control of the Germanies. A mysterious new leader emerged for the Germanies, calling himself "The Hidden
L'Encobert
The Hidden was a mysterious and charismatic leader of the remnants of the rebels in the last stages of the Revolt of the Brotherhoods in Aragon. Also called "The Hidden King" , he claimed to be a prince hidden for his own safety now showing himself by divine command to save Spain from ruin...
" . The historical record is unclear, but The Hidden claimed to be a prince — sources differ on who his claimed parents were — hidden away in his childhood who had a mystical vision of the prophets Elijah and Enoch. He was told of his true heritage and that he must save Valencia. The Hidden emphasized a more religious and messianic revolt rather than the social revolution that Peris promoted. He attracted support and recruited from local country elites, leaders, and rich farmers. In this phase, the Germanies area of action limited itself to the Horta of Valencia, Alzira
Alzira
Alzira may refer to:*Alzira , an opera by Giuseppe Verdi*Alzira, Valencia, a town in Spain, also known as Alcira...
, and Xàtiva
Xàtiva
Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways....
. Farms were looted, castles assaulted, and any Muslims in their domain were forced to convert.
Realizing that the revolt had not yet been solved, the royalist government placed a large bounty on the head of The Hidden. He was killed by assailants eager for money in Burjassot
Burjassot
Burjassot is a municipality in the comarca of Horta Nord in the Valencian Community, Spain. The footballer José Carlos Cerveró was born there on 11th December 1979....
on May 19, 1522. Many others soon sprang up claiming to be The Hidden, but none proved charismatic enough to take over leadership of the Germanies. Viceroy Mendoza also advocated a policy of conciliation, offering generous terms to those who surrendered and agreed to return to royal governance. In December 1522, the strongholds of Xàtiva and Alzira fell
Siege of Alcira
The Battle of Alcira took place in 1521, as viceroy Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1st Count of Melito attempted to subjugate Alcira and end the Revolt of the Brotherhoods....
, which ended the Revolt of the Germanies in Valencia conclusively.
Germanies of Majorca, 1521–1523
Kingdom of Majorca
The Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his first-born son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262 which created the kingdom in order to cede it to his son James...
after the unpopular imprisonment of seven guild members. As in Valencia, a Council of Thirteen was constituted to rule, led by Juan Crespí. The rebels gained control of the capital and dismissed the governor-general, Miguel de Gurrea, who fled to Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
. The nobles who survived the massacre that occurred in the Bellver Castle took refuge in Alcúdia
Alcúdia
Alcúdia is a municipality and township of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands.It is the main tourist centre in the North of Majorca. It is a large resort popular with families.Most of the hotels are located in Port d'Alcúdia and Platja d'Alcúdia along the 14 km long beach that...
, the only part of the island that remained faithful to the King during the year and a half the Germanies ruled Majorca. During this period, the Council of Thirteen ran an independent government, and did not coordinate with their brethren in Valencia. In August 1522, the emperor sent 800 men to help Gurrea. By the next year, they had taken the capital, and on March 8, 1523, the agermanats surrendered with the mediation of the bishop. Despite this mediation, more than 200 agermanats were executed, and many others fled.
Forced conversion of the Mudéjars
The Muslims of the Kingdom of Valencia suffered for a variety of reasons. The warfare with Muslim corsairs kept tensions high between the religions, and encouraged a hostile mentality. Former Muslims (MoriscoMorisco
Moriscos or Mouriscos , meaning "Moorish", were the converted Christian inhabitants of Spain and Portugal of Muslim heritage. Over time the term was used in a pejorative sense applied to those nominal Catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing Islam.-Demographics:By the beginning of the...
s) were still a problem in conquered Granada
Emirate of Granada
The Emirate of Granada , also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada , was an emirate established in 1238 following the defeat of Muhammad an-Nasir of the Almohad dynasty by an alliance of Christian kingdoms at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212...
, causing those in Valencia to have little sympathy. Economic reasons existed as well. The nobles used the poorer Muslims as a cheap labor supply, which encouraged friction between them and lowly paid or unemployed Christians jealous of their jobs and annoyed at their effect on wages. The noble manors competed with the guilds for economic dominance, and thus the Muslims were seen as part of the opposing system. Lastly, some utopian agermanats believed in a universal brotherhood of all Christian peoples, and that conversion of all the Muslims would assuredly save both their souls and their children's souls.
The forced conversion of the mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
s reached its height in the summer of 1521, after the victory at Gandia. Once the revolt had been defeated, the noblemen questioned the validity of these obligatory baptisms. In order to make a decision, Emperor Charles
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
summoned a board of theologians and jurists in Madrid. In 1525 this board spoke in favor of sustaining the Christian faith of the new converts, since they had not been forced into the baptism. The baptism was freely chosen as an alternative to death; only if the baptism had been imposed with no choice at all would it have been invalid.
This decision provoked two uprisings from the recently converted population, one in Benaguasil
Benaguasil
Benaguasil is a municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain, situated in the Camp de Túria comarca.-Geography:Benaguasil is situated at the left side of the Túria or Guadalaviar river, 25 km from Valencia...
in November 1525 and another in Sierra de Espadán in Castellón
Castellón (province)
Castellón or Castelló is a province in the northern part of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Valencia to the south, Teruel to the west, Tarragona to the north, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The western side of the province is in the mountainous...
in March 1526. This decision ended the Muslim exception of the mudéjars in the country, but began the problem of Morisco
Morisco
Moriscos or Mouriscos , meaning "Moorish", were the converted Christian inhabitants of Spain and Portugal of Muslim heritage. Over time the term was used in a pejorative sense applied to those nominal Catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing Islam.-Demographics:By the beginning of the...
s in Valencia whose Christian faith was, understandably, insincere.
Repression of the Germanies
With the fall of Valencia and the entry of the viceroy into the city in late 1521, a moderate repression started. Viceroy Diego Hurtado de Mendoza did not wish to start a new revolt, but took action against the most important of the leaders, and issued a general pardon to minor agermanats who had merely served in the army.However, Mendoza was replaced as viceroy by Germaine of Foix
Germaine of Foix
Germaine of Foix was queen consort of Aragon as the second wife of Ferdinand II of Aragon, whom he married in 1505 after the death of his first wife, Isabella I of Castile.-Birth and background:...
, Ferdinand's second wife, who returned to the country with Charles
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
and a new German husband (who was jointly named a viceroy with her). She favored a harsher policy toward the rebels, and approximately 800 death sentences to former rebels would be dispensed. Sources differ on how much she personally ordered, but it seems likely at least 100 death warrants were directly approved of by her. Heavy fines were imposed on the guilds as punishment, as well as a total of more than 360,000 ducat
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
s of fines to all cities that had sided with the Germanies, and 2,000,000 ducats of fines were levied in compensations for damages sustained by properties during the war.
The period of heavier repression ended on December 23, 1524, when Germaine signed a pardon for one of the six main guilds of the City of Valencia and by extension the other Germanies. King Charles signed an additional general pardon in 1528, suggesting that scattered reprisals might have continued afterward. Germaine was in favor of the integration of Spain, and Catalan nationalists point to her pardon as one of the first official documents in Aragon written in Castilian Spanish
Castilian Spanish
Castilian Spanish is a term related to the Spanish language, but its exact meaning can vary even in that language. In English Castilian Spanish usually refers to the variety of European Spanish spoken in north and central Spain or as the language standard for radio and TV speakers...
.
Later influence
The Revolt's failure is often seen as a political catalyst for Valencia's shift to a modern, centralized, and authoritarian state away from a feudal one. The local nobility were weakened, and needed to call upon royal power to defeat the rebels. The conversion of the mudéjars shrank the pool of cheap labor that the noblemen had relied upon. And though the timing may be a coincidence, Germaine's appearance in Valencia helped weaken the old nobility and reinforce royal power in Valencia.A later uprising in 1693 was partially inspired by the Revolt of the Germanies and took their name from it. The rebels called themselves the Segona Germania (Second Brotherhood
Second Brotherhood
The Second Brotherhood was an uprising in the central regions of the Kingdom of Valencia of Habsburg Spain in 1693. The protesters named themselves agermanats after the germanies or guilds of Valencia who had revolted in 1519 in the Revolt of the Brotherhoods, but the two revolts are quite...
) and demanded exemption from high feudal rents and duties. This revolt was quickly suppressed by the Spanish government with only a small amount of bloodshed. Despite taking on the name, the revolt was quite different in origin; the Second Brotherhood was mostly made up of peasants rather than the middle-class guildsmen of the 1519–1523 revolt, and lacked the anti-Muslim aspect of the original rebellion.