John I of Castile and Leon

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Juan, I de Castilla i León
Title: 7th Monarch of Castile and Leon
 Term in office: 13791390
 Predecessor: King Enrique II
 Successor: King Enrique III
Birth:  
 Date: 1358
 Place: ...
Death:  
 Date: 1390
 Place: ...
Profession: ...
Relgious Affiliation: Catholic

Juan I (August 24 13581390) was the king of Castile and Leon, was the son of Enrique II and of his wife Joan, daughter of John Manuel of Villena, head of a younger branch of the royal house of Castile.

In the beginning of his reign he had to contend with the hostility of John of Gaunt, who claimed the crown by right of his wife Constance daughter of Peter the Cruel. The king of Castile finally bought off the claim of his English competitor by arranging a marriage between his son Henry and Catherine, daughter of John of Gaunt in 1387.

Before this date he had been engaged in hostilities with Portugal which was in alliance with John of Gaunt. His first quarrel with Portugal was settled by his marriage, in 1382, with Beatrice of Portugal, daughter of Ferdinand of Portugal. On the death of his father-in-law in 1383, Juan endeavoured to enforce the claims of his wife, Ferdinand's only child, to the crown of Portugal. The 1383-1385 Crisis, a period of civil unrest and anarchy in Portugal, followed.

He was resisted by the national sentiment of the people, and was utterly defeated at the battle of Aljubarrota, on August 14, 1385. King Juan was killed at Alcalá on October 9, 1390 by the fall of his horse, while he was riding in a fantasia with some of the light horsemen known as the farfanes, who were mounted and equipped in the Arab style.

Preceded by:
Enrique II
King of Castile Succeeded by:
Enrique III