Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Henry II of Castile
Henry of Trastamara (January 13,1334 Sevilla - May 29,1379 Santo Domingo de la Calzada ), was the illegitimate son of Alfonso XI of Castile and Leonora de Guzman, and half brother to Peter I of Castile the Cruel. Became Henry II of Castile in 1366 when, as head of a host of soldiers of fortune, and with the aid of Bertrand du Guesclin, he drove Peter from his throne after the battle of Montiel. Henry murdered Peter in 1369 and went to war against Portugal and England in the Hundred Years' War.
Married to Joan, daughter of John Manuel of Villena , head of a younger branch of the royal house of Castile. Their son was John I of Castile.
Henry was the first nobleman to use Anti-Semitism as a political tool in Spain. This led to an end to the convivencia, and a period of riots and pogroms, and can be seen as sowing the seeds of the persecution of the Jews by the Spanish Inquisition, beginning a hundred years later.
| Preceded by: Peter I | King of Castile | Succeeded by: John I |
| King of Leon |
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