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John II of Aragon

Type Figure Region Aragon Time 1398–1479 Also known as Juan II (Aragon)

John II (1398–1479), King of Aragon (1458–1479) and nominal King of Navarre (1425–1479), was born in Medina del Campo on 29 June 1398, a member of th…

Timeline

  1. 1451–1455Pamplona · Iberian PeninsulaBy 1451 the political rift between John II and his eldest son Prince Carlos of Navarre was irreparable. Claiming Navarre's lawful kingship under his mother Queen Blanca's will, Carlos faced John II's refusal to relinquish actual control of Navarre. Both recruited supporters, and the Navarrese nobility split into the Beaumont party (backing Carlos) and the Agramont party (backing John). Between 1451 and 1453 several small-scale armed clashes erupted, and John II even imprisoned his own son, making the situation grave.
  2. 1458–1460Zaragoza · Iberian PeninsulaOn 27 June 1458 his brother Alfonso V ('the Magnanimous') died in Naples without legitimate male issue, and John II succeeded to the crowns of Aragon, Sardinia, Sicily, and Valencia under the succession agreement. Despite being a man in his sixties, he energetically handled complex internal and external affairs, continuing to suppress Prince Carlos (imprisoning him again in 1460) while planning his younger son Ferdinand's marriage alliance with Castile, opening the prelude to Iberian unification.

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