Pedro de Zúñiga or Pedro de Estúñiga (Valladolid, c. 1383 – Valladolid, 1453). He was a wealthy (ricohombre) Castilian man of the House of Zúñiga, and was the son of Diego López de Zúñiga, Lord of Frías and Béjar and Alguacil and chief justice of the king, and Juana García de Leyva.
He was the first Count of Ledesma and the first Count of Plasencia and Duke of Béjar, Miranda del Castañar, Cáceres, Trujillo, Curiel, Candeleda, Olvera, Puebla de Santiago, and other towns. He was also Chief Justice of the King]], Captain General of the frontier of Navarre and Ecija, mayor of Seville and the Kingdom of Murcia and commander of the Castle of Burgos.
Filiation He was the son of Diego López de Zúñiga and Juana García de Leyva. His father was CoRegent of Castile, member of the Regent's council, justicia mayor and alguacil mayor of Castile, first Lord of Béjar, Monterrey, Baides, Bañares, Zúñiga, Mendavía and other towns, and his mother was the daughter of Sancho Martínez de Leiva, vassal of the King of Castile and the King of England, and his wife Princess Isabel, daughter of King Edward III of England.
In 1407, Pedro married Isabel Elvira de Guzmán y Ayala, III Lady of Gibraleón, daughter of Alvar Pérez de Guzmán, II Lord of Gibraleón, and his wife Elvira de Ayala. The marriage contracts were granted by his father Diego López de Zúñiga, I Lord of Béjar, and by Elvira de Ayala, widow of Alvar Pérez de Guzmán, II Lord of Gibraleón, parents of Isabel, on June 26, 1395. By the bull of Benedict XIII, July 11, 1402, they obtained a dispensation of consanguinity, for being relatives of 4th degree. Isabel de Guzmán y Ayala granted her husband Pedro the donation of the town of Olvera (Cádiz), as a dowry in a document dated August 9, 1407. They had several children in their marriage: Álvaro, their first-born, II Count of Plasencia, I Duke of Plasencia, I Duke of Béjar, I Count of Bañares, Diego López de Zúñiga, Count of Miranda del Castañar, Elvira, wife of Juan Alonso Pimentel, Count of Mayorga, and widow married to Pedro Álvarez Osorio, I Count of Trastámara, III Count of Villalobos, Juana and Isabel, nuns.
At the service of the Kings of Castile and Leon
Regency of the Infant Fernando, during the minority of age of King Juan II of Castile Pedro was seven years old when he had to serve as a pledge for the fulfillment of the agreements made in the Courts of Burgos in 1392. Pedro, Mayor of Seville since 1407, and Lord of Gibraleón through his marriage, Pedro participated in the Campaign of Steneil with his troops from Extremadura and Seville along with the army of the Regent of Castile, the Infant Fernando, and made his first forays into battle during the siege of Setenil between October and November 1407. In 1407, he conquered Cañete, near Olvera and in Ayamonte (province of Huelva), the castle of Ayamonte, located on the outskirts of the village. King Juan II of Castile gave him this castle as a reward. Pedro, accompanied by his brother Íñigo, went over with his host and cut down orchards and vineyards in the land of Ronda and in the Vega of Granada. He took part in the conquest and occupation of Antequera, which was liberated by the Prince Fernando on September 16, 1410, who from then on was called Fernando "of Antequera".
His father sent him to Seville in mid-1416 to Seville to obtain the governorship of the city. In 1417, Ortun Velásquez was appointed Corregidor of Seville to support the claims of Pedro, but the corregimiento was not granted to him. The rumor about the illicit loves of Alonso Perez de Guzmán, Lord of Ayamonte, husband of Leonor sister of Pedro, with Mencia de Figueroa, that although they began before their marriage and in which she had children, did not cease in the affection that he had her, which made of them two furious contracting ones, in addition both were greater mayors of Seville. In 1416 an open fight broke out between the two sides and outrages arose and blood flowed in abundance. But in 1418, both parties united in enmity against Pedro Ponce de León, V Lord of Marchena.
Reign of John II of Castile The reign of John II of Castile began on March 6, 1419, at the age of 14 . The Infant Henry of Aragon, son of King Ferdinand I of Aragon, with his troops seized the royal palace of Tordesillas and on July 14, 1420, the king John II, his first cousin. This coup marked the beginning of the civil wars during the reign of Juan II. After the coup of Tordesillas, Pedro de Zúñiga and Sancho de Rojas, Archbishop of Toledo, both supporters of King John II, left Olmedo and had to seek safe refuge. Encouraged by letters from King John II written in Montalbán, Pedro mobilized his troops in November 1420, as did the Prince Juan de Aragón, Sancho de Rojas and other supporters. Álvaro de Luna, who had assumed an important position in the government of King Juan II, offered himself as a mediator between the royal houses. He succeeded in doing so in the battle of El Espinar on September 13, 1421. The Infant Enrique licensed his army. Alvaro de Luna continued with a strategic policy of ruling as valid of King Juan II and strengthening his personal power. The Infant Enrique was captured on June 14, 1422.
By royal privilege of April 11, 1420, King John II confirmed to Pedro de Zúñiga the office of Alcalde Mayor of Seville. By royal privilege of June 5, 1420, he confirmed the agreement made by his father King Enrique III with Diego López de Zúñiga, first Lord of Béjar, to exchange the city of Béjar for that of Frías, and by royal privilege of June 29, 1420, he confirmed the palatine offices of Alguacil Mayor and Major Justice of Castile, that his father King Enrique III had granted to Diego López de Zúñiga, Pedro's father, on November 15, 1401.
After the capture of the fortress of Jódar, which took place on August 14, 1422, the government of Castile was composed of 9 members. One of them was Pedro de Zúñiga. The members of the government of Castile signed the sentence of imprisonment of Prince Henry of Aragon and shared his stolen wealth. Pedro received the lordship of Candeleda, by royal privilege of September 6, 1423, the estates of Ruy López Dávalos, former constable of Castile, located in Puebla de Alcocer, Badajoz, and in the surrounding area, as well as the goods confiscated from García Manrique. Álvaro de Luna, already valid of King Juan II, was appointed on December 10, 1423, constable of Castile. His relative Alfonso de Zúñiga, took the letters of protocol from King John II to King Alfonso V of Aragon in February 1424. The infant, the future King Henry IV of Castile, was born in Valladolid on January 5, 1425, with Alvaro de Luna as his godfather. King Alfonso V of Aragon, cousin of King John II of Castile, threatened to invade Castile if the Infante Henry of Aragon was not given his freedom. Pedro de Zúñiga and other former friends of King Henry III of Castile suspect the true intentions of King Alfonso V of Aragon and prevent negotiations. By the Treaty of the Tower of Arciel of September 3, 1425, Prince Enrique regained his freedom and his lordships. King John II, in a letter dated November 23, 1425, pardoned Pedro and his friends and relatives, for freeing Prince Henry of Aragon from prison.
Pedro and the House of Zúñiga sided with Prince Juan of Aragon, brother of Prince Enrique, who was proclaimed King of Navarre after the death of King Carlos III of Navarre on September 7, 1425. The princes of Aragon Juan, Enrique and Pedro, joined the nobiliary league composed of the main sector of the nobility, especially the Zúñigas, Velascos, Manriques and Mendozas, to dominate the royal council and to eliminate Álvaro de Luna as valid of King Juan II of Castile. The sentence of the banishment of Álvaro de Luna was pronounced on September 4, 1425. Pedro, by order of King Juan II, executed the aldermen Vélez and Tamayo who led the opposition. Alvaro de Luna regained power by uniting his rivals in the reconciliation of January 30, 1428. King John II of Castile offered Alvaro de Luna the administration of the Order of Santiago in January 1430. The government of the valid Álvaro de Luna lasted until 1437.
The expulsion of King John of Navarren from Castile was considered as an offense by his brother King Alfonso V of Aragon. In August 1429 the armies of King John II of Castile, of the constable Alvaro de Luna, of Pedro de Zúñiga, chief justice of Castile, and of other great men of Castile invaded the kingdom of Aragon. The King Juan II established his royalty in the village of Ariza, where the castle was conquered after a fight. It did not come to a battle with the Aragonese, so after a few days King Juan II ordered the retreat, leaving the border defended. The Castilian army returned to Peñafiel on August 31, 1429, to secure the fortress. The kings of Castile and Aragon signed a 5-year truce in the village of Mojano on July 15, 1430.
The Royal Council, in its session of February 17, 1430, disposed of lordships and goods to an oligarchy that from now on would aspire to more power. Pedro received from Juan II, by royal privilege of December 8, 1429, the town of Ledesma with the title of I Count of Ledesma, as well as the town of Candeleda. King John II of Castile ordered the Council of Ledesma, La Rioja, to receive with homage Pedro de Zúñiga, II Lord of Béjar, Count of Ledesma, as his natural lord, cancelling the homage that had been paid to Queen Leonor of Aragon. Prince Enrique of Aragon, in a document dated November 6, 1439, renounced in favor of Pedro de Zúñiga, Count of Ledesma, the right that he could have to the town of Ledesma.
The wedding of the constable Álvaro de Luna, already a widower, with his second wife Juana Pimentel, daughter of the Count of Benavente, celebrated in Palencia on January 27, 1431, served as a pretext to confirm the reconciliation of the constable with the noble oligarchy, composed of prominent members of the Luna, Manrique, Enríquez, Pimentel, Zúñiga, Velasco, Mendoza, Carrillo, Toledo and Guzmán lineages.
War of Granada (1430–1439) The valid Álvaro de Luna decided to resume the fight against the kingdom of Granada, to punish Emir Muhammad IX "the Left Handed". The war began in the fall of 1430, with skirmishes on the border with the Moors. In January 1431 the Cortes of Palencia granted the necessary subsidies for the war. On June 26, 1431, the armies of the king and the great armies of Castile under the command of King John II crossed the border and the royal army was installed in the Vega of Granada, at the foot of the Sierra Delvira, in the village of Atarfe, 1 league from Granada on June 29. Pedro, with his host and accompanied by his brothers Diego, Íñigo Ortiz and Gonzalo, Bishop of Jaen, and Gonzalo's sons, participated in the united army of King John II of Castile. On Sunday, July 1, 1431, Luis de Guzmán, Master of Calatrava, who was in charge of the royal guard, was surprised by the Moors. King John II sent to his aid the armies of Pedro, Count of Ledesma, Enrique de Guzmán, Count of Niebla, and Garcia Fernandez Manrique, Count of Castañeda. The battle began to develop and the Castilian armies, after a bloody fight, achieved the defeat of the Moorish army of the Emir Mohammed IX "the Left Handed". In the Battle Room of El Escorial Palace, the painting that immortalizes this battle can be seen, called the Battle of La Higueruela. Pedro and his army were known as brave and disciplined warriors who fought and conquered whatever Pedro ordered them to do. The War of Granada of this decade was rich in warlike and victorious encounters for the Castilians, achieving the retreat of the frontier in all its extension.
Opposition of the Nobiliary League