Military History of The Revolt of The Comuneros - Andalusia: The Southern Coast

Andalusia: The Southern Coast

In general, Andalusia was fairly quiet during the war. A variety of reasons exist for this. Among the nobles, there was a great investment in the project of Hispanicizing the recently conquered Granada and its Moriscos. It was crucial for the government to act unified to maintain stability; if some cities of Andalusia were to join the Comunidades and others not, a civil war among the Spanish Christians would invite a revolt among the Moriscos. The economic situation was different as well; Andalusia was seeing the beginnings of what would become a vast stream of wealth from Spain's overseas trade and conquests. While Andalusia's nobles were still powerful, many opportunities existed for all classes. In the Meseta, the bourgeoise and lower classes had tasted prosperity for a time under Isabella, but had seen their gains fade in the past twenty years, which fed bitterness at the nobility and helped spark revolts. Furthermore, Andalusia simply did not see the change in government in the two Castiles as necessarily their concern. With the slower and less frequent travel of the day, some in Andalusia simply thought the matter did not concern them, and if the Castiles wished a new government that did not necessarily have any bearing on Andalusia.

The towns in the north of Andalusia in the mountains, away from the coast, were more connected with the Castiles. Jaén, Úbeda, and Baeza all favored the Comunidades during the early stages of the revolt. Once the Andalusian nobles got word of this, they sent a sizable force to retake these small cities for the king. The Captain-General of Granada, who was also the Marquis of Mondéjar and Count of Tendilla (same person bearing all three titles), led a force of some 1,500 men in September to retake Jaén. He executed the three leading members of the Comunidad there, lashed others, and then pardoned the rest of the town. Murcia also joined the Comunidades, but eventually came back to the royal forces much later and by persuasion rather than force.

In coastal Andalusia, there was sporadic discontent, but few attempted rebellions. Two notable attempted rebellions occurred in Seville, but nothing much came of either one. The first was led by Juan de Figueroa, a member of the powerful Ponce family. On Sunday, September 16, he proclaimed the Comunidad and took over the lightly fortified Alcázar of Seville. The rebellion was quickly crushed the next day by the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, a member of the rival Guzmán family, and Figueroa was lightly wounded. The incident was treated as a youthful indiscretion, and Figeruoa quickly pardoned, leading some historians to treat the matter as simply the latest grab for power between the two feuding noble houses. A later attempt, la Feria y Pendón Verde ("The Fair and the Green Flag") led by lower classes, seemingly confirms this explanation. The nobility of both houses united to put down the riots, which lasted three days, suggesting the first revolt was more about which noble house would have power.

To coordinate their activities, the towns of Andalusia received permission from the government to set up their own Congress at Rambla. They had requested it on October 24, 1520, and actually convened the assembly on January 20, 1521. The Rambla Congress admonished towns to return to the royal government and organized a military force of 4,000 infantry and 800 cavalry to be ready should the need to quickly suppress a Morisco rebellion arose. Still, the Rambla Congress worried some royalists in the Meseta, as should the war turn against the royal government, it would provide an easy mechanism for Andalusia to coordinate itself and defect as one (removing the worries of a civil war giving the Moriscos an opening). The Admiral of Castile wrote to King Charles that:

"Andalusia has assembled at Rambla and we know not to what end. If we had authority to hold Cortes and they declared themselves deputies, on the plea that we desired to discuss the welfare of the realm, the cities which acknowledge as sovereign and the provinces will be pacified, in view of the fact that we showed willingness to discuss the general interest. Since that is not the case and these revolutionary folk tell them we desire not the good but the ruin of the realm, they believe them. This make me fear lest from this junta some harm develop; and if Andalusia rises the whole realm is lost." —Fadrique Enríquez, Admiral of Castile

As the war never significantly turned against the royal government, the Admiral's fears were not realized. Andalusia also sent an army off to intervene in the Revolt of the Brotherhoods. The Andalusian army helped turn the tide against the rebels there by winning the Battle of Oriola in crushing fashion.