House of Mendoza - Family Policy

Family Policy

During most of the reign of the Catholic Monarchs no serious conflicts arose between the nobles or crises occurred nationally able to test the cohesion of the family. Tendilla and cousins, separated from the main branch by the expansion of a prolific family and geographic dispersion of their political careers, were delivered, every one by his side, to ensure success without further consideration to the family as a whole. When probate litigation generated, again, serious conflicts in Castile, Mendoza could not or would not act as a group, particularly Tendilla adopted positions against the rest of the family.

In the atmosphere of crisis and rebellion that gripped Castilla death of Isabella in 1504, the Mendoza was forced to choose between their traditional political support Trastámara dynasty, whose last representative was Ferdinand, who had cemented the family's success in the past and set the new policy, to support the new dynasty of Burgundy, it would ensure that in the future. The third Duke of the Infantry, the nominal head of Mendoza, and the constable, who actually ran the affairs of the family, chose the new policy in order to maintain the strength of the family as a political unit. Tendilla preferred to keep the tradition. While Castilla was under Trastámara government, its policy was successful, when it became clear that the dynasty would die out in Castile, the position taken by Tendilla proved detrimental to its political and material prosperity, preventing the family act together and weakening Mendoza efficiency of the whole.