Urgelistas valencianos. Sobre la oposición a Fernando I de Trastámara

Abstract

Wide sectors of Valencia and its kingdom did not give up their support to the earl of Urgell, Jaume the Unlucky, even after he was defeated by the infant Ferdinand of Castille in his run to the throne of Catalonia-Aragon during the so-called Caspe's Compromise (1412). We have drawn this conclusion after examining Valencia's municipal documentation. The Catalan nobleman led an upheaval in 1413 against Ferdinand the First of Aragon, his old rival. During the insurrection, a considerable portion of the Valencian society behaved in ways that make evident the degree of popular sympathy gained by the rebels. The Valencian people's behavior during these events also shows signs of a profound social collapse, which had started back in the last decades of the 14th century. When Martin the First died (1410), the seriousness of this persisting social crisis grew due to some violent episodes that took place before the Trastamara dinasty managed to occupy the throne in the Crown of Aragon.