The price of the throne. Public finances in Portugal and Castile and the War of the Castilian Succession (1475-9)

Abstract

The reign of Henry IV of Castile ended without a clear heir to the throne, triggering a military conflict between the candidates, Isabella and Ferdinand – the future Catholic Monarchs – and Joanna and Afonso V of Portugal. Ultimately, what was at stake was the balance of power not only in the Iberian Peninsula, but in Western Europe more broadly. The conflict transcended the military field and tested the strength and adaptability of two precocious and dynamic state financial structures. The aim of this article is to compare the way both public finance systems coped with this conflict and responded to a challenge that was to shape their future evolution.