Kingdom of Navarre: Encyclopedia II - Kingdom of Navarre - Navarre annexed to Aragon then to Castile

Kingdom of Navarre - Navarre annexed to Aragon then to Castile

King Ferdinand the Catholic, after defeating Jean d'Albret, annexed most of Navarre in 1515. In 1511 or 1516 Spanish Navarra, the part of Navarre south of the Pyrenees (the majority of the kingdom), was finally annexed by Ferdinand the Catholic. He later ceded it to his daughter Queen Joanna I of Castile whereby Spanish Navarre was regarded as a dominion of Castile, not of Aragon. Spanish Navarre was governed as a viceroyalty and not formally annexed to the kingdom of Spain until 1833. The history of the two divisions of the country is identical until the year 1512, when Spanish Navarre was conquered by Ferdinand the Catholic, the northern part remaining French.

The tiny portion of Navarre north of the Pyrenees known as Basse-Navarre, along with the neighboring Principality of Béarn survived as an independent little kingdom which passed by inheritance. Lower, or French, Navarre, received from Henry II of Navarre, the son of Jean d'Albret, a representative assembly, the clergy being represented by the bishops of Bayonne and Dax, their vicars-general, the parish priest of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and the priors of Saint-Palais, d'Utziat and Haramples. The area north of the Pyrenees (Lower Navarre) remained an independent kingdom with large additional French estates until it was joined (1589) with the French crown when Henry III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France. It was united with Béarn into a French province. When, in 1589, its administration was united with that of France, it was still called a kingdom. After Henry IV, the kings of France bore also the title King of Navarre.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Navarre annexed to Aragon then to Castile", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki