The Battle of Toro was a Royal battle from the War of the Castilian Succession

War of the Castilian Succession

The War of the Castilian Succession was the military conflict contested from 1475 to 1479 for the succession of the Crown of Castile fought between the supporters of Juana la Beltraneja, daughter of the late monarch Henry IV of Castile, and those of Henry's half sister, Isabella, who was ultimately...

, fought on 1 March 1476, near the city of Toro

Toro, Zamora

Toro is a town and municipality in the province of Zamora, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located on a fertile high plain, northwest of Madrid at an elevation of 740 meters....

, between the Castilian troops of the Catholic Monarchs

Catholic Monarchs

The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...

 and the Portuguese-Castilian forces of Afonso V

Afonso V of Portugal

Afonso V KG , called the African , was the twelfth King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa.-Early life:...

 and Prince John

John II of Portugal

John II , the Perfect Prince , was the thirteenth king of Portugal and the Algarves...

.

It was a confusing and polemic battle with an inconclusive military outcome as both sides claimed victory: the Castilian right wing was defeated by the forces under Prince John

John II of Portugal

John II , the Perfect Prince , was the thirteenth king of Portugal and the Algarves...

 who possessed the battlefield but the troops of Afonso V

John II of Portugal

John II , the Perfect Prince , was the thirteenth king of Portugal and the Algarves...

 were beaten by the Castilian left-centre led by the Duke of Alba

García Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba

García Álvarez de Toledo y Carrillo, 1st Duke of Alba de Tormes was a Spanish nobleman, military leader and politician....

 and Cardinal Mendoza

Pedro González de Mendoza

Pedro González de Mendoza was a Spanish cardinal and statesman.-Biography:He was born at Guadalajara in New Castile, the chief lordship of his family. He was the fourth son of Íñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de Santillana, deceased 1458, and one of the cadet brothers of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1...

.

However, it was a major political victory for the Catholic Kings

Catholic Monarchs

The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...

 by assuring to Isabella

Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...

 the throne of Castile: what still remained of the noblemen loyal to Juana de Trastámara adhered to Isabella. With great political vision, Isabella took advantage of the moment and convoked courts at Madrigal (April 1476). There her daughter was proclaimed and sworn heiress of the Castile's crown

Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...

, which was equivalent to legitimizing her own throne.

Spanish academic António M. Serrano stated that: "From all of this it is deductible that the battle [of Toro] was inconclusive, but Isabella and Ferdinand made it fly with wings of victory. (...) Actually, since this battle transformed in victory; since 1 March 1476, Isabella and Ferdinand started to rule in the Spain's throne. (...) The inconclusive wings of the battle became the secure and powerful wings of San Juan's eagle” (the commemorative temple of the Battle of Toro).

The war continued until the peace of Alcáçovas

Treaty of Alcaçovas

The Treaty of Alcáçovas put an end to the War of the Castilian Succession in favor of Isabella I of Castile, and confirmed Castilian control of the Canary Islands and Portuguese control of the Madeira , Azores and Cape Verde islands , all in the Atlantic Ocean The Treaty of Alcáçovas (also known...

 (1479) and the official propaganda transformed the Battle of Toro in a victory which avenged Aljubarrota

Battle of Aljubarrota

The Battle of Aljubarrota was a battle fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the army of King John I of Castile with its...

.