Margaret of Austria (1480-1530) – History Archives

Educated and politically gifted, Margaret of Austria She was one of the most powerful women of her time.. Daughter, sister and aunt of kings, she was a fundamental piece in family politics from a very young age. She became queen of France, princess of Asturias and governor of the Netherlands on behalf of her nephew Carlos I.

This article will briefly review the life and political influence of this great woman, who like many others has been forgotten many times in education despite her incredible work and dedication.

A princess serving her dynasty

Margaret of Austria was born on January 10, 1480 in the Flemish city of Brussels. She was the daughter of Archduke Maximilian of Austria – future Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, as Maximilian I –, and Maria of Burgundy, titular Duchess of Burgundy after the death of her father (Martínez 2000 Vol. 1, Volume 1: 115). She, therefore, became as soon as she was born, Archduchess of Austria, just like her brother Philip the Handsome.

The birth of an infanta always meant joy in the palace, especially if there was already a male heir. This was because this became a political piece with which to establish ties with other kingdoms through state marriages and young Margarita was no exception. If her mother Mary feared for her future, she could do little to prevent it, as she died only two years after her birth in 1482. Margaret and her brother were left in the care of Margaret of York, the second wife of their grandfather Charles the Bold. .

Before she was three years old, Margarita became part of her father’s foreign policy. Luis XI of France threatened the borders of the territory of Maximiliano and this one, without possible power of negotiation, was forced to accept the deal of the Gallic king. This consisted of the marriage of the dauphin, Carlos (Longh 1953: 45), with Margaret of Austria, and that her dowry was Franche-Comté and Artois, among other territories. The pact of Arras was made in 1482 and it was established that the archduchess should travel to France to make her the perfect queen and, above all, to distance her from the anti-French influence of her father. Likewise, it is agreed that the consummation of the marriage will take place when Margarita reaches a suitable age.

In April 1483 Margarita undertook her trip to France, being received by the eldest daughter of King Louis XI, Princess Anne, who was in charge of taking her to the Court of Paris. The marital union between Margarita and Carlos was held in the city of Amboise, being consecrated the next day. At the Château d’Amboise he led a quiet, affectionate life, studying the art of drawing, painting, dance or music. After the death of Luis XI, that supposed the ascent of the husband of her to the throne, she began to carry out official tasks.

The tension between the Duchy of Brittany and France for control of the former had been a constant for both territories. Francisco II went to war against his lord, the king, seeking allies among the European princes, many of them opposed to French power. However, in 1488 Francis II was defeated at Saint Aubin-du-Cormier, one of the last battles of the war. The conflict was resolved with the Treaty of Sabléwhere the French subjected the duchy to their conditions, among them that the daughters of Francisco II would not marry without the approval of the monarch.

The death of the Duke of Brittany that same year left his daughter Anne, his only heir, as a perfect candidate to be married. Maximilian I was chosen because of his deep opposition to France and for his ability to defend the independence of the duchy, marrying by proxy in December 1490. This marriage was taken as a provocation by France, which saw the Treaty of Sablé broken and the power of Brittany in the hands of a ruler who did not respect them. it was favourable.

However, this situation did not last long, since Maximilian, very busy with the wars in Hungary and Granada, did not come to the aid of his wife. when France besieged Rennes in the spring of 1491. Finding herself defenseless, Anne of Brittany had to choose between keeping her dukedom by getting tired of King Charles VIII of France or abandoning her territory and going with her husband. The duchess chose to marry the French king, whose advisers had hatched the plan of attack to force the marriage and annexation of Brittany and dissolve the one that already existed with Margaret. Thus, on December 6, 1491, Charles VIII married Anne of Brittany (Longh 1953: 53-77).

Upon hearing the news, Margarita did not want to return to Flanders. Her wishes were of little use, since Charles VIII resolved in 1493 a quick peace with his father, which would allow him to focus on Italian affairs, and for which Margarita returned to her kingdom, free of commitment and recovering the territories that she had given as a dowry..

Once back in the archduchy, her father began to prepare a new marriage for her. This time it was hand in hand with Isabel and Fernando, kings of Castile and Aragon, with the intention of isolating France politically, creating an alliance between the kingdoms. She consolidated with a double marriage: Felipe, heir to the archduchy, would marry Juana, the third daughter of Isabel and Fernando, and Margarita would marry the only son and heir of the Catholic Monarchs, Prince Juan.

The marriage was made by proxy in Mechelen on November 5, 1496, but Margarita did not start her journey to Castile until early 1497, on the ships that had taken Juana to Flanders. After a stormy crossing of the English Channel, the fleet reached Santander, from where it set out for Burgos to meet Queen Elizabeth and her future husband, Prince John. The marriage ceremony took place on April 3, 1497 (Olmedo de Cerdá 2004: 72), also in Burgos, and was widely celebrated.

The chronicles say that love arose between young people, but it was short-lived. The prince had always had very delicate health and the trip around the kingdom to celebrate his marriage only made it worse until finally, on October 4, 1497, he died of a fever in Salamanca. Margarita was devastated by her death and also pregnant with her, with the only child she will have by her, but the baby was born prematurely and died shortly after. Behind this, Margarita stayed in Castile until 1499 as part of Queen Isabella’s entourage.

The young widow arrived in the city of Ghent in March 1500 to attend the celebrations for the birth of her brother Felipe and Juana’s second son, her nephew Carlos, one of the most important men in her life.

Despite the fact that she was still considered princess of Castile, her father and brother began to look for a new marriage for her that would be favorable to them in their foreign policy plans. Among the candidates were King Louis XII of France, the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, the King of Hungary, Vladislav, James VI of Scotland, and even the heir to the English throne, Arthur Tudor.

The decision was not easy, but the death of Prince Juan elevated Juana, wife of Philip of Austria, to the throne of Castile and this meant an imminent trip to Castile to be crowned as such. In order to bring this to an end it was a stable friendship with France is necessary and for this Felipe committed, on the one hand, his son Carlos with the daughter of the king of France, Claudia and, on the other, to Margaret with the Duke of Savoy, Filiberto IIdespite the fact that she was not in favor of that marriage.

Her new husband was a little younger than she, an athlete who loved tournaments, hunts, and social events like balls and banquets. So much so that she was not even in charge of governing her territory, leaving that job in the hands of her illegitimate stepbrother René.

The marriage contract was signed in September 1501, in the city of Brussels, with a large dowry from the princess and the promise of a large income for her if she survived her husband. Again, the marriage was performed by proxy in November 1501 with René acting as proxy for his half-brother, putting aside the mourning clothes which he occupied since the death of Prince John.

The marriage ceremony was held shortly after in a convent near Geneva, being celebrated with numerous parties and dances, in addition to a trip throughout the territory of the dukedom to make themselves known and be known. Shortly after settling at Court, Margaret realized that her new husband had no power in the Savoyard government and did her best to change it. She began by exiling René from the Court and seizing power, taking charge of state affairs and foreign policy. Margarita turned her new residence, the castle of Pont d’Ain, into the political center of the territory and surrounded herself with secretaries and advisers to help her with government tasks, for which she was amply prepared, especially with her knowledge of politics. European Union, which helped her establish favorable alliances for the duchy.

The summer of 1504 was excessively hot, reducing activities abroad and boredom took hold of the Court and especially the Duke. Once in September, Filiberto asked to go hunting until Margarita relented and he went to her. During the stop to eat, Filiberto began to drink ice water without stopping and before finishing eating, he began to feel a very strong pain, for which he was transferred back to the Court. He died on September 10 of that same year, causing great pain in Margarita. She was in charge of fulfilling the will of her husband to be buried next to her mother in the Benedictine convent of Brou and that it be rebuilt, a task that she extended for 25 years.

Despite the depression caused by the death of Filiberto, Margarita was still considered the head of the government of the duchy and everyone expected him to continue with his task, despite the fact that the heir to the throne was Filiberto’s little brother, Carlos, with whom he reached an agreement to continue ruling over Savoy.

Regencies and education: their services to Carlos V

The death of her brother Felipe in 1506 triggered a new change in Margarita’s life. His son, Carlos, had just inherited a huge number of territories that were very complicated to manage and her grandfather Maximiliano was in charge of exercising the regency on her behalf. For this, she would need governors in different places, especially for the Netherlands, which was a very complicated territory due to the political development that she had had in recent decades, specifically since the death of María de Borgoña. Maximilian thought of her daughter to lead the territory, she being the perfect candidate for her due to her double widowhood and her singleness, so she moved to Mechelen in 1507, along with the Court of Savoy, to start her new task.

The two major tasks in the life of the archduchess move away from the pre-established ideas that exist about the typical feminine obligations of the time, the first was to take charge of giving a exquisite education at four…