The ambassadors, having returned to where they were staying, sent a written declaration to their Portuguese counterparts, which started as follows:
‘It seems right and fitting that, for all men, particularly kings who wish to proceed with establishing a relationship through affection, the disagreements and wars that exist or may exist between them be totally eliminated, so that they may reach clear peace through goodwill by rooting out the disagreements and eliminating whatever has caused danger in the past. Accordingly, negotiations aiming at agreements ought to be such and so fairly designed that where there is a just and reasonable request for amends to be made or rectifications introduced, these can reasonably and in fairness satisfy what is rightly being demanded. Therefore, in view of the bygone issues that have until now existed between Portugal and Castile, and recognizing too that we, by the grace of God, are gathered here to negotiate a peace that, if it so please Him, will prove perpetual, it is right and proper, lest other issues should arise, to order matters so that all things are dealt with in good faith, and subject to fair and equitable treatment. Thus, the great lords who have ordered these negotiations may be bound together by a shared desire for peace and goodwill.
‘Furthermore, as the ambassadors of our liege lord the King of Castile, we propose to set aside many matters that could in all justice and fairness be demanded on his behalf, and indeed granted by the opposing party. This is, because the wishes of the king our liege lord, of the queen his mother and of Prince Fernando, as our king’s tutors and guardians of his realm, who sent us here, are in every respect clear and honourable with regard to the peace process on which we are now embarked. Accordingly, we declare before you that for that peace to be firm as it should be between the king our liege lord and his Portuguese adversary, we deem the latter liable to concede and fulfil the following obligations:
‘First, we consider that, after peace had been made, those princes could not remain free of great toils and anxieties if those from whom towns, places and any other fixed assets had been taken did not receive them back, and unless those persons, whom until then the Portuguese held in Castile or the Castilians held in Portugal since the time of King Juan of Castile and of King Fernando of Portugal, were all handed back to whichever of the two kings had formerly held them as his own.
‘We further consider that inasmuch as good deeds go some way towards conquering hearts and bringing them together in great friendship, the King of Portugal, in serving God and for the exaltation of his faith, should help the King of Castile whenever there should be a war against the Moors, namely at sea with ten galleys for a period of six months at his own expense, or similarly on land with six hundred lances and two thousand foot soldiers.
‘Likewise, we consider that the King of Portugal should be held liable to pay in full all the expenses which the grandfather of this King Juan, the King of Castile who reigned then and fought in the Battle [of Aljubarrota], incurred in warfare during his lifetime and all he had spent in maintaining the places that had declared for him, as well as what had been expended in the war which had started with the assault on Badajoz, during King Enrique’s lifetime – all of which expenses amounted to a great sum of contos in Castilian currency. However, for the sake of concord and friendship we do not wish to venture to demand so much, thereby reducing to a great degree what we could ask for, so that the King of Portugal would not be held liable to pay more than sixty contos in the old Castilian currency, which amounted to one million, six hundred and sixteen thousand doblas, each dobla being valued at thirty-five maravedís, all this being not more than one tenth of the sum which he was under obligation to pay.’
On seeing these and many other things that were demanded in that document, the ambassadors of Portugal sent back their own written declaration, replying that those who raised such issues between kings who have close kindred ties, and use the same issues to censure them, have little desire and interest in bringing them to an agreement and make peace. They further observed that if the King of Portugal should wish to demand and exact similar or much greater things, he was fully entitled in law to do so. However, for the honour of both parties it would be best to bring animosity to an end once and for all rather than to discuss those issues. Nevertheless, since their liege lord was so compassionate and of such clear conscience that he wanted all the people of both kingdoms to be satisfied, he should be pleased to see in writing which persons they were and of what estate, and they [the Portuguese ambassadors] would submit to him another document with the property that they could claim.
With regard to the support that the King of Portugal was being asked to provide, they said that such a request was inappropriate, in as much as both verbally and in writing the kings called each other adversaries. However, after an agreement had been reached and peace fittingly restored over the other issues, only then and in no other circumstances was it appropriate to discuss and demand any kind of support.
Concerning the damage and expense that resulted from past wars, in response to all the things that were being demanded of them in those matters, they said that the Castilians’ own liege lord was held and obliged to pay for those and many more things whenever the Portuguese might wish to submit their lawful demands, as could well be shown. However, to serve God and for the sake of peace and the honour of both kingdoms, it was not fitting to discuss such matters. Indeed, these should be removed from the discussions and deemed to be fully paid by one party to the other. But if they did not want this, preferring instead to go ahead with their claim, the persons concerned should submit a written list of their property; they in their turn would submit a similar document which would be more demanding than the other party’s.
The Castilian ambassadors then presented a list of those whom they requested should receive back the property and lands that they and the sons of some of them had held in Portugal. These people were: the Count of Viana, João Rodrigues Portocarreiro, Aires Gomes da Silva, Fernão Gomes da Silva, Afonso Gomes da Silva, Martim Afonso de Melo, Álvaro Gil de Carvalho, Fernão Gonçalves de Sousa, Gonçalo Rodrigues de Sousa and Gonçalo Vasques de Azevedo, among others named, numbering up to fifty-six in all, besides other knights, ladies, squires and persons whose names they did not remember at that time, or of whom they had no details.
The Portuguese ambassadors submitted their own list of property and lands that their liege lord was entitled to demand. These were half the lands that had been taken from Count Alfonso, lands that belonged to his wife Countess Isabel, the niece of the King of Portugal and daughter of his brother King Fernando. Also Aguilar de Campóo together with all the lands that had been given to Pedro, the son of the Count of Viana; and Salvatierra together with all the places that had belonged to Álvaro Pérez and now belonged to his son Pedro de Castro; the lands and places that had belonged to Vasco Martins de Melo, and in addition the rocky terrain on the queen’s lands which had been given to his wife and likewise the payments that were due from the lands belonging to their son, Vasco Martins de Melo. Likewise, Master Lançarote, who had Fuenteguinaldo and other places; as well as the castles and places owned by Martim Gonçalves and his son. Also Alarcão and other lands that had been granted to Gil Vasques da Cunha; and the titles and property that the Abbot of São Justo used to hold. More than a score of others were named, with a note to the effect that they had not yet been advised of the matter and so no further details could be given at this stage. In addition, there were one hundred and eighty thousand dobras with respect to prisoners’ fines, fifty thousand dobras from verdicts imposed, plus another fifty thousand dobras for the naos coming from Genoa, which had been seized, as well as losses from damage sustained, profits lost and many other things. They continued their arguments in writing and added by word of mouth:
‘My lords, the more we think of the points contained in your document, the more it seems to us that it is useless to argue over them, because such matters can hardly be reasoned over if they spawn nothing but offence and ill-will rather than peace or any other benefit. For, as we have said, it seemed to us more reasonable to discuss not past disagreements and hatreds but only peace, which must not be blocked for the benefit of a few individuals who are responsible for most of what you have described verbally and expressed in writing. For those men, who for whatever reason left this kingdom and came back to wage war against its people, truly deserved to lose the property they possessed for they did a disservice to our liege lord the king by attacking the land where they had been born. Theirs was no lesser a crime, given that most of those now in Castile were his vassals, having recognised him specifically as their liege lord, and in return received many favours from him.
‘As for the cost which you maintain that the King of Portugal must pay to make amends for past issues, seeing that they were the causes which led to the war, it can be clearly proved by the treaties you refer to that he cannot be held answerable for anything at all, for he was very justifiably right to defend himself from his adversaries. On the other hand, the kings of Castile broke those treaties and are thus held liable for what you have requested and much more which we could demand on our king’s behalf if we so wanted. For, besides what has been said, the king our liege lord could well demand that the lands which the Duke of Lancaster gave to his daughter Philippa, when she married our king, be handed to him. The duke had made an outright endowment of those lands when he was King of the Kingdom of Castile and his wife was Queen Constanza, and his daughter Princess Catalina who is now your lady the Queen of Castile, granted them. She has the legal endowment signed by his hand and sealed with his seals, which we could have submitted for you to confirm its legality. We could also have submitted the names of many other people, had we known that you wanted to discuss such matters. However, since to serve God and for the harmony of these negotiations such means are not required to achieve peace, they were not mentioned to us nor did we come prepared to respond to such demands. Indeed, if it were fitting to request such matters for the sake of peace, we, on our part, could put forward as many arguments as you present, and stronger ones at that.
‘However, for the sake of concord neither for you nor for us would it be fitting to discuss matters which reawaken hatred and enmity, especially when you know that your party has made these demands on another occasion, namely when peace between both kingdoms was subject to arbitration and that these demands never went in your favour either in part or in whole. Besides, you knew quite well that neither party would pay such an amount of money, however culpable the party might be, as it would more readily have a mind to spend it in a war against its adversary. Therefore, it was not fitting to mention matters that engender new hatreds, which are so adverse to the cause of peace and contrary to the preamble of your written submission. However, if it pleases you to reach for peace, by cutting everything short and leaving aside the matter you have touched on, acquitting both parties, then we shall discuss the [military] support which you request as well as any other matter that may well be required honestly and with honour for both parties.’
The Castilians replied, saying, ‘We really see eye to eye on your arguments, the same that you have in the past and do now put forward with good and honest intentions, both by word of mouth and in writing. However, since we are engaged in the sacred business of working in the cause of peace - which may God in His mercy bring to a good conclusion - it is nonetheless fitting that we discuss, as we have stated, the wrongdoings committed and damages caused in the past, as well as any other matters which we plainly and with a clear conscience understand need to be discussed so that all matters remain clarified as if there had never been war between these kingdoms, but in their stead good peace and brotherhood. Indeed, this should greatly please your liege lord because discussing such matters is the best possible way of coming to understand the reasons and entitlements on which each party relies. By dealing with them, fairness is achieved and an end is put to any obstinacy on the part of their subjects with which the princes may have to contend after peace has been made.
‘However, although we submit many explanations as to why those who came against the kingdom did what they were bound to do, given the wording of the treaties, you claim that they were very wrong in waging a war against the land where they had been born, and should not be rewarded for the wrongs they committed. Likewise we show clearly that the King of Portugal is held liable to pay what we have claimed for and much more if we should wish to demand it. Yet you insist that the king our liege lord is under an obligation for a much greater amount; and being so opposed as we are in matters on which hangs the greater force of the treaty, we shall never reach an agreement. So it seems fair to us that for the good of both parties we should have one judge who, reviewing everything, might decide with certainty which of the parties is right. But, since we cannot have such a judge, the best solution would be for the first pope to whom all will be obedient to apprise himself of this matter and for His Holiness to make a ruling as he deemed fit, valid for up to ten years. The kings should then be obliged to follow his order and decision without casting any doubts on it. Moreover, whilst there is as yet no such pope, or even if there were he did not decide on all the matters we are discussing, these should remain at the stage where they are now. Thus it will please God that it is a real peace and that we will more swiftly achieve it, should you wish to be reasonable.’
The Portuguese replied that there were other issues which were more pertinent to arriving at peace, as they had already told them, than those which they insisted on discussing, as a decision about them could hardly ever be reached; but since they spoke of a judge and a pope, the king their liege lord did not need any pope or judge to resolve that situation other than Almighty God, Who on similar occasions had already passed His judgement. Although their liege lord for his part left aside all that he could demand, and the Castilians for their part did not wish to do the same, it could well be said of them what Jesus Christ had said to the Jews, when He warned them not to think that He had come to send peace on earth, but to send a sword, and to set fathers against sons and daughters against mothers. ‘As for you,’ they continued, ‘it seems that you have not come to send peace in these realms, but rather to send a sword and strife, as has already happened in previous times, setting asunder the bonds of affection that exist between both kings.’
The Castilians then repeated once more that they could do nothing else, nor would they water down what had been proposed by them at the outset, because they had been so instructed, and they had it in writing.
To this, the reply was that if such were the instructions given by their lords, then their presence there served no purpose and it was pointless to spend more time over the business; and that it would be best that the king their liege lord should remain on a war footing after the truce, rather than grant the things which the Castilians were asking for, since they did not wish to consent to what he was demanding.
Thereupon both parties departed, leaving the treaty process open and unresolved.