180 - Concerning the arguments which the proctors respectively submitted on behalf of their liege lords

Summary

With time being spent on the said arguments, which the kings’ proctors formulated to justify their issues, it was already the month of March. Master Ambrosio, who, as we have mentioned, came over to Olivença, said that many allegations were put forward by both parties, in order to demonstrate that their grievance was well founded, with one party claiming that they had waged a just war, and with the other also claiming that they had proceeded correctly; moreover, some submitted that the truce had been broken by the opposing party, while the others insisted that their opponents had broken it. Therefore, given these doubts, and so that all issues should be accorded equal and fair treatment, they should drop their disputations, as otherwise they would take too long or never come to an end, and should find a different way to put forth their arguments plainly, without invoking further entitlements, as some points already mentioned in the allegations they had made were being repeated in their statements.

Everyone being in agreement with this, some reasons were put forward by the King of Castile through his proctor, the conclusion of which was briefly this: that the King of Portugal was bound to deliver to him immediately his town of Badajoz in exactly the same good state as it was when it was unjustifiably taken at the same king's orders, including whatever had been found in and stolen from it, which could amount to the value of 100,000 Castilian doblas, and also pay for the damages which the people in the suburb suffered as a result of its sacking, which could reach an equal amount. Furthermore, he should return the hostages he had been given in order to preserve the truce and should return as well the town of Tuy, which he had unlawfully taken, making good all the wrongs and plunder committed in it. He estimated that those wrongs would be covered by no less than 60 contos of maravedís, at the rate of 35 to one Castilian dobla, which came to 1,716 doblas, this being the amount that the King of Castile had expended on the war because of his adversary's actions.