João Afonso de Albuquerque

[2] His father, Afonso Sanches,[4] was the firstborn and favorite son of King Denis I of Portugal who had him out of wedlock with Aldonza Rodrigues Telha.

[9] Already settled in Castile by around 1330 he appears often in charters confirming as the alférez of his cousin Alfonso XI and also as the tutor (ayo) and later mayordomo of Infante Pedro,[9] who was barely fifteen years old when his father died, forming a close relationship with the young king as his favorite and one of the most influential politicians in the kingdom.

[11] Measures were passed to protect trade with Flanders, to organize the prosecution of wrongdoers, an attempt to normalize the precarious economic situation by controlling prices and wages, and to prepare a census of the Behetrías (communities with the right to choose their own lord) which resulted in the drafting of the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a detailed account of these communities and of their respective lords.

[13] Albuquerque's policies, favorable to an alliance with France, together with his excessive influence in the affairs of the court, eventually distanced him from the king, who began to consider an approach to England.

According to the Chronicle of Pero López de Ayala, "he met with Don Enrique and with the Grand Master of the Order of Santiago Fadrique, and the three of them reached an agreement", after which they went to Alburquerque, ravaged the lands of Badajoz and occupied Ciudad Rodrigo.