ORDER OF BATTLE // April 23, 1521
Battle of Villalar
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 15,800 estimated
Royalist Castilians
8,400
Medium-confidence figure
Comuneros
7,400
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Villalar, fought on 23 April 1521 near Villalar in Valladolid province, delivered a decisive royalist victory that effectively ended the Revolt of the Comuneros. The royalist forces of King Charles I, numbering approximately 8,400, defeated a comunero army of around 7,400, inflicting roughly 1,000 casualties. Three of the rebellion's principal leaders — Juan de Padilla, Juan Bravo, and Francisco Maldonado — were captured during the engagement and executed the following day. Their deaths removed the central command structure of the comunero movement and extinguished organized armed resistance to Charles I, bringing the revolt to a close after roughly a year of conflict.
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