| The Royal House of Aragon was founded by | | | | male primogeniture, but this was not followed. Six |
| James I of Aragon | | | | claimants |
| ("The Conqueror") who reigned as King of | | | | to the throne stepped forward. Through intrigues |
| Aragon 1213 - 1276. | | | | and |
| The Kingdom of Aragon was one of the small | | | | political gerrymandering the law of succession |
| Christian states | | | | was set |
| which arose in the Iberian peninsula following the | | | | aside, and a group of nine electors was put |
| gradual | | | | together to |
| expulsion of the Moors, who had held sway in | | | | decide upon the respective claims. They met at |
| the area in the | | | | Caspe in |
| wake of their conquest of the old Visigothic | | | | Aragon in 1412, and by the very composition of |
| realm of Spain | | | | the group a |
| in the eighth century.Peter III succeeded his | | | | decision for one of the claimants, Ferdinand of |
| father James I to the throne in | | | | Antequera, |
| 1276, and for many years the succession | | | | was assured in advance. He thus came to power |
| continued without | | | | in a manner |
| problems. But when King Martin I (the Humanist) | | | | similar to a coup in conflict with the prevailing |
| of Aragon | | | | order of |
| died in 1410 he had no children to succeed him, | | | | succession.This point is also stressed by T.N. |
| and he had | | | | Bisson, who for many |
| not named any successor. The only written law | | | | years was professor of medieval history at |
| of succession | | | | Harvard |
| was the Will of James I which confirmed the | | | | University. |
| principle of | | | | |