When Afonso IV of Portugal learned that Alfonso XI of Castile refused to lift the siege of Lerma, his troops invaded Castile and laid siege to the city of Badajoz, hoping this would force Alfonso XI to lift the siege of Lerma. However, Alfonso XI continued besieging Lerma and sent messengers to Pedro Ponce de León the Elder, Alvar Pérez de Guzmán the Elder and Enrique Enríquez the Younger, noblemen of Castile, asking them to send troops to join Pedro Fernández de Castro "the Warrior", whom he had ordered to go to the aid of Badajoz. Alfonso XI also asked for help from the councils of the cities of
Córdoba,
Seville,
Trujillo,
Plasencia,
Coria and
Cáceres, and from Ruy Pérez Maldonado, Master of the
Order of Alcántara. These united their forces with those of Pedro Fernández de Castro, and promptly left for Badajoz to aid the besieged town. According to the
Chronicle of Alfonso XI, the indiscipline of the troops of Pedro Fernández de Castro was remarkable and his men caused serious damage in the places through which they passed on the way to the city of Badajoz. When other noblemen and councils were informed that the city of Badajoz was being besieged by the Portuguese, they readied their troops and prepared to help, even though they had not yet received the messages sent by the King Alfonso XI of Castile. Enrique Enríquez the Younger, lord of
Villalba de los Barros and great-grandson of King
Ferdinand III of Castile, left the city of Seville accompanied by the men of the Bishopric of
Jaén, and went to the Extremadura town of Barcarrota Villanueva, from Badajoz. He began to harass the Portuguese, preventing them from obtaining supplies. He made inroads into the kingdom of Portugal where he seized much property, livestock and captives. , King of Castile When Afonso IV of Portugal, who was still besieging Badajoz, learned of the raids that Enrique Enríquez the Younger had made into Portugal, he commanded Pedro Afonso de Sousa, a nobleman of his kingdom, to go to Villanueva de Barcarrota and apprehend the Castilian-Leonese under Enrique Enríquez, and to destroy and burn the town. When the Portuguese troops came in sight of Barcarrota, Enrique Enríquez the Younger and his men sortied from the town, despite being outnumbered. They did not have the opportunity, as the Portuguese made camp on a nearby hill and from there began to make minor attacks against the Spaniards, who, because of their numerical inferiority, did not dare to engage with the Portuguese. While the Portuguese and Spaniards remained at a stalemate, the forces of Seville commanded by Juan Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, lord of
Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and Pedro Ponce de León the Elder, Lord of Marchena and
Bailén, reached the vicinity of Villanueva de Barcarrota. They did not know of the presence of Portuguese troops and were not ready for combat. An individual who had climbed the tower of the church of Villanueva de Barcarrota observed their arrival, realized by the banners they were carrying that they were Castilian-Leonese, and communicated this to Enrique Enríquez the Younger and his men. He told them that if they hurried to attack the troops of Pedro Afonso de Sousa, they could defeat them. Combat-ready troops under the command of Juan Alonso Perez de Guzman and Pedro Ponce de León the Elder were sent to deal with the Portuguese troops, who promptly fled. The troops of Enrique Enríquez the Younger, who were near the Portuguese, joined the chase before the troops of Juan Alonso Pérez de Guzmán had entered combat. The Portuguese army began to be slaughtered. The Chronicle of Alfonso XI says they were pursued for more than . Almost all the Portuguese infantry were killed, and many knights also died. At nightfall the Castilian-Leonese troops returned to Barcarrota. There they learned that troops sent by the council of Cordoba were on the way to Barcarrota. ==Aftermath==