Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon are considered one of the most influential royal couples in medieval history in the spread of Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula. "Catholic" kings
On October 19, 1469, one of the most fateful weddings in all of world history was held. Namely, the wedding of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile united the Spanish kingdoms of Aragon and Castile and thus de facto created a single Spanish state as we know it today.
It is necessary to know that in the Middle Ages the area of the Iberian Peninsula was not a single state. There were a number of smaller kingdoms: Asturias, Galicia, Navarre, Portugal, Aragon, Leon, Valencia, etc. By the 15th century, three larger states had crystallized: Aragon, Castile, and Portugal. The kingdom of Aragon in the time of King Ferdinand encompassed the eastern part of present-day Spain. The Aragonese crown also ruled over southern Italy (Naples and Sicily) and Sardinia and Corsica. The Kingdom of Castile ruled a large area of central Spain and was territorially even larger than Aragon.
Ferdinand and Isabella were married in the city of Valladolid. She was 18 and he was 17. Interestingly, their wedding required papal approval because they were close relatives (in the 3rd generation). Isabella did not want to marry without the Pope's approval, so Ferdinand's father made the document himself, ie forged it. The real papal approval came only later. Pope Alexander VI Borgia gave Ferdinand and Isabella the honorary title of Catholic kings (los Reyes Católicos). To this day, Spanish kings can use this honorary title.
Despite the opposition of many, including Isabella's brother Henry, the marriage was eventually concluded. The joint rule of the two great kingdoms, whose territories occupied most of the Iberian Peninsula, completely changed the course of history. Their marriage brought stability to their kingdoms and eventually became the foundation for the unification of Spain.
In most medieval states of the time, there was a desire for religious homogeneity, because homogeneity was considered the key.
a prosperous kingdom / state / empire. There was ethnic diversity in the Iberian Peninsula, which caused the rulers to doubt the loyalty of the inhabitants. With the aim of ethnic and religious cleansing, rulers Isabel and Ferdinand influenced the founding of the Inquisition and continued the Reconquista process after a 200-year hiatus.
Muslims and Jews were persecuted in the areas of Castile and Aragon for many years, until they were finally expelled in the early 16th century. Isabella opposed the expulsion, and Ferdinand encouraged him.
They were both highly educated and admired by many eminent personalities, including Niccolò Machiavelli and the Pope. Their rule was filled with mutual respect and appreciation of opinion. They ruled their kingdoms separately and kept the royal treasuries separate.
During the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, an absolute monarchy began to be established in Spain. The great feudal lords lost their political independence, gaining an honorary position at court instead. Cortes are losing their former significance and are being convened less and less. The administration takes on a bureaucratic character, concentrating in the center in the hands of the royal councils, and in places - in the hands of the royal officials, the corridors. But the bureaucratic apparatus was extremely cumbersome because it consisted of old feudal institutions adapted to the aims of royal absolutism and new organs created alongside them. For centuries, the provincial and class disunity of Spain was reflected in an extremely complex and uncoordinated administrative apparatus.
Ferdinand and Isabella are significant to world history for funding Columbus ’expedition that led to America’s European discovery. It was the beginning of a whole new era in world history. Colonization brought them many riches. Their descendants became the rulers of many European courts
