Isabella (Castilla) de Castilla y León (1451 - 1504)

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Biography

Isabella I (Castilla) de Castilla y León is a member of the House of Trastámara.

Isabella I was born 22 April 1451 in Madrigal de las Altas Torres to King (Juan) John II Castilla and Isabella of Portugal.^[1] King John II died when Isabella was only four, leaving the crown to her older half brother, Henry IV.^[1] Isabella of Portugal took her children, Isabella and Alphonso, to Arevallo where she dedicated herself to their education and development.^[1]

From an early age, Isabella favored elegant gowns and jewelry, accenting her naturally beautiful blue eyes, figure, and reddish-chestnut hair.^[2][1] Education was also important to Isabella.^[2] She learned Latin at the age of 35, insisted on schools supported by her court to educate young men of the country, and made sure her own children were well educated, as well.^[2][1]

When Isabella was 16, in order to try to mend a Spain torn by civil war, Henry IV tried to marry his sister to the leader of the opposing faction.^[1] This terrified Isabella to the point of her threatening suicide, but she was saved when the proposed bridegroom died.^[1] At 17, she was offered an opportunity at the crown, but declined, insisting to wait until it was rightfully hers at her brother's death.^[1]

Isabella instead was wed to Fernando II of Aragon,19 October 1469 in Spain, without the consent of Henry IV, which had been required.^[1] At that time the Aragónese crown included the kingdoms of Majorca, Sardinia and Valencia, as well as the Principality of Catalonia. Henry died December 1474, and two days later, Isabella declared herself Queen of Castile.^[1]

Ferdinand and Isabella's Wedding Portrait

The children of Isabella and Ferdinand included:

• Isabella (1470–1498).^[2] She married Manuel I of Portugal, and they had one son. Isabella died shortly after his birth, and her son died only a year later.^[1]
• Stillborn Infant Son, born 31 May 1475.^{[citation needed]}
• John (1478–1497), Prince of Asturias.^[2] Prince John married Archduchess Margaret of Austria.^[1] He fell ill not long after they were married and died.^[1]
• Joanna "the mad" or Juana "la Loca" (1479–1555), Queen of Castile.^[2] Queen Juana married Philip "the Handsome" of Austria.^[1] Their union produced Charles V.^[2][1]
• Maria (1482–1517), who married Manuel I of Portugal, the widower of her sister Isabella.^[2] They had children.
• Anna, Maria's twin, born 01 July 1482 at dawn, still born.^{[citation needed]}
• Catalina, later Catherine of Aragon (1485–1536), who married Arthur, Prince of Wales and had no children with him before his death. She then married his brother, Henry VIII of England.^[2][1] From this union Mary I of England (Bloody Mary) was born.^[2][1]

When Isabella took the throne, her country was torn by the lack of skill Henry had ruled with.^[1] This, coupled with support by some of her niece, Jane, as supposed Queen, made for a difficult several years.^[1] Isabella saw an opportunity, though, to change a land where nobles and feudal lords had more power than the monarchy, and started to employ the efforts of local mercenaries, the Santa Hermanadad, to restore order and give protection to her citizens.^[1] The actions served to turn people's loyalty to the crown and country instead of local nobility, as well as restoring land and wealth back to the crown.^[1] She even convinced the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church that she should appoint Spanish Bishops instead of his own council doing so, in order to best serve the country.^[1]

Due to how often Isabella travelled, she was highly recognizable for the era she reigned.^[3]

Isabella and Ferdinand fought to unite Spain under their Catholic monarchy, and dispel the Moors who had been ruling Granada.^[3][2]Their conquest to do so began in 1481, equating heresy to the Catholic Church to be the same as treason to Spain.^[3] Once the region was conquered in 1492, everyone was directed to convert to Christianity or leave, despite earlier promises of religious tolerance.^[3][2] A witch hunt ensued, fueled by the already present Inquisition, to sniff out those who claimed to have converted and didn't.^[3][1]

Of note to many Westerners was Isabella's funding of Christopher Columbus' expedition to explore the New World, and claim it for Spain.^[2][1] This was typical of Isabella and her desire to grow her kingdom and wealth, but also not something Ferdinand supported.^[2][1] Without her support, the expedition likely would never have happened.^[2]

Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus

Isabella I, Queen of Castille and Leon, died 26 November 1504 at Castillo de la Mota, Medina del Campo, Valladolid, Espana.^[3] Her death was preceded by 50 days of prayers and intercession in hopes the monarch would survive the high fevers and dropsy plaguing her.^[3] She had written her will, signing it October 12th, and adding a codicil November 23rd asking for kindness toward the natives in the Americas.^[3] She was interred at the Franciscan Monastery at Alhambra where Ferdinand was later interred in 1516.^[3][2][1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25} Bucklin, Loraine Pearce, "Life and Times of Isabella of Castile.", Eagle, Mary Kavanaugh Oldham, ed. The Congress of Women, Held in the Woman's Building, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, U. S. A., 1893. Chicago, Ill: Monarch Book Company, 1894. pp. 450-457.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15} Queen Isabella I of Spain, KingsCollege.edu. Accessed 5 Oct 2017.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8} Cavendish, Richard, "Death of Isabella I of Castile", HistoryToday.com, originally published. Volume 54 Issue 11 November 2004. Accessed 5 October 2017.

• Wikipedia Contributors, "Wikipedia: Isabella I of Castile", Wikipedia.com. Accessed 5 Oct 2017.
• Edwards, John. The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs 1474–1520. Blackwell Publishers Inc, 2000, p. xiii; pp. 1–39
• Joseph F. O'Callaghan, A History of Medieval Spain (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1983), 24. ISBN 0-8014-9264-5. Preview of cited page available on Google Books
• Richard Fletcher, "The Early Middle Ages, 700–1250," in Spain: A History, ed. Raymond Carr (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). ISBN 0-19-280236-4
• Michael C. Thomsett, The Inquisition: A History (Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc., 2010), 158
• Bernard Lewis, Cultures in Conflict: Christians, Muslims and Jews in the Age of Discovery (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 35–6. ISBN 0-19-509026-8
• Miles H. Davidson, Columbus then and now: a life reexamined, University of Oklahoma Press 1997, ISBN 0-8061-2934-4, p. 474.
• De Francisco Olmos, José María: Estudio documental de la moneda castellana de Carlos I fabricada en los Países Bajos (1517), Revista General de Información y Documentación 13, 133–153, 2003. URL: L. Külső hivatkozások
• Elliot, J. H. Imperial Spain 1469–1716. Penguin Books (New York: 2002), pg. 208. ISBN 0-14-100703-6
• Estudio documental de la moneda castellana de Carlos I fabricada en los Países Bajos (1517); José María de Francisco Olmos, Revista General de Información y Documentación 2003, vol 13, núm.2 (Universidad complutense de Madrid), page 137-8
• Estudio documental de la moneda castellana de Juana la Loca fabricada en los Países Bajos (1505–1506); José María de Francisco Olmos, Revista General de Información y Documentación 2002, vol 12, núm.2 (Universidad complutense de Madrid), page 299
• Historia general de España; Modesto Lafuente (1861), pp. 51–52.
• Fueros, observancias y actos de corte del Reino de Aragón; Santiago Penén y Debesa, Pascual Savall y Dronda, Miguel Clemente (1866), page 64
• Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, Faustino (2004) «Los Reyes Católicos», El escudo de España, Madrid, Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía; Ediciones Hidalguia. ISBN 978-84-88833-02-0