Queen Isabella I of Spain

She oversaw the beginning of the Age of Exploration

© William Silvester

Mar 29, 2008

Early Life

Isabella was the daughter of King John II of Castile and his second wife, Queen Isabella of Portugal. She was born in Madrigal de las Torres on April 22, 1451. Tragedy entered her young life when her father died in 1454 and her older half-brother, Henry, became king of Castile and Leon. One of the first acts of the new king was to send his stepmother to Arevalo and his half-siblings to Segovia to live in virtual exile. Henry IV then married the daughter of Alfonso V of Portugal, Princess Juana. It is widely rumoured that Henry was impotent as his first wife, Blanca of Navarre, remained virgin throughout the thirteen years of their marriage. It was surprising, therefore, when Juana gave birth to Princess Juana in 1462.

Meanwhile, ten-year-old Isabella and her brother were summoned back to Madrid where Henry could keep a closer eye on them. The question of the paternity of Juana came to the fore at the Representation of Burgos and the nobles demanded that Isabella’s brother, Alphonso, be named Henry’s heir. At first, Henry agreed, provided Alphonso marry his daughter Juana. He soon changed his mind and Castile was plunged into civil war when the nobles, supporting Alfonso, met the king’s armies at the Battle of Olmeda in 1467. The battle was indecisive and the question of 14-year-old Alfonso’s succession died with him a year later.

The rebellious nobles now turned to Isabella and proclaimed her the legitimate heir. The princess refused to join with them and pledged her support to Henry. The king, in turn, accepted Isabella as his heir after she managed to convince him that his wife Juana was an adulteress and he could not possibly be the father of her daughter, now married to the King of Portugal. Henry attempted to steer Isabella in the direction of his choice by marrying her to a man of his choosing. The princess, however, was determined to make her own choice and selected Prince Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Aragon. On October 19, 1469, they were married in Ocana.

Queen of Castile

Five years later, on December 10, 1474, Henry IV died. Isabella lost no time in having herself crowned Queen of Castile three days later. She knew that her claim would be contested and wanted to have as strong a position as possible. Before long, Portugal’s King Alfonso V declared that his wife, Juana, purportedly Henry IV’s daughter, was the true Queen of Castile. Isabella dismissed the claim and Alfonso declared war.

The first battle of the War of Castilian Succession was fought at Toro where Ferdinand met and successfully defeated Alfonso’s army in 1476. A series of rapid campaigns followed as Isabella and Ferdinand subjugated all the rebellious towns and fortresses which questioned their right to reign.

Spain United

The couple’s power was increased even more in 1479 when Ferdinand’s father died and he succeeded to the throne of Aragon uniting the two Spanish kingdoms. Determined to unite all of Spain under their control, Isabella and Ferdinand convinced Pope Sixtus IV to authorize the Inquisition and set about the expulsion of all Jews and Muslims from Catholic Spain.

Since the 8th century, the Moors had been in control of part of the southern Iberian peninsula. By the time of Isabella, Moorish leadership had become weak and divided. Still, it would take ten years of fighting and negotiating before Spain was united. Isabella recruited the finest mercenaries from all over Europe, adopted the most advanced techniques in artillery usage and systematically recaptured Spain a piece at a time.

The Explorer Columbus

Now that peace had been assured on the Iberian peninsula, Isabella could turn her attention to other matters, such as the persistent Genoan known as Christopher Columbus. She eventually agreed to sponsor his voyage of exploration, appointed him admiral and granted governorship over any lands he discovered plus ten percent profit. She sent him on his way on August 3, 1492 and turned her attention to other matters.

Of primary concern to the monarchs was the "religious cleansing" of their newly united kingdoms. Not only did they want a politically unified country but one united under a single religion, Roman Catholicism. In 1492 the Alhambra Edict was issued calling for the expulsion of all Jews and Muslims from Spain. Some 20,000 people left the country, some converted, others went into hiding. When Columbus returned in 1493 and presented his findings to the Queen he received a hero’s welcome. The Golden Age of exploration had begun. Isabella’s later years were confined primarily to administering the empire she had established with her husband. She died in 1504 at Medina del Campo. Ferdinand would live until 1516.

For more on Early Explorers check out Henry the Navigator.

Bibliography

Nancy Rubin Stuart. Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen (St. Martin's Press, 1991)

William T. Walsh. Isabella of Spain, The Last Crusader, Tan Books & Pub, 1987

Encyclopedia Britannica

Queen Isabella I of Spain

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