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The Catholic Monarchs: domestic and foreing policy.

The Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, united their kingdoms through marriage in 1469. They completed the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula with the conquest of Granada in 1492 and established the Spanish Inquisition to enforce religious unity. They also sponsored Christopher Columbus' expedition in 1492, establishing Spain's empire in the Americas.

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The Catholic Monarchs
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA • In the 15th century, the Iberian Peninsula was divided into five large territories: the Crown of Castile, the Crown of Aragon, the Kingdom of Navarre, the Kingdom of Portugal and the Islamic Kingdom of Granada. • In 1469, Ferdinand, son of the king of Aragon, married Isabella, sister of the king of Castile.
• The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Their marriage united both crowns under the same family. • The Catholic Monarchs governed their territories together, but each kingdom had its own laws and institutions. It was the beginnings of modern Spain. • Isabella died in 1504. Ferdinand remarried Germaine of Foix; he died in 1516. They are buried in the Royal Chapel, in Granada.
ROYAL CHAPEL (GRANADA)
DOMESTI C POLICY • The Catholic Monarchs restored the royal authority in Spain. They created the Holy Brotherhood, a judicial police force for Spain. They reorganised the justice system and created the Royal Council, the highest judicial body. They also created a permanent and professional army.
The Monarchs conquered the Kingdom of Granada, annexed the Kingdom of Navarre, conquered Melilla and Oran in North Africa and completed the conquest of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. They also expelled the Jews (1492) and ordered the conversion to Christianity of the Muslims of Granada (1502).
• The Monarchs wanted to end the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula and conquer the Muslim kingdom of Granada. After ten years of many battles, the Granada War ended in 1492 when Emir Boabdil surrendered the keys of the Alhambra Palace in Granada to the Castilian Monarchs.
RELIGIOUS UNIFICATIO N The Catholic Monarchs wanted religious unification for their kingdoms so they founded the Tribunal of the Inquisition to prosecute heretics. The tribunal was known for its severe sentences and punishments. Ferdinand and Isabella ordered that all Jews be expelled from Spain or they were forced to convert to Catholicism.
ATLANTIC EXPLORATIONS • They authorized the expedition of Christopher Columbus, who wanted to reach the Indies sailing westward through the Atlantic Ocean. • All the territories conquered in America belonged to the Castilian Crown and they were called Reinos de Indias or simply Las Indias. • October 12th 1492, Columbus landed in the island of Guanahaní (renamed San Salvador, nowadays Bahamas). He explored Caribbean Sea and sailed back to Spain after founding first spanish settlement in America called “Fuerte Navidad”.
Isabella I Ferdinand II Isabella Joanna John Maria Catherine Alfonso of Portugal Philip the Handsome Margaret of Austria Manuel I of Portugal Arthur of Wales Important ties with Portugal, ensuring peace, future alliance and unification of all iberian kingdoms. Alliance with the Holy Roman Empire. Ties with the Habsburg dynasty. More strength in the tie with Portugal. After the death of Arthur of Wales, she married Henry VIII, King of England.
MOTTO AND COAT OF ARMS The Monarchs' joint motto was “Tanto monta, monta tanto”. The motto was created by Antonio de Nebrija and was an allusion to the explanation of the equality of the monarchs: Tanto monta, monta tanto, Isabel como Fernando ("It's one and the same, Isabella the same as Ferdinand") Their symbol was el yugo y las flechas, a yoke and a fasces. A double yoke is worn by a team of oxen, emphasizing the couple's cooperation. Isabella's emblem of arrows showed the armed power of the crown. Y and F are the initials of Ysabel (archaic spelling) and Fernando.
The first and fourth quarters of the coat of arms are occupied by the castles and lions which represent Castile and Leon for Isabella. In the second and third quarters the arms of Aragon and Sicily appear for Ferdinand. Finally, the badge of Granada occupies the point of the shield. Saint John’s eagle in gold because Isabella I of Castile was crowned on the feast of this saint.