3rd ESO

Teacher: Rocío Martínez

• 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 Nasrid Kingdom of Granada.

• In 1469, Ferdinand, son of the king of Aragon, married Isabella, sister of the
king of Castile (Enrique IV).

• 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 (dynasty): Los Trastámara.

• 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.
• 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 Kings annexed the Kingdom of Navarre, conquered Melilla and Oran in
North Africa and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. They also expelled
the Muslims from Granada (1492).
• The monarchs wanted to finish 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 soldiers.

• The Catholic Monarchs aimed a 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 Muslims and Jews be
expelled from Spain or they were forced to
covert to Catholicism. Hundreds of those who
had converted were accused of secretly
practicing their original religion and they were
arrested, imprisoned and interrogated under
torture by the Inquisition.
• Alfer the Granada War (1492)
the Catholic Monarchs authorized
the expedition of Christopher
Columbus.

• All the territories conquered in

America belonged to the Castilian
Crown and they were called
“Reinos de Indias” or simply “Las
Indias”.

• The different administrations

and juridical organizations
remained until the 18th century
when Felipe V (the first Bourbon
king of Spain) established the
common administration between
all the diverse territories of the
Spanish Crown. Cristopher Columbus
• Meanwhile Castile focused on their explotarion and expansion over
the new continent, the Crown of Aragon wanted to be strong in some
territories in the Mediterranean Sea.
 Isabella I Ferdinand II

Isabella Joanna John Maria Catherine

Alfonso of Philip the Margaret of Manuel I of Arthur

Portugal Handsome Austria Portugal of Wales

Important Alliance Ties with More After the

ties with the the strength in death of
with Holy Habsburg the tie Arthur of
Portugal, Roman dynasty. with Wales, she
ensuring Empire. Portugal. married
peace and Henry VIII,
future King of
alliance. England.
 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. Y and F are the
initials of Ysabel (archaic
spelling) and Fernando.