isabella of castile europe's first great queen

Her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon united two kingdoms, a royal partnership in which Isabella more than held her own. At a time when successful queens regnant were few and far between, Isabella faced not only the considerable challenge of being a young, female ruler in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world, but also of reforming a major European kingdom riddled with crime, debt, corruption, and religious factionism. In 1474, when Castile was the largest, strongest, and most populous kingdom in Hispania (present day Spain and Portugal), a twenty-three-year-old woman named Isabella ascended the throne. For those interested in royal biography or in the history of Spain as it emerged from the Middle Ages to become a world power, this book is recommended.A major biography of the queen who transformed Spain into a principal global power, and sponsored the voyage that would open the New World. The complex political, historical, religious, and geographical issues of the day are explained in a way that provides context for Isabella’s fascinating life. This detailed, exhaustively researched, clearly presented biography of Isabella lauds her strengths but doesn’t shy away from her faults. Pragmatic, warlike, pious, and rather devious, Isabella ruled in her own right, not as an extension of her husband. Isabella and Ferdinand’s marriage laid the groundwork for the unification of Spain. But there is quite a bit more to this woman, who wrangled her way onto the throne of Castile in 1474 and then, against the wishes of her advisors, wed the heir to the kingdom of Aragon. You may know her only from a whirlwind Western Civilization class as the Spanish queen who financed Christopher Columbus’ explorations, or as the fanatical Catholic monarch responsible for the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews. Isabella of Castile was certainly a formidable queen. Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen

Isabella of castile europe's first great queen