Created by María Jesús Campos Fernández, teacher of History and Geography in a bilingual section in Madrid. learningfromhistory.wikispaces.com learningfromgeography.wikispaces.com

1. THE CATHOLIC MONARCHS
María Jesús Campos
learningfromhistory.wikispaces.com

2. 
The 15th century is considered to be a period
of transition between the Middle Ages and the
Early Modern Age.

The Early Modern Age was a period full of
changes but most of these changes were
seeded during the 15th century.

3. ISABEL OF CASTILE



Trastamara dynasty.
The Crown of Castile suffered
continuous revolts of the
nobles. They tried to control
the monarch.
When King Henry IV died
(1474) the Crown suffered a
civil war between the king’s
daughter, Juana “la
Beltraneja” and the king’s
sister, Isabel,

5. Juana, “la Beltraneja”
was supported by
Portugal as she was
married with the king of
Portugal.
 Isabel was supported by
the Crown of Aragon as
she had married prince
Ferdinand of Aragon
(1469)


6. Isabel was proclaimed
Queen of Castile in
1479 in the Alcaçovas
Treaty.
 Juana secluded
herself at a convent.


7. FERNANDO OF ARAGON



Trastamara dynasty.
Son of King Juan II
and his second wife
Juana Enriquez.
Married with princess
Isabel of Castile in
1469. As they were
cousins they had to
obtain a Papal bull.

9. THE CREATION OF SPAIN? WAS IT A REAL
UNION?
In 1477 Isabel was proclaimed Queen of
Castile as Isabel I.
 In 1479 Fernando was proclaimed King of
Aragon as Fernando II.
 They decided to govern together over the two
Crowns, and to have similar power in both:
“tanto monta, monta tanto”
 They were going to be known as the Catholic
Monarchs


11. 
The “Concordia of
Segovia” (1475) set up
the terms of the
Catholic Monarchs’
government over the
two Crowns:
 Ferdinand
was named
King of Castile as
Ferdinand V as he would
cogovern with his wife
Queen Isabel I

12. 


Nevertheless it was not a real union. It was only a
dynastic union.
Although Isabel and Fernando both would rule over
the two Crowns, each kingdom would keep its
independence, its own laws, institutions and
customs.
And after the death of any of the monarchs, the
survivor would go to its own Crown to rule while the
other Crown would be inherited by their first
descendant.

13. THE CATHOLIC MONARCHS: COMMON AIMS

Although the Crowns were, in
fact, independent, the
Catholic Monarchs
established some common
aims for both Crowns:



Religious unity
Territorial expansion
Sthrengthening of the
monarchs authority

14. The Crown of Castile



The monarch was the
highest authority.
The monarch’s power
came from God’s desire.
He/she had been
chosen by God to
govern and protect the
kingdom’s subjects.
Divine right of
kings/queens.
God
Monarch
Laws
Government
Subjects
Justice

16. Domestic
Policy
Foreign
Policy
•To assert the monarch’s
authority over the nobility
and the clergy
•To unify their subjects on
common grounds
•To build a strong system
of alliances to increase
its influence over Europe

17. THE CROWN OF CASTILE: DOMESTIC POLICY

To assert the monarch’s authority over the nobility
and the clergy:





Professional and centralized administration
Holy Brotherhood and Corregidores
Audiencias and Chancillerías
Professional Army
Royal Treasury
Professional and centrilized
Professional army
administration
The path to
Authoritarian
Monarchies
Royal Treaury
Diplomatic system

18. Administration
• Professional:
officials and
jurists of the Third
Estate
(bourgeoisie) or
lesser nobles that
had studied in the
recently created
universities.
• Centralized:
depends directly
on the monarchs
• Objective: not to
need the noblity or
clergy when ruling
and controlling the
territories.
Audiencias and
Chancillerías
• Supreme judicial
bodies to impart
justice on the
territories.
• Objective: to get
rid of the nobles’
and clergy’s
influence on
justice
Professional Army
• Professional
soldiers trained
for war.
• Depend on the
monarch’s
authority and
follow only his/her
orders.
• Objective: not to
need the nobility’s
armies anymore

19. Royal Treasury
• To collect and
organize taxes.
• The monarchs
created new taxes
and reorganized
the existing ones to
make taxation
more effective.
• Objective: to pay
the rest of the
institutions, not to
need the nobility’s
and the clergy’s
support any more.
Corregidores
• Officials from the
administration that
represented the
monarchs in the
cities.
• To supervise City
Councils, collect
taxes for the Royal
Treasury, make
sure that law was
being followed, etc.
Holy Brotherhood
• Santa Hermandad.
• Judicial police force
that worked in the
municipalities
fighting against
bandits and
defending
peasants and
workers from the
abuses of the
nobility.
• Objective: to
defend the land
and its inhabitants
and to stop the
nobles’ inferences.

20. 

To govern the different
territories and attend the
different issues, the Catholic
Monarchs created a
polisinodyal system.
Different Councils in charge
of different territories and
matters.
ROYAL COUNCIL


To give advice to the
monarchs in all matters
connected to the
government of Castiled and
legal and political disputes
within the Crown.
Formed by nobles, clergy and
jurists. The nobles and clergy
position in the council was
only honorary. The jurists
were the ones helping the
monarchs in all
governmental matters.

21. THE CROWN OF CASTILE: DOMESTIC POLICY

To unify their subjects on common grounds:


Ordenanzas Reales: New legal code. Same laws for the
whole Crown.
Religious unity:
Conquest of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada (1492)
 The Tribunal of Inquisition (1478) to prosecute heretics. It didn’t
have authority over Muslims or Jews.
 Compulsory Conversion: 1492 Jews were forced to convert or to
migrate (the Expulsion of the Jews). Around 80,000 Jews left the
country, the ones that converted were known as conversos
 Compulsory Conversion: 1512, Mudejars (Spanish Muslims) were
forced to convert or migrate. Muslims who converted were known
as moriscos.


23. THE CROWN OF CASTILE: FOREING POLICY

To build a strong system of alliances to increase their
influence over Europe and obtain support:




Council of State: to deal with foreign negotiations, hear
embassies, etc.
Diplomatic System: to represent the monarchs in other
kingdoms and negotiate the Crown’s interests, set up
alliances, avoid war, establish alliances, etc.
Alliances through marriages.
To expand their territories
Professional and centrilized administration
Professional army
The path to Authoritarian
Monarchies
Royal Treaury
Diplomatic system

24. Territorial expansion of the Crown of Castile

Focused in finishing the
Reconquest, expanding
through the Atlantic Ocean
and protecting trade with
Flanders:



1492 Conquest of the Nasrid
kingdom of Granada
1512 Conquest of Navarra who
was annexed to Castile in 1515.
Conquests in the North of
Africa: Canary Islands, Melilla,
Orán, Bugía, Tunis…

25. The Crown of Aragon



The monarch was the
highest authority.
The monarch’s power
came from a pact with
the subjects who gave
them authority to govern
and organize the
territories but
respecting their natural
rights and customs.
Pactist monarchy
Monarch
Laws
Government
Subjects
Justice

27. THE CROWN OF ARAGON
Domestic
Policy
Foreign
Policy
• It was difficult to strengthen
the monarch’s authority
because of the pactist system.
• Unity on common grounds
• To build a strong system of
alliances to increase its
influence over Europe

28. THE CROWN OF ARAGON: DOMESTIC POLICY


The monarchs tried to
assert their power over
the nobility by reducing
some feudal rights
(Sentencia Arbitral de
Guadalupe)
Their government was a
constant struggle with
the nobility to try to
establish an
authoritarian monarchy.
CORTES
Aragon
Cataluña
Professional and
centrilized
administration
Valencia
Professional army
The path to
Authoritarian
Monarchies
Royal Treaury
Diplomatic system

29. 


Because of that Fernando spent
more time in Castile attending
Castilian bussiness as he was
able to implement decisions
easily.
Lugartenientes: represented the
king in the different territories of
the Crown of Aragon. Then a
viceroy, Alonso de Aragon
(ilegitimate son of Fernando)
represented him.
Polisinodyal system: Counsil of
Aragon,

30. COUNSIL OF ARAGON



Formed by nobles, clergy and
jurists from the Crown of
Aragon
Located in Castile
Advised the monarchs in
governmental matters
connected to the Crown of
Aragon but needed their
approval to implement
measures
Monarch

31. THE CROWN OF ARAGON: DOMESTIC POLICY

To unify their subjects on
common grounds:

Religious unity:

The Tribunal of Inquisition
(1478) to prosecute
heretics. It didn’t have
authority over Muslims or
Jews.

32. THE CROWN OF ARAGON: FOREIGN POLICY

To build a strong system of alliances to increase their
influence over Europe and obtain support:




Council of State: to deal with foreign negotiations, hear
embassies, etc.
Diplomatic System: to represent the monarchs in other
kingdoms and negotiate the Crown’s interests, set up
alliances, avoid war, establish alliances, etc.
Alliances through marriages.
To expand their territories

33. Territorial expansion of the Crown of Aragon



Focused in its
Mediterranean interests.
Struggle with France for
influence over Italy.
Naples, Sicily and Sardinia
were kept as an Aragonese
possesion.

34. Catholic Monarchs
Polisinodial
System
Councils:
- Castile
- Aragon
- Navarra
- Inquisition
- War
…
Viceroys
- Aragon
- Navarra
- Catalonia
- Valencia
- Naples
Cortes
- Castile
- Aragon
- Catalonia
- Valencia
Court of
Justice
- Audiencia of
Valladolid
- Audiencia of
Granada

35. ALLIANCES THROUGH MARRIAGE

Following the customs
among royal families the
Catholic Monarchs
arranged their
children’s marriages
with political aims:



To obtain support
To increase their
influence over Europe
To annex new territories
through dynastic
unions…

37. 


Portugal: Isabel (first daughter) married infant
Alfonso of Portugal and when he died, she married
again with his husband’s brother Manuel I the
Fortunate. Then, when Isabel died, her sister María
married Manuel I, the Fortunate.
England: Catalina of Aragon married Arthur, Prince of
Wales, and when he died, she married his husband’s
brother Henry VIII.
The Low Countries, Austria and the Holy Roman
Empire: Juan, the eldest son and heir of the Crowns
of Castile and Aragon, married Margarita of Austria;
Juana, the mad, married Prince Philip, the handsome.

39. QUEEN ISABEL I DIES

Queen Isabel I died in
1504. As her only male
heir, Juan, had died as
well as her eldest
daughter, Isabel, the
Crown of Castile was
going to be inherited by
Juana, the mad.

41. 

Juana was living in the Low
Countries with her husband
Philip the Handsome.
Isabel I’s testament
established that Juana would
inherit the Crown and, only if
she was absent from the
country or could not or did not
want to reign Fernando would
act as a regent until his
grandson Carlos (son of
Juana) would become of age.

42. 


It also established that Castilian
positions could only be occupied by
Castilian subjects.
Waiting for the Queen to come to
Castile, the Cortes named Fernando
regent.
Fernando, reluctant to hand power
over to his daughter, who was showing
signals of mental illness, or to his sonin-law Phillip tried to convince the
Cortes to declare Juana not capable of
governing. But the Cortes did not want
to accept that.

43. 
Without Castilian support and
army, Fernando was worried of
losing the Kingdom of Naples.
So he secretly agreed with
King Louis XII of France, that
in exchange of France
recognizing aragonese
sovereignity over Italy,
Fernando would marry with
Germana de Foix, King Louis
XII’s nephew.

44. 


So that if Fernando and Germana had a child, he
would inherit the Crown of Aragon and its
territories and would rule over them under the
influence of France.
This decision was against the pact established
between Isabel I and Fernando as it did not
respect the rights of their own children.
Nevertheless, although Germana bore Fernando
a son, he died several hours after his birth.

45. 

In the Crown of Castile, the Cortes soon realized that
Juana was not capable of ruling. And when Phillip
the handsome suddenly died, the Cortes established
that Carlos, Juana and Philip’s son, would be
proclaimed king with his mother.
As Fernando and Germana did not have a child,
when Fernando died the Crown of Aragon was also
inherited by Charles.

48. Developed by María Jesús Campos
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