Isabella I Of Spain Research Paper

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Isabella I of Castile, also known as Isabella the Catholic (Spanish-Isabel la Catolica) was a dominating figure in the history of Spain. She was born on April 22, 1451 in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Castile, and died on November 26, 1504, in Medina del Campo, Spain. She became queen of two kingdoms, Castile(1474), and Aragon (1479), staying the queen of both, in a way, until her unfortunate, yet unavoidable, death. Her husband was Ferdinand II of Aragon, and her parents were John II of Castile, and Isabella of Portugal, who was actually John’s second wife. Her half brother became King Henry IV of Castile. Isabella played a role in many things that were of great importance. These include the formation of Spain through her marriage, the Reconquista, …show more content…

A quote from an article on Britannica.com says: “the two sovereigns were certainly united in aiming to end the long process of Reconquista by taking over the kingdom of Granada--the last Muslim stronghold in Spain.” The conquest of Granada began in 1482, lasting until 1492. The conquest was no easy win, and it lasted for a long time, also straining Castile’s finances. Some features of the campaign were medieval, and some of them were new. Isabella had a keen eye to the goings of war. She seems to have been responsible for improved methods of supply, and the establishment of a military hospital. In 1491 she and Ferdinand set up headquarters in Santa Fe, close to Granada, until Granada finally fell on January 2nd of the following …show more content…

It involved someone who nearly everyone past 6 years old knows the name of, or at least the rhyme related to him. Christopher Columbus. “Columbus visited her there to enlist support for the voyage that was to result in the European settlement of America.”(Britannica.com) To those who know more about Christopher Columbus than just his name, and the rhyme, the names Isabella and Ferdinand should seem familiar. Yes, this is that Isabella (and Ferdinand). The condition by which the voyage to discover a new way to the Indies were written up on April 17, 1492. The New World that was found and explored because of Isabella’s decision was adjoined to the land considered to be under the crown of Castile, like it has been done with previous discoveries in the Atlantic. If one were to follow the dots, it could be said that she caused the eradication of the practice of keeping slaves. If she hadn’t sponsored Christopher Columbus, he wouldn’t have discovered the New World. Then the colonies would not have been set up, America would not be the way it was when people began to fight the idea of slaves, and then there would still be slaves, from whenever people conquered each other’s lands. Wouldn’t that be just plain horrible? Except people as a whole wouldn’t really know that it would be horrible, because there has never been another way, another country/kingdom that they could see stop with slavery, and realize that

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