Isabella Of Spain

Kings and queens do good and bad things, sometimes the bad things outweigh the good things, and sometimes the good things outweigh the bad things. Isabella was the queen of Spain from 1474 to 1504. She did many wonderful things that benefited the countries of Castile and Aragon which she ran alongside with her husband (Highfield). Isabella Castile was a hero due to the fact that she united Spain, she approved Christopher Columbus's voyages, and she broke free from gender roles.

Isabella was born April 22 1451, she was the daughter of John II of Castile and Isabella of Portugal. Isabella was the heiress of Castile, which meant that people were starting to choose candidates for her to marry. Her half brother Henry wanted her to marry Afonso

who was the king of Portugal. Isabella went against his wishes and married Ferdinand who would be king of Aragon. Isabella became queen despite anti-Aragonese groups (Highfield). Isabella created a new dynasty for ruling both Aragon and Castile. She ruled alongside with her husband Ferdinand, in Aragon. She and her husband are famous for uniting spain (Anderson and Zinsser). Isabella had so many things she wanted to do for the two countries, but her future plans came to a tragic and when she tragically died from a high fever on November 26 1504 (Cavendish).
Isabella Castile was the hero in the time that she ruled due to the fact that she was able to unite Spain. Isabella ruled the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile making the country of Spain one step closer to being united. Anderson and Zinsser, who wrote the book A History of Their Own Volume 1, explains this when they write, “By uniting Castile and Aragon, Isabella and Ferdinand created a dynasty with enough resources to impose peace and strong enough to pass the united kingdom on” (Anderson and Zinsser page 322). Isabella along with her husband created a dynasty with many resources that benefited the country of Spain. Having the resources to keep a peaceful and strong dynasty for generations shows that Isabella was the hero when she united Spain. Even though Aragon and Castile were governed by themselves, they were united with ideas about what should happen in Spain, like when they came together to end the Reconquista when they captured Granda (Highfield). They also came together when they had everyone convert to christianity. The good thing about having everyone follow one religion is that there would be less fighting over religion along with issues and everyone will be happy. Having one religion also helped unite the two countries of Aragon and Castile (Craughwell).
Isabella’s action to support christopher columbus on his voyage through the Americas made her the hero.

Christopher Columbus found many new things such as different islands on his voyage, one of the reasons that he was on the voyage was for Isabella Castile. In a primary source written by Columbus to the king and queen of spain, he writes what he found and how amazing it was by saying, “In the island, which I have said before was called Hispana, there are very lofty and beautiful mountains, great for farms, groves and fields, most fertile both for cultivation and for pasturage, and well adapted for constructing buildings. The convenience of the harbors in this island, and the excellence of the rivers, in volume and salubrity, surpass human belief, unless on should see them. In it the trees, pasture-lands and fruits different from those of Juana” (Columbus). Columbus found many new things on these islands that benefit people back in his kingdom. With this new development and Isabella's support, they were able to find new land with fertile soil and fruits. With new land, they could gain resources and send them back to Spain for people to live a happier life with more food. There were also new people on the island, with new people, Isabella was excited to spread christianity to the west. She loved the Native Americans and freed enslaved Natives that Columbus had enslaved. Isabella is the hero because he helped her country grow due to her supporting the voyage.

(Highfield).
Breaking free from gender roles placed on woman in the middle ages shows that Isabella is the hero. In the middle ages woman didn't have much rights, they didn't have the education that men did and only men could work. Anderson and Zinsser explain this when they write, “These changes also limited elite women's access to land and thus to power. For a few extraordinary woman like Isabella of Castile the changes made their place in the lineage more significant. In the absence of sons, the constraints of gender no longer applied. Daughters became the means of maintaining the noble or royal family’s claims to property and authority. These women became liege and reigning monarchs in their own right and acquired more power than most noblemen.” (Anderson and Zinsser page 223). Isabella was able to change gender roles by being the queen and passing it down to woman. The lack of sons gave woman the chance to own land and run land without men taking over. Also, the slow decline of gender roles allowed Isabella to pick her own husband, she decided to go against men's wishes and marry Ferdinand of Aragon. (Highfield). Isabella making that choice shows that she helped start the decline of men being the dominant one in gender roles.
Isabella Castile was a hero due to the fact that she approved Christopher Columbus's voyages, she broke free from gender roles and united Spain. Christopher Columbus’s voyages made Isabella the hero because Isabella supported him and it made the country richer. Breaking free from gender roles is a heroic act due to the fact that is gives all woman a more free life. The action of uniting spain made Isabella the hero by being a stronger country.