The United Spanish Monarchy

Chapter 1

The Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century

The Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century

• 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.

The 15th century

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

• 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)

• Isabel was proclaimed Queen of Castile in 1479 in the Alcáçovas Treaty.

• Juana secluded herself at a convent.

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.

The unification

• In 1479 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

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

• 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.

A real union?

St. John’s eagle

Castile & Leon

Yugo (Ysabel)

Aragon & Two Sicilies

Granada

Flechas (Fernando)

Common aims

• Although the Crowns were, in fact, independent, the Catholic Monarchs established some common aims for both Crowns:

• Territorial expansion• Strengthening of the Monarchs authority• Religious unity

The Crown of Castile

• The monarch was the highest authority - Divine right of the Monarchy

• The monarch’s power came from God’s desire. He/she had been chosen by God to govern and protect the kingdom’s subjects.

Subjects

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2

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

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• 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.

• To unify their subjects on common grounds:• Ordenanzas Reales: New legal code. Same laws for the whole

Crown.• Religious unity:

• Conquest of the 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

- 1512, Mudejars (Spanish Muslims) were forced to convert or migrate. Muslims who converted were known as moriscos.

2

The Crown of Castile: domestic 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

The Crown of Castile: foreign policy

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…

The Crown of Aragon

• The monarch was the highest authority.

• Pactist monarchy

• 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.

Subjects

The Crown of Aragon

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2

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.

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• 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,

Council 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

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.

2

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

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.

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…

• 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.

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.

• 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.

• 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 son-in-law Phillip tried to convince the Cortes to declare Juana not capable of governing. But the Cortes did not want to accept that.

• 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 of Aragon and his new wife Germana did not have a child, when Fernando died the Crown of Aragon was also inherited by Carlos.

Juana “la loca” (“the mad”)