Queen Isabella I, together with her husband King Ferdinand II, and their religious advisor, Tomas de Torquemada, instituted and spearheaded the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain, as well as the government-sanctioned persecution of Muslims (Edwards, 173) . In contrast to the Golden Age of Spain, centuries of progress and religious tolerance under Muslim rule, Queen Isabella’s reign over Spain from 1474 to 1504 was characterized by persecution of non-Catholics and the imposition of Catholicism on all of Spain’s inhabitants. The Reconquista was an ongoing and lengthy series of battles that lasted hundreds of years. Ultimately, Catholics succeeded in conquering all of Spain. The two largest non-Catholic groups in …show more content…
When the concept of an Inquisition was proposed, Queen Isabella was not interested in pursuing it. Ferdinand, however, supported the idea of an Inquisition because he saw in it the potential to tremendously increase his wealth and land ownership (Altabé, 729). King Ferdinand was successful in convincing Queen Isabella to support instituting the Inquisition (Liss, 29). Queen Isabella was not known to turn down an opportunity for more wealth, as she was greedy and power hungry. In addition to this desire for financial gain, Queen Isabella’s opinions were shaped by her so called religious advisor Tomas de …show more content…
It “prohibit[ed] all interactions” between Jews and Christians, and it “banish[ed]” Jews from Spain; Jews were required to flee Spain (Juan de Coloma). However, Jews who converted to Catholicism were permitted to remain in Spain. The primary goal of this edict was to keep the Jews who had converted to Catholicism faithful to their new religion. Catholics were suspicious of the authenticity of Jewish conversions. By mandatory expulsion as the punishment for practicing Judaism, the ruling Catholics greatly influenced the elimination Jewish practice and fostered more authentic conversions.
The Muslims, also called Moors, arrived in centuries earlier and gained full power in 711 CE (Altabé, 728). They ruled over the Iberian Peninsula and remained in power for many centuries. With a Muslim rule, an era of acceptance and growth was born. A Golden Age began and new ideas blossomed in a diverse population of Jews, Muslims, and Catholics. Jews and Muslims worked together and thought up many innovative ideas. Likewise, everyone was free to practice their own religion (Altabé, 728-729). Muslim rule in Spain was the complete antithesis of the Catholic rule of
Although the couple were really especially known for sending explorers like Christopher Columbus abroad, that actually is not their most effective achievement. Their most effective achievement was 10-year bloodbath of a war that was called the Granada War. Their main focus was to rid Spain entirely of its Muslim population. Ferdinand and Isabella took their Christian faith to the next level just to do so. In January of the year of 1442 they were successful, as they were able to wipe out the Muslims (PBS).
The English reconquest of Spain was a series of events leading to the Christian regaining the control of the Iberian Peninsula. During the time, the Christian and Islamic cultures had built off of each other, both economically and socially. Ferdinand II and his wife Isabella I where the catholic monarchs that played a key role in the success of the reconquest of the Peninsula. Their marriage was a political alliance between Argon and Castilian nobles as a way for them to unite. While their marriage was not for romance or love, the two did deeply care about each other and made quite the power couple, literally. As a team, Ferdinand and Isabella were able to gain control over Castile and keep fighting until their conquest was over. Ferdinand
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain were the duo monarchs of the new nation of Spain, brought together by their families' lands of Argon and Castille. Ferdinand of Argon, son of John II of Argon, rose to power through his marriage to Isabella of Castille. Isabella of Castille was the daughter of King John I, of Castille. After King John I died, her older brother was the next heir I'm line, King Henry IV. When King Henry IV was seen unfit to rule by nobles, he was pushed aside to let his younger half-brother Alfonso take the throne. Fortunately, at least for Isabella, Alfonso soon after died of the plague, and had named her his successor in his will. This king and queen brought together their people firstly by completing the Reconquista, the expulsion of people practicing Muslim and Judism, to unify their nation under the religion of Roman Cathlioc. Although this couple's greatest achievement was their funding towards Christopher Columbus who ultimately found the New World. Through this, and their "claim" of it, Spain grew prostperous through the collection and mineing of silver and gold. This also lead to colonization and tr...
Spain had been the greatest power in the 1500s in Europe.The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most famous events in English history. It was one of Queen Elizabeth's greatest accomplishments.
The Inquisition run by Tomas de Torquemada persecuted other religions and was a base of counter-reformation
In the fifth century Barbarians collapsed the Roman Empire and Europe entered the Dark Ages. Around this time the Visigoths expanded their empire by heading for Spain. Upon arriving in Spain, the Visigoths encountered Jews whom they treated somewhat gently until the Visigoths converted to Catholicism; the Visigoths then overran Jews. Soon after, Muslims from North Africa known as Berbers decided to invade the Iberian Peninsula in hopes to take control of Spain and expand the Muslim reign, which they did. This sudden change in rule of the territory provided a sense of relief for all the people living in Spain. The reason for this was because the Muslims treated everyone equally so long as they abided by Muslim authority and paid taxes. After all, the Christians...
Queen Isabella had many accomplishments as an adult. One of them was she tried to change the religion of Castile as much as she could. Isabella banned all religions other than Roman Catholic. Most of Castile was Muslim and if you weren’t willing to change to Catholic, then you would be punished or banned. She made war on Muslims who held part of Southern Spain. Also, all Jews had to be baptized in a church. Obviously, religion took a major role in the Renaissance (Phillips par 4).
...w country of Spain. She mostly impacted religions. When she was alive she always taught people that everyone in this world is equal (“Isabella of Castile” par 5). She made huge sacrifices when she was young. She even turned down an offer to be Queen. She believed that unless both her brothers died it was not her right to be Queen (“Queen Isabella’ par 4). Being an educated Catholic girl, Isabella was mostly influenced by god. Her parents taught her to always follow the word of god (“Isabella of Castile” par43). Isabella wanted to be remembered as someone to look up to. Today she has accomplished that. Many people in Spain wish to make Isabella a Saint. But fro right now she is called a servant of god (“Isabella of Castile” par 39).
The discovery of the New World was a minute factor in the development of Power during Ferdinand and Isabella's reign. Whilst Isabella and Ferdinand did commission Christopher Columbus for his voyage, this was under the pretence that there as huge wealth to be found, however the mission failed and resulted in Columbus returning to Castile in chains. Pendrill argues that the...
Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon were one of the most famous married couples in history. Isabella was beautiful. “She had blue eyes and chestnut hair.” “She was just striking” (Isaacs). By the time she was 18, she wore beautiful gowns and jewels. “She wore them throughout her life” (Isaacs). Ferdinand and Isabella ruled Spain in a joint ruling, converted Muslims to Christianity, sponsored Christopher Columbus’s journey to a New World, had a family and Isabella even had time for education. Isabella and Ferdinand were devout Catholics that pushed and strived for Christianity in Spain. Despite their extreme measure to push for Christianity, their time in reign was the Golden Age of Spain.
In an age where there was such a close bond between church and state, opposition to the church was intolerable. The Inquisition caused Spain to become intellectually backward, and economically and industrially damaged. The powerful influence of the Inquisition forbade social influences, such as books from other parts of Europe, to enter Spain. Consequently, the universities remained stagnant, unable to produce graduates understanding the world around them. from the lack of information on the other civilizations in the rest of Europe. As a result of this, they came into the 20th century intellectually inferior and bankrupt. With the banished, tortured, and persecuted heretics in mind, it is possible that the Spanish Inquisition is perhaps one of the most cruel acts performed on innocent people in the name of religion.
The Reconquista is what began the way for Christian kingdoms to expand. Christians across Europe united to help the Spaniards win the territory from the Muslims. Once the Reconquista had ended, it led to the power that the Spanish military then had. The Reconquista had a major part in changing the way the Spaniards thought. Anyone who rejected Christianity to the men who fought in the Reconquista who felt that they were in higher power became enslaved to them. Muslims and Jews had no other choice but to convert to Christianity once Spain gained back their authority. This is mainly what drew the Spaniards to be so devoted to converting people to Christianity.
The Ottomans and Spanish built flourishing empires based on different philosophies from 1450 to 1800. The Ottoman and Spanish were two powerful empires during that time. During the building of the two empires, the Spanish and the Ottoman both developed similarities in their social, political, and economic structures. The Ottoman took control of Europe, while the Spanish saw it as easy to monitor new lands. The different tactics employed made the both empires flourish. For instance, the Spanish were not tolerant of religion. They conquered other areas with the aim of converting Christians to Islam, if they refused, they would be killed. On the other hand, the Ottoman leaders incorporated leaders of diverse culture
Many people have heard of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. However, only some know of all the things they accomplished. They might be best known for funding the voyages of Christopher Columbus, but they also greatly contributed to the unity of Spain (“Isabella l”). Together, they brought many kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula together to form what Spain is today. Through Spain’s unification, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella strengthened Spain into an economic and dominant world power, enabling the spread of Christianity and the colonization of a New World.
A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain is survey medieval Spain, where Christians, Jews, and Muslims once lived side by side and the Muslims were in charge. The book tries to lead the reader to the conclusion that there is indeed a historical precedent for the three major religions establishing a beneficially symbiotic relationship which may be an enduring lesson for coexistence. The author, Chris Lowney, is an ex-Jesuit and holds degrees in medieval history and philosophy.