236 Chapter 13
The Iberian Kingdoms: Ferdinand and Isabella
The Iberian Peninsula was in some ways an unlikely
birthplace for two of the most successful early modern
states. Difficult terrain and an average annual rainfall of
twenty inches or less produced little surplus wealth.
Ethnic, political, and religious differences were great. In
1400 no fewer than five kingdoms shared this rugged
land. Portugal was probably the most homogeneous,
though it possessed significant Muslim and Jewish mi-
norities. Castile, comprising the two ancient kingdoms
of León and Castile, contained not only Jews and Mus-
lims, but also Basques and Galicians who, though de-
voutly Christian, possessed their own languages and
cultures. The kingdom of Aragon had three separate re-
gions: Aragon, Cataluña, and Valencia. Each of them
had its own language and traditions, though the
Aragonese spoke Castilian and some linguists regard
Valencian as a dialect of Catalan. Finally, there was the
kingdom of Granada, the last but still vigorous remnant
of the Islamic Empire on European soil, and the tiny
mountain kingdom of Navarre straddling the Pyrenees
between Castile and France.
Portugal was the first European state to achieve
consolidation, just as it would be the first to acquire an
overseas empire. During most of the fourteenth cen-
tury, it suffered like other monarchies from intrigue, dy-
nastic failures, and ill-advised forays into the Hundred
Years’ War. In 1385 the Portuguese Cortes solved a suc-
cession crisis by crowning the late king’s illegitimate
son as John I. In the same year, John defeated the
Castilians in a decisive battle at Aljubarrotta and sup-
pressed most of the old feudal nobility, many of whom
had supported the enemy. Under his descendants, the
house of Avis, Portugal avoided the revolts and dynastic
failures that troubled other states and evolved virtually
without interruption until 1580.
Spain was another matter. Aragon and Castile had
long been troubled by civil wars. Castile established a
precedent for perpetual taxes in 1367, but the usurpa-
tion of Enrique of Trastámara left the crown dependent
upon the nobles who had supported him. His succes-
sors, especially Juan II and Enrique IV “the Impotent,”
were incapable of maintaining order, in part because
their favorites aroused the jealousy of the grandees.
The accession of Enrique’s half-sister Isabella and her
marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon brought an end to the
period of anarchy and led to the eventual union of the
two kingdoms. Isabella and Ferdinand inherited their
respective thrones in 1479, a decade after their mar-
riage. Each ruled independently, but they cooperated
on the broad outlines of policy, and an agreement was
reached that their heirs would rule a united Spain by
hereditary right.
The program of the Catholic kings, as they were
called, was greatly assisted by the weariness brought on
by decades of civil strife. The nobles of Castile were
pacified by confirming their titles to all lands acquired
by them, legally or illegally, before 1466 and by the ju-
dicious granting of mayorazgosor entails permitting
them to exclude younger children from their inheri-
tances. This was important because, under Spanish law,
property was normally divided equally among the heirs,
a practice that tended to deplete a family’s wealth and
influence over time. In return, the grandees agreed to
give up all the land they had taken illegally after 1466
and to disband their private armies.
The towns, too, had suffered in the civil wars.
Clientage and kinship ties were powerful in Castilian
society, and many cities had fallen under the control of
factions that persecuted their rivals mercilessly. At the
Cortes of Toledo in 1480 the royal towns of Castile
agreed to the appointment of corregidores,royal officials
who would reside in the city, protect the interests of
the crown, and supervise elections. This ensured a high
degree of royal authority over city governments and
over those who were elected to represent them in the
Cortes. The consequent willingness of this body to
support new taxes and other royal initiatives was to be-
come an important cornerstone of Spanish power.
None of these measures applied to Aragon. To en-
sure domestic peace, Ferdinand was forced to confirm a
series of rights and privileges granted by his father in
1472 at the height of the civil wars. These concessions,
however, were less important than they might appear.
The kingdom of Aragon was far smaller than Castile,
and its most vital region, Cataluña, had been declining
economically for more than a century. Castile was des-
tined to be the dominant partner in this union of the
crowns, and its dominance was only enhanced by its
centralized institutions and higher level of taxation. In
both kingdoms, administration was reformed and the
crown’s already extensive control over church appoint-
ments was strengthened.
With their realms at peace, the monarchs turned
their attention to the kingdom of Granada. After ten
years of bitter warfare, the Muslim state was conquered
in 1492, the same year in which Columbus sailed for
the New World. It was also the year in which the Jews
were expelled from Spain, for the Catholic kings were
committed to a policy of religious uniformity. Fanned
by popular preachers, anti-Jewish sentiment had led to