Catholic Monarchs: Unification of Spain & Reign
Dynastic Union of Castile and Aragon
The marriage of Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon gave birth to the Hispanic monarchy. This union formed a pluralistic state composed of several areas, including Castile. Laws, currency, and border institutions remained distinct. However, the greater territorial, population, and economic weight of Castile led to a growing Castilianization of the monarchy itself.
Territorial Expansion Under the Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs agreed on the need to complete the territorial unification of the Hispanic kingdoms to build a strong state. Their key achievements included:
- The Kingdom of Granada was finally annexed in 1492.
- Navarre was incorporated into Castile, although it preserved its autonomy and institutions.
Extensive efforts were devoted to foreign policy. Castile’s interests were focused on the Atlantic, while Aragon’s were in the Mediterranean. They pursued a policy of concluding matrimonial alliances with various European kingdoms. They regained the territories of Roussillon and Cerdanya, organized a powerful army, and helped consolidate the rule of the Crown of Aragon over Naples. To stop the advance of Muslim forces in the Mediterranean, they carried out an intense campaign of conquests that secured mastery of the coast of Africa.
Strengthening Royal Power and Institutions
The Catholic Monarchs needed to impose their authority on the nobility and clergy. They achieved this by force and by imposing their authority. They recovered some of the royal estates while ensuring the aristocracy accepted the Church’s power and influence in exchange for political submission. They strengthened royal authority with several key actions:
- Creation of a standing army.
- Establishment of a permanent diplomatic body to strengthen foreign policy.
- Appointment of Aldermen, delegates of royal power, in towns and cities.
- Reorganization of the Royal Council, introducing lawyers and secretaries from the lower nobility and bourgeoisie.
- Diminished prominence of the Cortes (parliament).
- Reorganization of the Valladolid audience and creation of new administrative bodies for justice.
- Appointment of Viceroys who fully exercised royal authority.
- Appointment of a Chief Justice to act as an arbiter between the king and his subjects.
The Imposition of Religious Uniformity
The monarchy of the Catholic Monarchs found the existing religious pluralism a great difficulty, as it coexisted with the limits of confrontation. The denomination “Catholic Monarchs” derives from their commitment to preserving and disseminating Catholicism through the systematic pursuit of those who belonged to other faiths. They established the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition to suppress heresy, superstition, and witchcraft. One of their first decisions was the expulsion of Jews who did not agree to convert. They also framed the conquest of Granada as a war against unbelievers. Although initially, Muslims were assured the maintenance of their customary laws and religious properties, this changed in 1499.
Society and Economy
The basic characteristic of society was the inequality of its people. Laws and tradition proclaimed the nobility and clergy as the two privileged classes, in contrast to the plebeians or commoners. The economic base was agriculture.
The nobility and the Church owned nearly three-quarters of the farmland. They were also part of the group of farmers organized in the *Honest Mesta*. Commoners, who constituted the bulk of the population, were landless laborers, and their living conditions were very poor. The increase in the number of *loudness* (possibly referring to entails or restrictions on land) and the facility to create entails, increasing noble control over land, worsened the living conditions of farmers. The urban population was scarce. Guilds still controlled the production and distribution of products.