Catholic Monarchs & Visigothic Rule in Hispania
Catholic Monarchs
Dynastic Union and Government System
Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile (the Catholic Monarchs) achieved the dynastic union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon. This personal union aimed to become a political union, establishing domain representation, religious unity for their subjects, and centralization of power, attempting to reduce the influence of the nobles.
However, the agreement did not mean immediate territorial or institutional unification; each kingdom initially viewed the other’s inhabitants as foreigners.
Ferdinand introduced two key institutions: the Viceroy (a royal delegate in each kingdom) and the Council of Aragon.
This era saw the increasing power of the monarchy relative to the nobility and urban oligarchies. The only institution with jurisdiction in both crowns was the Spanish Inquisition.
Territorial Unification
The monarchs aimed for complete territorial unity by incorporating Granada, Navarre, and attempting union with Portugal.
Granada was incorporated into the Crown of Castile in 1492. Initially, its Muslim inhabitants were allowed to maintain their religion, language, and customs, though this policy later changed.
Following the conquest of Granada, expansion focused on Navarre. Exploiting the division between the Agramonteses (pro-French) and the Beaumonteses (pro-Castilian), Ferdinand occupied Pamplona, and Navarre was annexed to Castile in 1512-1515.
Social and Religious Policy
The Catholic Monarchs managed the nobility through repression, submission, or negotiation. The nobility lost political power but retained, and even increased, their economic status and social prestige, becoming collaborators with the monarchy.
Representing a small percentage of the population, the nobility owned a vast majority of the land and enjoyed significant privileges:
- Noble immunity (protection from certain legal procedures like imprisonment for debt or torture)
- Tax exemption
- Power to establish mayorazgo (entailed estates based on primogeniture), linking land and property to perpetuate their lineage (formalized by the Laws of Toro).
The Inquisition played a key role in enforcing religious uniformity and social control, targeting conversos (Jewish converts to Christianity) and later moriscos (Muslim converts).
Foreign Policy and Expansion
Foreign expansion employed two main strategies:
- Strategic Marriages: Political marriages were arranged for their children with other European royal houses. The most historically significant was the union of Joanna of Castile with Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Austria, heir to Burgundy and Flanders, which eventually brought the Habsburg dynasty to Spain.
- Military Interventions: Despite returning Roussillon and Cerdanya to King Charles VIII of France to initially avoid conflict over Italy, Ferdinand later intervened militarily and annexed the Kingdom of Naples to the Crown of Aragon.
Conquest of the Canary Islands
The conquest of the Canary Islands, begun earlier, was completed under the Catholic Monarchs. The process intensified, overcoming the resistance of the native Guanche population.
The Treaty of Alcáçovas-Toledo (1479-1480) with Portugal confirmed Castilian sovereignty over the Canary Islands while recognizing Portuguese dominance along the Atlantic coast of Africa. It was a key agreement defining spheres of influence.
The conquest led to rapid Castilian colonization, the subjugation and assimilation of the Guanches, and served as a crucial stepping stone for Spain’s expansion across the Atlantic to the New World.
Visigothic Hispania
In 409 AD, various Germanic groups, including the Vandals, Suebi, and Alans, exploited the weakness of the Western Roman Empire and entered Hispania.
The Visigoths, initially allies (foederati) of Rome, entered Hispania to combat these groups. They eventually expelled the Alans and Vandals (who moved to Africa), while the Suebi established a kingdom in Gallaecia (northwest Hispania).
Initially, the Visigoths established their kingdom centered in Toulouse (Gaul). After being defeated by the Franks at the Battle of Vouillé (507 AD) and pushed out of most of Gaul, they settled permanently in Hispania, eventually establishing Toledo as their capital.
Visigothic Unification
Visigothic society and rule were based on a blend of Roman administrative structures and Germanic traditions. As a minority ruling over the larger Hispano-Roman population, Visigothic kings pursued policies to merge the Gothic and Hispano-Roman communities, aiming for territorial, political, legal, and religious unity.
Key steps towards unification included:
- Territorial Unification: Advanced significantly under King Leovigild (reigned c. 568–586), who conquered the Suebian kingdom and pushed back Byzantine holdings in the south.
- Social & Legal Unification: Leovigild repealed the ban on intermarriage between Goths and Hispano-Romans. Legal unification culminated with the promulgation of the Liber Iudiciorum (Visigothic Code) under King Recceswinth (c. 654 AD), applying a single law code to both populations.
- Religious Unification: Achieved under King Reccared I (reigned 586–601), who formally converted from Arian Christianity to Nicene Catholicism at the Third Council of Toledo (589 AD), making Catholicism the official religion of the kingdom.
Political Organization
The political structure blended Roman administrative practices with Germanic traditions.
The monarchy was theoretically elective, chosen by an assembly of high-ranking nobles and bishops, although kings often attempted to establish hereditary succession.
The king held significant powers:
- Supreme Judge
- Commander-in-chief of the army
- Chief Legislator
The king governed with the assistance of the Officium Palatinum (royal household officials) and advisory bodies like the Royal Council (Aula Regia). Church councils, particularly the Councils of Toledo, also played a significant role in governance and legislation.