The Reconquista: The Christian Reconquest of Spain
The Presence and Power of the Christian Kingdoms in Spain
The presence and power of the Christian kingdoms in Spain from the eighth century onwards stemmed from developments that lasted more than seven centuries. Spain was occupied by the Muslims who came through the Strait of Gibraltar and subsequently took over the Iberian Peninsula. The Visigoths, though respected by the Muslims, had diminished power since the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Muslims gradually took control of the peninsula, establishing Al-Andalus, which extended from the Strait of Gibraltar to the realm of what is now Aragon and Catalonia. They stopped there because the Franks had settled in the area, led by Aureolus. The Muslims had no aim to seize France, which explains the historical connection Catalonia has always had with France. Catalonia’s prosperity can also be attributed to this connection. The Muslims did not advance into France because the Iberian Peninsula provided everything they desired, including a climate similar to their home countries.
The Muslims established their capital in Cordoba, transforming churches into mosques and building structures according to their customs. Today, Cordoba is a UNESCO World Heritage site and attracts large crowds of tourists. Other major cities included Seville and Malaga, as evidenced by the various monuments found in these cities. The Muslims introduced advanced irrigation techniques, bringing fruits from their countries, such as coffee, to cultivate in Spain. Trade flourished, contrasting with the Christian reconquest, which prioritized agriculture.
The Reconquista
Origins of the Reconquista in the Northern Cantabrian Region
The Muslim invasion of Hispania took place in 711. Within a few years, the entire Iberian Peninsula had fallen to the Muslims, who encountered little resistance. Much of the Visigoth nobility accepted the invaders in exchange for retaining their privileges and property. However, the Muslims did not pay equal attention to all occupied territories. The actual limits of Al-Andalus had the central system as its northern border in the west and the Ebro valley in the east. Only a few Berber garrisons were installed in the Duero basin, and they seemingly left the territory in the mid-eighth century.
In the northern mountains, from the Cantabrian Mountains to the Pyrenees, the old pre-Roman peoples, including the Asturians, Cantabrians, Basques, and others, continued to live. The starting point of the Reconquista is located in the Asturian-Cantabrian area. The people of this territory opposed the Muslims, just as they had opposed the Romans and Visigoths. However, Muslim pressure was lower in the Asturian-Cantabrian area than in the Pyrenees region, where the Muslims, firmly established in the Ebro valley, stationed military forces to counter potential threats. This explains the more rapid westward advance of the Reconquista compared to the east. While Christians established themselves along the Douro River around the year 900, they did not reach the Ebro area until two centuries later, at the dawn of the twelfth century.
In 722, the people of the Asturian mountains, led by the Visigoth nobleman Pelayo, defeated a Muslim column that had penetrated the Peaks of Europe. This event, known as the Battle of Covadonga, had little military significance. However, Christian chroniclers of the Asturian court later portrayed it as the “salvation of Spain.” From this point onward, the first political core of resistance to Islam on the peninsula, the Kingdom of Asturias (or Astur), formed in the Cantabrian Mountains.
In the mid-eighth century, Alfonso I traveled through the Duero basin, contributing to its depopulation, creating what a later chronicle called “wilderness camps called Gothic.” In the ninth century, the kingdoms of Asturias and Galicia progressed towards the plains of the Duero basin, as their demographic growth and Muslim opposition allowed. The occupation of this territory did not require prior military conquest, as it was essentially a no man’s land not subject to any political power. During the reign of Ordoño I, the southern border of Asturias reached the central line marked by the towns of Tuy (repopulated in 854), Astorga (settled on the same date), and Leon (which joined the Christians in 856). At the end of the ninth century, under King Alfonso III, the Christians, taking advantage of internal conflicts in Al-Andalus, reached the Douro River.
They first settled in Porto (866) and years later in Zamora (893), Simancas (899), and Toro (900). In the eastern part of the Kingdom of Asturias-Leon, Castilla, the city of Burgos was founded in 884. Shortly after, the Castilian counts also reached the Douro, repopulating Roa in 912 and San Esteban de Gormaz and Osma. The recruitment system implemented in the Duero basin was the presura, which involved occupying land and putting it into operation. People from the northern regions, as well as Mozarabic immigrants from Al-Andalus, participated in this process.
The Origins of the Reconquista from the Pyrenees
Several political nuclei formed in the Pyrenees: the Kingdom of Pamplona (Navarre) in the west, the County of Aragon in the center, and the Hispanic Marches in the east. The Frankish kingdom of the Carolingians played a decisive role, eager to establish a barrier south of their domain to prevent the advance of Muslims. Allied with the natives of Hispania, the Carolingians conquered Gerona (785) and Barcelona (801), establishing a patchwork of counties in the territory, which together formed the so-called Hispanic Marches.
In the second half of the ninth century, the Count of Barcelona, Wilfred the Hairy, repopulated the plain and adjacent territories, setting the southern border along the Llobregat and Cardoner rivers. The kings of Navarre reached the Ebro valley, conquering the towns of Calahorra and Najera in the early tenth century.
Christian Advances and Setbacks
The Reconquista was paralyzed in the tenth century due to the hegemony maintained by the Caliphate of Cordoba over the entire Iberian Peninsula. Only the Christian victory at Simancas (939), achieved by King Ramiro II of Leon, restarted the southward expansion beyond the Douro. In 940, the colonization of the Tormes valley (Salamanca, Ledesma, among others) began. At the same time, the Count of Castile, Fernán González, set foot in Sepulveda. However, this progress was soon lost, as in the second half of the tenth century, Christians were forced to retreat along the Douro. The primary cause of this retreat was the terrifying campaigns led by the Cordoban warlord Almanzor, who attacked Christian Spain from all sides, from Barcelona in the east to Santiago de Compostela in the west.
The disintegration of the Caliphate in 1031 marked a radical shift in the balance of power between Christians and Muslims in Spain. Christian kings began to exercise a protectorate over the various taifas that had broken away from the Caliphate, demanding parias, or tributes, from them. In the second half of the eleventh century, the kings of Castile and Leon led the repopulation of Extremadura, the territory between the Douro and the Central System. The cities of Salamanca, Avila, and Segovia were their main strongholds. This was a border repopulation, leading to the formation of village communities and estates, in which popular gentlemen played a leading role.
Simultaneously, the kings of Aragon approached the Pyrenean foothills, conquering Huesca (1096) and Barbastro (1100). In 1085, Alfonso VI of Castile entered Toledo through an agreement with the ruling taifa. Toledo had been the old Visigothic capital and a key city in Al-Andalus. Shortly after, various towns in the area between the Central System and the Tagus valley fell to the Christians, including Atienza, Guadalajara, and Talavera. In this area, the repopulation involved the superposition of people from the north onto the existing population, which was largely Moorish.
The arrival of the Almoravids on the peninsula, who reunified Al-Andalus, brought the Reconquista to a standstill. Only Alfonso I of Aragon was able to advance towards the Ebro valley, conquering Zaragoza (1118), Tudela and Tarazona (1119), Calatayud (1120), and Daroca (1121). Much of the Mudejar population remained in this territory, but new settlers also arrived, particularly in the city of Zaragoza. However, the Almoravid Empire was short-lived, disappearing in 1145, and Al-Andalus once again fragmented into a collection of taifas.
Under these conditions, and following the Treaty of Tudilén (1151), which had divided future areas of conquest, the Christians resumed their military advance into Al-Andalus. Castile and Leon moved towards the southern plateau; Alfonso VIII conquered Cuenca in 1177, while the King of Leon, Ferdinand II, occupied the seats of Alcántara and Ciudad Rodrigo. Meanwhile, Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon, added the lower Ebro valley to his dominions, conquering Tortosa in 1148 and Lleida in 1149. His successor, Alfonso II, moved across the mountains of Teruel, entering the town of that name in 1171. Castile and Aragon signed a new treaty in 1179, the Treaty of Cazorla. The main military activity in the second half of the twelfth century took place on the southern plateau, with the newly created Hispanic military orders (Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara) as its protagonists.
Before the end of the twelfth century, Al-Andalus was unified again, this time by the Almohads, marking a new halt in the progress of the Reconquista.
The victory achieved by Alfonso VIII of Castile and his allies over the Almohads at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), carefully prepared as a crusade, signified the fall of the Islamic empire. Al-Andalus was once again divided into a patchwork of taifas. The thirteenth century witnessed the greatest momentum of the Christian reconquest of Spain. In just over thirty years, the Crown of Aragon incorporated the Kingdom of Valencia and the Balearic Islands, while Castile did the same with Andalusia and Murcia.
However, the first to capitalize on the victory at Las Navas, despite not participating in it, was the King of Leon, Alfonso IX, who conquered Mérida, Cáceres, and Badajoz in 1227 and 1230. But the first significant step in the fight against the Muslims was taken by the Crown of Aragon, with King James I of Aragon leading the expansion. The Cortes of Barcelona in 1228 gave the green light to the campaign against Mallorca. A powerful Catalan navy landed in Mallorca, and its capital, Palma, fell into Christian hands in late 1229. In the following years, the islands of Ibiza and Formentera were occupied, while Menorca, converted into a tributary state, was not conquered until 1287. Although a Mudejar population remained in Mallorca, many settlers of Catalan origin arrived as part of the land distribution.
The conquest of the Kingdom of Valencia was longer, lasting from 1232 to 1245. The first phase began following the agreements of the Cortes of Monzón in 1232. Centers like Burriana and Peñíscola were occupied by Christians. The second phase, launched after another Cortes held in Monzón in 1236, had the conquest of the city of Valencia in 1238 as its stellar event. The division of Valencia and its rich surrounding territories followed immediately, with both Catalans and Aragonese receiving shares. The third phase was the conquest of the southern part of the kingdom, with the capture of Cullera (1239) and Alzira (1245) as its key moments, the last major military feats. A large Mudejar population remained in the Kingdom of Valencia, particularly in the south.
The role of the Castilian-Leonese nucleus in the Reconquista of the thirteenth century fell to King Ferdinand III, known as Saint Ferdinand. He began his military activity in the upper Guadalquivir valley in 1224, while still King of Castile, conquering places like Andújar and Baeza. After the union of the kingdoms of Castile and Leon in 1230, Ferdinand III resumed the offensive in Andalusia. The occupation of Úbeda (1233) was followed by that of Cordoba in 1236 and, years later, Jaén (1246). In the advance towards Seville, places like Carmona, Lora del Río, and Alcalá de Guadaíra fell under Christian control. Finally, after a long siege, both by land and river, Seville, the former Almohad capital, surrendered at the end of 1248. The work of reconquest in the Guadalquivir valley was completed by Alfonso X, Ferdinand III’s successor, with the capture of Jerez de la Frontera and, finally, Cadiz (1262).
Land distributions also took place in the conquered Andalusian territories, and the Muslim population was expelled from its cities. However, after the revolt of 1264, the Moors had to be allowed to remain in Lower Andalusia. The Kingdom of Murcia, which had been subject to land distribution agreements, sometimes shared between Aragon and Castile, was incorporated into the latter kingdom in 1243 through the efforts of the then-Prince Alfonso, the future Alfonso X. In Murcia, there were divisions, with a majority Castilian population and a significant presence of people from the Crown of Aragon. The border conflict with Aragon, which had reserved the conquest of the Levante for itself, was resolved in the Treaty of Almizra (1244), signed by Ferdinand III and James I. This treaty established the boundaries between the expansion areas of Castile and Aragon.
The Last Phases of the Reconquista: The Conquest of the Kingdom of Granada
The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada remained under Muslim rule, managing to survive until the late fifteenth century. The task of conquering it fell to the Crown of Castile, as the Kingdom of Granada was within the expansion area recognized in the old treaty agreements. Although Reconquista activity was scarce during the fourteenth century, there were various border conflicts, particularly around the Strait of Gibraltar, and some notable Christian successes, such as the victory at Salado (1340), achieved by Alfonso XI, which was followed by the capture of Algeciras (1344). Several skirmishes also took place in the fifteenth century.
The most famous was the conquest of Antequera, carried out in 1410 by Ferdinand, uncle and regent of John II of Castile. During the reign of John II, the victory achieved at the Battle of La Higueruela near Granada (1431) is noteworthy.
However, the conquest of the Kingdom of Granada could not be successfully undertaken until the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. The war began in 1481. After uncertain beginnings, the conflict decisively tilted in favor of the Christians from 1485 onwards. Significant milestones were the occupation of Ronda (1485), Malaga (1487), and Baza (1489). To conquer the kingdom’s capital, it was necessary to build the camp of Santa Fe near the city of Granada. The entry of the troops into Granada on January 2, 1492, marked the end of the Reconquista, a process that had lasted nearly eight hundred years. From that point onward, although people who practiced Islam still remained in Spain for some time, there was no longer any territory under Muslim rule.
Society in the Christian Kingdoms
The Estates
The political organization that emerged in medieval Spain, as in feudalism throughout Europe, saw lords in possession of the vast majority of land, holding dominion over all who dwelt on it. These lords, in turn, depended on other, more powerful lords, such as magnates and rulers, to whom they owed homage.
According to this political organization, medieval Spanish society was divided into distinct groups:
A) The Nobility
This group consisted of landed gentry responsible for defending their lands. They were further divided into two groups: the high nobility (who owned vast lands, dominated the court, and held significant power) and the lower nobility (which comprised knights and lesser nobles).
B) The Clergy
:
The church, that because donations were also owners of large estates and were dedicated to praying for the spiritual health of all. These also were in turn divided into two groups: the high clergy (formed mainly by the nobility) and the lower clergy (nearest town).
C) The third condition:
This group consisted of peasants who worked land owned by another to feed his family, which was subject to heavy reliance of his feudal lord.
The first two belonged to the privileged estates, the latter the underprivileged. You could say that, as the role played in the production of goods, there would be only two social groups: those gentlemen (formed by the nobility and the clergy, who are the ones who were in possession of land) and that of the peasants (which are responsible for working the land from above).
Thus we can draw a conclusion, that in medieval or feudal ownership of land was to own the means of production, ie it was a symbol of wealth since the land was the only source of wealth that existed.
4.Política the Christian kingdom
The first thing I must mention is the reason why the Christian kingdoms of the seventh century onwards and will expand by annexing the whole geography of the Iberian Peninsula, this reason is none other than the Muslim occupation that made the Arabs after defeat the Visigoths of