Isabella I of Castile Biography

Early Life, Marriage & Ascension as Queen of Castile & León

Isabella was born on April 22, 1451, in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Ávila, to the King of Castile and León, John II of Castile, and his second wife, Isabella of Portugal. At the time of her birth, Isabella’s older half-brother Henry IV of Castile was the heir apparent and she was second in line to the throne. Following the birth of her younger brother Alfonso of Castile in 1453, she became third in line to the throne.

John II died in 1454, and Henry ascended as King Henry IV of Castile. Isabella and Alfonso were virtually exiled to Segovia, and their mother to Arevalo. The siblings were later moved to Henry’s court at Madrid and were placed in the household of Henry’s wife, Queen Joan.

Dissatisfied with the rule of Henry, the noblemen began a civil war in Castile in 1464 and eventually demanded that Alfonso be named the successor of Henry. Henry had to repudiate his daughter Joanna and recognize Alfonso as heir presumptive, granting him the title of Prince of Asturias.

Alfonso suddenly died on July 5, 1468, probably of the plague, although rumors of a possible poisoning and slit throat also circulated. The rebellious nobles then turned to Isabella, who was named as Alfonso’s successor to the crown in the latter’s will.

Isabella preferred to negotiate with Henry, leading to the September 19, 1468, Treaty of the Bulls of Guisando, according to which Isabella was granted the title of Princess of Asturias. She became heiress presumptive to the Crown of Castile and was to marry only with the consent of Henry. Henry’s daughter Joanna was removed from the line of succession to the throne.

Isabella married Ferdinand, the younger son of John II of Navarre, on October 19, 1469, in Valladolid, Kingdom of Castile and Leon. This infuriated Henry, who shunned the Treaty and once again recognized the rights of his daughter Joanna in a ceremony.

Although later Isabella and Henry reconciled to some extent, following Henry’s death and Isabella’s ascension as the Queen of Castile and León on December 11, 1474, the War of the Castilian Succession broke out, with Joanna being backed by Portugal and Isabella by Aragon. Initially, France backed Joanna, however, following the March 1, 1476, Battle of Toro, France refused to help Joanna and signed a peace treaty with Isabella in 1478.

Reign

The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella included a premarital agreement on sharing power with the joint motto ‘tanto monta, monta tanto’. After Isabella became Queen Isabella I of Castile, Ferdinand became the jure uxoris King of Castile, and the couple ruled as co-monarchs.

Isabella took strict measures in regulating crime, bringing its rate to the lowest it had been in years. The couple established a centrally organized and efficient Holy Hermandad (Santa Hermandad) for Castile, Leon, and Asturias in 1476 and gave it great powers to regulate crime. Isabella also restored the finances of the crown and unburdened the kingdom of the huge debt that was left by Henry.

In 1478, Ferdinand and Isabella, jointly known as the Catholic Monarchs, established the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, generally called the Spanish Inquisition. Its objective was to maintain the orthodoxy of Catholicism in their kingdoms, replacing the Medieval Inquisition.

Ferdinand’s father died on January 20, 1479, after which Ferdinand inherited the crown of Aragon. This resulted in the unification of different territories of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon in a personal union. Although under the same crown, the different states were administered as separate political units.

The early years of the joint reign of Isabella and Ferdinand witnessed several military campaigns, better known as the Granada War, between 1482 and 1491, against the Nasrid dynasty’s Emirate of Granada. The war ended on January 2, 1492, with the victory of the Catholic Monarchs, marking not only the annexation of Granada by Castile but also the end of all Islamic rule on the Iberian Peninsula.

On March 31, 1492, the couple issued an edict called the Alhambra Decree, also referred to as the Edict of Expulsion, ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon if they refused to baptize and convert to Christianity. The edict allowed converso Marrano Jews and Mudéjar Moors (Islamic) to remain in the kingdoms.

The first European expedition of Christopher Columbus, which started on August 3, 1492, was sponsored by the royal couple. Thus, the Catholic Monarchs played an instrumental role in initiating the first European encounters in the future Americas.

On June 7, 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed, which saw the division of the newly discovered lands beyond Europe between the Crown of Castile and the Portuguese Empire.

Isabella issued a decree in 1500 and granted citizenship and full legal freedom to all non-rebellious natives in the colonies.

Family, Death, Succession & Legacy

Isabella had seven children with Ferdinand, including Isabella, Queen of Portugal; John, Prince of Asturias; Joanna, Queen of Spain; Maria, Queen of Portugal; and Catherine, Queen of England.

Isabella was overwhelmed by her family tragedies in her later life, which included the death of her children John in 1497 and Isabella in 1498. On September 14, 1504, Isabella withdrew from governmental affairs and died on November 26, 1504. She was buried in the Royal Chapel of Granada. According to her will dated October 12, 1504, her daughter Joanna became Queen of Castile, while Ferdinand proclaimed himself Governor and Administrator of Castile. As per the will, after Joanna, her son Charles would succeed the crown of Castile.

In June 1506, Ferdinand and Joanna‘s husband Philip the Handsome signed the Treaty of Villafáfila, which recognized the incapacity of mentally unstable Joanna to rule Castile on her own. Ferdinand ceded all power of the government of Castile to Philip, who was proclaimed Philip jure uxoris King of Castile. After Philip’s death, Ferdinand ruled as regent until his own death.

Joanna’s son Charles became co-monarch of Spain with her on March 14, 1516. However, Joanna remained imprisoned until her death. Charles inherited the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon and emerged as the first king to rule the two kingdoms Suo jure and simultaneously as a united Spain, for which he is generally referred to as the first king of Spain.

The Order of Isabella the Catholic was created in 1815, honoring Isabella. In March 1974, she was given the title “Servant of God”. She became the first woman to feature on US postage stamps and the first named woman to feature on a US coin.