How unified was Spain Before the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand?

Question

i would love to be pointed in the right direction. Any help from a spanish history whizz would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

It wasn't

Answer 2

When Ferdinand and Isabella married, there were five christian kingdoms on the Iberian peninsula: Portugal, Leon, Castile, Aragon, Navarra. After completion of the reconquista, Granada became the sixth christian kingdom. Part of Navarra became part of France, and Portugal was part of the union only from 1580 until sometime in the 17th century (difference between factual independance and its recognition). The kingdoms were formerly united only in the person of the king. But actually there were certain institutions concerned with military, court, and foreign questions that the monarch installed for all his kingdoms together. The great change came in the year 1700 when the house of France (Bourbons) succeeded the house of Austria(Hapsburgs). Then the kingdom of Spain was founded.

Answer 3

Spain wasn't unified at all it was a series of Christian kingdoms with the exception of Granada. Granada was actually a Moorish or Muslim kingdom. At one point all of Spain was ruled by the Moors until the Christians drove them into southern Spain or Granada. After pushing the moors back the land was divided into kingdoms. When Ferdinand and Isabella married they united the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. They would eventually unify with the remaining Christian kingdoms in Spain and drive out the moors taking Granada also.

Answer 4

Before the wedding between Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, Spain was uniform in two states. Castile and Aragon, moreover were the Arabic dominions of Granada....

Answer 5

It wasn't. Completely separate Kingdoms, about as connected as Portugal was to them. Castille was prime mover of the reconquista, while Aragon was more of a Mediterranean power, a sort of western Venice. Without the marriage, it is easy imagine the Hispanic peninsula split into 3 countries today instead of the two.

Answer 6

What sparks Unity? Language and the Church. The marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand was planned long before their union. Spain was much like Germany - - - yes seperate Kingdoms and Dukedoms and wide spots in the road proclaiming their Sovereinity, though there were regional languages, most of what became Spain spoke a common tongue and most of all there was the Catholic Church. The dream of bringing all of the Iberian Pennisula under one ruler was kicking around for several hundred years before Ferdinand and Isabella made it a reality (Isabellas father planned to marry her to Aragon when she was in the womb).
Oddly enough the group that made it possible were the Jews. The Jews were the Middle Class. The merchants and professionals saw the need for unification, education was a Jewish tradition and with education came realization that the way to increase prosperity was a unified Spain. Their reward for financing Castillian and Aragon Nobles in their War of Reconquest (and to be honest their betrayal of the Moors), their reward was to be driven from Spain in turn.
It turns out the Roman Catholic Church had the upper hand.
Here are a few links and snippets oddly enough interest in Spanish pre-unification history is scarce on the web, I'd go to a Libary with actual Books!! Or a Good Book Sale!!

Here is a bit that cites my reference to the Jews..
http://www.customessaymeister.com/customessays/History:%20Jewish/3757.htm
"-----------The wealthy, educated Jewish population financially assisted the monarchy to take back Spain from the Moors. Large prosperous Jewish communities existed in Spain where they were respected, unlike other areas of Europe where the Jews were hated, persecuted and were victims of organized massacres in the late Middle Ages. In Spain they remained the financial and scientific leaders in the 15th century. Many of the Jews married into Catholic families, and as a result, many of Spain's Christian leaders were of Jewish descent. As Spain became a unified country, many Hispanics forgot the services from which the Jewish had provided them. All of the sudden, the economy was not in as good of a shape as it was before, and the Jews became the center of blame for everything that went wrong. They became targets for bigotry. False legends were made up about them. A couple of them included Jews murdering innocent Christian children. These such legends fueled the expulsion of the Jews from France and England, and then later the eventual expulsion from Spain in 1492 AD.
--------------- (and this bit shows how the Catholi Church United Spain)
During the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella,
the Inquisition was established for the first time in Spain in
the Kingdom of Aragon. This was before the unification of
Spain took place. The office of Grand Inquisitor was appointed by the monarchy with the approval of the Pope.
The first and most notorious Grand Inquisitor was a
Dominican Monk named Tamas de Torquemada. Even though
he was of Jewish descent, he was obsessed in the act of
making heretics confess through torturous, inquisitorial
methods. After the unification of Spain, he convinced King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to extend the Inquisition to
the entire Kingdom of Spain. ""

http://www.bl.uk/collections/westeuropean/catalan.html

An odd but good starting point
http://www.amazon.com/Barcelona-Robert-Hughes/dp/0679743839
""Barcelona
by Robert Hughes (Author) "It is possible, some days, to see the whole of Barcelona with your feet on the ground..." (more)
Key Phrases: ser autentic, casa pairal, dog running away, Sagrada Familia, Passeig de Gràcia, Middle Ages (more...) ""

And this book has a lot of good info

http://www.amazon.com/Wreck-Catalonia-Civil-fifteenth-century/dp/0199207364/ref=sr_1_29/102-6187070-6448951?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189162952&sr=1-29
"""The Wreck of Catalonia: Civil war in the fifteenth century (Hardcover)
by Alan Ryder (Author)
Key Phrases: remensa peasants, mall usos, mats usos, Vicens Vives, Conseil de Cent, Catalan Corts
Book Description
This fascinating account examines the fate which overtook the principality of Catalonia in the fifteenth century, reducing it from dominance within the state of Aragon to a marginal role in the Iberian power created by the union of Aragon and Castile. It begins by studying the tensions destabilising Catalonia: unrest among a peasantry resentful of outdated burdens; merchants and artisans struggling to wrest control of the towns from entrenched oligarchies; an aristocracy devoted to endless feuding; and a monarchy thrown into disarray by the extinction of the Catalan line and its replacement by a Castilian dynasty. In 1462 , Catalonia degenerated into a civil war which lasted ten years. Part two seeks to explain how and why the king, Juan II, emerged victorious. The economic and military resources of the two camps, their tactics, and the lines along which Catalan society divided are examined. Alan Ryder look at the crucial part played by foreign powers in the conflict, who intervened on both sides until Juan turned the tables with his gamble on a Castilian crown for his heir, Fernando. The surrender of the insurgents in 1472 left Catalonia chaotic, devastated, and mired in many more years of war with France as Juan struggled to recover the territories he had rashly surrendered in return for French aid. Catalonia thus lay helpless before the might of Fernando, the Catholic King of Castile, when he became its ruler in 1479. The measures he imposed to restore order and subject the principality to the new 'Spanish' state are the theme of the final chapter.
About the Author
Alan Ryder is Professor Emeritus, Bristol University. """



Peace.........