Ferdinand And Isabella's Influence On Spain

1106919
English I
4th hour
26 January 2016
Spain and

Typically, when a country has a king and queen and some money, they are a good country. They’re good in battle and have lots of nice things. Spain however was the opposite. Once Ferdinand and Isabella started ruling they changed everything. Ferdinand and Isabella were known as the best rulers Spain had because they turned Spain into a very powerful and wealthy country.
Before ruling Isabella grew up in a family that is a lot like the families seen today.She was born on April 22,1451 to her parents, Isabella of Portugal and John (Juan) of Castile. She had a half brother, Alfonso, who died in 1468 .She had blue eyes and chestnut hair and she was very pretty. Her family had lots of money,
Isabella, before changing the religion, took a big intrest in Nuns, also known as the “Poor Clares” which was the start on the religion. “In 1460 Torquemada persuaded Ferdinand and Isabella to expell all jews from Spain who were unwilling to convert to Christanity” (Gascoigne, Bamber). After doing this, 160,000 jews left Spain and soon after the Spanish Muslims were expelled and Spain went from one of the most tollerant countries, to one of the most untolerant countries. Not only did Ferdinand and Isabella change the religion because they thought it needed to be done, but also because it completed ending Reconquista and at last brought an end to Granada. After doing all of this, the Pope gave them the title of “The Catholic Monarchs” for “purifying” the faith. This helped Spain in many different ways, especially with the new territory that they
“In 1492 Isabella took the lead in Patronage, meeting and learning from men of ideas and opening up her own mental horizons to the extent that she was able to share at least a part of Columbus’ vision” (Vincent, Mary). As everyone knows, Columbus went to look for new land in 1492 and Isabella was very supportive. She thought and knew that this was a good chance for Spain to grow more powerful and more wealthy. After meeting with her councillors, Isabella accepted Columbus’s voyage to go seek new land and as soon as he could he left. In 1493, Columbus finds land and to ensure that Spain gets the land, Ferdinand and Isabella secure from the Borgia pope, Alexander VI, a papal bull. This said that all lands west of a certain line belong to Spain and the other line Portugal. When Columbus came back from his journey, he brought some Native Americans with him. When Isabella heard of this, she imediatly told him to take them back and to free them. Her wish was that the “Indians” will be treated with justice and fairness. Now of course with new land there is going to be conflict and there was with where the line was drawn. To avoid going to war and losing money, Ferdinand and Isabella talk to the Portugese