Isabella I, Queen of Castile, was a brilliant monarch and one of the most influential female rulers in history. In the "100 Celebrity List that Influenced the Course of Human History", as an emperor, she ranked at the top.
In short, the queen of Spain's most famous achievement was to fund Columbus's discovery of the New World.
Her achievements certainly don't stop there.
Today I want to share the story of this queen.
<h1>01 Childhood experienced ups and downs</h1>
Born in 1451, Isabella I was a princess of the Kingdom of Castile and the second heir to the throne. Her first-in-line heir was her half-brother, 26-year-old married, Enrique. Two years later, Isabella's younger brother Alfonso was born, and Isabella became the third heir to the throne.
When she was 3 years old, her father died and Enrique succeeded to the throne, she and her mother and brother moved out of the palace to the remote Castle of Arévalo. The conditions here are very bad, their living conditions are very poor, and what is worse is that her mother is still mentally ill and will have irregular seizures.
However, when her mother was sober, she was also very conscientious, not only teaching her to study, but also carrying out strict religious training, so she was a very devout Catholic from an early age.
At the age of 11, Isabella and her brother were recalled to the palace, and their living conditions finally improved. That is to say, she and her family spent 8 years of hard life in the castle of Arévalo. It has to be said that this experience has created her tenacity and religious devotion, which have played a very important role in her future achievements.
It can only be said that this is the necessary stage before "the heavens will descend on the Slovaks".
Henrique IV had the nickname "The Incompetent", meaning that he himself was an incompetent monarch, and so the nobility proclaimed Isabella's brother Alfonso as king. Later, the two sides clashed, and Alfonso was made prince, but died the following year.
Alfonso designated his sister Isabella as heir to the throne in his will, and the anti-Enrique IV nobles demanded that Isabella continue to fight it. However, Isabella prefers to negotiate.
In the end, the two sides negotiated peace, and all the nobles swore allegiance to Henrique IV, and Isabella became the heir to the throne, and Isabella's marriage needed to be approved by Enrique IV, but it was not possible to force her to marry against Isabella's wishes.
<h1>02</h1>
However, not long after the agreement was reached, Henrique IV reneged on his promise. He first wanted Isabella to marry the King of Portugal, but Isabella refused. Then he wanted Isabella to marry into the French royal family, but Isabella again refused. In order to get a huge sum of money, Henrique IV also agreed to marry Isabella to Pedro. Isabella was shocked to learn of this, but she could not change anything, so she could only pray to God that the marriage would end in vain, and finally Pedro died of illness on the road.
In fact, when Isabella was 6 years old, she was engaged to Prince Ferdinand of Aragon. She herself wanted to marry Ferdinand.
When her brother plotted her marriage for political reasons, or for money, she had secretly agreed to marry Ferdinand, and with the support of Ferdinand's father, King Juan II of Aragon, the two sides were secretly plotting the marriage.
After that, Isabella found an excuse to escape from the palace, and the two married, this year she was 18 years old. It can only be said that the queen is indeed different, courageous and courageous.
Isabella infuriated Enrique, who designated his daughter Juana as his heir.
In 1474, Henrique IV died without leaving a will. Juana and Isabella of 23 declared their succession, and a civil war broke out (the Battle of the Castilian Succession), which was won after 4 years of war.
<h1>03</h1>
Isabella I was a devout Catholic with great moral demands on herself, and every time she slept, she had to be recorded in order to let people know that she was clean and self-sufficient. Ferdinand, on the other hand, is said to have been a person with an improper private life before marriage, and after marriage, he is still a wandering skeleton and has many illegitimate children.
After marriage, Isabella had four daughters and a son.
Isabella wants her children to grow up and is very strict about her education. Even in times of war, children are taken with them.
It should be said that the dynastic marriage arranged by the Isabella couple for their children still has a profound impact on European history a hundred years after their deaths.
For example, the daughter Catherine was the first queen of King Henry VIII of England, Queen Mary I of England, the mother of Bloody Mary. His grandson, Emperor Charles V, was Holy Roman Emperor who founded the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.
<h1>04</h1>
Although Ferdinand's private life is chaotic, the two are really a very good partnership in their careers. In 1479, Ferdinand also succeeded to the throne of Aragon, and the two countries became one and became the Kingdom of Spain. Isabella and Ferdinand ruled together (the two kingdoms were independent) and had equal status.
When Isabella I ascended the throne, the kingdom of Castile was in a mess and in debt due to the incompetence of Henrique IV.
From the beginning of his reign, Isabella I began various reforms. For example, the establishment of a monopoly position in royal coinage, the establishment of legal standards for the monetary system, and the restoration of public confidence in her ability to manage the country's finances.
For example, the suppression of feudal aristocrats, the prohibition of private fighting, the confiscation of royal possessions acquired by the nobles, the settlement of the huge debts left by Enrique IV during his reign, and the reduction of the crime rate.
For example, the centralization of power and the establishment of an efficient conscription system have rendered parliaments ineffective. Wait a minute.
In particular, Isabella I and Ferdinand II also recovered the lost territory and unified Spain. The establishment of the Inquisition was seen as the biggest stain on her life.
But Isabella's most influential and famous event in history was funding Columbus's discovery of the New World in 1492. As a result of the great discovery of navigation, for the next century, Spain established itself as a world hegemon by virtue of its superiority in the sea.
<h1>05</h1>
Isabella seems to have unlimited energy throughout her life, because she always wears a white dress and is known as the "Queen of White". Later, because of the loss of children one after another, her physical condition and energy were not as good as before.
He died on 26 November 1504 at the age of 53.
Before Isabella's death, she asked her husband Ferdinand not to renew the string, and Ferdinand vowed not to marry again, but Ferdinand married a young princess less than a year after Isabella's death. I can only say that the two may be good partners in their careers, but the marriage feelings may be like that.
In short, looking back at Isabella I, we will find that although her experience of growing up was not smooth, this did not hinder her growth, but honed her strong will. She reigned for 30 years and did a very good job. Not only did it centralize the crown and end the fragmentation of the country, but it also unified Spain. Supporting Columbus's voyage is to lay a solid foundation for Spain's future hegemony, which is really a great cause of a generation. Although it is not very long-lived, this life is really enough!