Born in 1451 in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Queen Isabella was the daughter of Isabella of Portugal and John II of Castile. Today she is popularly known as the monarch, along with her husband Ferdinand V, who sponsored Christopher Columbus and his famous voyage of 1492. At the time Isabella inherited the throne, Spain was still fragmented politically, but her reign would lay the groundwork for its eventual unification under her grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
Before Isabella stood to inherit the crown there was considerable controversy concerning her brother King Henry IV’s heir. Henry wanted to pass his crown to his daughter Joanna , but the court nobles believed the crown should pass to his brother Alfonso as they thought Henry’s paternity of Joanna was in question. After the Battle of Olmeda in 1467, Henry agreed to name Alfonso as his heir providing he married Joanna. Alfonso’s death (historians believe from the plague) resulted in the proclamation of Isabella named as the heir to the throne.
Once Isabella stood to inherit, there was great concern over who she should marry. She had been betrothed to John II of Aragon’s son Ferdinand, but Henry dissolved this match once he proclaimed her his heir. Thereafter, Henry made several attempts to make a match for his sister which ended in failure. Instead, Isabella married Ferdinand in secret after the couple obtained a special dispensation with the help of Rodrigo Borgia who would later be proclaimed Alexander VI once he became Pope. Isabella and Ferdinand needed the church’s consent since they were second cousins.
Isabella’s reign began in 1479. Not only did she famously back Christopher Columbus’s voyage, but she and Ferdinand won control of Granada—also in 1492. Subsequently the monarchs began to expel Jews and Muslims from their territories. Historians believe that roughly 200,000 were forced to leave Spain. Also, the Roman Catholic Inquisition became firmly planted in the Spain under the reign of Isabella and Ferdinand.
Isabella and Ferdinand had five children (their sixth son Peter died at the age of two): Isabella (Queen of Portugal), John (Prince of Asturias), Joanna (Joanna of Castile, also known as Joanna the Mad), Maria (Queen of Portugal), and Catherine (Queen of England, the first wife of Henry VIII). With the deaths of John, Isabella, and Isabella’s son Miguel, the crown passed on Isabella’s death to Joanna and her husband Philip the Handsome. Ferdinand’s claim to kingship was based only on his marriage to Isabella, but he managed to continue to rule jointly with his daughter until his death in 1516. Isabella died in 1504. She is also popularly remembered as a great patron of the learning and the arts.