Guerra de Granada - History Lab

Íñigo López de Mendoza, 2nd Count of Tendilla and 1st Marquis of Mondejar

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:18 +0000

Íñigo López de Mendoza stood out as a great ally of King Ferdinand the Catholic, being captain general of the Kingdom of Granada and participating directly in the War of Granada at the end of the 15th century. After the victory, he was appointed the first governor of Granada, a post he held until the end of his life, combining the coexistence of victors and vanquished with the affairs of running the city, such as administrative and economic matters.
The original work was kept in the former collection of the Duke of Osuna, although its track has been lost, but it appears constantly in the documentation. The copy made by Francisco Díaz Carreño between 1877 and 1878, which is in the collections of the Museo del Prado, is better known today.
Both the portrait itself and the meticulousness with which it complements the setting are outstanding pictorially. It shows the main figure in front of a window, with a grenade emphasising the importance of the conflict in Granada and with significant elements of military command such as the staff in his hand and the helmet resting on the window. Stylistically, Juan Bautista de Espinosa shows the strong portrait painting tradition of the late 16th century, marking out isolated figures and very precise lines in the drawing.

The post Íñigo López de Mendoza, 2nd Count of Tendilla and 1st Marquis of Mondejar first appeared on History Lab.

Sepulchre of the Catholic Monarchs in the Royal Chapel of Granada

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:09 +0000

The Royal Chapel of Granada was founded in 1504 and conceived as a mausoleum for the Catholic Monarchs. In the same year that it was founded, Queen Isabella died and was provisionally buried in the convent of San Francisco in Granada while awaiting the completion of the works. After Ferdinand’s death in 1516, his remains were laid to rest alongside those of his first wife in the capital of the Nasrid kingdom. The burial in Granada takes on special symbolism; the bodies of the monarchs were laid to rest in this city because after the War of Granada (1482-1492) and the capture of the capital of the kingdom, with the constant siege of the Christian troops against the Muslims, Boabdil finally surrendered the city to the Catholic Monarchs in January 1492. This completed the conquest of the Muslim contingent that had lasted eight centuries, culminating one of the most resounding victories of the early Modern Age

The post Sepulchre of the Catholic Monarchs in the Royal Chapel of Granada first appeared on History Lab.

The Catholic Monarchs receiving the Christian captives at the conquest of Malaga

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:09 +0000

The Catholic Monarchs carried out one of the most famous feats in the history of Spain by capitulating the conquest of the peninsula and expelling the Saracen contingent from the Nasrid kingdom. Undoubtedly, the capture of Malaga in 1487 foretold the future end of Muslim rule, which was consummated after the conquest of Granada in 1492. The city of Malaga was without the Zagal, lord of the region, due to the civil war that was going on in the city of Granada at the time. The siege was one of the longest chapters of the Peninsular War, culminating in the loss of one of the kingdom’s most important ports. The painting shows Isabella and Ferdinand at the door of their tent, on steps covered with a carpet, receiving the expressions of affection and gratitude of the fainting freed captives. This work should be understood as a highly nationalistic history painting, executed in the 19th century at a time when nationalism was on the rise.

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Revenues of the Holy Brotherhood between 1478 and 1498

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:48 +0000

Shortly after the accession of Ferdinand and Isabella to the Castilian throne in 1474, a process of restructuring and reform of the institutional structures of the State began, especially those dedicated to taxation and tax practice in order to cope with the new expenses that the crown would have to bear. The Royal Treasury had to face these circumstances by creating and establishing the “extraordinary” revenue as an additional tax category.
The establishment of the General Brotherhood in 1476 was justified as a means of restoring peace throughout the kingdom, but the intention of creating an army under the direct authority of the throne without putting too much strain on the weak Royal Treasury, which was in the process of reconstruction, could not be concealed for long.
This movement was prompted by the need for large sums of money in a short space of time, as a result of pressing needs such as the war in Granada at the end of the 15th century or the wars in Naples between 1494 and 1504. Revenues, therefore, were calculated in accordance with expected expenditure and not the other way round, denying the redistributive nature of the taxation practice that has presided over most tax systems.
The key to understanding the extraordinary revenues of the crown were the loans, understood at this time as the issuing of a small debt in exchange for financing. Since it was not considered as just another tax on the population, all subjects were eligible to pay loans without being limited by the directives of the General Brotherhood.

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Taxation of Christians and Moriscos in Ávila (1503-1610)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:25 +0000

In Ávila there are documents that confirm the existence of Mudejars as early as the end of the 12th century, with up to three aljamas in the 15th century. This Moorish minority was the second highest paying minority in the whole of the Crown of Castile after the town of Hornachos in Badajoz. To this situation must be added the tension caused by the long war in Granada at the end of the 15th century, giving the constant feeling that this population was permanently in enemy territory, and even more so after the forced conversion of 1502.
However, this adverse situation, although it led to the emigration of many of them, allowed them to arrive at the beginning of the 16th century, making up 10% of the city’s population, mainly employed in trade and metalwork. Thanks to the information contained in the resource, it can be seen that the Moriscos paid a much higher per capita tax than the Old Christians, mainly because after their conversion they ceased to have a tax regime similar to that of the Old Christians and added several extra burdens that they had to face.

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