Reyes Católicos - History Lab

Instruction to Columbus: Voyage and good government in the Indies

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:51 +0000

In the course of the 15th century, Portugal and Castile were at the forefront of overseas expansion along the Atlantic coast of Africa. Progress in cartography, navigational instruments and shipbuilding made it possible to sail the Atlantic. The dispute between Portugal and Castile was settled in 1494 with the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas, which established a dividing line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Columbus’ first expedition left Cabo de Palos in August, arriving on 12 October 1492 at an island in the Caribbean, later called San Salvador. At the same time, Columbus discovered the island of Cuba and, later, the island of Santo Domingo, which was called Hispaniola. Columbus made three voyages, and it was during the third (1498) that they reached the mainland.

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Royal Provision of the Catholic Monarchs to the Concejo de la Mesta, allowing shepherds to dispose of unowned livestock without a known owner

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:42 +0000

The Honourable Council of the Mesta was an institution of medieval origin which, throughout the Modern Age, extended its powers and privileges to the benefit of the herdsmen ahead of the farmers. Thus, a law of 1501 came to determine that all land on which transhumant herds had grazed at least once was reserved in perpetuity for grazing and could not be used for other purposes by the owner. In this context, the document contains legislation by which the Catholic Monarchs allowed shepherds to dispose of unowned livestock without a known owner. The Mesta was abolished in 1836.

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Capitulations of Admiral Christopher Columbus or “de Santa Fe”

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:30 +0000

Document showing the agreements between the Crown and Christopher Columbus for his planned voyage to the Indies. It contains the capitulations that Christopher Columbus signed with the monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in Santa Fe on 17 April 1492, a few months after the capture of Granada. Its chapters stipulate the conditions under which Columbus would set sail on his first voyage, which led to the discovery of America that same year.

The post Capitulations of Admiral Christopher Columbus or “de Santa Fe” first appeared on History Lab.

Testament of Christopher Columbus

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:30 +0000

Testament, foundation of entailed estate and codicil granted by Admiral Christopher Columbus: Foundation of entailed estate in Seville in the year 1497 before the notary public Martín Rodríguez. Testament granted by Christopher Columbus on 22 February 1498. Codicil of Christopher Columbus, granted in Valladolid on 19 May 1506 and deed dated 25 August 1505 in Segovia.

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The fortifications of Fuenterrabia around 1535

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

Once the conquest of Granada was over, the Catholic Monarchs took measures to protect the north of Spain in the face of a possible confrontation with the French troops, and this work was discontinued until the reign of Philip V in the 18th century. From Philip II onwards, major changes were introduced in the corps of engineers who would work for the crown, with technical training being promoted at the Academy of Mathematics in Madrid and not depending almost exclusively on importing these figures from abroad.
In July 1725, the engineer Jorge Próspero de Verboom arrived in Pamplona to work on the fortification of enclaves such as San Sebastián, Fuenterrabía and Pamplona. One of his most striking actions were his corrections to the engineer Luis de Langot in Fuenterrabía, introducing a whole system of outer forts and redoubts in strategic places, transforming Langot’s proposals to such an extent that it could practically be considered an independent project that would transform the square forever.
In this case, the importance of the enclave can already be seen graphically during the reign of Charles V, a time when some fortresses in the north of the peninsula such as San Sebastián and other coastal cities such as Mallorca or Cádiz continued to be reinforced. The post-medieval wall of Fuenterrabía would be attached to an interior defensive tower, it sat on a hill 250 metres in diameter and with the Bidasoa River covering its western part, it was in a strategically fundamental place.

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Landscape with gypsies

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:28 +0000

The first Gypsies arrived in Spain at the beginning of the 15th century. Crossing the Pyrenees, they arrived on the peninsula in the form of small bands made up of men, women and children. In 1425, Alfonso V of Aragon granted a group led by Don Juan de Egipto Menor a permit, allowing them to travel through the monarch’s territory for a period of three months. The name ‘Egypt Minor’ was used in the Middle Ages to refer to the present-day area of Cyprus and Syria; since the first Gypsy settlers to arrive in Spain used this name, it can be assumed that they all came from the same place. Towards the second half of the 15th century, another significant group arrived across the Mediterranean, which was nicknamed “Grecians”, as they were believed to be from there. These groups of gypsies justified their journey by presenting themselves as pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, in order to atone for their sins. After an initial warm welcome, in which they were treated with benevolence due to their status as penitent travellers, a series of legal measures against them soon began with the aim of controlling them and making them similar to the rest of the Spaniards. The first measure, issued by the Catholic Monarchs in 1499, ordered the expulsion from the kingdom of all Gypsies who were not subject to any trade and lived nomadically. The anti-Gypsy legislation enacted by the following monarchs was practically similar until 1633, when Philip IV annulled the expulsion decree and a period of legal integration of the minority prevailed until 1793. Finally, under Charles III, the Gypsies began to be slowly accepted by the majority society when it was declared that they “did not come from an infectious root” and that, consequently, they could take up any occupation.

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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.

Details of the tomb of Joanna I and Philip I in the Royal Chapel of Granada

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

Juana (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella) married Philip (son of Emperor Maximilian) in Lier in 1496, thanks to the marriage policies of the Catholic Monarchs, whose aim was diplomatic and strategic. After the death of her brothers, John and Isabella, and that of her nephew, the Portuguese infant Michael, Joan became the heir to Castile and Aragon. Juana’s love for the foreign prince was matched only by Philip the Handsome’s lust for power, which was burdened by a reputation as a womaniser. This circumstance earned Juana the bad nickname of the madwoman because of the jealousy and love she felt for him. On the death of Queen Isabella in 1504, Philip was proclaimed King of Castile in 1506 until he died in September of the same year in the Palace of the Constables, supposedly poisoned. Juana decided to take Philip’s inert body to Granada (as she had arranged for it to be buried there). During the pilgrimage she sometimes stopped the retinue to pray and open the coffin, a fact that led her father to attribute to her the mental derangement with which she had always been associated and to remove her from power. After this, it was Ferdinand himself who assumed the Castilian throne while his daughter was imprisoned in Tordesillas. The fact that the burial was in Granada is not a trivial matter, since the end of the conquest against the Moors was in this city where the Catholic Monarchs were buried, thus commemorating one of the great feats of their reign.

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Coin of 2 maravedíes of the Catholic Monarchs

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

The maravedí was a Spanish coin used between the 12th and 19th centuries, whose minting began during the reign of Alfonso VI after the conquest of Toledo in 1085. During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, other types of coins appeared, such as the ducats. One of these, the “white” coin, had a value of half a maravedí. This small coin, of little value and small size, has survived to the present day through the expression “estar sin blanca” (to be penniless). The two maravedí coin of the Catholic Monarchs has inscriptions on the obverse and reverse. On the obverse we can read the direct allusion to the monarchs who minted the coin in Latin “FERNANDVS – ET – ELISA” (Ferdinand and Isabella). A castle with three towers appears on the reverse. The reverse reads ‘REX – ET – REGINA – KAS’, thus referring to their status as kings

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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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