Isabella I (1451-1504), queen of Castile and Aragon, played one of the most important parts in the history of Spain. She married Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469. The marriage led to the union of Spain’s largest kingdoms, Castile and Aragon, in 1479 and thus laid the foundations for Spain’s future greatness (see Ferdinand V ).
During the reign of Isabella and Ferdinand, new roads were built and the coinage was made standard. Spanish law was codified (systematized), and the rulers took over the administration of justice. They reduced the powers of the nobles. Isabella and Ferdinand made war on the Muslims, who held part of southern Spain. They captured the Muslim stronghold of Granada in 1492. That same year, all Jews were ordered to become Christians or leave Spain.
Isabella was one of the few people who saw merit in the plan of Christopher Columbus, an Italian-born navigator, to find the Indies by sailing west. Her support of Columbus gave Spain its first land claims in America (see Columbus, Christopher ). This led to the beginning of the Spanish Empire in the Western Hemisphere.
Isabella was born on April 22, 1451. She died on Nov. 26, 1504.
