Isabella I of Castile(1451 — 1504)

At the request of Isabella and Ferdinand, Pope Sixtus IV authorized the creation of an inquisitorial tribunal in Castile. This institution, led by Tomás de Torquemada, left a lasting mark on the religious and political history of Spain.

Isabella signs the Capitulations of Santa Fe with Christopher Columbus, granting funding and titles in exchange for the exploration of Atlantic routes. This document opens the era of European colonization of the Americas.

After ten years of war, Isabella and Ferdinand conquered the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, ending eight centuries of Muslim presence on the Iberian Peninsula. This event is one of the most symbolic of their reign.

These ordinances deeply reorganized the governance of Castile: strengthening of the Royal Council, regulation of the nobility, financial reform. They laid the foundations of a modern centralized state.

Isabella actively supported the humanist revival in Spain, funding Cardinal Cisneros in the founding of the University of Alcalá de Henares, which would become a major intellectual center of the Iberian Renaissance.

Isabella negotiates this treaty with Portugal, dividing the world into two spheres of influence to the west and east of a meridian line. This foundational text organized the colonization of the globe by the two Iberian powers.

Your Highnesses give and grant to Don Christopher Columbus, in some remuneration for what he has discovered in the Ocean Seas… the office of Admiral over all those islands and mainlands.

We command all Jews and Jewesses of whatever age who live and dwell and reside in our said kingdoms and dominions… that by the end of the month of July next, of the present year, they depart from all our said kingdoms and dominions.

I most affectionately beseech the King, my Lord, that he may wish and be pleased to hold dear the persons, souls and goods of the said Indians… and not consent to nor permit that the Indians… receive any harm in their persons or their goods.

We give, grant and assign to you and your heirs and successors, kings of Castile and León, forever, all and each of the aforementioned unknown lands and islands.

Birthplace of Isabella I, where she was born in 1451 in the royal palace. This Castilian town symbolizes the humble origins and determination of the future queen.

The intellectual and religious capital of medieval Castile, Toledo was a nerve center of Isabella's reign. It was here that the ordinances of 1480 reforming royal administration were promulgated.

On January 2, 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand received the keys to Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain. The Alhambra then became a royal residence and symbol of the Reconquista's victory.

A fortified town built by Isabella for the final siege of Granada, Santa Fe was also the place where the Capitulations were signed, granting Columbus the right to sail westward in 1492.

A merchant town in Castile where Isabella died on November 26, 1504. The Castle of La Mota, which stands there, was one of her favorite residences and a symbol of Castilian power.