AD 1250-1500 Late medieval

By the mid-13th century AD Christian kingdoms dominated the Iberian peninsula. The emirate of Granada was the only surviving Islamic state, surrounded by the vast territories of Castile. Navarre, in the Pyrenees, was under French control from 1234 until 1516. Aragón looked outward to the western Mediterranean, gaining the crown of Sicily (1282) and occupying southern Italy in 1442. Portugal became a major sea-faring power, its ships sailing round Africa and eventually reaching India (1497).

Castile benefited economically from the export of wool produced by the great estates of the central plateau conquered from the Moors, but was plagued by dynastic crises and civil war. In 1465, the Castilian nobles deposed Henry IV (reigned 1454-74) in effigy. Stability was restored when Henry’s half-sister Isabella succeeded him. In 1469, Isabella had married Ferdinand Prince of Aragón; when he became king of Aragón in 1479, the two kingdoms were united.

Ferdinand and Isabella enforced strict religious orthodoxy: the Holy Inquisition (to root out heresy) was revived under the Queen’s confessor, Torquemada (1420-98). War against Granada ended in victory for the ‘Catholic kings’ (the title given them by Pope Alexander VI) in 1492. That same year, Cristoforo Colombo obtained the patronage of Ferdinand and Isabella for his voyage across the Atlantic, beginning Spain’s involvement with the New World.