The Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs reign can be considered as the beginning of the Modern Age in Spain since, once the Reconquista was finished, the territorial unification and the reform of the institutions took place. The monarchs tried to reduce the influence of the nobility.
In 1479, Isabella was proclaimed Queen of Castile, after signing the Peace of Alcaçovas. When Isabella’s brother, king Enrique IV of Castile, died, his daughter Juana was proclaimed Queen. However part of the nobility wanted Isabella to inherit the crown since they were not sure that Juana was Enrique’s daughter. Both candidates, Juana and Isabella, and their supporters began a war which ended with the battle of Aljubarrota when the Portuguese troops that supported Juana were defeated by the Castilians. The same year, Fernando was appointed King of Aragon, once his father died. The Aragonese Crown was integrated by Aragón, Catalonia, Valencia, Balearic Islands, Naples and Sicily.
After the marriage, both kingdoms united, however each of them maintained its own institutions so there was only a territorial union. The only institution in common was Inquisition. The Segovia Concordat allowed Fernando to share the power in Castile with Isabella, therefore a virrey was appointed to rule Aragón since Fernando resided in Castilian court
Nevertheless, Navarra and Granada became independent. Navarra was incorporated to the SpanishKingdom in 1512 after solving several family affairs while Granada was conquered in 1492 after a long war.
All the territories conquered in America belonged to the Castilian Crown and they were called Reinos de Indias or simply Las Indias.
The different administrations and juridical organizations remained until the 18th century when Felipe V established the common administration between all the diverse territories of the Spanish Crown.

Time line

The reign of the Catholic Kings was very important for the creation of the Modern Spain.

Here you have some events that occurred during their reign. With them you have to:

1. - Make a time line.

2. - Classify the events in these categories:

  1. Political events:

1 Foreign affairs

2 Home affairs.

B. Cultural events.

C. Economic affairs.

D. Cultural affairs.

Note: some events could be included in more than one category.

Events

  1. Conquest of Granada -) 1492
  2. Annexing of Navara -) 1512
  3. Publication of “La Celestina” -) 1499
  4. Marriage of Fernando and Isabella -) 1469
  5. Expulsion of the Jews -) 1492
  6. Signature of the Treaty of Granada between Spain and France -) 1500
  7. Conquest of the Island of La Palma. -) 1493
  8. Conquest of Oran . -) 1509
  9. Establishment of the Inquisition -) 1478
  10. Authorization of the Slavery Trade in America. -) 1501
  11. Discovery of America. -) 1492
  12. Signature of the Treaty of Tordesillas with Portugal -) 1494
  13. Creation of Casa de Contratación. -) 1503
  14. Creation of Santa Hermandad , as a rural police corp. -) 1476
  15. Battles of Garellano, Seminara and Ceriñola in Italy -) 1503
  16. Compulsory conversion of the Moriscos in Granada. -) 1502
  17. Monetary unification in the Spanish Crown – only in the Iberian territories. -) 1500
  18. Publication of the first Spanish Grammar. -) 1500
  19. Revolt of the Moriscos in the Alpujarras.. -) 1499
  20. Beginning of the reign of Isabella and Fernando -) 1479
  21. First map of America by Juan de la Cosa -) 1502
  22. Denounces of disrespectful behaviours and abuses to the Indians. -) 1511

Important moments, historical moments

Here you have some information about important events in the History of Spain. Some of them took place during the Catholic Kings reign and other later on. The information is mixed up so with the clues below you should complete this chart:

Event / Protagonist / Place / Year

Clues:

  1. The Admiral made a great discovery
  2. La Junta reunited in Cadiz elaborated the articles of the Constitution. Las Cortes passed it.
  3. Two generals leaded the Revolution. Their last names were Prim and Serrano.
  4. The Admiral reached the new lands only a few months after the Conquest of Granada, on the 12th of October 1492.
  5. The first document that has the force of a law was approved in 1812.
  6. Reconquista finished with the conquest of Granada during the Catholic Kings reign.
  7. Christopher Columbus thought he had arrived at India although he had reached a new continent.
  8. The revolutionaries forced Isabel II to leave to exile in 1868.

With the information of the chart, complete a short passage on the events described above.

On the 12th of ………..in …….., the ………………….. took place.
…………………. reached the island of
Guahanani or Waltings.
This is the beginning of the Spanish colonization of Central and South America.
Las Cortes reunited in …………,
passed the ………………………
on the 19th of March ………………
That is the reason why it was called “la Pepa”. From this event comes the popular expression “Viva la Pepa”.
This Constitution was really advanced at the moment and it was used as a reference and as a model for many Spanish and European Constitutions.
The generals ……………… and …………………….. participated in a revolt that ended with the ………………of ………………
The Queen was removed from the Crown and she ………………… in Paris.
After this, the best solution to solve the crisis was the establishment of the I Republic in Spain, but this regime was not efficient enough to finish with the social and political instability.
The 2nd January …………………, the city of ………………….. was conquered by the troops of the …………………………..
This was a very important event since the Spaniards have completed the expulsion of the Moslems of Spain. The Moslems remained for eight centuries in our country.

Eje cronológico

El reinado de los Reyes Católicos supone el final de la Edad Media y el inicio de la Edad Moderna.

Aquí tienes algunos acontecimientos relevantes ocurridos durante su reinado. Con ellos tienes que:

1. – Construir un eje cronológico.

2. – Clasificarlos en estas categorías:

Acontecimientos políticos

1 Política exterior:

2 Política interior.

Hechos culturales

Hechos económicos.

Nota: algunos hechos pueden ser de varias categorías

Hechos:

1)Conquista de Granada -) 1492

2) Anexión de Navarra -) 1512

3)Publicacion de “La Celestina” -) 1499

4)Matrimonio de Fernando e Isabel -) 1469

5)Expulsión de los Judíos -) 1492

6)Firma del Tratado de Granada entre España y Francia -) 1500

7)Conquista de la Isla de La Palma. -) 1493

8)Conquista de Orán . -) 1509

9)Establecimiento de la Inquisición -) 1478

10)Autorización de la Trata de Esclavos en America. -) 1501

11)Descubrimiento de America. -) 1492

12)Firma del Tratado de Tordesillas con Portugal -) 1494

13)Creación de la Casa de Contratación. -) 1503

14)Creación de la Santa Hermandad , cuerpo de policía rural -) 1476

15)Batallas de Garellano, Seminara y Ceriñola en Italia -) 1503

16)Conversion de los Moricos de Granada. -) 1502

17)Unificación monetaria en España -) 1500

18)Publicacion de la primera Gramática Española -) 1500

19)Revuelta de los Moriscos en Las Alpujarras.. -) 1499

20)Comienzo del reinado de Fernando e Isabel-) 1479

21)Primer mapa de America por Juan de la Cosa -) 1502

22)Denuncias de malos tratos a los indios -) 1511