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113-769: The conquest of the Canary Islands by the Crown of Castile took place between 1402 and 1496 in two periods: the Conquista señorial , carried out by Castilian nobility in exchange for a covenant of allegiance to the crown, and the Conquista realenga , carried out by the Spanish crown itself during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs . It has been described as the first instance of European settler colonialism in Africa. The ties between

226-460: A Papal dispensation . Consequently, Ferdinand's father forged a papal dispensation for the two to marry. Isabella believed that the dispensation was authentic and the marriage went ahead. A genuine papal dispensation arrived afterwards. Later Pope Alexander VI bestowed upon them the title of 'los Reyes Católicos' ('the Catholic Monarchs'). Henry IV , half brother of Isabella, considered

339-408: A conquest project since 1344, King Ferdinand I of Portugal granted in 1370 the islands of Lanzarote and La Gomera to the adventurer 'Lançarote da Franquia' (believed by some to be none other than the impossibly-aged Lanceloto Malocello ). Lançarote da Franquia made an attempt to seize the islands and is reported to have engaged in fighting with "Guanches and Castilians" there by 1376, but it seems

452-497: A double rebellion, one by a section of his men led by Bertín de Berneval, who had restarted the capture of slaves , and the other by the Lanzarote Guanches who resisted this practice. Pacifying the island took until 1404 and the conquest of Fuerteventura recommenced at the end of that year. However, the two commanders acted separately, each one fortifying his own domain (the castles of Rico Roque and Valtarajal). The conquest of

565-531: A meeting with Tanausú which was to take place in Los Llanos de Aridane . The Castilians ambushed and captured Tanausú when he left the Caldera. He was then sent to Castile as a prisoner; however, he starved to death on the journey. The official date for the end of the conquest is given as 3 May 1493. Following this part of the population of Aceró and other cantons which had signed peace treaties were sold as slaves although

678-462: A mixed crew of Italians, Portuguese and Castilians. Cruising the archipelago for five months, the expedition mapped thirteen islands (seven major, six minor) and surveyed the indigenous inhabitants, the ' Guanches ', bringing back four natives to Lisbon. (This expedition would become the basis of later Portuguese claims of priority on the islands.) European interest in the Canaries picked up quickly after

791-467: A notable of Seville, requested permission from King Henry III of Castile to conquer the Canary Islands. The Castilian grandee Juan Alonso de Guzmán, Count of Niebla , joined his name to the effort. Five ships were prepared, crewed by Andalusians from Seville and Basque adventurers from Vizcaya and Guipuzcoa, and set off from Cadiz in 1393. The Almonaster expedition sailed through the Canary islands, examining

904-497: A number of ways throughout history: some think he was a traitor to the aboriginal cause; while others feel he was an able negotiator who saved many lives. On 29 April 1483 Guayarmina Semidán , considered to be queen of Gran Canaria, surrendered at Ansite Fortress. On the same day Chief Bentejuí and his shaman-advisor Faycán committed suicide by jumping off a cliff  [ es ] while shouting Atis Tirma (for my land). Alonso Fernández de Lugo , who played an important role in

1017-498: A ruler among the aboriginal peoples and been eventually expelled by them. According to some sources, shortly after his return to Europe, in 1336, Malocello led a return expedition to the Canaries, sponsored by the Portuguese crown. However, the existence of this expedition has been dismissed by most modern historians, as being based on later forged documents. Evidently drawing from the information provided by Malocello, in 1339 appeared

1130-716: A significant amount in the venture. The story of the Bethencourt Conquest was recorded in the chronicle known as the Canarian, compiled by two clerics Pierre Bontier and Jean Le Verrier. The original was adapted in two later versions, one by Gadifer de La Salle (which appears the more reliable of the two) and the other by the nephew of Bethencourt, Maciot de Bethencourt. The Norman expedition set off from La Rochelle and stopped off in Galicia and Cádiz before arriving in Lanzarote in

1243-581: A third of the costs and would receive the same proportion of the benefits. The campaign was relatively easy, commencing on 29 September 1492 when the Castilians landed in Tazacorte . Alonso Fernández de Lugo made use of agreements and pacts with the Guanches which respected the rights of the chieftains giving full equality with the Castilians in order to attract them to his cause. Resistance was generally minimal, with

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1356-448: A tower on their land, where Guanches and Europeans had treatment until it is demolished around 1472 by the same Guanches. In 1492 the governor of Gran Canaria Francisco Maldonado organized a raid ending in disaster for Europe, as they are defeated by the Guanches of Anaga. In December 1493 Alonso Fernández de Lugo obtained the Catholic Monarchs confirmation of his right of conquest over the island of Tenerife and in exchange for renouncing

1469-405: Is a later report that thirteen "Christian friars" who had been preaching in the Canaries "for seven years" were massacred in an uprising during 1391. At least five missionary expeditions would be sent (or at least planned) between 1352 and 1386. Geographic knowledge of the Canary islands coalesced with these expeditions. Eight of the Canary islands, including La Gomera and El Hierro, are depicted in

1582-419: Is first given alongside 'Infierno' in the 1385 Libro del Conoscimiento . During the 1370s, when Portugal and Castile were engaged in the dynastic Fernandine Wars that followed the assassination of Peter I of Castile , Portuguese and Castilian privateers were dispatched against each other, several of which made detours to the Canary islands for shelter or slave-raiding jaunts. In the first indication of

1695-618: The Americas came through Castile which was one of the more dynamic, rich, and advanced territories in Europe in the 16th century. It started to realise that it could become immersed within an empire. This, added to the broken promise of Charles, only increased hostility towards the king. In 1520 in Toledo Parliament rejected a further subsidy for the king. Parliament in Santiago de Compostela reached

1808-624: The Canaries and the Mediterranean world which had existed since antiquity were interrupted by the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire . Although these linkages were weakened, they were not totally severed, and the Canaries' isolation was not total. During the Middle Ages, the first reports on the Canaries come from Arabic sources, which refer to some Atlantic islands which may have been

1921-552: The Compromise of Caspe in 1412, Ferdinand left Castile to become King of Aragon . Upon the death of his mother, John II at the age of 14, took to the throne and married his cousin Maria of Aragon . The young king entrusted his government to regent Álvaro de Luna , the most influential person in court and allied with the lesser nobility, the cities, the clergy, and the Jews. This brought together

2034-664: The Concordia de Villafáfila of 1506, Ferdinand returned to Aragon and Phillip was recognized as King of Castile, with Joanna a co-monarch. In the Treaty of Villafáfila in 1506 King Ferdinand the Catholic renounced not only the government of Castile in favour of his son-in-law Philip I of Castile but also the lordship of the Indies, withholding a half of the income of the kingdoms of the Indies. Joanna of Castile and Philip immediately added to their titles

2147-655: The Cortes of both kingdoms were held jointly. The Cortes of 1258 in Valladolid comprised representatives of Castile, Extremadura and León (" de Castiella e de Estremadura e de tierra de León ") and those of Seville in 1261 of Castile, León and all other kingdoms (" de Castiella e de León e de todos los otros nuestros Regnos "). Subsequent Cortes were celebrated separately, for example in 1301 that of Castile in Burgos and that of León in Zamora, but

2260-658: The Count-Duke of Olivares , the king's favourite (valido) from 1621 to 1643, tried to introduce a series of reforms. Among these was the Unión de Armas , the creation of a new army of 140,000 reservists. Every territory within the kingdom contributed citizens proportionally in order to maintain the force. His aims of union did not work and the Spanish Crown continued as a confederation of kingdoms. Luis Méndez de Haro took over from Olivares as favourite Philip IV between 1659 and 1665. This

2373-456: The House of Trastámara 's position and created peace between England and Castile. During the reign of Henry III royal power was restored, overshadowing the much powerful Castilian nobility. In his later years Henry delegated some of his power to his brother Ferdinand I of Antequera , who would be regent, along with his wife Catherine of Lancaster , during the childhood of his son John II . After

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2486-582: The Kingdom of Asturias . The Kingdom of Castile appeared initially as a county of the Kingdom of León. From the second half of the 10th century to the first half of the 11th century it changed hands between León and the Kingdom of Navarre. In the 11th century, it became a kingdom in its own right. The two kingdoms had been united twice previously: From 1199 to 1201 under Alfonso VIII the Castilian king's armies invaded

2599-476: The Kingdom of Navarre , annexing thereafter Álava , Durangaldea and Gipuzkoa , including San Sebastián and Vitoria (Gasteiz) . However, these western Basque territories saw their Navarrese charters confirmed under Castilian rule. Ferdinand III received the Kingdom of Castile from his mother, Queen Berengaria of Castile granddaughter of Sancho III in 1217, and the Kingdom of León from his father Alfonso IX of León son of Ferdinand II in 1230. From then on

2712-589: The Morisco Revolt (1568–1571), which was put down by John of Austria . Castile entered a phase of recession in 1575; Spain as a whole followed, which provoked the suspension of wages (the third of his reign). In 1590 the Cortes approved the millones ; a new tax on food. This exhausted Castilian cities and hindered the economy. In 1596, pay was once again suspended. In the previous kingdoms, positions in national institutions were filled by educated gentlemen. Philip II's administrators would normally come from either

2825-635: The Ordenamiento de Alcalá (1348) and the Leyes de Toro (1505). These laws continued to be in force until 1889, when a new Spanish civil code, the Código Civil Español, was enacted. In the 13th century there were many languages spoken in the Kingdoms of León and Castile among them Castilian , Leonese , Basque and Galician-Portuguese . But, as the century progressed, Castilian gained increasing prominence as

2938-609: The Roman curia and eventually sold it to Philip VI of France . In 1342, James declined to pledge the oath of fealty to his cousin Peter IV of Aragon . Nevertheless, he received support from the scholars of the University of Montpellier and from Aragonese troubadour, Thomàs Périz de Fozes , who penned a poem in defense of James. This disagreement led to a brief conflict during which Peter managed to expel James from Majorca, subsequently reannexing

3051-594: The University of Alcalá or the University of Salamanca . After Philip III the nobility once again asserted their right to govern the country. In order to show that there was a new order ruling there was a cleansing of the blood of Spain . Religious persecution led Philip to declare the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609. Faced with the collapse of the Exchequer, in order to maintain the hegemony of Philip IV's Spanish Empire,

3164-518: The University of Montpellier , which was situated within his continental domains, and the legal scholars from that institution championed his royal prerogatives. On 9 May 1337, James introduced the Leges palatinae , an intricate legal code governing his court and the first of its kind. To accompany this, he commissioned a finely crafted illuminated manuscript in an Italian style, which he managed to preserve even after losing his throne. He transported it to

3277-644: The War of the Castilian Succession broke out over who would ascend to the throne. It lasted until 1479 when Isabella and her supporters came out victorious. After Isabella's victory in the civil war and Ferdinand's ascension to the Aragonese throne the two crowns were united under the same monarchs. However, this was a personal union and both kingdoms remained administratively separate to some extent, each maintaining largely its own laws; both parliaments remained separate,

3390-528: The War of the Spanish Succession . After the war, all the territories were unified as a single country under the Crown of Spain . North – Septentrional South – Meridional In the viceroyalties the viceroy, whose term etymologically means "in the place of the king", concentrated all public power. They were freely appointed and removed by the Monarch, when the sovereign wanted he/she could remove

3503-827: The conquest of the Aztec Empire , the conquest of the Inca Empire , the Spanish conquest of New Granada as well as the conquest of the Philippines all helped shape the Crown of Castile into a global empire in the 16th Century. The title of "King of Castile" remained in use by the Habsburg rulers during the 16th and 17th centuries. Charles I was King of Aragon, Majorca , Valencia , and Sicily , and Count of Barcelona , Roussillon and Cerdagne , as well as King of Castile and León, 1516–1556. In

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3616-442: The 1341 mapping expedition. The descriptions of the primeval Guanches, in particular, drew the attention of European merchants, who immediately saw the prospect of new and easy slave -raiding grounds. In 1342, at least two Majorcan expeditions, one under Francesc Duvalers, another under Domenech Gual, assembled by private merchant consortia with a commission from Roger de Robenach (representative of James III of Majorca ) set out for

3729-749: The 1367 portolan chart of the brothers Domenico and Francesco Pizzigano . A few years later, the Catalan Atlas of 1375 shows the Canaries almost completely and accurately mapped (only La Palma is missing). The eleven islands are named in the Catalan Atlas (from east to west) as Graciosa ( La Graciosa ), laregranza ( Alegranza ), rocho ( Roque ), Insula de lanzaroto maloxelo ( Lanzarote ), insula de li vegi marin ( Lobos ), forteventura (Fuerteventura), Insula de Canaria ( Gran Canaria ), Insula del infernio ( Tenerife ), insula de gomera ( La Gomera ), insula de lo fero ( El Hierro ). The name 'tenerefiz'

3842-504: The Bethencourt era ended in 1418 when Maciot sold his holdings and the rights to subjugate the remaining islands to Enrique Pérez de Guzmán . From this point on the intervention of the King of Castile increased. Between 1418 and 1445 dominion over the islands changed hands on a number of occasions. Finally, control over the conquered islands and the right to further conquests fell to Hernán Peraza

3955-516: The Canaries offered a source of dyes such as the orchil lichen. Bethencourt received important political support in the court of King Henry III of Castile . His uncle, Robert de Bracquemont , gained the king's permission for the conquest of the Canary Islands on behalf of the Norman noble. In exchange for these rights Bethencourt became a vassal of the Castilian King. Robert de Bracquemont invested

4068-490: The Canaries. What does seem clear is that this knowledge of the islands did not signify the end of the cultural isolation of the native inhabitants. Visits to the archipelago began to increase after the end of the 13th century for reasons including: In the 14th century, a variety of forces competed for control of the Canaries: Genoese, Majorcan, Portuguese and Castilian. In the following century, Castile and Portugal were

4181-633: The Canary islands is in 1366, when King Peter IV of Aragon commissioned the captain Joan Mora to patrol the Canary islands to assert Catalan sovereignty and patrol for interlopers. Although there was still no project of conquest, interest in missionary establishments seemed to pick up again. The Avignon Pope Urban V issued a bull in July 1369 erecting the Diocese of Fortuna and appointing Fr. Bonnant Tari as bishop, and followed it up with bull of September 1369 instructing

4294-569: The Canary islands was mounted before Luis de la Cerda's death on 5 July 1348. By the terms of the 1344 contract, the lordship of Fortuna was set to expire after five years without an expedition (although Cerda's heirs, the Counts of Medinacelli would later revive their claim). With Cerda out of the picture, former parties resumed their adventures. However, records over the next generation are few and far-between. There are notices of three further expeditions by Majorcans (now annexed by Aragon since 1344) to

4407-552: The Canary islands were easy to conquer and very profitable. This whet the appetites of other adventurers. There were several other reputed expeditions to the Canary Islands during the 14th Century, first reported by Fr. Juan de Abreu Galindo (1632), some of them in Viera y Clavijo (1772), drawing primarily from local Canarian legends, that have since been determined to be apocryphal or confounded with other expeditions. Among those deemed purely legendary are: Other legendary traditions include

4520-587: The Canary islands. Some speculate as many as four or five expeditions were commissioned in Majorca in 1342. The results of these expeditions are uncertain. The Catholic Church was also drawn by the news. In 1344, the Castilian-French noble Luis de la Cerda (Count of Clermont and Admiral of France ), then serving as a French ambassador to the papal court in Avignon , submitted a proposal to Pope Clement VI , offering

4633-545: The Church the more palatable vision of conquering the islands and converting the native Canarians to Christianity. In November 1344, Pope Clement VI issued the bull Tuae devotionis sinceritas granting the Canary islands in perpetuity to Luis de la Cerda and bestowing upon him the title of sovereign "Prince of Fortuna". The pope followed this up with another bull, in January 1345, giving the projected Cerda-led conquest and conversion of

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4746-518: The Elder and his children Guillén Peraza and Inés Peraza . The death of Guillén Peraza in the attack on La Palma has been immortalized in a moving lament. After the death of her brother Inés and her husband Diego García de Herrera became the sole rulers of the islands until 1477 when they ceded La Gomera to their son Hernán Peraza the Younger and the rights to the conquest of La Palma, Gran Canaria and Tenerife to

4859-465: The King of Castile. The island of La Gomera was not taken in battle but was incorporated into the Peraza-Herrera fiefdom through an agreement between Hernán Peraza the Elder and some of the insular aboriginal groups who accepted the rule of the Castilian. However, there were a number of uprisings by the Guanches due to outrages committed by the rulers on the native Gomeros. The last one, in 1488 caused

4972-664: The Prince of Achaea, with his father assuming guardianship over him. In an attempt to gain control of the principality, Ferdinand launched an invasion of the Morea but met his demise in the Battle of Manolada in 1316. Despite this setback, starting from 1331, the feudal lords of Achaea gradually acknowledged James's rights. By 1333, this recognition became complete, even though the Angevin heirs of Philip I of Taranto persisted in pressing their claim. Upon

5085-617: The Pyrenees was annexed to Castile. Charles I received the Crown of Castile, the Crown of Aragon and the empire through a combination of dynastic marriages and premature deaths: Charles I was not well received in Castile. This was partly because he was a foreign-born king (born in Ghent ), and even before his arrival in Castile he had granted important positions to Flemish citizens and had used Castilian money to fund his court. The Castilian nobility and

5198-677: The Rash (or the Unfortunate ), was King of Majorca from 1324 to 1344. He was the son of Ferdinand of Majorca and Isabella of Sabran . James was born in Catania , Sicily . Margaret of Villehardouin , James's maternal grandmother, fought to reclaim the Principality of Achaea from the Angevins of the Kingdom of Naples . However, Isabella died shortly after giving birth, and James was subsequently declared

5311-399: The Spanish conquest of the Canaries was different from the first in a number of ways: There were three stages in the conquest of Gran Canaria: a) Initial stage, June – December 1478 . The first expeditionary force disembarked on La Isleta on 24 June 1478. The force was commanded by Juan Rejón and Dean Bermúdez, as representative of the Bishop of San Marcial del Rubicón, Juan de Frías, who

5424-499: The above-mentioned Henry, who disputed Peter's right to the throne once the latter became king. In the resulting struggle, in which both brothers claimed to be king, Pedro allied himself with Edward, Prince of Wales , "the Black Prince". In 1367, the Black Prince defeated Henry II's allies at the Battle of Nájera , restoring Pedro's control of the kingdom. The Black Prince, seeing that the king would not reimburse his expenses, left Castile. Henry, who had fled to France, took advantage of

5537-435: The actual Canary islands make a solid appearance (although Dulcert also includes some fantastic islands himself, notably Saint Brendan's Island , and three islands he names Primaria , Capraria and Canaria ). In 1341, a three-ship expedition sponsored by King Afonso IV of Portugal , set out from Lisbon, commanded by Florentine captain Angiolino del Tegghia de Corbizzi and Genoese captain Nicoloso da Recco , and employing

5650-424: The ancient Visigothic dioceses and prior reconquista treaties, the islands fell within the Castilian jurisdiction and 'sphere of conquest', but nonetheless recognized Cerda's title. Preparations for the Cerda expedition were stalled by the opposition of the Iberian monarchs – despite their formal concessions to Cerda's title, they did not facilitate the organization of his expedition. As a result, no expedition to

5763-415: The apparition of the Virgin of Candelaria in 1392–1393, encountered by two Guanche goatherds on the beaches of Tenerife. The conquest took place between 1402 and 1496. It was not an easy task, militarily, given the resistance of the Guanche aboriginals in some islands. Nor was it easy politically, given the conflicting interests of the nobility (bent on fortifying their economic and political power) and

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5876-493: The area – the famed expedition of Jaume Ferrer in 1346 (aiming to reach the "River of Gold", i.e. Senegal , on the African coast, but may have touched the Canaries on the way), the expedition of Arnau Roger to Gran Canaria in 1352, and a royal-sponsored patrol expedition by Joan Mora in 1366. There were doubtless many unrecorded expeditions, not only by Majorcans, but also likely by merchants of Seville and Lisbon. These would have been almost wholly of commercial character, many with

5989-413: The bishops of Barcelona and Tortosa to dispatch 10 secular and 20 regular clergy to preach to the Canarians in their native languages. But whether this actually set out or just remained a paper project is also uncertain. We have a more reliable record of a Majorcan expedition in 1386 carried out by 'Pauperes Heremite', sponsored by Peter IV Aragon and Pope Urban VI. Although their exact fate is unknown, there

6102-428: The bonus promised for the conquest of La Palma he claimed governorship of the island, although he would not receive revenue from the quinto real tax. The finance for the conquest was achieved by the sale of his sugar plantations in the valley of Agaete , obtained after the conquest of Gran Canaria, and by forming an association with Italian merchants who had settled in Seville . Crown of Castile In 1492,

6215-405: The case that Joanna "didn't want to or couldn't fulfil her duties". In the 'Salamanca Agreement' of 1505, it was decided that the government would be shared by Philip I, Ferdinand V and Joanna. However, poor relations between Phillip, who was supported by the Castilian nobility, and Ferdinand resulted in Ferdinand renouncing his regent's powers in Castile in order to avoid an armed conflict. Through

6328-409: The cities were on the verge of an uprising to defend their rights. Many Castilians favoured the king's younger brother Ferdinand , who grew up in Castile, and in fact the Council of Castile opposed the idea of Charles as King of Castile. In 1518 the Castilian parliament in Valladolid named the Wallonian Jean de Sauvage as its president. This caused angry protests in the parliament, which rejected

6441-423: The city. He then moved on to occupy Santiago de Compostela , Pontevedra and Vigo . He asked John I , Henry II's son, to give up the throne in favor of Constance. John declined but proposed that his son, the Infante Henry , marry John of Gaunt's daughter Catherine . The proposal was accepted, and the title Prince of Asturias was created for Henry and Catherine. This ended the dynastic conflict, strengthened

6554-459: The close of 1478 until 1481 . This period is defined by aboriginal resistance in the mountainous interior, the lack of men and materials and internal disputes between the invaders. During this stage Juan Rejón was dismissed on the orders of the Catholic Monarchs. His place was taken by Pedro Fernández de Algaba who was subsequently executed by order of the deposed Rejón. The naming of Pedro de Vera  [ ca ; de ; es ; fr ; ro ; ru ] as

6667-462: The coasts of Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hierro, Gomera and Tenerife, before finally deciding to land and raid Lanzarote. The Almonaster raid on Lanzarote took some 170 native inhabitants captive, including the local Guanche king and his queen, along with plenty of skins, wax and dyewood, which they sold in Seville for a small fortune. Upon their return to Castile, Almonaster and Niebla presented their captives and goods before Henry III, and reported that

6780-467: The completion and end of the Reconquista . Also in 1492, the Christopher Columbus maritime expedition claimed the newly found lands in the Americas for the Crown of Castile and began the New World conquests. In 1497 Castile conquered Melilla on the north coast of North Africa. After Castile's conquest of the Kingdom of Granada, its politics turned towards the Mediterranean, and Castile militarily helped Aragon in its problems with France, culminating in

6893-405: The conquest of Gran Canaria was granted the rights of conquest for La Palma and Tenerife by the Catholic Monarchs. The agreement with the Crown included a fifth of the captives and 700,000 maravedís if the conquest was completed within a year. In order to finance the enterprise Alonso Fernández de Lugo entered into association with Juanoto Berardi and Francisco de Riberol. Each partner contributed

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7006-401: The cost quadrupled. During his reign, as well as increasing existing taxes he created some new ones, among them the excusado in 1567. That same year Philip ordered the proclamation of the La Pragmática ; an act whereby all Moriscos had to abandon all Moorish traditions and become true Catholics. This edict limited religious, linguistic and cultural freedom of the Morisco population and provoked

7119-399: The death of Alfonso XI a dynastic conflict started between his sons, the Infantes Peter (Pedro) and Henry , Count of Trastámara, which became entangled in the Hundred Years' War (between England and France). Alfonso XI had married Maria of Portugal with whom he had his heir, the Infante Peter. However, the King also had many illegitimate children with Eleanor of Guzman , among them

7232-473: The death of his uncle Sancho in 1324, James inherited the Kingdom of Majorca. His uncle Philip acted as regent for the kingdom until 1329. In a bid to cultivate amicable relations with the Crown of Aragon , James tied the knot with Constance , the daughter of Alfonso IV of Aragon . Even though the kings of Majorca traditionally swore an oath of fealty to the kings of Aragon, James contended that no king could exercise authority over another king. He supported

7345-421: The death of the islands ruler, Hernán Peraza The Younger, whose widow, Beatriz de Bobadilla y Ossorio , succeeded him in rule and sought the assistance of Pedro de Vera, conqueror of Gran Canaria, in order to snuff out the rebellion. The subsequent repression caused the death of two hundred rebels and many others were sold into slavery in the Spanish markets. The third period ( Spanish : Conquista Realenga ) of

7458-411: The dominating partner in the union. As a result of the Reconquista (Reconquest) the Castilian aristocracy had become very powerful. The monarchs needed to assert their authority over the nobility and the clergy. With this end in mind they founded a law enforcement body, the Consejo de la Hermandad , more commonly known as the Santa Hermandad (the Holy Brotherhood), which was staffed and funded by

7571-476: The early 18th century, Philip of Bourbon won the War of the Spanish Succession and imposed unification policies over the Crown of Aragon , supporters of their enemies. This unified the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile into the kingdom of Spain. Even though the Nueva Planta decrees did not formally abolish the Crown of Castile, the country (of Castile and Aragon) was called "Spain" by both contemporaries and historians. The Kingdom of León arose out of

7684-518: The effort at establishing a Portuguese foothold faltered after Lançarote's death in 1385. Interest in the Canary islands seems to have been principally the province of the Majorcan-Aragonese in the 1340s–60s (focused on Gran Canaria), and the Portuguese in 1370s–80s (focused on Lanzarote). There are faint references to Castilian adventurers before, but it is only really after 1390 that interest picked up and Castile finally brought its weight to bear. In 1390, Gonzalo Peraza Martel , Lord of Almonaster ,

7797-427: The exception of an incident in Tigalate. However, there was more concerted resistance in the canton of Aceró (Caldera de Taburiente) where the chief, Tanausú, was easily able to hold out as the only two access points to the area were readily defendable against the advance of the invading forces. Seeing that the year would soon be up and fearing that he would lose the bonus of 700,000 maravedíes Fernández de Lugo proposed

7910-421: The first universities in Europe. In the 13th century, emerging groups of local grazers coalesced into the powerful Mesta , the headpin for wool trade over the following three centuries. In time, Castile would become a leading export market for wool in the late middle ages. The Castilian Civil War pitting supporters of Henry of Trastámara against Peter I entailed a struggle of competing factions, with

8023-440: The former party being favoured by the Castilian nobility (and, to a lesser extent, the Clergy), whereas the latter party lied on the side of Jews', conversos ' and town councils' interests. A substantial transfer from the royal patrimony to the nobles ensued upon the prevail of the Trastámaras in the conflict. Likewise, the resulting dynastic change ran parallel to a radicalization of the antisemitic sentiment in Castile. On

8136-541: The island of Tenerife to the Crown of Castile date back at least to 1464. For this reason, 32 years passed between the first attempt in 1464, until the island's final conquest in 1496. In 1464, takes place in the barranco del Bufadero taking symbolic possession of the island by the Lord of the Canary Islas Diego Garcia de Herrera . This signing a peace treaty with menceyes, allowing shortly after mencey Anaga build

8249-466: The island was completed in 1405 with the surrender of the native kings of the island. On an unknown date Gadifer abandoned the island and returned to France to defend his rights, but he would never return to the islands. After the victory Bethencourt, absolute owner of the islands, returned to Normandy in search of settlers and new resources in order to continue the conquest of the rest of the islands. The conquest of El Hierro took place in 1405. There

8362-454: The islands the character of a crusade , granting indulgences to its participants, and papal letters were dispatched to the Iberian monarchs urging them to provide material assistance to Cerda's expedition. The Portuguese king Afonso IV immediately lodged a protest, claiming priority of discovery, but conceded to the authority of the pope. Alfonso XI of Castile also protested, claiming that, by

8475-525: The kingdoms of Indies, Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea. Phillip died and Ferdinand returned in 1507 once again to be regent for Joanna. Her isolated confinement-imprisonment in the Santa Clara Convent at Tordesillas , to last over forty years until death, began with her father's orders in 1510. In 1512 a joint Castilian-Aragonese force invaded Navarre and most of the Kingdom of Navarre south of

8588-746: The language of culture and communication – one example of this is the Cantar de Mio Cid . In the last years of the reign of Ferdinand III , Castilian began to be used for some important documents, such as the Visigothic Code , the basis of the legal code for Christians living in Muslim Cordova , but it was during the reign of Alfonso X that it became the official language. Henceforth all public documents were written in Castilian, likewise all translations of Arabic legal and government documents were made into Castilian instead of Latin. Some scholars think that

8701-570: The line of succession. After the death of Alfonso in an accident, Henry IV signed the Treaty of the Bulls of Guisando with his half-sister Isabella I in which he named her heiress in return for her marrying a prince chosen by him. In October 1469 Isabella I and Ferdinand II , heir to the throne of Aragon , married in secret in the Palacio de los Vivero in Castilian Valladolid . The consequence

8814-411: The majority were integrated into the new society formed after the conquest. Tenerife was the last island to be conquered and the one that took the longest time to submit to the Castilian troops. Although the traditional dates of conquest of Tenerife are established between 1494 (landing of Alonso Fernández de Lugo) and 1496 (conquest of the island), it must be taken into account that the attempts to annex

8927-402: The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella as breaking the Treaty of the Bulls of Guisando , under which Isabella would ascend to the Castilian throne on his death only if her suitor was approved by him. Henry wanted to ally Castile with Portugal or France rather than Aragon. He therefore decided to name his daughter Infanta Joanna as heiress to the throne rather than Isabella I. When he died in 1474

9040-465: The monarchs decided that those who would not convert would be expelled. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 people were expelled from Castile. From 1502 onwards, they began to convert the Muslim population. Between 1478 and 1497 the monarchs' forces conquered the three Canary Islands of Gran Canaria , La Palma and Tenerife . On 2 January 1492 the monarchs entered Granada 's Alhambra marking

9153-566: The municipalities. They also took further measures against the nobility, destroying feudal castles, prohibiting private wars and reducing the power of the Adelantados (a governor-like military office in regions recently conquered). The monarchy incorporated military orders under the Consejo de las Órdenes in 1495, reinforced royal judicial power over the feudal one and transformed the Audiencias into

9266-521: The mutual dislikes of the king shared by the greater Castilian nobility and the Aragonese Infantes , sons of Ferdinand I of Antequera , who sought to control the Castilian crown. This eventually led to war in 1429 and 1430 between the two kingdoms. Álvaro de Luna won the war and expelled the Aragonese Infantes from Castile. Henry IV unsuccessfully tried to re-establish the peace with

9379-483: The natives in 1354. To encourage the missionaries at Telde the pope had erected the 'Diocese of Fortuna' in 1351, but this seems to have remained a paper appointment. Papal interest in the Canaries waned following the death of Pope Clement VI in late 1352. For the next generation, there is practically no information about the Canary islands. It is probable Majorcan-Catalan kept up their commercial interest, focused on Gran Canaria, but records are scant. The next we hear of

9492-548: The new governor of the island and the arrest of Juan Rejón put an end to the in-fighting that had continued until 1481. c) Suppression of the Guanche resistance and conquest of the island, 1481–83 . Pedro de Vera, now undisputed commander of the Castilian forces, resumed the conquest of the island's interior and the Guanche fiefdom of Gáldar. He was able to do this because a large contingent of reinforcements had been sent from Gomero by Diego García de Herrera. The Guanche leader Doramas

9605-478: The nobility that his father, John II, had shattered. When his second wife, Joan of Portugal , gave birth to Infanta Joanna , it was claimed that she was the result of an affair of the Queen with Beltrán de la Cueva , one of the King's chief ministers. The King, besieged by riots and the demands of the nobles, had to sign a treaty in which he named as his successor his half-brother Alfonso , leaving Infanta Joanna out of

9718-435: The number of cities represented in the Cortes varied over the next century, until John I permanently set those that would be allowed to send representatives ( procuradores ): Burgos , Toledo , León, Sevilla, Córdoba, Murcia, Jaén, Zamora , Segovia , Ávila , Salamanca , Cuenca , Toro , Valladolid , Soria , Madrid and Guadalajara (with Granada added after its conquest in 1492). Under Alfonso X , most sessions of

9831-558: The object of bringing Franciscan missionaries, including twelve converted Canarian natives (apparently seized by previous Majorcan expeditions), to the islands. Whether this expedition ever set out is uncertain, although it was most probably enveloped in Arnau Roger's expedition of 1352. Apocryphal legend relates the Majorcan missionaries succeeded in establishing an evangelizing center at Telde (on Gran Canaria ), until they were massacred by

9944-534: The only common institution would be the Inquisition . Despite their titles of "Monarchs of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Sicily" Ferdinand and Isabella reigned over their respective territories, although they also took decisions together. Its central position, larger territorial area (three times greater than that of Aragon) and larger population (4.3 million as opposed to the 1 million in Aragon) led to Castile becoming

10057-519: The only monarch of Spain. Philip II continued the politics of Charles I, but unlike his father he made Castile the core of the Spanish Empire , centralising all administration in Madrid . The other Spanish regions maintained certain degree of autonomy, being governed by a Viceroy . In fact, since the reign of Charles I the financial burden of the empire had fallen mainly on Castile, but under Philip II

10170-540: The opportunity and recommenced the fight. Henry finally was victorious in 1369 in the Battle of Montiel , in which he had Peter killed. In 1371 the brother of the Black Prince, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , married Constance , Peter's daughter. In 1386, he claimed the Crown of Castile in the name of his wife, the legitimate heir according to the Cortes de Seville of 1361. He arrived in A Coruña with an army and took

10283-462: The portolan map by Angelino Dulcert of Majorca showing the Canary island of Lanzarote (named Insula de Lanzarotus Marocelus and marked by a Genoese shield), as well as the island of Forte Vetura ( Fuerteventura ) and Vegi Mari ( Lobos ). Although earlier maps had shown fantastical depictions of the " Fortunate Islands " (on the basis of their mention in Pliny ), this is the first European map where

10396-534: The presence of foreigners in its deliberations. Despite threats, the parliament led by Juan de Zumel representing Burgos , resisted and forced the king to respect the laws of Castile, remove all foreigners from important governmental posts, and learn to speak Castilian . After taking his oath, Charles received a subsidy of 600,000 ducats. Charles was conscious of the fact that he had options to become emperor and needed to impose his authority over Castile to gain access to its riches for his imperial goals. The riches from

10509-671: The primary contenders. The first visit by a European to the Canary Islands since antiquity was by Genoese captain Lanceloto Malocello traditionally dated 1312 (but probably a little later, between 1318–1325). Malocello's motives were unclear – it is believed he might have been searching for traces of the Vivaldi brothers who had disappeared off Morocco, around Cape Non back in 1291. Malocello made landfall (possibly shipwrecked) on Lanzarote island, and remained there for nearly twenty years. Malocello may have attempted to erect himself as

10622-593: The purpose of capturing native islanders to sell as slaves in European markets. But there was also some peaceful trade with the locals, particularly for orchil and dragon's blood , which grew wildly on the islands and were much valued as dyes by the European cloth industry. Despite the failure of the Cerda project, the pope did not give up on his hope of converting the natives. In 1351, Pope Clement VI endorsed an expedition by Majorcan captains Joan Doria and Jaume Segarra, with

10735-535: The reconquest of Naples for the Crown of Aragon in 1504. Later that same year, Queen Isabella died, on November 26. Upon Queen Isabella I's death 1504, the crown passed to her daughter Joanna , who was married to Philip of Austria (nicknamed 'Philip the Handsome'). But Isabella knew of her daughter's possible mental health incapacities ( and so nicknamed 'Juana la Loca' or 'Joanna the Mad' ) and named Ferdinand as regent in

10848-550: The representatives demanded that the parliaments be reunited from then on. Although the individual kingdoms and cities initially retained their individual historical rights-including the Old Fuero of Castile (Viejo Fuero de Castilla) and the different fueros of the municipal councils of Castile, León, Extremadura and Andalucía-a unified legal code for the entire new kingdom was created in the Siete Partidas ( c.  1265 ),

10961-495: The resistance of the islanders as to the difficulties and internal divisions between the two captains leading the invaders. Hunger and a lack of resources forced the expedition to retreat to Lanzarote. Jean de Bethencourt then travelled to Castile to drum up further support. There King Enrique III supplied the necessary measures and the confirmation of Bethencourt's exclusive rights to conquer the island, thereby marginalising Gadifer. During Bethencourt's absence Gadifer had to confront

11074-543: The revolts released Joanna, claiming to support her to be the sole monarch and encouraging her to agree the dethronement of Charles. While sympathetic to revolts, Joanna however refused to sign any documents to support them or depose her son. Los comuneros were defeated one year later (1521). After their defeat, Parliament was reduced to a merely consultative body. To prevent Joanna from being proposed to be an alternative monarch by opponents again, Charles continued her confinement until her death in 1555, after which Charles became

11187-535: The same decision. Finally, when Parliament was held in A Coruña , many members were bribed and others denied entry, with the result that the subsidy was approved. Those members who voted in favour were attacked by the Castilian people and their houses were burned. Parliament was not the only opposition which Charles would come up against. When he left Castile in 1520, the Castilian War of the Communities broke out, and

11300-588: The state, particularly Castile , with an interest in reinforcing its own power in competition with the nobles. Historians identify three distinguishable periods in the conquest of the Canaries: The first period ( Spanish : Conquista Betancuriana o Normanda ) of the conquest of the Canaries was carried out by the Norman nobles Jean de Bethencourt and Gadifer de la Salle . Their motives were basically economic: Bethencourt possessed textile factories and dye works and

11413-567: The substitution of Castilian for Latin was due to the strength of the new language, whereas others consider that it was due to the influence of Hebrew-speaking intellectuals who were hostile towards Latin, the language of the Christian Church. In 1492, under the Catholic Monarchs , the first edition of the Grammar of the Castilian Language by Antonio de Nebrija was published. Castilian

11526-471: The summer of 1402. The island's aborigines and their chief Guadarfia were unable to resist the invading forces and surrendered. The Normans established themselves on the south of the island where they constructed a fortress and founded the Bishopric of Rubicon . From this location they attempted an assault on Fuerteventura . This campaign lasted between 1402 and 1405. The extended duration was not due so much to

11639-479: The supreme judicial bodies. The crown also sought to better control the cities, and so in 1480 in the Cortes of Toledo it created the corregidores , representatives of the crown, which supervised the city councils. In religion, they reformed religious orders and sought unity of the various sections of the church. They pressured Jews to convert to Catholicism, in some cases persecuted by the Inquisition. Finally in 1492,

11752-468: The throne has been titled Prince of Asturias since the 14th century. Almost immediately after the union of the two kingdoms under Ferdinand III, the parliaments of Castile and León were united. It was divided into three estates, which corresponded with the nobility, the church and the cities, and included representation from Castile , León , Galicia , Toledo , and the Basque Provinces . Initially

11865-619: The two kingdoms were united under the name of the Kingdom of León and Castile, or simply as the Crown of Castile. Ferdinand III later conquered the Guadalquivir Valley , while his son Alfonso X conquered the Kingdom of Murcia from Al-Andalus , further extending the area of the Crown of Castile. Given this, the kings of the Crown of Castile traditionally styled themselves "King of Castile , León , Toledo , Galicia , Murcia , Jaén , Córdoba , Seville , and Lord of Biscay and Molina ", among other possessions they later gained. The heir to

11978-409: The viceroy from the office. In New Spain and Peru they played the role of sovereign, but in reality they only obeyed the orders of the Monarch of the Crown of Castile. 40°25′03″N 03°42′54″W  /  40.41750°N 3.71500°W  / 40.41750; -3.71500 James III of Majorca James III ( ( 1315-04-05 ) 5 April 1315 – ( 1349-10-25 ) 25 October 1349), known as James

12091-465: The voyage of Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the Americas were major events in the history of Castile. The West Indies , Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea were also a part of the Crown of Castile when transformed from lordships to kingdoms of the heirs of Castile in 1506, with the Treaty of Villafáfila , and upon the death of Ferdinand the Catholic. The discovery of the Pacific Ocean ,

12204-410: Was a co-financier of the expedition. They founded Real de La Palmas near to Barranco de Guiniguada on the site of the present day Las Palmas de Gran Canaria . A few days later the first battle of the campaign took place near to Real when the islanders were defeated. This initial victory gave the Castilians control of the northeast corner of the island. b) Guanche resistance and Castilian divisions from

12317-421: Was a dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1479 when Ferdinand ascended to the Aragonese throne. This union however was not effective until the reign of his grandson Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) . Ferdinand and Isabella were related and had married without papal approval. Although Isabella wanted to marry Ferdinand, she refused to proceed with the marriage until she received

12430-629: Was eventually carried to the Americas in the 16th century by the conquistadors . Because of Castilian's importance in the land ruled by the Spanish Crown , the language is also known as Spanish. Furthermore, in the 13th century many universities were founded where instruction was in Castilian, such as the Leonese University of Salamanca , the Castilian Estudio General of Palencia and the University of Valladolid , which were among

12543-452: Was in order to alleviate interior conflicts sparked off by his predecessor (revolts in Portugal , Catalonia and Andalusia ) and achieve peace in Europe. Upon the death of Philip IV in 1665, and with the incapacity of Charles II to govern, Spain suffered an economic slowdown and battles for power between the different 'favourites'. The death of Charles II in 1700 without descendants provoked

12656-454: Was no resistance offered by the scattered Guanche population who were largely sold as slaves. The island was then repopulated with Norman and Castilian settlers. Bethencourt remained on the islands until 1412 when he returned permanently to his lands in Normandy, leaving Maciot de Bethencourt in charge of his possessions. The second period ( Spanish : Conquista Señoral Castellana ) began when

12769-541: Was subsequently killed in the Battle of Arucas . The capture of Tenesor Semidán, king of Gáldar, by Alonso Fernández de Lugo was a decisive factor in the victory of the invaders. Tenesor Semidán was sent to Castile where he was baptized with the name Fernando Guanarteme and after signing the Calatayud Pact with Fernando the Catholic he became a loyal and valuable ally of the Castilians. His actions have been interpreted in

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