About Me

I was born on April 22, 1451 in Madrigal de las Alas Torres, Ávila. I was named after my mother, Isabella of Portugal who was married to John II of Castile, my father. When I was only three years old, my father died leaving the kingdom to my half brother Henry IV who made my life miserable. My mother and brother Alfonso had to move to Arévalo and though living was difficult there, my desire to learn about Castilian politics kept me from going insane. After many complications considering the true successor of the throne, I was named Queen of Castile and León on January 20, 1479. My marriage to Ferdinand II of Aragon not only expanded our power, but also our territory. Together, we unfied Spain permanently and have our kingdom was based on Catholicism. Therefore, our monarch turned into a Catholic Monarch. There were many disagreements and chaos that happened to my kingdom because of my desire of a Catholic centered Spain. I had six children, four daughters and two sons. Isabella, John, Joanna, Maria, Catherine, and Peter but he died young. Each on of them married into another territory which only benefited us by expanding it. Catherine was the first wife of King Henry VIII of England, Joanna’s son Charles V became Holy Roman Emperor as well as King of Spain. My husband, Ferdinand, and I agreed on everything together. We ruled together equally without any unbalanced decisions. I am widely known as the queen who financed Columbus and his voyage in search of a westward route to India. Spain could be known as the country that started the mass of explorations around the world. I was ambitious as a queen though not power hungry. Like I stated before, Ferdinand and I ruled equally which meant that if there was a fault in one of our decisions, the other would help to found what to do so that we could improve or finalize that final decision. Maybe for that reason, our country became stronger and more stable than it had before. I was also very curious even as a young child. I always wanted to learn about new things, even when Henry tried to keep me away from his political problems that he was having when he ruled, I always ended up knowing because of my curiosity. Sometimes I could also be daring of trying new things. When Henry would not approve of my marriage with Ferdinand, I ran away to him so that we could even though I knew what the consequences would have been. Another time was when I had to banish all the Jews and Muslims from Spain because of the contradictory religion. My work of stabilizing Spain also brought great benefits to not only the country, but to future generations as well. For example, Charles V, Joanna’s son, ruled with great authority and power because of such a strong foundation to start from. I would say that I wasn’t a bad queen but I also wasn’t a great queen either, every person has their faults here and there but I am just glad that I had my dear husband Ferdinand to rely on.

Complicated Betrothals

I was betrothed to John II of Aragon's son, Ferdinand, since I was three. At the time, it didn't really matter to me who he was because of my young age. Henry separated the betrothal so that I can marry John II's second son, Charles IV of Navarre. Thankfully, his father refused for him to marry me, though his intentions are still unknown to me. Maybe the betrothal between me and Ferdinand were of more importance than that of Charles'. Henry asked several men, whom I did not enjoy the company of, if I were to put it nicely. Edward IV kindly declined which I was greatful for, but I had to refuse Alfonso V because of the enormous age difference that we had. I think the worst betrothal, though, was that of Pedro Giron. At the time, I was 16 and he was 43. I prayed for what seemed like endless nights so that this marriage would not be accepted but it did. Very fortunately, while Don Pedro was riding to come and meet me for the first time, his appendix gave out and died. I didn't expect such a harsh way of this marriage to end but at least there was no marriage. Henry tried many more suitable kings or men that can strengthen his kindom but during that time, I thought back to Ferdinand and how he was the best candidate for me. John II tried to negotiate a secret wedding because he knew that Henry would get extremely angry, however that was not the only issue. It seemed as if my grandfather and Ferdinand's grandfather were brothers, which meant that we needed to be granted by the pope. After many complications, the wedding could finally adjourn. It was absolutely romantic in my opinion, I pretended to visit dear Alfonso's grave in Avila while Ferdinand dressed as a merchant to meet me in Castile. We wed on October 19, 1469 in Valladolid. Soon, Henry found out and tried to break the marriage but the pope resolved it with the Papal Bull, to which we were grateful.
 
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1 comment:

  1. Charles VDecember 3, 2010 at 4:28 PM

    Hello my dear grandmother!
    I bring news to you from the Holy Roman Empire! I am pleased to report to you that I've successfully inherited most regions of the European continent. I would like to thank you for the changes you and grandfather Ferdinand of Aragon had established before my rule! Oh the heart ache for me to learn about your hardships you had endured for your succeeding generations (me) to successfully rule.

    Your loving grandson,
    Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

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