CHAPTER XVIII

ERA OF THE CATHOLIC KINGS, 1479-1517

[Sidenote: Transition from medieval to modern Spain.]

The joint reign of Ferdinand (1479-1516) and Isabella (1474-1504), known as “the Catholic Kings,” witnessed the substantial fulfilment of the aims of medieval Hispanic royalty, and at the same time began in striking fashion that complexity of life and action which characterizes the modern age. On the one hand the turbulent elements which had for so long stood for decentralization and disorder as opposed to national unity and internal peace were done away with or rendered powerless; on the other, life in its various institutional phases approximated itself in a considerable degree to that of our own times, and Spain stood forth from the domestic bickerings which had formerly absorbed her attention to enter upon the career and status of a world power. The greatest single event in the period was undoubtedly the discovery of America, from which came, directly or indirectly, Spain’s principal claims to the recognition of posterity. Important only in less degree were the conquest of Granada, the establishment of the Inquisition and the expulsion from Spain of the non-Catholic elements, and Spain’s entry into the maelstrom of European politics on a greater scale than ever before, through the medium of Ferdinand’s intervention in Italy. Measured by the success attained in their own day the Catholic Kings prospered in nearly everything they undertook, but the ultimate result, which could not have been foreseen at the time, was in many respects to prove disastrous to Spain herself, if, indeed, there were counter-balancing advantages and a glorious memory. The wealth and greatness proceeding from the conquest of the Americas were to be sacrificed in a fruitless attempt to gain a predominant place in Europe,--which, indeed, Spain might have had, much as England acquired it, if she had not pursued it so directly and insistently, but had been willing to devote her attention to her colonies. On the other hand, the Americas drained Spain of some of her best resources in manhood, while the Italian wars brought her into the current of the highest European civilization. These consequences, whatever attitude one may take with regard to them, did not become manifest until a much later time, but they had the most pronounced of their impulses, if not in all cases their origins, in the reign of the Catholic Kings.

[Sidenote: Nature of the union of Castile and Aragon.]

Ferdinand’s accession to the crown of Aragon and the recognition of Isabella as queen of Castile did not at that time bring about a political union of the two kingdoms, and resulted in no radical change in the separate institutions of either. They did mean the establishment of consistent policies in each (especially in international affairs) which were to bring about a more effectual union at a later day and produce the Spanish nation. The first problem of the Catholic Kings was that of the pacification of their realms. Aragon and Catalonia offered no serious difficulty, but the violence of the Castilian nobility called for repression of a vigorous type. Galicia and Andalusia were the regions where such action was most imperatively needed.

[Sidenote: Overthrow of seigniorial anarchy.]

The real weakness of the seigniorial class is well illustrated by the case of Galicia. The lawless conduct of the nobility and even of the high functionaries of the church was traditional, besides which Juana la Beltraneja had counted with many partisans there. Petty war, the oppression of individuals and towns (through the medium of illegal tributes or the collection of those belonging to the kings), and an almost complete disobedience of royal authority were the rule. Resolved to do away with such an evil state of affairs the Catholic Kings sent two delegates there in 1480, the one a soldier, Fernando de Acuña, and the other a lawyer and member of the _Consejo Real_, Garcí López de Chinchilla, accompanied by three hundred picked horsemen. Without loss of time and with praiseworthy energy they proceeded to carry out the royal will. Forty-six castles were demolished, the tributes which the nobles had been diverting from the king were collected once more for the royal treasury, many individuals of greater or less degree (both nobles and ordinary bandits) were put to death, and others were dominated or compelled to flee the country. Similar action was taken in Andalusia and Castile proper, wherefore within a few years the pacification of the kingdom was achieved; the seemingly hopeless anarchy of the period of Henry IV had been overcome.

[Sidenote: The conquest of Granada.]

At the same time that the Catholic Kings were engaged in the establishment of good order in the realm of Castile, they were giving their attention to another problem which may well be considered as of domestic import,--the long delayed conquest of Granada. The last years of the Moslem kingdom epitomized the history of that government during its more than two centuries of existence, with the important difference that it was no longer to escape the bitter pill of conquest which its own weakness and decadent life had long rendered inevitable once a determined effort should be made. There appeared the figure of the emir, Abul Hassan, dominated by the passion which his slave girl, Zoraya, had inspired in him. Other members of his family, notably his brother, El Zagal (or Al Zagal), and his son, Abu Abdullah, best known as Boabdil, headed factions which warred with Abul Hassan or with each other. Meanwhile, the war with Castile, which had broken forth anew in 1481, was going on, and to the credit of the Moslem warrior as a fighting man was being sustained, if not with success, at least without great loss of territory. Ferdinand, to whom treachery was only a fine art of kingship, availed himself of the internal disorder of Granada to gain advantages to which his military victories in open combat did not entitle him. Twice he had Boabdil in his power as a prisoner, and on each occasion let him go, so that he might cause trouble for El Zagal, who had become emir, at the same time making promises of peace and of abstention from conquest which he disloyally failed to observe. Another time, El Zagal was similarly deceived. By these means, after ten years of war, Ferdinand was able to enter the Granadine plain and besiege the Moslem capital, courageously defended by Boabdil and his followers. The military camp of Santa Fe was founded, and for months the siege went on, signalized by deeds of valor on both sides. Overcome by hunger the defenders were at length obliged to capitulate, and on January 2, 1492, the Castilian troops occupied the Alhambra. Some time later Boabdil and his household departed for Africa. It is fitting to observe that many of the legends concerning this prince, notably those which reflect on his courage and manliness, are without foundation in fact.

[Sidenote: Forced conversion of the Mudéjares of Castile.]

The terms of surrender had included numerous articles providing for the security of the Moslem population. Virtually they amounted to a promise that the Mudéjar, or Moslem, element would not be molested in any respect, whether in Granada or elsewhere in Castile. Such a treaty could not long be enforced in the face of the religious ardor and intolerance of the age. The greatest men of the kingdom, and among them the most notable of all, the archbishop of Toledo, Ximénez de Cisneros, confessor of the queen, joined in urging a different policy. Pressure began to be exerted in direct contravention of the treaty to bring about an enforced conversion of the Mudéjares to Christianity. A Moslem uprising was the result, and this was seized upon by Ximénez as justifying a complete disregard, henceforth, of the terms of the capitulation, on the ground that the Moslems had nullified the treaty by their rebellion,--a convenient argument which did not enquire into the real causes of the outbreak. Christianization by force, not without a number of serious uprisings, now went on at a rapid rate, and was completed by a royal decree of 1502 which ordered that all Mudéjares in the Castilian domains should accept Christianity or leave the country. Many took the latter course, but the greater number remained, Christians in outward appearance if not so at heart. Officially there were no more Mudéjares in Castile except slaves. The newly converted element became known, henceforth, as “Moriscos,” thus attaching them by association of ideas to their ancient faith, and since their Christianity did not inspire much confidence they were made subject to the dread Inquisition.

[Sidenote: Castilian activities in northwestern Africa and the Canary Islands.]

The discovery of America in 1492, together with other factors, directed Castilian attention to the Canary Islands and northwestern Africa, bringing the Spanish kingdom into contact and rivalry with the Portuguese, who had devoted themselves to exploration, conquest, and colonization in that region for nearly a century. It may suffice here to say that in successive treaties of 1480, 1494, and 1509 Portugal recognized Castile’s claim to the Canaries and certain posts in northwestern Africa. The security of the American route was not the principal motive of Castilian interest at that time in northwestern Africa. The wars with Granada and the danger of fresh invasions, coupled with the crusading zeal which had been aroused against the Moslems, and aggravated by the activities of North African corsairs, were perhaps the leading factors affecting the policy of the Catholic Kings. In 1494 the definitive conquest of the Canary Islands was made, and at the same time a post was established on the neighboring coast of western Africa to serve as a centre for the resistance to the Moslems. Meanwhile, private attacks by Spaniards on North African ports were being made, but it was not until 1497 that the Catholic Kings formally embarked on that enterprise. Bent upon checking piracy in that region they took possession of Melilla, which thenceforth became an important Spanish post.

[Sidenote: Ferdinand’s European policy.]

While Ferdinand had much to do with the events which have thus far been discussed, he and his subjects of Aragon and Catalonia were more interested in other affairs. Ferdinand aimed at nothing less than a predominant place for Spain in European affairs, to be preceded by the establishment of Aragonese supremacy in the Mediterranean. The principal stumbling-block was the power of the French kings. Ferdinand schemed, therefore, to bring about the isolation and humiliation of France. The entering wedge came through the French possession of the Catalan regions of Cerdagne and the Roussillon which had been granted to the king of France by Juan II. Charles VIII of France consented to restore the two provinces, but in return exacted Ferdinand’s promise not to interfere with the former’s designs respecting the kingdom of Naples. Ferdinand readily agreed in 1493 to aid no enemy of the French king save the pope, and not to form matrimonial alliances between members of his family and those of the reigning houses of Austria, England, and Naples. With Cerdagne and the Roussillon in his possession he proceeded with characteristic duplicity to disregard the treaty. Marriage alliances were projected or arranged, some of them to be sure before 1493, not only with the ruling families of Portugal and Navarre but also with those of Austria and England. Thus Ferdinand hoped to secure considerable accessions of territory and to avoid any interference on the part of the Holy Roman Empire and England, the only outstanding powers which might be able to hinder his plots against France. It is perhaps poetic justice that these plans, so cleverly made and executed at the time, were to have an ultimate result which was quite different from that which Ferdinand had reason to expect. Untimely deaths rendered the various Portuguese alliances of no effect; the authorities of Navarre would have nothing to do with Ferdinand’s proffer; and Spanish Catherine in England was to figure in the famous divorce from Henry VIII, precipitating the English Reformation. One marriage was productive of results, that of Juana, heir of Ferdinand and Isabella, to Philip the Handsome of Burgundy. Thus the Spanish kings were brought into the line of the Hapsburg family and of imperial succession, which was to prove less a boon than a fatality.

[Sidenote: The acquisition of Naples.]

Charles VIII wished to revive the Angevin claim to the Neapolitan territory held at the time by the illegitimate branch of Alfonso V of Aragon, related by blood to Ferdinand the Catholic. Alleging that Naples was a fief of the pope and therefore excepted from the treaty of 1493, Ferdinand resisted the pretensions of Charles, and formed an alliance with the pope, the emperor, Venice, and Milan against him. The forces of the league proving too much for him, Charles was forced in 1497 to suspend hostilities, whereupon Ferdinand agreed with him in secret to divide Naples between them, renewing the agreement with Louis XII, who ascended the French throne in 1498. The division was carried into effect, but a quarrel sprang up over a certain portion of the territory, and war broke out. Thanks to the military genius of the great Spanish leader, Gonzalo de Córdoba, Ferdinand was victorious by the year 1504, and Naples came under his authority.

[Sidenote: Juana la Loca and Philip the Handsome.]

In the same year, 1504, Isabella the Catholic died, leaving her throne to her elder daughter, Juana, and in case she should prove unable to govern to Ferdinand as regent until Juana’s heir should become twenty years of age. Since Juana had already given evidence of that mental instability which was to earn for her the soubriquet “La Loca” (the Crazy), it was the intention of both Isabella and Ferdinand that the latter should rule, but Philip the Handsome, husband of Juana, intervened to procure the regency for himself. This was a serious set-back to the plans of Ferdinand, but fortunately for him there occurred the unexpected death of Philip in 1506. On the occasion of the latter’s burial Juana gave such ample proof of her mental unfitness that it was now clear that Ferdinand would be called in as regent. In 1507 he was so installed, and he now had the resources of Spain at his back in the accomplishment of his ambitious designs. Leaving Cardinal Ximénez to effect conquests in northern Africa and to carry into execution other Castilian projects Ferdinand once again turned his attention to the aggrandizement of Aragon in Italy.

[Sidenote: The aggrandizement of Aragon in Italy and the conquest of Navarre.]

In 1508 Ferdinand joined an alliance of the pope, the emperor, and Louis XII of France against Venice, whereby he rounded out his Neapolitan possessions. Seeing that the French were gaining more than he desired he formed a new alliance, in 1511, with the pope, the emperor, Venice, and Henry VIII of England against France. The French were defeated and thrown out of Italy. Meanwhile, Ferdinand had taken advantage of the French sympathies of the ruler of Navarre and the excommunication of that king by the pope to overrun Navarre in 1512. The pope sanctioned the conquest of that part of the kingdom lying south of the Pyrenees, and it was definitely added to the Spanish domain. The French became dangerous anew with the accession of the glory-loving, ambitious Francis I in 1515. Ferdinand hastened to concert a league against him, into which entered the pope, the emperor, Milan, Florence, the Swiss states, and England, but war had hardly broken out when in 1516 Ferdinand died. For good or evil he had brought Spain into a leading place in European affairs. If his methods were questionable they were in keeping with the practices of his age; he was only worse than his rivals in that he was more successful.

[Sidenote: The accession of Charles I.]

Juana was still alive, but was utterly incompetent to act as head of the state. The logic of events and the will of Ferdinand pointed to her eldest son, Charles of Ghent, as the one to rule Aragon and Navarre and to act as regent of Castile (during his mother’s life), although he had not attained to his twentieth year, a condition which had been exacted by the will of Isabella. Until such time as he could reach Spain, for he was then in the Low Countries, Cardinal Ximénez served as regent. With two acts of doubtful propriety Charles I, the later Charles V of the Empire, began his reign in the peninsula. He sent word to Ximénez, demanding that he be proclaimed king of Castile, despite the fact that the queen, his mother, was living. Notwithstanding the opposition of the _Cortes_ and his own unwillingness Ximénez did as Charles had required. In 1517 Charles reached Spain, surrounded by a horde of Flemish courtiers. Foreseeing the difficulties likely to result from this invasion of foreign favorites Ximénez wrote to Charles, giving him advice in the matter, and hastening to meet him asked for an interview. Instead of granting this request Charles sent him a note, thanking him for his services, and giving him leave to retire to his diocese “to rest and await the reward of Heaven for his merits.”