The Catholic Monarchs

Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon married in 1469 and became known as the Catholic Monarchs.  (You may know them by their Spanish names: Fernando II and Isabel I, Los Reyes Católicos.)



They became the first sovereigns of the Spanish monarchy.  Their main aims were to establish religious and political unity.

They established political unity by incorporating  Navarra, Granada, and Portugal into their territory. They expanded their territory beyond Spain by marrying their children to rulers of other kingdoms (strategic marriages.)




They established religious unity by creating the Spanish Inquisition, and expelling the Jews from Spain in 1492. Muslims were expelled in 1502.




They also took back much of the power that had belonged to the nobles during medieval times (emergence of authoritarian monarchies in the Early Modern period.)

They also set up royal councils, royal tribunals (Audiencias), collected taxes, and maintained an army loyal to the Crown.