The Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, united their kingdoms through marriage in 1469. Together they conquered the remaining Muslim kingdom of Granada in 1492, expelled Jews and Muslims from Spain, and established the Spanish Inquisition. They also sponsored Christopher Columbus' expedition in 1492, establishing Spain's empire in the Americas. Their cooperation established the foundations of modern Spain and a unified Spanish kingdom.

2. • In the 15th century, the Iberian
Peninsula was divided into five large
territories: the Crown of Castile,
the Crown of Aragon, the Kingdom of Navarre,
the Kingdom of Portugal
and the Islamic Kingdom of Granada.
• In 1469, Ferdinand, son of the king
•of Aragon, married Isabella,
•sister of the king of Castile.

3. • The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in
history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II
of Aragon. Their marriage united both crowns under the
same family.
• The Catholic Monarchs governed their territories
together, but each kingdom had its own laws and
institutions. It was the beginnings of modern Spain.
• Isabella died in 1504. Ferdinand remarried Germaine of
Foix; he died in 1516. They are buried in the Royal Chapel,
in Granada.

4. • The Catholic
Monarchs restored the
royal authority in
Spain. They created
the Holy Brotherhood,
a judicial police force
for Spain. They
reorganised the justice
system and created
the Royal Council, the
highest judicial body.
They also created a
permanent and
professional army.

5. The Kings annexed the Kingdom of Navarre,
conquered Melilla and Oran in North Africa and
the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
They also expelled the Muslims from Granada
(1492).

6. • The Kings wanted to end the
Christian Reconquest of the
Iberian Peninsula and conquer
the Muslim kingdom of
Granada. After ten years of
many battles, the Granada
War ended in 1492 when Emir
Boabdil surrendered the keys
of the Alhambra Palace in
Granada to the Castilian
Monarchs.

7. The Catholic Monarchs wanted religious unification for
their kingdoms so they founded the Tribunal of the
Inquisition to prosecute heretics. The tribunal was
known for its severe sentences and punishments.
Ferdinand and Isabella ordered that all Jews be expelled
from Spain or they were forced to convert to
Catholicism.

8. • They authorized the expedition of
Christopher Columbus, who wanted
to reach the Indies sailing westward
through the Atlantic Ocean.
• All the territories conquered in
America belonged to the Castilian
Crown and they were called Reinos
de Indias or simply Las Indias.
• October 12th 1492, Columbus
landed in the island of Guanahaní
(renamed San Salvador, nowadays
Bahamas). He explored Caribbean
Sea and sailed back to Spain after
founding first spanish settlement in
America called “Fuerta Navidad”.

9. Isabella I Ferdinand III
Isabella Joanna John Maria Catherine
Alfonso of
Portugal
Philip the
Handsome
Margaret of
Austria
Manuel I of
Portugal
Arthur
of Wales
Important ties
with Portugal,
ensuring peace,
future alliance
and unification
of all iberian
kingdoms.
Alliance
with the
Holy
Roman
Empire.
Ties with
the
Habsburg
dynasty.
More
strength in
the tie
with
Portugal.
After the
death of
Arthur of
Wales, she
married
Henry VIII,
King of
England.

10. The Monarchs' joint motto was
“Tanto monta, monta tanto”. The
motto was created by Antonio de
Nebrija and was an allusion to the
explanation of the equality of the
monarchs: Tanto monta, monta
tanto, Isabel como Fernando ("It's
one and the same, Isabella the same
as Ferdinand")
Their symbol was el yugo y
las flechas, a yoke and a fasces. A
double yoke is worn by a team of
oxen, emphasizing the couple's
cooperation. Isabella's emblem
of arrows showed the armed power
of the crown.
Y and F are the initials of Ysabel
(archaic spelling) and Fernando.

11. The first and fourth quarters of
the shield are occupied by the
castles and lions which represent
Castile and Leon for Isabella. In
the second and third quarters the
arms of Aragon
and Sicily appear for Ferdinand.
Finally, the badge of Granada
occupies the point of the shield.
Saint John’s eagle in gold
because Isabella I of Castile was
crowned on the feast of this
saint.