Agosto

Isabella: The Warrior Queen by Kristin Downey, 2014

I spotted this book in the bookshop at the castle at Segovia and with the inflated price of $30 due to the book being imported, didn't purchase the book, but knew I wanted to read it. 

The book outlined the rich history of Spain describing its arid landscape and pockets of alhambras (palaces) throughout the region. 

Queen Isabelle unified modern day Spain - uniting Aragon with Castile through her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon and driving the Moors from Granada. 

She was a true leader - taking the opportunity to declare herself Queen after her half-brother Enrique the Impotent passed away. She traveled across Castile to ensure peace and prevent uprisings, taking her children with her.

With Castile sharing its border with Portugal, the Moors proximity in Northern Africa and Ferdinand's Naples exposed in Italy, Isabella was constantly vigilant, her hands full defending her territories.

Although she did not fight in the battles like Ferdinand and her trusted friend the Great Captain Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordaba, she arranged supplies and logistics for the Spanish troops, as well as visiting soldiers to bolster morale. 

In addition to managing military campaigns, Isabelle appreciated the arts and learning, inviting scholars from other countries to study at prestigious institutions like the University of Salamanca. Education was important to her and she taught her children, including four daughters, Latin, the language of international diplomacy.

She arranged strategic marriages for her children to unite kingdoms and seek alliances against common enemies like the Muslim Turks of the Ottoman Empire and France. Her eldest and namesake Isabella was married to the future King of Portugal, who passed away.

Juan was her only son and heir to Castile and Aragon was married to the daughter to the ruler of Burgundy and Flanders and granddaughter to the Holy Roman Emperor. His sister Juana was betrothed to Jaun's wife's brother, Philip the Handsome.

The youngest daughters Maria married the King of Portugal while Katharine would become Henry VIII's first wife.

A devout and modest woman, Isabella fought against corruption and believed strongly in saving souls and converting people to Christianity. This was one of the driving forces of her continued sponsorship of Christopher Columbus as he sailed across the Atlantic to the Americas. 

Isabella's faith also drove her to put in place the Inquisition, a ruthless program where neighbors reported against neighbors who were accused of not being Christian. Conversos, Jewish families who had converted to Christianity generations again, were unfairly targeting with Isabella eventually expelling anyone who did not convert to Christianity. 

Downey's portrayal of Isabella shows her as the driving force behind Spain's rise in power, wealth and imminence during the 15th Century, despite the lack of credit attributed to her. Early in her marriage to Ferdinand, she had herself crowned Queen of Castile without waiting for Ferdinand to be by her side.

She also agreed to have the royal couple referred to as King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle, resulting in Ferdinand receiving credit for much of the work she did to unite, empower and enrich Spain. 

Although courageous on the battlefield, Ferdinand was not a strong leader. He was petty, not above bribery (accepting or giving) and fathered illegitimate children; a contrast to Isabelle's strong sense of discipline and duty to the Christian faith that she instilled in her children.

With Isabella's passing, Ferdinand promptly disregarded his death bed promise to not remarry and sought a strategic marriage immediately. He attempted to wrest control of Spain from his daughter Juana, who Isabella instructed to be the next ruler of Spain, spreading rumors along with her husband that she was 'loca' (she would be known as Juana La Loca) and unfit to rule.