Isabella of Castile
|
|
Isabel_la_Cata-2.jpg
Isabella of Castile (Spanish: Isabel, Ysabel or Isabela — only Isabel is used in modern Spanish) (April 22, 1451 – November 26, 1504) was Queen of Castile and Leon, with her husband Ferdinand V as co-ruler. She was also the de-facto co-ruler of her husband's dominions. This monarch is known by a variety of other names including Isabel I of Castile and Isabel La Cata ("the Catholic").
Genealogy
She was great-great-granddaughter of both Henry II of Castile and his half-brother Peter I of Castile and their respective wives Joan of Villena and Maria de Padilla. She was also great-great-granddaughter of Peter IV of Aragon and his wife Leonor of Portugal, daughter of King Afonso IV of Portugal, as well as of her half-brother Peter I of Portugal and his mistress Teresa Louren篮 Through John of Gaunt she was great-great-granddaughter of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault and through his first wife of Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster and his wife Isabel de Beaumont. Finally she was great-great-granddaughter to Nuno Alvares Pereira, Count de Barcelos and his wife Leonor Alvim, Countess of Barcelos.
She was great-granddaughter of John I of Castile and his wife Eleanor of Aragon, a sister of Kings John I of Aragon and Martin I of Aragon. She was also great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and his second wife Constanza of Castile, a daughter of Peter I of Castile. Her third set of great-grandparents were King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt from his first wife Blanche of Lancaster. Her final set of grandparents were Afonso, Duke de Braganza, a son of John I of Portugal by Inez Perez, and his wife Beatriz Pereira, countess da Barcellos.
Her paternal grandparents were King Henry III of Castile and Catherine Plantagenet of the House of Lancaster, a half sister of King Henry IV of England. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Joao of Portugal, Grand Master of Santiago, who was a brother of Henry the Navigator, and his wife [[Isabella de Bragan硝].
Her parents were King John II of Castile and his second wife Queen Isabella of Portugal.
Influence
Isabella was the first named woman to appear on a United States coin, an 1893 commemorative quarter, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage. In the same year she was the first woman to be featured on a U.S. postal stamp, also in celebration of Columbus.
The regime of Francisco Franco claimed the prestige of the Catholic Monarchs. As a reaction, Isabella was despised by opposers to Franco.
Some Catholic Spaniards are trying to get Isabella declared as blessed and later saint. This has met opposition by Jewish organizations, Liberation theologists and Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger.
Isabella has been represented in film by actresses like Lola Flores and Sigourney Weaver.
She killed many Moors after her entrance to Cordoba.
See also
- Al-Andalus
- Cardinal Cisneros, Isabella and Ferdinand's famous and powerful Cardinal.
- History of Spain.
- Moors.
- Reconquista
| Preceded by: Henry IV of Castile | Queen of Castile with Ferdinand V | Succeeded by: Joanna of Castile |
| Queen of Leon with Ferdinand V |