The Crown of Castile and Aragon

(Today: Spain (without Basque Country and the area arounf Granada) and southern Italy)

Four bloody civil wars occurred in Castile between 1415 and 1479, and Aragon was shaken by the revolts from the citizen class, as well as those from Catalan patricians and nobility in 1451-52 and 1460 – 1461. In the context of those problems the question of uniting these two kingdoms arose, which was then achieved through marriage of Ferdinand I of Aragon and Isabella II of Castile in 1479. Of course, this did not mean that the aforementioned problems were solved, but a commonly accepted institutional framework for solving them was thus formed. At the end of the 15^th century the Inquisition in Castile and Aragon went through some significant changes – it fell under the strict control of the state instead of the Church. The pope would now only confirm the appointing of the Grand Inquisitors, and all other judges were appointed or dismissed directly by the Spanish king, and the proceeds from monetary fines from then on ended up in the royal coffers. Also, after the conversion and exile of Jews and the Moors at the beginning of the 16^th century, the whole Peninsula became Christian.

All of the abovementioned procedures and measures should be observed within the context of the aspirations for the complete elimination of groups which could compete in the distribution of domestic and foreign riches and resources, as well as the affirmation of the nobility.Finally, with the Castilian conquest of the Kingdom of Navarre (1511 – 1514) the whole of the Peninsula (excluding Portugal) came under the rule of a single king. Although the official proclamation of the name of this united kingdom never occurred, the name Spain would become ingrained – after the former Roman province of Hispania, which had continued to be used as a geographical term throughout the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, some of its constituents, such as Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Mallorca, and Navarre, kept some of their individual laws and customs until early 18^th century, and they would also differ from one another in their regional identities.