When Isabella took the crown of Castile, what was her kingdom like?
Central
Government of the Kingdom
At the head of the government of the Kingdom of
Castile laid the King of Castile. From 1369, the house of Trastamara this
position. Founded by Enrique, the illegitimate son of King Alfonso XI, took the
throne to become King Enrique II (Henry II) who reigned from 1369 until 1379.
The house also supplied monarchs to the neighboring Kingdom of Aragon from 1392
when Ferdinand of Antequera accepted the crown. Hence, the unification of the
crowns of the 2 Kingdoms became only a matter of time.
Henry II |
The King of Castile controlled the Kingdom’s
foreign affairs, collected taxes, and theoretically the ruled over the nobility
of Castile. The King also had the power to grant lands and leadership of towns
by appointing corregidores
(governors). A bureaucracy of jurist supported the monarchy in its governance
of the kingdom.
The Consejo
Real or the Royal Council also advised the Kings regarding important
matters of the state. The council comprised of representatives from the 3
sectors of the Kingdom: the nobility, the clergy, and the townsmen.
The King, his bureaucracy, and the Consejo Real
provided the Kingdom of Castile order and organization to rule over the largest
kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula.
Castilian
Nobility
Castile had a king, but the King governed a feudal
system that divided the lands of the Kingdom into fiefs or vassals each ruled
by a noble. In a time of poor communication and infrastructure, the King relied
on his nobles to rule over vast sums of lands in his name. In turn, the
nobility provided the King with soldiers when called upon. They grew in wealth
and power through the produce made by their lands and from the rent and taxes
collected from the peasantry. Children of nobles who did not stood in the first
line of succession took careers as soldiers, officials, and priests.
Towns and
Cities
The towns and cities of the Kingdom of Castile held
some power over the realm. Urban centers created an affluent, ambitious, and
proud class of men who sourced their wealth from craftsmanship and trade. With
wealth and control of the urban hubs, Kings of Castile allowed them to form the
Cortes – an assembly of representatives from various towns and cities
throughout the Kingdom.
The Cortes held a powerful role, especially during
the reign of King Alfonso XI. It had the power to consent to new taxes and
sometimes laws as well. In some occasions, it also had the right to petition
the King for passage of a law. However, during the turbulent years of the Kings
John II and Henry IV, the Cortes slipped into decline. The number of its
members drop to only less than 20, making it an unimportant institution for
centuries.
Clergy
Cardinal Cisneros, a prominent cleric during Isabella's reign |
Dominated by the Catholic Church, priest and
religious orders dominated also the Castilian landscape both literally and
figuratively. Their churches, monasteries, and abbeys covered much of the
Kingdom. It provided an alternative careers for children of nobles who had no
prospect in inheriting an estates or a military career.
The Catholic clergy also gained enormous wealth and
power from the donations of land and gold from royalty, nobility, and sometimes
cities. Much more they accumulated with their tax exemption along with the
nobility.
The Church also held the educational and scholastic
activities of the Kingdom with monks and priest conducting studies, research,
and rewriting of manuscripts for preservation. Their monasteries had libraries
that kept old works from the classics alive and available for reading.
Dynamics of
Castilian Society and Politics
Castilian society and politics had a violent
dynamics between the Crown, nobility, and the towns. The monarchs of Castile
wanted to strengthen their authority over the nobility and the towns.
The nobility on the other, wanted to protect their
interest and wealth. They wanted to keep their strong rule over their lands
without much interference from the Crown. They needed to protect their wealth
and opposed overwhelmingly any proposals to remove them from tax exemption,
which they enjoyed with the clergy. Due to the support of the towns towards
strong central authority, they also moved to undermine the political power of
the urban elite.
Meanwhile, the towns and cities of Castile desired
as well to maintain their autonomy from the control of the nobility and the
Crown. They aimed to prevent both from gaining much authority over their
conduct of affairs. Nevertheless, they saw their support towards a strong King
as a lesser evil as it provided stability and security conducive for greater
trade and prosperity for them.
The conflict between the classes, especially
between the nobility and the Crown raged for centuries before the ascension of
Queen Isabella of Castile. When a new King ascended to the throne of Castile,
especially if the new ruler aged in minority, the nobles went to war to grabbed
the opportunity to get as much as power as they could from the monarchy. But if
the King proved to be determined to reassert his authority through military
force or political dealings upon reaching majority, the struggle dragged on.
Henry II, the founder of the Trastamara Dynasty,
had a hard time in balancing between consolidating his hold on power and
rewarding his noble supporters with land and titles. He disappointed his noble
supporters though when he proved himself as unbreakable towards the demands of
the nobility.
During the reign of Kings John II and Henry IV, the
nobility created a period of turbulence. During the reign of King John II who
ascended at a minor age, the nobles attempted to assert their dominance. They
failed, however, thanks to the strong and efficient leadership of the King’s
regent and chief adviser. When his chief adviser fell from power, he too fell
out of life in sorrow. Henry IV ascended to the Castilian throne constantly
being undermined by the nobility for allegations of his impotence. His only
daughter even thought by many as a child of another.
At the same period, towns also began to lose their
political influence. As the Crown needed support, it handed over control of
towns to Knights of non-nobility standing. Knight took control of the towns and
prevented them from sending representatives to the Cortes. The Crown also
extended its control over the urban areas by sending officials called Corregidores (Governors) to rule.
With the towns weakened, Isabella saw during her
lifetime the struggle between nobility and the crown.
Castilian
Economy and International Standing
The Castilian Kingdom possessed a typical medieval
economy. An economy based on agriculture and trade. Castilians exported wool,
an industry dominated by the guild called Mesta.
Its members included migratory shepherds traversing the country with their
flock across Castilian terrain in search for greener pastures. The shepherds,
however, dismayed farmers and estate owners as travelling sheep ate and damaged
crops. Most of the wool found its way to Seville and Cadiz before being shipped
to Flanders to be processed into cloth. Besides Flanders, Castile also
conducted trade with its neighbors Portugal, Aragon, and France. Its goods also
reached to England and Italian city-states such as Genoa.
In international affairs, Castile enjoyed good
relations with France. French troops helped Trastamara Dynasty founder to
establish his rule. Nonetheless, Castile also reached out to France’s nemesis,
England when Henry III married Catherine from the influential and powerful
House Lancaster. Though Aragonese princes attempted to bring Castile into its
control during the reign of King John II, the 2 countries shared cordial
relations.
Summing Up
Queen Isabella inherited a politically and socially
divided kingdom. It absolutely took a woman with extraordinary strength of will
to rule such as country with many faction vying for power and control. While
social classes fought for power, its economy similar to its contemporary
relying on agriculture and trade. Diplomatically, at the time of Isabella’s
rise to power, Castile enjoyed good relations with all its neighbors, which,
however, change in the case of Portugal whose King sided with the Queen’s rival
claimant.
See also:
Who was Queen Isabella of Castile?
Who was Queen Isabella of Castile?
Bibliography:
Books:
Chapman, Charles. A History of Spain. New York, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1918.
Pierson, Peter. The History of Spain. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Websites:
Smith, Catherine Delano et. al. "Spain." In Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on July 29, 2018. URL: https://www.britannica.com/place/Spain/The-rise-of-Castile-and-Aragon#ref70364
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