Ferdinand II of Aragon
en.wikipedia.org
Ferdinand II of Aragon
The scene was set for Ferdinand and Isabella’s union of Aragon and Castile some time before their births. Aragonese elites had grown tired of being vassals to Catalan interests, and their chance arrived in 1410, with the death of the pleasingly-titled Martin the Humane in 1410. His death without heirs ended the House of Barcelona, and Aragonese pow... See more
Ferdinand and Isabella: The Marriage That Unified Spain | TheCollector
The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile is one of the most masterful pieces of political theater in history. It was far from a love-story — while, by all accounts, Ferdinand and Isabella were a cordial and possibly even happy couple, their union was the accumulation of hundreds of years of Spanish history, forged by war and... See more
Ferdinand and Isabella: The Marriage That Unified Spain | TheCollector
Ferdinand was the son of John II of Aragon and Juana Enríquez, both of Castilian origin
Thirty Years’ War | Summary, Causes, Combatants, Map, & Significance | Britannica
The reconquest of Spain from Muslim rulers by the mid thirteenth century had encouraged the opening of a regular sea route between the Mediterranean and the ports of the English Channel and the North Sea. Lisbon, Seville and later Cadiz became the connecting links between the Atlantic and Mediterranean systems. Long before Columbus, Atlantic Iberia
... See moreJohn Darwin • After Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400-2000
There was no imperial ‘grand strategy’ to make Spain the centre of a world economy: indeed, such a plan would have been futile. Instead, Philip II devoted the ‘royal fifth’ – the monarchy’s share of the silver stream – to the struggle to uphold Spain’s pre-eminence in Europe against rivals and rebels.