The Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal

The Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal

Map of Europe in the Middle Ages

Small Christian kingdoms conquered Muslim lands. Two of the most powerful kingdoms became the largest, called Aragon and

Castile.

Enrique, King of Castile was ambitious, and needed more soldiers for his army.

So, Enrique promised his 13 year-old sister, Isabella, to one of his noblemen.

Pedro Giron was a great fighter, but he was over forty, and he had a reputation for drinking, quarrelling, and killing.

Isabella prayed something horrible would happen to prevent them from being married, and right before the wedding, Pedro

got sick and died of stomach pains.

Pedro Giron

Four years later, her brother decided she should marry the king of Portugal. He was old and fat,

and she was not about to wed him.

Isabella sent a covert letter to Ferdinand, the young prince of Aragon, begging him to meet her in secret.

The young couple talked for about two hours, and four days later, they got married.

Enrique was mad.

Then he died six years later.

King Enrique

Isabella became queen, and Ferdinand inherited the throne of Aragon, so they joined countries.

Ferdinand and Isabella were devout Catholics, and they decided that Spain should be unified as a Christian country.

They set their sites on Granada, the last Muslim kingdom.

After ten years, the Spanish armies defeated the Muslim king of Granada. This ended Moorish rule, and began the years of the

Spanish Inquisition.

Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand brought all of Spain together, but they declared it illegal to practice any

religion, other than Christianity.

The Jews and Muslims had to either convert or leave the country.

If they converted and stayed, they would remain under scrutiny. If they were suspected of keeping their old practices, they would undergo the Spanish Inquisition – a trial to find a person guilty of

heresy.

In the Spanish Inquisition, torturers would use different ways and devices to get the accused to confess to practicing different

religions, as well as witchcraft and sorcery.

If the accused confessed while being tortured, it didn’t count. The person had to confess while in a calm state.

Even Galileo Galilei was tried for heresy against the Church.

Meanwhile, Portugal kept its independence from the rest of Spain.

Because of Portugal’s long coastline, it was easy for the Portuguese people to build boats and sail them.

Prince Henry of Portugal became known as Henry the Navigator because he wanted the Portuguese to sail

further than anyone else in the world.

Henry built a school for navigation so sailors could learn how to plot stars, use instruments, and learn how to calculate the speed

of a ship.

astrolabecalculating speed using knots

Henry wanted to reestablish trade in Africa, after the Muslims were forced to leave.

Unfortunately for Henry, the sailors were too scared to sail down the coast of Africa. They called the unfamiliar

waters the Sea of Darkness.

Finally, after 14 expeditions, a brave explorer, named Gil Eanes dared to venture the Sea of Darkness. His adventure

emboldened other Portuguese sailors to travel further and further down the west coast of Africa.