The Warrior Queen Essay

The Spanish Inquisition lasted from 1478 to 1834. The goal of the Spanish Inquisition was to expel, convert or kill all Non-Catholics from Spain in Spain. When people were accused heresy they would be pit on trial, but before they could be on trial they had to sit in jail which most of them were unsanitary and people were given little food to eat. The punishments people received if they were found guilty were: torture, public humiliation, and death. The trials were unfair, unjustified and not necessary. The Spanish Inquisition did not help spread Catholicism and in fact slowed the spread because of the fear that it instilled in Non-Catholics.

Many people have heard of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. However, only some know of all the things they accomplished. They might be best known for funding the voyages of Christopher Columbus, but they also greatly contributed to the unity of Spain (“Isabella l”). Together, they brought many kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula together to form what Spain is today. Through Spain’s unification, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella strengthened Spain into an economic and dominant world power, enabling the spread of Christianity and the colonization of a New World.

There was more profit to come from sponsoring the voyage. There was an agreement between Isabella and Columbus that he would be governor of any lands he discovered and explored, since there was a chance he would discover lands rich in materials. Columbus would be able to keep a tenth of all materials and riches acquired during his exploration. The rest would belong to Spain. Columbus’ rights stated in the agreement would also be hereditary in his family. At first glance into this project, Isabella and Ferdinand rejected Columbus’ idea because they thought it would be too

Within Spain, for a time Jews were accepted as productive and unthreatening members of society. This continued until it was decided that the Jewish community was not doing what was expected of them, at which time the Inquisition began. Jews had become accepted because they practiced and accepted the Christian faith in the public eye, however in private they

Born in 1474, Isabella d’Este’s family shaped her into who she became later on in her successful life. Isabellas parents taught her the important lessons of politics and government starting at a young age and that women can be leaders just like men,“Her parents believed in schooling their daughters equally to their sons, and she received an education not frequently afforded women”.(Brooklyn Museum,1). The important lessons Isabella was taught impacted her in a large way later in her life. This time

The woman who was to become Catherine the Great was born Sophie Augusta Fredericka. During her teen years Sophie blossomed into a beautiful young woman and had excellent health. She later went on to marry Peter III the future emperor and grandson of Peter the Great. During her reign as empress Catherine encountered many conflicts, which she surpassed so successfully that even now so many years after her death she is still remembered. Even though she was known to have many lovers during her lifetime and had three illegitimate children two of who survived, her strong spirit, willingness to make Russia a better place, and her political victories made her one of the greatest empress ever.

In 1492, the Spanish defeated the Moors, an inquisition took off and Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas. This paper will argue how the Spanish Reconquista resulted in the inquisition and the expulsion of Jews and Moors in Medieval Spain. The sources that will be used are several primary sources, and secondary sources. The Spanish Reconquista inspired the ideas of religious nationalism, a common anti-Semitism among the Spanish people, the idea of a catholic state and catholic rulers, and other practical and economic influences.

After Alfonso’s death Isabella was not sure if she would be able to rule Spain as a woman. Many people doubted and even her herself doubted. Enrique and Alfonso were planning on arranging a marriage for Isabella eventually, but Isabella had her interest somewhere else. Living as a woman, Isabella wanted equality and equity for women. In the book it says, “Issues that affected women were always of particular interest to Isabella, and gender relations also colored the perceptions of people living in Spain. All three great faiths--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--honored women in certain ways but were also patriarchal and made women second-class citizens in other significant ways.” (p 22) When there was a possibility for Isabella to become queen she wanted to truly impact the way things in her world ran. Enrique eventually accepted that Isabella as his heir and announced it to the kingdom. Even though Isabella was often alone there was a time where Enrique sent her to another town where Isabella was considered a stranger. In the book, Isabella the Warrior Queen it says, “It is just as likely that the marital alliance was Enrique’s attempt to remove Isabella from the direct line of succession in Castile and relocate her to a distant land.” (p 47) Luckily, Gonzalo and his nephew were around which helped her mood. Being surrounded by friends is always helpful after a tragedy, like a family

The role of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain’s conquest and colonization of continental America was a two-fold process whereby under the façade of conversion and control lay the primary goal of gaining wealth, enforcing laws and the inevitable extension of control while condoning the beginnings of European slavery in the Caribbean.[i]

Like the Holocaust in the 1930s-1940s, Jews during this time were treated with brutality. Manchester describes it as, “Jewry was luckier - slightly luckier - than blacks. If the pogroms of the time are less infamous than the Holocaust, it is only because anti-Semites then lacked twentieth-century technology” (35). In the year 1492, the Spanish had regained control of Spain. The rule of Spain was now under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. They were not fond of Jews in their nation. The Jews in Spain were given three months to convert to christianity or to leave. After seeing what the Spanish were doing in Spain, the king of Portugal ordered the expulsion of all Portuguese Jews. Any Jews who wouldn’t leave or were slow to leave were massacred. Around four thousand Lisbon Jews were killed during a single night in 1506. Only three years later persecution of Jews in Germany began. Jews throughout history have been treated badly but during the medieval period it was especially hard if you were a Jew.

     Every summer my family and I go to our house in the cape just north of Boston. One hot summer morning, I was leaving the house to meet my family at the beach, suddenly I remembered my mother asked me to pick up a jar of “Kingfish Herring” for her and her friend to snack on at the beach.

For the Jews, it was almost impossible to maintain any sliver of wealth that they had in Spain, since Jews were forbidden to leave Spain with gold, silver or any other precious metals. As a result, only their must prized or important possessions could be taken to their new home, as they were physically restricted for what they could take. A delegation of influential Jewish people including the Chief Rabbi of Castile, Abraham Senior and Issac Abarbanel, a financial adviser to the state appeared before Ferdinand and Isabella as a last-ditch effort to save Spanish Jewry and cancel the Edict of Expulsion. The delegation presented the catholic monarchs with a bag of gold to support their argument, however, Ferdinand and Isabella remained unchanged in respects to the Edict. The Jews began searching for their new homes, and most Jews, unwilling to embark on a long voyage to a different region of the world, sought to immigrate to Portugal, just west of Spain on the Iberian Peninsula. (SOURCE 8) A delegation of Jews approached the King of Portugal, John II, and presented him with a large sum of money for the permanent admission of affluent Jews into Portugal as well as a temporary home for poor Spanish Jews. (SOURCE 9) Shortly after, the Jews once again had to look for a new home after Manoel I, the new king of Portugal expelled the Jews from the country as a compliance with the daughter of Queen

The word “inquisition” means to examine. Inquisitors would “examine” suspected Heretics, people whose ideas do not match those of the Roman Catholic Church, and punish them accordingly. This included torture and burning. The great inquisition movement that took place in Spain, or Hispania as it was called before Spain united. It was called The Spanish Inquisition. It took place for approximately five hundred years, from the late 15th century to mid 19th century. Many ironic elements were involved in the history of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition lasted longer than any other preceding it, and was the most cruel, bloodthirsty, and festive of all. The objective of the inquisition, in its early state, was to

She appointed the main inquisitor, Thomas of Torquemada. Thomas was the one who had Isabella vow that she would purify Spain. Besides her vow, she already wanted “one country, one ruler, one faith.” (Slade, 1996)

Comparing the characters of Angelo and Isabella, one could argue that Isabella is ‘the symbol of goodness and mercy set against a background of moral decay’. Alternatively, one could see her character as self-righteous and hypocritical, as we later discover when she values her chastity higher than her brother’s life.